My knitting and spinning to almost the same degree are very therapeutic for me. It can be uplifting & anxiety reducing when I have the correct tools, yarn & pattern. When I put time limits or 'you have to do this or that' it becomes something stressful & very anxiety filled.
A few podcasts I am watching are talking about waste & how it relates to our crafting. Another podcaster that I love is working towards a total hand made wardrobe by 2020. So it got me thinking about what I am buying & what I am making in my knitting, spinning & weaving. Also in my other side crafts like card making, quilting & cross stitch (that I recently picked up again).
I have been looking through my stash to see what I really want, what I really was keeping because I thought I had to & what I wanted to give away. I have been slowly working through my tools, stash & patterns to see what, when, where, why & who. I found that it was actually very fun in that I realized how much I loved & got excited about making.
One thing that I found, that I always knew, is that I like kits. I love having all the things together, no thinking, there is everything I need & I don't need to get anxious about what colours go together, etc. Not always can I find the 'kit' I want so what I have started doing is kitting up my own projects. I have knitting projects lined up with the yarn, pattern & anything needed like beads or markers. I also made up a few cross stitch kits in the same way. I am going to get a friend to come over & help me kit up some projects for weaving. I realized that is what is stoping me from weaving. I get panic & don't know what colour goes with what or what should I make.
Another thing I have been doing is looking at 'what' I am making. Am I making is because I think I have to, because everyone else are? What do I what in my wardrobe, what do I want to create for my home & for my friend, spouse, family member. Sometimes I need something just because & that is all good, yet I am finding this process a nice exercise to think through!
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