Crochet is my therapy, what’s yours?

 I’ve always loved being crafty for as long as I can remember. In the holidays we would go to hobby craft with my Nan and pick something to make and often my Auntie and cousins would get involved too! It wasn’t until after I had Henry that I discovered crochet thanks to one of my afore mentioned cousins 😉 so I’ve been doing it for roughly 3 years, a relative newby. 

In the lead up to having Floss I made loads of crocheted items for her, mainly because I could barely move from a ginomorous bump (im aware I’ve made that word up) and the ridiculous heat of a Gibraltar summer! 

Baby booties that she may have never worn… but they were worth making just to look at!

You’re probably thinking.. a cardi, in summer? But the midwives assured me that it would be cold in the hospital!

But it’s been since I’ve had Flossie that I’ve found real value in my love for crochet.

After feeling a bit low after the birth of Henry I anticipated the same this time, especially with being away from family and friends. What I didn’t expect was to feel the absolute lowest I’ve ever felt, to feel I’d lost myself and to feel in, what I can only describe as, despair. I don’t hesitate using these words because I was, in total honesty, completely floored by the way I felt. 

Anyway I don’t want to dwell on those feelings too much, only to explain the situation as such. 

After speaking to family members and a lovely lady from the mental health unit here, I realised that one way I could make myself feel myself again was to not stop doing the things that make me, me! 

My adaptation of an amigurumi doll with the addition of a flowery bonnet and a lacey collar.

Crochet isn’t the only thing I love doing, I also love a good book and a Netflix series or two 😉. But I made sure I made time for these things, in between the madness of looking after a newborn and a 2 year old of course! Now, if I don’t have a project or a good book on the go I do feel a real sense that something is missing, so I actively search for a book or have a peruse of Pinterest to get my creative juices flowing. 

Of course there’s that usual mummy guilt whenever you don’t dedicate every waking second to your gorgeous children but I’ve found quite a good balance now. 
When Flossie’s in bed in the afternoon and Henry’s playing with his toys or watching a film, I’ll sit on the floor with him and answer his 57 million questions and talk ‘Thomas’ at the same time as a bit of crochet! Obviously it’s not always a smooth session, we have many wee and snack breaks or a quick sprint to re-insert a lost dummy but hey, is mummy’s are good at multi-tasking right?? 

I’ve also begun meeting up with a group of like minded ladies in the week to crochet and discuss our ‘therapy’ together. 

Making time for crochet and the things I love, wasn’t the only key to my recovery, but it was definitely a big part of it! 

What’s your ‘Therapy’? What do you do that makes you, you? Sometimes life gets in the way of us dedicating much time to these things but I feel it’s so important, for our mental health and overall sanity, that we really try to fit them in where we can. 

If you fancy having a go at the amigurumi dolls I got the pattern from the very talented lalylala. You can buy the pattern here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lalylala 

Unfortunately I can’t remember where the pattern for the little shoes came from.. but the cardi was definitely from a ‘Love Crochet’ magazine 🙂