The pandemic brought a lot of changes in my daily life. Aside from the sudden inability to see my friends when I want to, I also lost my own way of coping with anxiety and depression.
Looking back, I did a lot of things that I regret back when the pandemic first started. Still, I know that wallowing in the past cannot do anything except waste my present too. So now I find ways to deal with both my fears of my past catching up to me and my fears of what will happen in the future.
I have always been someone who likes to do something with my hands. When I am nervous, it is easily noticeable by how still or how twitchy my hands are. I like being able to do work with my hands. I do not like staying still.
One of the things that I thankfully started again this pandemic is crocheting. It is similar to knitting with the main difference being that instead of needles, a crocheter uses a crochet hook. Some share the opinion of crochet being easier than knitting. But I think that both have their challenges. They are similar and different, it does not matter to me if one is easier that the other because I aim to learn both.
I started with knitting. I remember that during the strict lockdown when online shopping was not a possible option for getting materials, I was stuck with how to practice. I only have yarns and no other tools. Then, I thought to myself that I can try using a pencil for knitting.
This is my attempt at knitting using pencils as needles. Being able to do this made me feel so happy and that was the exact time I realized that I wanna learn more.
This hunger for more knowledge led me to find crochet too. I was fascinated by the cute things one could make with some yarns and hook. The thing that really made me go for crochet first before knitting is amigurumi. I wanted to do amigurumis back then, and my plan was to get the basic stitches down before starting on my amigurumi journey. I did not want to have wobbly stitches so I am focusing more on small projects to get used to crocheting first.
I already shared some background about my crochet experience in my past article called, "Hooking my Way". In that article, I shared one project that I am most proud of- a beanie for our puppy, Moshi. She has since outgrew that project which led me to do another simlar but bigger beanie which she soon outgrew as well. At that point, I realized that I woild have to wait until she grew up more before doing projects again for her because making one beanie everytime she outgrew the old ones will eat away my extra yarns.
My Hoard of Yarns (for now)
I mostly used some scrap yarns from my high school days in the past. The only time I bought one is when I saw a milk cotton yarn for sale for only P12. Luckily I also had a free shipping voucher then, so I only spent P12 plus tip for the rider.
When I found read.cash and noise.cash, I suddenly have more money that I can spend. I mostly hodl the tips I received. Since day one, I had only cashout once for a total of P1500. I have not yet touched my earnings again after that.
The money I cashed our was first spent to some load (for me and my sisters) for data connection during our online classes. Then I set aside some for yarns and hooks. The remaining money was donated using the donation option in GCash.
Here are the yarns I bought this year:
The 4 fine cotton yarns are sold as a lot (a group of yarns/ a set of yarns). I bought this lot specifically for the yellow and white yarns that I can use for making daisies. The Monaco mercerized yarn is what I bought for bookmarks. The hook is a freebie from the seller.
The items from the shop I bought this yarns in are super cheap yet they still have a good quality. I also love the colors of the yarns. The only downside is that the stocks ran out so fast. These yarns are all 4 ply indophil. They are the last pf that batch so I bought all the remaining colors.
More to come (to receive)
This is a weighing scale I bought in the P9 deals. It was an impulse buy but it will ultimately help me in estimating how much yarns I will use in different projects. As of writing, the parcel has already been shipped out by the seller. I am now just waiting for it to be delivered.
This is a crochet hook that I bought out of curiousity. I have been hearing that the difference between a generic and branded hook is noticeable so I bought my very first branded hooks. I made that last minute decision when I saw this hook on flash sale but I believe that it will be a great purchase. What I love about the seller is that they immediately shipped off my item. The seller is from overseas so it may take a while for the parcel to arrive.
The Project I love most (so far)
This is my recent crochet project for Moshi. A simple shell head band that I can adjust the size so that she can still use it even after growing. This also works as a choker too but I mostly want to use it as a head band because she is not comfortable with having something wrapped around her neck.
This is my favorite peoject so far because it is something that I enjoy seeing on Moshi. I feel like I am really doing something good when I can see hee with it.
I was originally planning on including more projects but my data connection got weak in the middle of writing so I am stopping here. I will share more of my crochet works with you guys once the signal stabilized.
The repetitive movement used in crocheting is something that brings me great peace and joy. Whenever I feel my anxiety and depression kicking in, I ready myself to fight them with hooks and yarns. I have been successful in my attempts of warding them off for a good time now. I am hopeful that it will continue.
If you want to read more of my articles, I have made a list of all the past articles I published to make it easier for you to find one that might catch your interest.
Here is the link for my May 2021 articles: https://read.cash/@ZehraSky/may-2021-articles-summary---59e3f5b8
Here is the 1st week of June 2021 articles: https://read.cash/@ZehraSky/week-1-june-2021-articles-summary-6e15cf71
Hooking my Way: https://read.cash/@ZehraSky/hooking-my-way-743fe5be
Thank you for reading, everyone!
