Monday update of crafty meanderings

This is some of what I’ve been creating this week…

I found a mandala that had been started quite sometime ago and was about a quarter towards completion, so I finished it. I made the pattern up as I went along…

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As I enjoyed it so much I thought I needed to expand my skills so I purchased this…

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It’s published by Interweave Press so I knew it would be good.  As soon as it arrived I hooked up this one…

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I started and finished a pair of socks. Go me!…

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Eleonora continues to beaver away over at Coastal Crochet blog designing new rows for us each week. Here’s my blankets with their latest rows added…

There’s a couple of other items that I haven’t managed to work on this week. I have been spinning and I’m about halfway through a 350 gram bag mix of merino and silk from John Arbon Textiles. I can’t get the colour right but here it is thus far…

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I’m struggling at the moment and I’m not sure how to put it into words. It’s a lot of things and most of it underpinned by lack of self worth. I’m also affected by a lack of understanding by a person this week of the limitations of my sensory processing disorder. The person does not read my blog.

I’m letting you know as I sense myself withdrawing into myself even more than usual. I think it might help me to acknowledge this.

So that’s it for now. Thanks so much for dropping by ❤

Author: yarnandpencil

I'm a Christian on the autistic spectrum blogging about life and my art/craft practice.

77 thoughts on “Monday update of crafty meanderings”

  3. OMG! Gorgeous works. I am going to look up the mandala pattern, I have so much yarn left over from the blanket I made over Christmas. It would look lovely in my bedroom. 🙂
    I do hope you feel better really soon Tracey. I don’t like to hear of anyone who is feeling out of sorts.

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  5. WOW! What a lot of lovely things! Sorry to hear that you are struggling emotionally and that someone was hurtful. Hope you feel more able to engagae with the world again soon.

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  9. Self worth is something many of us struggle with. I think that we often compare ourselves to others, and that we forget we are comparing apples to oranges. I have been thinking alot about this lately. Blogged about it recently, and will probably be blogging about it more.

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  12. As I looked at your lovely mandalas it occurred to me that these are the doilies my grandma hooked, except in color! You are going to get to go yarn shopping sooner rather than later at this rate.😍 (I know that is heart breaking news for you, 😂) The socks are the perfect thing for you right now. Put them on and remind yourself that you are one special lady, and you are pure sunshine. Finally, the spinning….oh wow! It is simply gorgeous. Oh. My. Goodness. 🌸🌺🌼🌹

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  13. You might not feel you’re getting the colour right, but that yarn looks lovely (as do your mandalas). I really like the blue and how it just pops against the green. 🙂

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  14. Hi Tracey. I’m glad you posted your gorgeous créations, and thank you for being brave enough to share your struggles with us. I also struggle with self worth, and with the tendency to retreat into myself when things get tough. Please don’t withdraw though… I love seeing you here. It’s easy to say ‘that’s just one person being insensitive, just ignore them, there are loads of people out there who appreciate you just as you are’, but i also know how hard that is to believe and to put into action. But, I’m saying it anyway because I think it’s true, and because I think it’s important to hear positive things even if we struggle to accept them at the time. I do hope you can gain strength from others around you, and hold onto your uniqueness and how important and special you are. Xxx

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    1. Hi Julia, thank you so much for your kind comments ❤ I thought that perhaps admitting that I feel myself withdrawing might prevent it from worsening. I hope it does. You are right too in that reiterating positive thoughts where negative ones take precedent really helps. So thank you again for your kind and thoughtful words 🙂
      I’ve just been over to your blog as I don’t think I’ve visited for a while. While there I changed the settings in the reader so that I get an email notification of when you publish posts. I saw a post about a flow book. It’s rather lovely. I must go back for another look 👀

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                1. Lol 😆 I’m not so sure about that 🙂 I keep reminding myself of the paper products that I have already that remain unused. I was given a big box of scrapbooking stuff from America. I enjoy journaling but not scrapbooking. I need to have a big sorting session methinks.

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                  1. Sorting is good… Sorting always makes me remember what I actually have in my stash and want to use it…. So I never get rid of it but I do have renewed enthusiasm and purpose for it!! What I’ve liked about the flow book is that I’ve used it for different things. I wrote a really long prayer on several sheets of pretty paper, which was important as it was a kind of ‘starting over’ prayer getting tons of stuff in the open between me and God, I’ve written letters to people on other sheets, and I’ve used some to decorate the art journal freebie I had. It’s quite fun having a selection of papers to play with.

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                  2. Thank you, that’s really helpful to know how you are using your flow book. I loved that one of the uses is to channel a conversation with God. I was doing something similar a couple of years ago and I found it such a blessing but somehow I got out of the way of doing it. I feel that I must get back to doing that again 🙂 Thanks Julia 🌹🌻🌼❤ I’m going to have a sort out and then reward myself with a flow book 😆

