Frequency before excellence

I was all set to talk about linen today, but I'm going to talk about it in the podcast, so watch that Wednesday night. What I really want to talk about today is mastery.

Let me back up a minute. Sunday night, my son Johnny put a beautiful platter of steak on the table. Perfect slices, medium rare, nestled in a bed of arugula with charred corn, red onion, and bacon. It was a sight to behold, and I told him so; "It's no big deal," he said, "I have a system now, and I can nail it every time."

I remember when that wasn't the case. HIs first few steaks were a little more done than he and I would have liked, but they were pretty good. The next few were perhaps little less done than my husband, Bill, would have liked, but he was closer.  Every Saturday night throughout quarantine, Johnny cooked steak.  He would watch Instagram chefs and come up with a new plan - try a different cut, a different method.  We ate well as he learned about beef and salt and heat - and how to coax perfection from the alchemy of fire and flesh. 

Anything we want to learn to do is going play out the same way.  You've got to cook that first steak. It won't be fancy, and it might be a tad overdone, but then you know, and next time you cook it less.  You will have learned, and you will have had a good meal.  Is it as good as your later steaks will be? No, of course not, but without that first steak you can never have that second one or the third one, or all the glorious ones that follow.

Many knitters never start their first sweater because it might not be perfect.  And they'll be right.  Our first sweater is rarely perfect.  Or the sweater they want to knit is too complicated for their skills so they keep knitting more and more intricate shawls, telling themselves that they're building their skills up to knit a sweater.  

But you can't get better at sweaters by knitting shawls. You can only get better at knitting sweaters by knitting sweaters. You have to take that first step and knit one.  It will likely not be perfect, but your next one will be better. And the next one better still.  

Frequency before excellence.  

There's a lot involved, but you can do it.  And you don't have to do it alone. In fact, you shouldn't. It really flattens the learning curve to have help and support -- lessons, a mentor, a community.  This is what I am offering in Club Crazy for Ewe.  Whether it's your first sweater or your fiftieth, you will learn and grow and have a place to share your wins, a place to give help and get help.  Interested? Does that sound like something you would enjoy?  Click the link below to be notified when it opens. 

I can't wait to be welcome you in!