Crochet Blues...

[eurolyons]

I think it was last year I wrote a similar thread about not feeling in the mood to crochet and I know that I'll get over that feeling...I always do...this time though, although the feeling isn't as bad as last year, I just feel like I'm in limbo...not to mention that I have projects that really cannot be put off for very long...one's a test pattern, and the rest are serious Christmas presents.

 

I'm not just "burned out" with crocheting, I feel burned out in general...but then I think it's not that I'm burned out, just feeling disconnected and in limbo over our homelife situation. This coming spring I might be moving home to the states permanently and might have to be separated from my husband for up to a year...but we can't move forward with any plans until after the holidays...

 

Meanwhile, I'm doing what I can to not entirely shut down...I'm babystepping things...even my crocheting. I have faith, I know I'll meet the most important crocheting goals...

 

Still, I just felt like I had to write this out...hopefully it will help me feel a bit better and I'll be back to crocheting at the speed and level I usually am crocheting at.

 

Thanks for listening...

[christinascrochethaven]

I'm so sorry that you are feeling down. I hope you lose the blues soon. :hug

[livedinalaska]

Life can be so overwhelming at times. (hug)

[magiccrochetfan]

It sounds like you have a lot going on, yet it is all kind of hanging there and you can't do anything to resolve it, you just have to wait and see. That kind of thing, in my experience, is very wearing.

 

You are a master crocheter, I am sure you will get out of your slump Maybe either something very easy or very challenging would be a good project now? Best wishes to you!

[darski]

I'll be praying that you can get to peace in all of the chaos around your life just now. it is not easy and you are right to talk to others about it. It can help you to get focussed and it lets you know that others care about you and want your best.

 

Just know that people are in your corner and don't feel you are going it alone when we are here and will talk (well type ) when you need us.

 

:hug :hug

[Momcrochets]

Not knowing and being in limbo are (IMHO) some of the hardest places to be! for you and a hang in there. have a :cuppa. We're all pulling for you, and we know the blues will pass. May they pass quickly, and may crochet be the therapy that gets you there. maybe you need a new WIP that's not a gift...do something just for you...even if its something little to perk you up. even in between your other wips. (I can sometimes feel over WIP'd this time of year too, and ironically adding a tiny "for me" can really help)

[eurolyons]

Oh man, I'm literally in tears over your wonderful posts...thank you for the crochet love, I really, really appreciate it...and it really does help...hugs back to you all...*where's my tissue...*

[Carol]

We're pulling for you. All my prayers,

Carol

[alibra]

:hugSounds like you need a hug...and a prayer..both are there!!

[purlwise]

Euro, it sounds like SAD to me. Seasonal Affective Disorder, usually starts in the early Fall and is brought on by the days becoming shorter and you don't get enough light. This is can actually be quite serious for some folks. Couple of suggestions: 1) get out in the sun during the day when you can 2) you can buy a light box that you sit in front of (while you crochet) for an hour or so a day 3) see your Dr who may suggest a short program of antidepressants (just a couple of months) to get you through the Fall and Winter. Generally as the days get longer, people start to feel better. If you go to the doctor and are diagnosed with SAD, you can actually get you medical insurance to reimburse you for the light box! You don't have to feel down, it's a real condition and many people suffer from it.

[Warrior Maiden]

*hugs* I hope things get better for you, Eurolyons. It does sound like SAD to me as well, maybe with everything that's going on, it makes things worse as well.

[Scorpio59]

I just looked a your slideshow. You do beautiful work and you have a beautiful smile!

 

I hope the sad feeling pass soon. You're in Germany? Can I ask where? My mom was born in Germany. Kaiserslautern.

[eurolyons]

Thank you again everyone...

 

to Scorpio...my husband has been in and out of Germany with the Army since 1968. We 'met' shortly after his last tour here in 1997 when I rented the top floor of his house in the states. He was back 9 months later, and 6 months after that, we fell in love. A year later we came to Germany when he was hired for a private contractor job doing what he was doing while in the Army. We've been here for 8 years.

 

It might be a little SAD, I'm not entirely ruling that out, but usually around this time we have gone back to the states for our yearly trip and then come back and deal with jet lag and a bit of home sickness...however, this year the trip was in August, so we're over the jet lag, but not the home sickness part...the limbo part, and the euro just really taking it's toll on our wallets is just getting harder and harder to deal with though. We're tired and we want to go home...

 

I do get out nearly every day...we live in Leimen which is next door to Heidelberg. We love Germany...but as I was telling my hairdresser and he understood, it's not our "real" home...we always knew we'd move back.

