Therapeutic Thursday?

*note from Prattle*

Why be a "CrochetRockstar" and what does it mean? Well, for one thing I'm REALLY good at it.. I don't toot my own horn very often, but this is one gift I KNOW I have been given! And now that my grandmothers have passed, it's a way for me to remember them.

Finding any hobby is a stress reliever, anything that can get your mind on what is in front of you for a while and de-compress is healthy. I am sometimes a #crochetaddict or a #cookingaddict or a #craftingaddict, but it's things I enjoy and helps me deal with stress. I hope all our readers have something they enjoy to "get away from it all" for a while every couple of days!

Knitting and Crochet Tote Releases Stress

By: Marly Schuman

source text: http://tinyurl.com/2fvcseu

source photos: mine, Prattle

A knitting and crochet tote is something a lot of people simply walk past in tourist shops or push to the back of their closet most of the year. This is not the case in my family. Knitting and crochet has always been a big part of my grandma's life, and I never really knew why until last week.

For every possible holiday my grandma would throw in a knitting and crochet tote along with another little gift. I think she knew I didn't use them, even though I hung each one on the back of my door like I would need to use it any day. She just said she made so many that she didn't need them anymore. I think she always hoped that I would start getting interested in knitting and crochet just like she did when she was my age.

I volunteered to drive my grandma to her knitting and crochet club last Tuesday, not knowing it was over half an hour away. She walked up to the car with her usual knitting and crochet tote and her supplies in tow. We had a lot of time to pass, so naturally we started talking about her knitting club meeting that day. She told me how she started knitting and crocheting in the first place and why she continued to keep the habit for 62 years and counting. She said that with all the stress in her life with working and raising three kids, she needed something to keep her calm. She needed something constant that could keep her mind off of everything else in her life that was bothering her.

I didn't believe her at first that each knitting and crochet tote I saw her carrying acted as a stress reliever. After some research online later, I found out that she was right! Activities like knitting and crochet have a calming effect that can help manage anxiety and, as a result, even help medical conditions such as asthma or panic attacks. As a result of the stress relieving properties, knitting and crochet can also strengthen the body's immune system.

So yesterday when I was driving my grandma back to her last club meeting, I looked at her knitting and crochet tote with a feeling of admiration and interest. I decided to do something I generally vowed never to do: I went into the meeting. I did go very well prepared, though. I looked up a Complete Beginners Guide to Knitting and Free Easy Crochet Patterns and Beginners Help. I was pretty much baffled on my own and I was getting stressed just trying to figure out what all of these new terms meant.

At this last meeting I began something of my own. I made a crochet tote bag that was so easy, and I finally had a knitting and crochet tote bag of my own for all my supplies. I finally made a bag that I'm going to actually use! After the meeting I decided that I'm going to look into some other stress relieving techniques, like a Ripple Afghan Crochet Pattern for my new apartment. Who knew staying calm and healthy could be so easy?