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                  3. Oh you’ve made me smile such a big smile! I do hope you enjoy it when you get it. I really enjoyed using the paper to write to God. I’d realised I hadn’t been being really honest with him, but that’s because I wasn’t being honest with myself either. Writing on such pretty paper made my writing intentional (and I find writing prayers more intentional than speaking them anyway) and gave me the opportunity to really find out what was going on in my heart, and to be honest about it. Now those pages are acting as a bookmark in the devotional I’m using through lent,which means I’ve ré read the prayer a few times since, which has been helpful. After that à friend suggested keeping a spiritual journal, and I’ve been writing shorter prayers and reflections in a beautiful notebook my sister gave me that has different designs and colours on the pages, so I’m really enjoying using that too. I do hope you find a way to get back to the same sort of thing. It’s kind of nice to have somewhere that I can include artwork too… And I’m wondering whether to add spiritual reflections to my art journal now… I Think that could be really cool, and would be something I’d be more likely to look back over in the future… Oooh, so Many ideas!! I hope you have a lovely day today, and sense God’s presence with you, whatever you are doing 💕

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                  5. I started the sort out today, yay 🙌 and actually I don’t have as much pretty paper as I thought. (I say pretty paper to differentiate from drawing paper which I do have a fair amount of.) LH was going into town so I asked him to call into WHSmith’s and buy a flow for me if they had one or a Daphne’s Diary if not. He came home with a DDiary 🙂 I will buy a Flow online.
                    When I was keeping a faith journal before it became about praise and prayer and the little affirmations that occur. I loved it ❤ I will start again 🙂 thank you so much for your encouragement.
                    You could certainly try it in you art journal. It will be exciting to see where it leads. Maybe two journals will develop into one or send you down a totally different route.
                    The notebook your sister gave you sounds lovely 🙂
                    Writing down ones thoughts and prayers to God helps focus the mind whereas with prayers attempted in my head I find my thoughts wander off in all directions.
                    Thank you, and yes I have had a better day xx xx 😚❤

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                  6. I’ve not heard of a daphnes diary before… I’ll have to check that out! Well done for starting the sort out when you thought of it. That’s the kind of thing I put off and then never quite get round to!
                    I’m with you on written prayers being more focused than in my head ones. It’s like I can’t even complete a sentence when I’m saying a prayer as I keep getting distracted by so many new thoughts.
                    It was so exciting to read your post and the post you’d linked to 😊 enjoy the journey

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                  7. Aww, thanks Julia 🙂 I’m on a roll…I’ve now organised a wee journaling area with just a few bits and pieces ❤💛💜 Thank you so much for your encouragement. I do believe my mood had lifted 😆🌹🌻🌼❤

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  15. I hope you feel better soon! Lack of self worth is this sneaky beast that wait hidden for the best moment to strike and when it does, it knows exactly how to hurt us. Hope you can kick it and make it go away!
    Your projects are beautiful and so colourful ❤ If I may ask a silly question: what do you do with your mandalas? I love mandalas and how they look but I have this annoying need to find a purpose in things and so I always try to turn them into cushion covers or doilies and if I fail to find a use, I can't bring myself to crochet one. Ugh, mind is such a strange thing…

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    1. Thank you Kat 🙂 I’ve given all mine away in the past. The two I’ve just made are showing themselves off on one of our deep window seat/sills in the sitting room along with a couple of other objects that are also circular. I imagine I might give one away as I know someone who loves sunflowers 🙂 I quite like the idea of joining a lot of mandalas together either in a line as a table runner or in a blanket type way. They could also be joined into a scarf… I think the best way to approach their possible uses is not to think of them just as a colourful doiley (?sp). I’ve seen lovely curtains made out of old fashioned doilies. Very pretty. Pinterest is a great place for ideas ❤💛💜

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  19. Beautiful things. I’m sure it helps to keep working at your crafts when you feel lacking in self-worth. I live with this problem too and find it can paralyze me and I end up achieving very little. When I make myself get on and create, I feel much better. 🙂

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  21. Sorry Tracey to hear you have been struggling. Your work is so beautiful. I love the Mandalas and your other lovely projects. You have so many talents and are always so supportive of other people and I can tell you it means a lot. Everyone has moments of self-doubt. I know I do. Just do what makes you feel good. xxxx

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  25. Socks elude me! Well done. The mandalas are beautiful 😊 they make me think of my grandmothers doilies but in rainbow hues. Are they delightful to make? I’m tempted to try. Thank you for sharing your stitching, it always makes me smile ❤️

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    1. Thank you Suzanne 🙂 I’m always delighted to have made someone smile 😃
      Yes I think they are doilies really and they are fun to make. I collect old fashioned doilies and embroidered textiles. I’ve seen very pretty curtains made from old doilies. My bedroom curtain is made from an embroidery my mum made as a child ❤

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  26. Beautiful creations – I’m loving all the colour!
    I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling. It must be so hard when people can’t or won’t try to understand what life is like in your shoes.
    There are plenty of people here in the blogging world that will assure you of your self-worth – please always share when you feel this way, so that we can do our best to lift you up and make you see how much you matter! XX

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    1. You are lovely Mags, thank you so much ❤ People have been so kind and supportive with their thoughts and prayers. It was a good move to write about it as it did really help and so far I seem to have stopped withdrawing any further. Sending you love and hugs xoxox ❤💐🌼

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    1. Thank you. I was at the garden centre this morning and a woman was at the pet counter till purchasing zig zag yarn so I couldn’t help but ask her if she was going to make socks! Yes was the reply and we both immediately started unzipping boots to show of socks off 😆😆

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    1. Hi Anthonia, thank you ❤ Yes I’m currently weaving the baby alpaca yarn I spun as a weft with a Drops Lace warp which is alpaca and silk. I haven’t done much as I’m busy making journals. Thanks so much for coming back to visit xx 🌼💐🌸

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