At long last, I am finished with my swatches. I am finished with the written portions.
I had sent in the whole portfolio. My first reviews came back. There were a few that needed redoing. There were many that needed the finishing redone. I had taken finishing techniques from various decades of books in my library of books. What was considered acceptable in one time period isn't in the next. It's amazing how many different ways there have been in the last hundred years to weave ends, seam, even work the stitches. On a working vacation I redid all that were required to be redone. The newest way to finish is to make the ends disappear.
I sent in the corrections. There is one overlying theme that I discovered about my crocheting. It has become a problem as I get older. Perhaps it is also one for you. I have trouble following a written pattern when the lines of text are close together. My eyes jump over lines. They are perhaps helped along by the bifocals I wear.
There are several methods I can use to fix this. If I don't fix it, none of my patterns will be right.
1. I can (and do) rewrite each row in larger letters and spaced further apart.
2. I can read aloud each row as I execute.
3. I can chart on graph paper the written directions.
4. I can use 1 line width highlighter tape and put it every other row.
5. I can use a chart keeper of some sort to underline each line of text in the row.
6. I can and do compare my work with the picture of the object. Most have a finished object picture.
7. I can count my stitches and for the few patterns that have a final stitch count per row, compare mine to the pattern.
