Determination

A while ago, I bought some crochet patterns on etsy.  Sock monkey hat, cow hat, and a really cool blanket.   My first clue that I was going to have trouble was that it took me a whole week just to get the PDF patterns.  I had to report the seller just to get the patterns.  I hated doing it, but I paid money for something and expect what I paid for. 

I have made a few of the sock monkey hats and decided after the last one that I shouldn't even have to credit this chick as being the designer of the hat.  I had to modify all of it.  If you crochet it up exactly the way she wrote the pattern, it's way too small.  If you make an adult hat, it fits a small child.  And the facial features are only sized for a newborn hat.  Way too small for anything but. 

Last night I decided to give the blanket a try.  It's supposed to be 7 panels consisting of 3 crocheted strips woven together.  It looks super cool in the picture.  I started the first strip, following the pattern exactly.  From what I could tell from the picture, the strips are supposed to be zig zags.  What I got was a squared spiral.  There's no way they'd weave together correctly.  So I figured out how to make zig zags on my own.  I made three strips and wove them together and started trying to use the pattern again to finish the panel.  It's completely nonsense.  So now I have to go back to square one and see if I can't pretty much design my own blanket out because I really want a blanket like this and I am determined to figure it out. 

I'm afraid to even bother with the cow pattern.  It's cute, but going on the other two patterns, I may as well knot up a bunch of black and white yarn and throw it at my kids.