 

Just thought we'd have moved back by now.

 

Anyway, seriously I appreciate all the kind words and hugs...and I know I just have to take each day at a time...and babystep my way back into my work. For me, I would say the real SAD's comes around January/February...I seriously hit the wall then...the stress of the holidays is over, it's cold outside and I don't want to think or do much of anything...but this time...I really think it's the added pressure of being in limbo with our move home...but like I said, I do get out nearly every day. This week especially.

[eurolyons]

Oh and thank you for the compliments on my work and my smile...much appreciated.

[cjansen]

Maybe a piece that you can leave with your husband. or have him sleep with you can bring back with his smell on it. I know it sounds yucky but all the nights my husband worked it helped me sleep well.

[CrochettingMama]

I have times where I just feel burned out on everything too, even my crochet.

Hang in there!!

[Angeleyz14]

I am sorry you are feeling blue...went through that last month...doing a bit better this month(think my lethargy is due to the fact I am pregnant and have a shorter attention span than normal:lol). I am also sorry you might be separated for so long...been there, done that and hate it but...

:hug:hug:hug:hug:hug

to help get you through it all. Know we are here for you and thinking of you!!!!

[cgd]

Euro, I'm sorry that you're feeling blue. I can totally relate to the limbo feeling. DH and I put our house on the market in late April, put a bunch of stuff in storage, and it took five months to sell the house. We finally got moved to our new house two weeks ago, but it seemed like forever, and with the market in the toilet here, I wondered if the move would happen at all.

 

I too have not crocheted in awhile and need to get back into it to finish some Christmas gifts. I was so focused on the closing, move, utilities, plus handling my job (very busy there lately), son etc., that hobbies kind of took a back seat.

 

Your limbo state won't last forever, even though it seems that it will. I know it's tough for military families, and I have the utmost respect because the family serves along with the soldier/officer.

[eurolyons]

Update...still dragging, but am babystepping back into crocheting...I've been working on this one sweater for a dear friend back in the states. She and her husband were our neighbors there, but this week they moved off island to an assisted living facility. I'm really grieving this move, even though it's the best for them. Now they'll be about an hour from us (in the states...that is, since I'm still here in Germany...)

 

I did pick up some St. John's Wort and have been really good about taking it this week, and it is having some affect, but I think it's just gonna take time to get my motor purring like a kitten...

 

Thank you for the loving words and support...I really appreciate it.

[Cherokee2]

I'm very sorry you feel so down. Earlier this year, I lost my sister-in-law, who was my best friend, and a month later, we lost my dad! Plus right after my dad died, I went through some serious marital problems, and though the worst is over, I'm still leery. I lost interest in so many things during that time...didn't clean house, barely kept up with laundry or anything else. But the good news is, these things do pass, given enough time. We can't force it...just be patient and let it resolve itself. If I could reach out, I would give you a big hug.

Occasionally, I have put my crochet aside for months at a time, just got burned out and lost interest. But eventually, I do pick it up again, and other things as well. I used to sew a lot, now my back kills me when I sit at the machine for an hour or more, but with crochet I can lean back and rest while I'm doing it.

I will pray for you to get out of the 'blues' and feel much better soon!

[eurolyons]

Well, thought I'd give an update...I'm not quite so blue...I've actually completed a project...a test pattern for Katchkan...so that's something. With my other projects, I'm making very slow progress on one sweater and the other two are completely, dead battery in the car, stalled...eventually they'll get done, not sure if in time for Christmas, just have to see how it goes...the kids might get them in January...

 

Everything just feels like it's moving in slow motion no matter how much I get done around the house...but I'm not beating myself about it as much...that wasn't doing much good anyway.

 

With few exceptions though, there's not much in the world of crochet that's inspiring, or motivating me at the moment...not like it has been in the past...but you know what...I'm just gonna look it like one does with any long term commitment and relationship...I'm not abandoning crochet...I'll do what I can when I can...I'll press on a little hear and there...but I'm not gonna pack away my hooks and forget about them for 4 years or long until the "bug" hits again...no, not this time...of all needle arts, crochet is my first love, may not be my only love, but it's my first...with sewing an extremely close second...and I've come back to both again and again and again...sometimes after long absenses...but this time, one way or the other I'll get these projects done...I just wish I wasn't feeling like I'm slogging through sand to do it...

 

Thanks for reading and thanks for the encouragement.

[magiccrochetfan]

Eurolyons, I'm glad to hear you are feeling a bit better. I'm sure after a little break, you will get back to crocheting. Hang in there!:hook:hook