Time

Recently, I updated my facebook photos to include all the photos of food I've made. I tend to bake a lot, but as you all know, I can cook as well. I've got a few comments saying, "You should make a business with food!" or "I wish my daughter will learn to cook like you one day!" (That last one came from a friend's mother who's known me since I was a kid. It made me giggle.)

And it got me thinking. I'm not too spectacular with food. Everyone who reads my blogs knows that all my recipes (save two) are from other blogs or books. I don't have the time to experiment. Maybe I will, with this new vegetarian diet. Finding ways to adapt meat recipes so that there's vegetables instead of meat. Generally, I don't stray too far from a given recipe. I'm afraid of screwing up and there goes some money that I used to get those ingredients. I can't make a business with food. I'm a very 'by-the-book' cook. I can't stray unless it's for frosting or cake flavor, or something very easy and superficial. I can't make things from scratch!

But no one ever tells me, "You should open a business with crochet/knit." Okay, maybe a few. But they're unicorns, trust me. Like cooking, I'm afraid of straying far from a pattern. My first attempt was an amigurumi of a character from an anime called Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. That turned out a little lopsided.

 Sakutaro. Look at all the beautiful mistakes.

Then, it was a keyhole scarf for charity. I messed up a little on the keyhole, but it worked. I didn't try any free-handing for another year before deciding to mimic a blanket a relative of my dad's made. It doesn't look exact, but looks nice in its own way. Now I'm free-handing amigurumi and blankets and such.

I thought about what makes these two passions of mine so different. Why couldn't I make up a recipe from scratch, but I can make up my own amigurumi pattern and accept it? I attribute it to time. I haven't been cooking long. I really only started in August 2012, when I had two choices: make the long trek up to the cafeteria every single day or cook for myself. Cooking suddenly seemed really appealing, and it eventually developed into something I like doing. But I can't come up with my own recipe because I haven't been doing it long enough to feel comfortable with the foundation. On the other hand, I've been knitting since I was 12 and crocheting since about 14. I got my foundation and I'm ready to build up.

Persevere. Whenever something seems difficult, keep at it. You will become comfortable with it soon, then own it and do whatever you want with it. That's how life works. Build your foundation, then build up. Be content in your own abilities, but work to improve on your base. That's what artists do. That's what musicians do. That's what writers do. Everyone builds up their hobbies that'll eventually become passions. Encouragement from close friends and family helps, but ultimately, it's on what you decide to do over time. Do you continue or stop? Learn, learn, learn. Life is a learning experience.