I was born in the 1950’s, live in a 126-year-old house in Virginia, I am retired and spend a great deal of my time writing. I have lived through the Kennedy assassination, civil rights, Neil Armstrong on the moon, and 9/11/2001. I have seen the Vietnam war, the war in Middle East, the war on drugs, Star Wars, and the war between men and women. I have written hundreds of short stories and essays and a handful of novels. Only one novel was (self) published and one poem published in a collection.
I have been a writer my whole life, creating my first stories when I was still in elementary school.
Everyone is busy. That doesn’t even need to be said. We have tasks that we must do every day, like brushing teeth or eating. We have task we chose to do every day, like making the bed or reading.
In my case, not only do I have the necessary tasks, daily, I have to battle with my creativity. So many ideas. I don’t get single bulb ideas, I get chandeliers of light bulbs over my head.
What normally happens is there is so much rolling around in my brain, that I get overwhelmed: Writing ideas, crochet projects, organization projects, business plans. Not to mention actually working to earn real money. (I am a scheduler with A Closer Look Mystery Shopping and I do mystery shops for several firms.) On top of that, I have grocery shopping, cooking, dish washing, laundry, finding time to work-out a few minutes every day, and sleeping.
I don’t get single bulb ideas, I get chandeliers of light bulbs over my head.
From what I have read, to be truly effective, I have to set up a routine and make deadlines for myself. I’d rather chew on glass, however, there is merit to this suggestion. This is, I am most creative in the morning, but that is when so many of the “ordinary” tasks take up precious time. Better if I would ignore my mother’s voice in my head telling me I have to make the bed and clean the kitchen before doing anything enjoyable.
Ideally, I would get up, make coffee and toast, then slam out two hours of solid creativity before making the bed and cleaning the kitchen. I could work on those new crochet patterns, write stories, create a business plan, mentally organize my closets.
Then, I could do my job, which is repetitive and not terribly creative. Then, after working a few hours, I could work on the actual crochet project. Another repetitive task that is closely akin to meditation.
Learning how to crochet can do more than you think for your mental health and happiness.
Arts and crafts are more than just a fun pastime, they’re truly
healing and restorative and are actually very therapeutic. In fact, the healing
benefits of crocheting (and knitting) are numerous and range from simply
calming you down and easing your stress to potentially relieving depression and
reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Crocheting doesn’t just help you if you’re the one who’s sick – it helps the
caregivers around you, your friends and family that help you, love you and
support you. It’s also a very good craft to pick up as a hobby for group
therapy sessions, as you’re healing together in a group without having the
focus completely on you. There are so many benefits of crocheting, so whether
you’re stressed out and can’t sleep or are doing your part to help slow down
Alzheimer’s, you’ll be doing yourself and your health a favor.
1. Crocheting reduces stress and
anxiety
When you’re feeling stressed or anxious in your daily life, take
some time for yourself, pick up some yarn and your hook (or your needles), and
spend some time being creative. By crocheting and allowing yourself to be
creative, you’re taking your mind off of
whatever’s been nagging you. By
focusing on the repetitive motions of individual stitches and counting rows,
your mind is able to be more relaxed and free from anxious ideas and
thoughts.
2. Crocheting helps with insomnia
By focusing on something that’s easy, repetitive and soothing,
like crochet projects, you can calm down your mind and body enough to let you
fall asleep. So the next time you’re tossing and turning in the middle of the
night, don’t get frustrated, just pick up a work in progress!
3. Crocheting helps ease or relieve
depression
When you do something we like, our brains release dopamine, a
chemical that affects our emotions and functions like a natural anti-depressant.
Scientists now believe that crafts, such as crocheting, can help stimulate that dopamine
release to allow us to feel happier and better about ourselves.
4. Crocheting reduces the risk of
Alzheimer’s by 30-50%.
We all want to feel productive and useful, and by working up a
project to give as a gift or sell at a craft fair, we can do just that. Though
we don’t craft just for the compliments, a little bit of external validation by
someone buying your finished item or your gift recipient wearing that crochet
hat you made all winter long can truly give us the self-esteem boosts we
need.
6. Crocheting acts as a form of group
therapy.
For those who seek therapy benefits in group settings, crocheting
can be supremely beneficial. By placing the focus off of the patient and only
the crochet project itself, it provides all of the previously mentioned health
benefits of crocheting plus a sense of community and togetherness. By working
in a craft, those in a group can immediately have some way of relating to the
other group members, and it may help function as an ice breaker for more
seriously conversations. Even if you aren’t actively seeking therapy, you can benefit from the sense of
community that crocheting can bring.
7. Crocheting puts you in control.
Whether you feel helpless as a caregiver watching someone struggle or you’re the one struggling with your own illness or problems, crocheting is a way to put the control back into your own hands – literally. By choosing to craft, you are in full control of everything, from the type of project you’ll be making, the color and type or yarn and even the type of crochet hooks to work with, and that makes a difference in feeling like you have a say again.
Every year, about this time of year, I get this idea that I should do something meaningful. Maybe a lot of people do that. New year, new ideas. I don’t really make resolutions. This is more of a PLAN for the year. More precisely, projects I hope to complete.
CHESAPEAKE BAY CROCHET
Overriding everything is getting my online business, Chesapeake Bay Crochet, really moving along. I actually sell more items on eBay, but I don’t plan to close my Etsy store. Also, I am selling items on this blog, by listing my latest projects.
A Corner of My Desk. A Large Part of My LIfe
This will involve creating patterns to sell as well as finished items. I have spent time researching key words and updating my SEO knowledge to be relevant to today.
