I have been hearing this for all of the 8 years that Perfectly Knotty has been open.
I have said it myself over the course of my stitching lifetime!
Now, here we are. Summer of 2022 finds the United States, and the world really, in a financial state of inflation and recession. Prices are going up higher and faster than wages, resources are challenging. As a result, we all start cutting back on how we are spending our ever dwindling “expendable” income.
I want to address that head on in this post. I wont, by any means, address every concern or option. I am not going to teach a lesson on the impact of cyclical financial patterns. But I do want to inspire you and encourage you to NOT use this as an excuse to give up your yarn crafting!
For many of us, our crochet and knitting is an important part of our mental health care, and when feelings of stress present, having a productive activity to turn to can do amazing things to help us in other areas of our life!
For many of us, keeping our hands busy with our yarn keeps us from doing other things with our fingers that might otherwise be destructive and unproductive. Here’s a list of some of the things that y’all have shared with me that you don’t do because (or at least when) you crochet or knit: eat/snack, smoke, drink adult beverages, surf the internet mindlessly, chew or pick at fingernails,
I personally made that decision in 1990. It was a calculated choice. I had been crocheting and knitting since I was 6 years old, but my teen-early 20’s I didn’t as much because I was too busy partying and being a young wife and mom. But, that was catching up with me. I was stressed, we didn’t have a lot of money, for many years we didn’t have a phone, or a second car. I was isolated and snacking more and smoking more and gaining weight and feeling frumpy and unhealthy. So, I decided to reconnect with skills I had set aside, and learn to crochet tiny detailed lace and learn to cross-stitch in an effort to quit smoking while not trading smoking for eating even more! And it worked! Later I started dabbling in selling the things I was making, and started earning enough money to pay for my hobby! I got back into sewing and started making garments for people.
To be transparent … This did NOT make me skinny LOL But it did help me start making healthier and more productive choices. It took me another 10 years before I was able to make those other changes that we can talk about another time.
What is it for you? What does crochet or knitting bring to your life? What does it do for your mental health?
Now, to come back to the “I already have so much yarn” part of the problem!
At some point we all have this experience.
There is a legitimate reason that meme circulates that says:
“Buying and collecting yarn is a totally different hobby from making things with yarn.”
internet meme
Have you wanted to make something, but you don’t know what?
You walk into your yarn room, maybe open the closet, peek in the stash bag, dump out the tote bin, unload the steamer trunk … where ever your stash is, and however much your stash is, and you get that overwhelming feeling of:
“I have all of this beautiful yarn, and I have no idea what to do with it”
said every yarn crafter ever
- When you see “all of the yarn” you already have, what are the feelings that come up for you?
- Do you feel satisfied that you have what you need, or is there never enough?
- Perhaps you feel like you don’t have the “just right” yarn for that particular project you are Jones’n to make.
- Maybe you feel guilty about all of the money you’ve spent, and there it is, in tubs and drawers and closets never to be touched by human hands again?
- Or maybe you feel like, if you don’t spread it out, and it stays hidden from view, it isn’t really there. Out of sight, out of mind?
- Maybe you are confused with how to mix and match different yarns together for fiber content, colors, textures, weights.
There’s likely a LOT of stuff that come up!
Maybe there are some positive thoughts?
- That feeling when you are invited to a baby shower and you were able to find a nice yarn in your stash and whip up a quick blanket!
- Or find the perfect yarn to teach the neighbor girl hose to crochet! And you are so glad it was just, right there in your stash!
- Maybe, your grandson is asking you to make him a hoodie, so you take him “shopping” in your stash, and you’ve got enough of some colors he loves and he’s so excited!
- A loved one is diagnosed with cancer, and you have a stash of Bamboo Pop to stitch up a nice cancer cap hat! Or a pair of Knitted Knockers.
We are in this together, and I want to hear from you! Head over to the contact page and let me know what would help you?
In the meantime, check out this little video I recorded this morning, talking a little more on this topic:
