First of all, this is not a post about stuff you should be doing during quarantine. Unlike any jackwagons advocating we completely transform ourselves mentally or intellectually during quarantine, I personally see this as a traumatic time and it’s really important to be gentle with ourselves. This post is just about what helped settle my anxiety brain right now, in hopes that maybe it would help someone else, too. As I’ve mentioned many times, knitting … Continue reading Elyse’s Knitting: Stash Busting→
The news is bleak right now and a lot of people are self-isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Those things combined can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and loneliness, and if you are feeling them, trust me, you are not alone. I’ve had to turn off the news almost entirely and have been talking more with my friends around the country than I have in years. I’ve also been knitting more to keep … Continue reading Learning to Knit and Keeping in Touch→
I’d been interested in RPGs (role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons) for a long time, but the few times I’d joined a group to play it didn’t really work well for me. First of all, I was almost always the only woman. Secondly, I wasn’t a very experienced player and I felt like I annoyed the other players because I had to spend a lot of time looking things up and asked a lot … Continue reading Knitting and Role Playing Games or Crafts with Cthulhu→
Last Christmas, I saw a meme that said “It’s the time of year when I put away my regular anxiety and take out my fancy holiday anxiety,” and, man, do I feel that. The holidays are always a challenging time of year for me (and a lot of other people). The season can come with a lot of obligations (family, social, work, school) and it’s easy to get burned out. For the past few years … Continue reading Elyse’s Knitting: Advent Knitting→
I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to get a little bit personal in this column. Since I began knitting about ten years ago, I’ve used the craft to address my anxiety. Specifically I have PTSD, and I’ve found that certain anxiety-combatting techniques, like mindfulness, don’t always work well for me when I’m feeling panicked: I’m already hyper vigilant during an anxiety episode due to the trauma part of PTSD. Being mindful often makes … Continue reading Knitting for Anxiety and Pain→
Hide your wallet, crafty friends, because this post is gonna get spendy. I’m here to tell you about the wonder that is yarn clubs–a way to be surprised by exclusive colors in your favorite yarn brands through the mail. It’s pretty much my new favorite thing. First of all, I will confess to having achieved SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy). If I stopped buying yarn today, and lived to be one hundred, I’d probably … Continue reading Elyse’s Knitting: Yarn Clubs→
December is upon us, which means if you’re like me, you’re frantically knitting last minute gifts for the holidays. The ones you knew you were going to make back in, like, April. But you waited until now. Because you make bad choices. Luckily for you we’re here with some last minute gift ideas, holiday décor and just plain fun patterns to work on if (unlike me) you planned well and have time to spend crafting … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Stitching: The Holidays→
My normally mostly-under-control anxiety went through the roof last week. I bit my nails, picked my cuticles until they bled, and caught myself pulling my hair when I was sleeping. I lot of people I know seemed similarly overwhelmed and distressed at what has been going on at the southern borders of the United States, at what’s going on pretty much everywhere. My anxiety peaks when I am experiencing something emotionally distressing and I feel … Continue reading Crafting for a Cause→
It’s that time of year again, when crafters have a few scant weeks until the holidays. Fueled by coffee, Netflix and bitter, bitter tears we knit and crochet into the night, desperate to finish last minute gifts. We bind off on the 23rd of December. Fuck weaving in ends. People can weave in their own goddamn ends. Not like I’m speaking from experience. Determined to still get a project or two complete before the holidays … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting: OMG It’s Almost December→
Wonder Woman has been my favorite film so far this year, and it’s clearly resonated with a lot of romance readers (and women in general). For this edition of Stuff You Should Be Stitching, I’m focusing on Wonder Woman-themed awesomeness. Now, you might have noticed that this column title changed from Stuff You Should Be Knitting. That’s because I’m going to try and focus more on cross stitch, needlepoint, sewing, and crochet as well. I’ll … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Stitching: Wonder Woman→
Spring is officially here and it’s time for another edition of Stuff You Should Be Knitting where we link to some awesome free patterns on the interwebs. For me, spring is an excuse to bust out all the colored yarns and work on some bright, happy projects. If you like to knit with color, then Stephen West is the designer for you. His projects are a little on the wild side and totally addictive to … Continue reading Stuff You Should Be Knitting: Color→
