It could be worse

I'm not very good at carving spoons. I think in total I've probably carved around 30, but that's over a period of about five years and so I feel like I never really get to learn properly as my spoon carving is so infrequent. I think Richard did really well when he took on the fifty two spoons challenge, carving a spoon a week really helped him to improve and he now makes beautiful spoons. I have to confess that I've had a bit of spoon fear this year, not having carved one since about September last year I have put it off, knowing that I would find it tricky again.

 Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and carved these two spoons over the last two weeks. I'm not very happy with them (other than the paint)and I felt a little bit disheartened by the fact that they're not as good as some of the spoons I've carved previously. So, needing a boost I went to my secret hiding place and pulled out the first spoon I ever carved.

This piece of wood, that can barely be called a spoon is very important to me (though I keep it hidden away). Not only does it remind me of the circumstances in which I carved it (a lovely crisp Christmas Eve), but it also gives me a lift when I feel like I'm not getting better. Hopefully the progress is clear to see. I remember being quite proud of it at the time and I even ate part of my Christmas dinner with it. I know some people advocate burning your first spoon as a way of freeing yourself from the pressure of creating something brilliant when you begin to carve, but I'm glad I kept this one if only to remind myself that it could be worse.