Yarn Therapy

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2014 and I thought the mermaid tails were that last ever grandma made gifts for my grandchildren. My hand became swollen and painful and finally started deforming. I drop things all the time, it hurt to even to hold a brush to brush my hair. Medicine helped but I just couldn't pick up my crocheting hook without pain. I basically felt like I couldn’t do anything anymore.

I felt very depressed about not being able to crochet again, I was taught by my mother as a child and loved to crochet. She was a knitter but I never could knit. After my mother got dementia, I had so many questions for her that she could no longer answer -all of her yarns and needles and thread were given to me. I gave most of it away because I didn’t feel I could crochet anymore. Sad to give it all away, but at least it went to people who could use it.

I got even more depressed at my health not taking much interest is doing any crafts at all. But one day I was on a online craft chat and some people were talking about a new type of crochet hook, it had a thick and chucky handle and was made to help people with arthritis, so many people were saying that it was the best hook, so I decided to get some. - My whole crafting world opened up again! I could crochet for hours and actually I have more pain on the days I don't crochet! Crocheting is like physical therapy and mood therapy at the same time. I am so happy that crocheting is actually helping regain movement I thought I had lost for good.

So I am making bunnies at Easter, baby toys, dolls, and tree decorations at Christmas and giving them to my grandchildren and other people too.

I gave away so much of mom's yarn, very high quality that I really would like to purchase again and would love to be able to buy more craft items made for people with disabilities.

Scissors can be hard to use with my hands but the better the scissors the easier they cut. I would love my very own set of fiskars like my mom had, and woe to anyone who used them on paper! She literally had scissors stashed all over the house where us 7 kids couldn’t find them easily. From my earliest memories I can still see all the projects mom used to do. My father was in the military so having a large family was a challenge. Mom was constantly altering our clothing to fit the younger kids, and we always traveled with her trusty sewing machine to every new place my father was stationed at……even Japan!

I also remember her crocheting Christmas gifts for us, one year she made me a huge crocheted mouse and I loved it!

Once we grew up and started out own families, mom started making large quilts for us, she even won 1st prize at out county fair for one of her largest quilts. The quilt she made for me is a star spangled quilt that will always be one of my family heirlooms to be passed down to my children.

That is what I like most about home crafts, the fact that it will always be a memory of the mother, or grandmother, or child who made it with loving care with their own hands.

So far, one of my children knits and one embroiders, so we will be passing these memories down for many years to come. I miss talking to my mom a lot, but when I look at the last quilt she made me, I can still see and hear her saying how much she loved us!