Life and Depression (but with a pretty cowl)

I haven't posted here in a while. Things have been rather difficult these last, oh, seven months or so. The one year anniversary of my dad's death kind of threw me in for a loop and everything else (depression and anxiety wise) came crashing down on top of it all. I've lost interest in a lot of my favorite activities (yes, including knitting). I've done a few things here and there, but nothing substantial. Things are lying about either half finished or just started and it's hard to get the gumption to pick it up. I have an excuse for everything: I'm tired, I have a headache, I don't have the energy, I need to clean the apartment, etc. So needless to say, this latest bout of melancholia has interfered with my life. But, in small baby steps, I'm hoping to turn it around.

I have a tendency when I get fed up with something (work, relationships, depression, my weight, etc.) that I think I'm going to make a drastic change overnight. Which, as anyone with a brain can tell you, is not the best way to go about doing things. So I'm trying this time to go a lil bit slower. Which is why I'm writing this post. It's something small and manageable that will give me a lil boost of confidence for the day. Then maybe later tonight or tomorrow I'll pick something else up and work on and that'll give me two boosts to be proud of. Then tomorrow maybe a lil more. And hopefully things will snowball in a positive way.

Since I haven't been crafting much lately, or reading, or writing I don't have much to share. But I do have pics of a lovely cowl I made for my friend Lauren. She was kind enough to take pictures of her wearing it for me:

 

The pattern was purchased as a kit from Craftsy. On a trip to Iris Fine Yarns in Appleton, WI Lauren picked out the buttons -- a beautiful green that works beautifully with the pink yarn. The only difficulty I had with the pattern was picking up the stitches on the back side. It's knit one side at a time and you pick up the stitches from the cast on to knit in the other direction. My stitches didn't transfer very well, but I didn't obsess over it because it's in the back and Lauren was kind of amazed with the knitting anyway. lol As long as the front pieces looked okay, I was happy.

I encourage you to try knitting from a kit once -- it's so nice. The yarn comes with the pattern and you can just get started. No guessing if this yarn is the correct one for the pattern or whatnot. Plus, getting mail that aren't bills is exciting. And yarn mail is even more exciting. Craftsy has a great selection and often has sales.

Well, my darlings. That's all I can do for today. I'll try to post more often. Maybe once a month or so to keep you apprised to my progress (overall and knitting-wise). Take care and fondle some yarn today.