KEEPING A DIARY
No, I am not thirteen. What I mean is, I have a little pocket size notebook that I intend to take with me everywhere I go. You can get them at Amazon. They are inexpensive and small enough to fit in a purse, backpack or whatever else you carry on a regular basis. This little notebook will be the place where I write down everything: ideas, grocery lists, interesting things, funny things, sketches, things I am thankful for, reminders. One notebook for everything instead of having several locations for all of my stuff. Don’t you just love organization?
READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY
This is not a new idea for me. This is a plan I make every year. Even if my Bible reading consists on just one or two verses, I will read a portion of the Bible daily. Yes, I am a religious person and I believe in what I read. The Bible is my source of comfort, intelligence, wisdom, ideas, knowledge and belonging. I do not read it just for the sake of running a race or for a sense of accomplishment. Over the years, I feel as if I have read the entire Bible. It doesn’t go like a novel, where you begin on page one and carry on until completion. Depending on the day, I will carefully choose what to read: a song, a prayer, practical wisdom, history, an individual’s story.
One year ago, I was worried about so many things that I cannot even remember, now. That is, not until I got the email from FutureMe.
FutureMe is an email servcie, where you can send an email to yourself, or anyone else, at some point in the future-a day, a week, a year, longer. I used to think it was a cool idea, but now, it is a reminder of what I did not accomplish.
I didn’t: *Lose a bunch of weight *Read the Bible every day *Pray every day *Get my finances on a better track *Exercise regularly
Maybe, I don’t have to accomplish anything at this stage of my life. Maybe, my life is good enough right now. Maybe, some of those goals are unrealistic. Truth is, I am pretty satisfied with the way things are. The major change I would make is lowering my stress level, which is, I am very sad to say, sky high. There is a single person responsible for that. Or rather I should say that the person I stress about is not going to change what he is doing and in reality, I am responsible for my own level of stress.
So why do I worry about him so much? He has no one else to worry about him. Not really. I worry that he will die and I certainly don’t want that. I worry that he will not get better from his sickness that has been going on for nearly 3 months and he refuses to go to a doctor. Why? Because he says that anyone on earth can look at his medical records and there is a “libatard” (the term he stole from someone else for a liberal retard)–likely the janitor at the doctor’s office–that will take that information and use it against him to have him declared a menace to society and they will take away his right to buy a gun or own a knife.
I say, “That is the craziest thing I have heard in my life…”
“Just you wait and see! It will happen,” says he, interrupting.
I respond, “Like it or not, you are not that important in the grand scheme of things. Neither am I. We are both merely drops in the ocean of nearly 8 billion people. No one is going to look at your medical records to see if you went to the doctor to cure nausea.”
“That kind of thinking will get you in trouble with it all goes down. Stick your head in the sand like everyone else.” He walks away to end the discussion.
I went on vacation to see new faces and to talk to new people and to get a fresh presepctive. I took the problem with me. It seems as if all I could talk about was him, my brother. I realized that I cannot hide from stress. So, a new year and a new resolution: REDUCE STRESS
I am still very busy making new items to sell here, on Facebook and on my ETSY Page. Everyday, I crochet, update blogs and websites and think about what I will work on next.
I have perfected my fingerless mitten pattern. For now, this image is of my fingerless mittens Mirasol Sisa Yarn in Stardust which is 60% lambs wool and 40% alpaca in the first stage: The Basic Mitten.
My creation is completed. As with any new crochet project, there are issues that must be resolved before I can offer the pattern for sale: Tweaks in wording and verifying that I didn’t miss a step.
These gloves were made with scrap yarn, so I am working on the real thing now, with real yarn purchased for the specific purpose of creating a pair of PERFECT fingerless glove. Well, as near perfect as I can make them.
I am not a machine. There may always be variations in stitches, or tiny imperfections that add to the overall beauty of the project. Anyway, enjoy the next step in my crochet creation project.
Creativity means different things to every individual. For me, creativity is the act of CREATING something, using just the power of my not-inconsiderable brain.
cre·a·tiv·i·ty
/ˌkrēāˈtivədē/
noun
the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.
I have wasted many, many hours scouring the Internet for crochet patterns to match the vision I have in my head of items I want to produce. What a load of rubbish! What I mean is, I am working really hard to reinvent the wheel. Why would anyone want to do that?
I have created my own patterns for crocheted items previously. Click here and here for examples of patterns available for digital download through my Etsy Store.
So, I am now working on a pattern for fingerless gloves, or more precisely, fingerless mittens because there is a thumb hole, but not individual holes for fingers. I have ripped out stitch after stitch in an effort to create my patterns.
This it the first half of a pair of mittens:
Fingerless Mittens Stage One
Yeah, I know what you’re saying. It doesn’t look like a glove or a mitten or anything else recognizable. Well, maybe half of an orangutan mitten, but why would anyone want to put mittens on an orangutan?
I agree. Stay tuned of the next iteration of my invention!
I have been working feverishly to create items for my online store that can be found here and here. I have sold several items on ebay recently and have even sold some items directly to interested individuals.
The key was finding what people wanted to buy and not concentrating on what I wanted to make.
Also, price control has become an issue for me. If it is priced too high, no one wants it, even if the item is hand-made. If it is priced too low, then the entire market for hand-made crafts is diluted.
Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons
Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons
Pictured are Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons, Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons, Ear Warmer in shades of teal and gray, and an Ear Warmer in shades of light gray with a large crocheted flower.
All of the items are hand-crocheted by me and listed for sale on the internet.
Karen Crochets More Than Karen Writes 