This phrase is certainly one I grew up with. My mother encouraged all of my pursuits,
reminding me that I must “practice to make perfect” the task at hand.
As a child, learning something new is fun and exciting. One simply gets down to the business of
learning, entering into it with full enthusiasm. Mistakes are opportunities to
try once more (and since it was so much fun the first time, who wouldn’t want
to try again!?). Giving up was not an
option and gaining mastery felt great.
But something happened along the way…
As an adult, there is certainly enthusiasm and desire when
learning something new, but there is also the Inner Critic who is constantly looking
over one’s shoulder, pointing out any little mistake or contradicting an original
idea, throwing in wrenches of doubt, and shaking one’s confidence. I really don’t
like that Inner Critic, but it is hard to shake such a tenacious fellow.
He is selfish and pushy – taking up more space at times than
my Muse. But, I am refusing to let him
win. In my efforts to learn this skill of spinning, I was
worried that my imperfect practice might be leading me astray – setting down
the wrong neural pathways which might be harder to correct if I were ever to learn
a different (perhaps better) way of spinning.
So, I asked the Collective on Ravelry if this could be the
case…could one spend hours, weeks, or even months learning to spin incorrectly
(even though the desired yarn produced was acceptable)?
Several spinning mavens pointed me to an
amazing site called Craftsy and suggested I take the course titled Drafting from Worsted to Woolen. Without hesitation, I purchased my first
online spinning course and was simply amazed at what I received.
The instructor is excellent (plus, I loved her sleeve tattoos and her spunky hair cut!). The camera shots and angles really showed the
techniques well. Her explanations made
sense, she explored several ways to approach the same technique, she explained common
mistakes, and generally helped base of knowledge grow 20-fold. The content was exactly the technical mumbo
jumbo I needed (craved!) to help ensure I was practicing in good form!
I was doing some things incorrectly and in some ways was
making it harder for myself. I have
changed many things and it has been like going back to square one. My spinning feels new and unfamiliar again,
but that is ok. I know it will eventually become more familiar, comfortable, and perhaps
someday even meditative.
I love my new class – 7 lessons in all. I can watch them over and over, I can stop,
repeat, and even annotate my lesson. The
format, lessons, and platform upon which the courses are built is amazing. It truly is like having a private spinning
instructor whom I can rely on to show me the ropes! There is also an active online community and
reading through the questions and answers associated with each lesson provides
another layer of learning. The Craftsy
online learning portal is going to be a place I return to often given the depth
and breadth of courses offered (there are even courses on baking!).
So, my job now is “practice to make perfect” my short forward
drafting skills (also known as the inch-worm technique!).
As I learn to spin, my mother’s words and spirit of
encouragement fill me with a sense of “I can do this!” I miss her every single day. I am sure she would be interested to know
about my spinning pursuits. And I know
she would tell me, once again, “Practice makes perfect.”
Hi Deborah! I am really enjoying reading your blog! I can't wait to see what you're upto next. My blog is back up and running and can be found at https://toliveanextraordinarylife.blogspot.ca/ Feel free to swing by for a vising. I'm going to make an effort to get more posts up and rolling soon.
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