A Puff Stitch missing its Puff - My very first Granny Square

Bravery and determination have finally gotten me started and what did I start with?  The very squares that had originally made me think that crochet was only for little old ladies.  HaHa!  I guess the joke is on me because I have to learn the basics somehow.

It's called a Cluster Dome and was designed by: Jean Leinhauser.  I used a book borrowed from my mother titled: "50 Fabulous Crochet Squares" on page 8.  The one thing about this book is that is doesn't tell you how to start, do basic single, double or triple crochet stitches or end colors.  This left me frustrated at night when I knew I couldn't call my mother to ask for help and eventually had me searching the Internet for some answers.

What I found is a wonderful website: "All Free Crochet" It went over the basics for me with simple clear instructions for the moment when I couldn't remember how many yarn over (YO) I was supposed to do again for a certain stitch.  You can sign up for a free account which gives you access to all their free patterns and even allows you to store the crochet patterns you are interested in from their site.  This is awesome because it makes finding something you liked so much easier to do again later.

My center ring of puff stitches and the second ring of puff stitches were so close together in the book's example photo that there was no center hole in the square or any space between the two rounds of puff stitches themselves.  Obviously mine looks nothing like the picture.  So my mother who has been crocheting for many years says tighten your stitching it's a tension problem.  And I thought to myself tension problem?  My frustration levels are starting to rise I am plenty tense.  But I didn't give up.  My goal was to make enough of them to have a 20 inch x 20 inch blanket to donate to the hospital for my mother's Angel Blanket project when I am done.  So I laid this one square aside and started again, calling it practice and having every intention of trashing it.  Before I could do so though, my oldest daughter Seriah saw it and insisted that it was beautiful and she wanted to keep it forever.

Bless her heart my daughter's simple admiration at my first attempt to make something reminded me that nothing is perfect and that is okay.  The Lord accepts our best efforts in all that we do.  And as my crafting was something I wanted to further develop this first attempt was good enough because I had tried my best.  I absolutely love this quote by Chieko N. Okazaki "I've learned that the Lord didn't do it all in one day.  What makes me think I can?"  This is from her book called "Being Enough" page 81.

So I guess that means I can't expect my very first square to be perfect.  Here are the next three squares I made of the same pattern.  It might be difficult to see but they look the same and are the same size and are a hundred times better then my first attempt.  They still don't look puffy like the photo in the pattern book, but at least it is something I can be proud of when I finish it and donate it to my mother's service Angel Blanket project.  More to come as I get the other squares finished and attempt to sew them all together.