Do you remember the first time you tried to read a knitting, or crochet, pattern? There was likely a moment of pause as the instructions loomed in front of you, needles or hook in hand. My first project with a pattern was no different, and the introduction to new methods and abbreviations felt like a steep learning curve that I’d never conquer. Of course, like most crafters, I persevered through these early stages of the unknown with sheer hope that I was on the right track.
Still today, I often pause when casting on new projects from a pattern, even though I’ve read many. At the beginning, there is always anticipation as I wait to see if the designer’s instructions will translate to my needles as expected. I scan the pattern looking for the methods used, curious about how it will all come together, and methodically work through each instruction. And when it works, I celebrate… each and every time.
I’ve spent the last few days officially working on my first software project. Just like the abbreviations of a pattern, I’ve been learning the language(s) of front-end web development. Now, instead of receiving a designer’s instructions as a knitter, I’m giving instructions to the application and designing something new in real-time. It’s a shift in perspective, where I must provide the same type of clear instruction to a machine that I trust a pattern designer to give to me. And any time my code builds, runs, and actually does what I want it to, I celebrate.
Ultimately, knitting and software development are creative pursuits with a visible outcome, and each require a technical understanding of how small parts form the whole, row-by-row or line-by-line. The subtle similarities between the two have become more and more evident to me over the last few days. As a new knitter, I learned standard pattern abbreviations. Now, I’m learning HTML tags and CSS selectors. In both, I translate the meaning of the codified instructions, one turning into a garment and the other a functional webpage.
I’m adopting a philosophy of Always Be Creating, and by learning new tech skills, I have a new toolkit to create with. And that certainly feels worth celebrating.
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