Challenges

I've been facing a few. Lately, I have been facing some very difficult challenges; they are learning experiences that I didn't choose, lessons I don't want to learn. Frankly, sometimes it's hard for me to accept some of the things that have been happening; I really, really don't want to deal with some of these things. I'd like to have those challenges go away, but I know they need to play themselves out, and I will deal with them. Grudgingly.

So what did I do today? I accepted a challenge of my own choosing. If I can't beat 'em, I may as well join 'em.

One of the forums I'm on posted a challenge to use Dutch Spiral, and provided a gorgeous photo of a field of tulips as inspiration. I love tulips, but I don't love Dutch Spiral. In fact, Dutch Spiral is one of the "easy" stitches that has always given me fits. My attempts to learn it looked like something the cat had coughed up, had the cat been grooming beads.

A year or so ago, I told my troubles to the lovely Christina of Good Quill Hunting and she taught me how to do it; I managed a pair of earrings and swore, never again. Dutch Spiral was off my list of stitches to use; I figured there are enough stitches in the world, I won't miss that one.

But that photo of the tulip fields stuck in my head. And I got to thinking that I wouldn't mind a challenge that was of my own choosing; if I'm going to do something very, very hard, why not something that I can appreciate learning? And lo and behold, I discovered that I can do Dutch Spiral. Easily. I don't know why it was so hard for me before; it's not hard now.

Perhaps the rest of my challenges will work out that way, too.