Crohn's and Crochet
After a long health hiatus from the blog, I am back … and I brought patterns!
Emmet graph , Lucy graph , and Benny graph
For the last several years I have been dealing with a great deal of health issues with a major milestone diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease in October 2022. I’m still actively trying to gain a healthy base-line and reach remission, but it’s a slow and frustrating process that I am afraid I’ve had little success with.
Fortunately - one constant that has helped me through all my health troubles is crochet. Crochet for me is meditative. It’s my downtime, my relaxation, my escape from the day-to-day and I receive great joy from the creative process. The combination of quietly counting my stitches with gentle recurrent hand motions and focus on the work is a great stress-reducer. Some might say it forces you to be present, to be in the here-and-now, and one thing I’ve learned is that Crohn’s is hugely affected by stress … so it’s no wonder that crochet has been so good for me.
My friends’ group of fellow like minded crochet enthusiasts is also growing, which only brings me more happiness and they are so wonderful and comforting in times when I’m feeling like total crap! There’s something to be said about a good laugh at a crochet night with great people to make you feel so good!
Even though I’m an engineer by day, there’s nothing I love more than creating. Whether music, drawing, painting, and crocheting … all for me are calming and exciting at the same time. My friends have for quite some time now encouraged me to pursue my creative endeavors more seriously … but I had no idea where to start!
I never predicted I’d be here someday; creating crochet patterns?!?! But it is so enjoyable for me … everything from color and yarn selection to deciphering stitch counts, sizing and combinations, to the final product is gratifying and entertaining for me. Using Excel to make graphgans combines math and art which I never would have imagined would have let me to open my own Etsy shop for crochet patterns … but yet, here I am!
It’s true that you never know where life will take you … as Mary Poppins said “Open different doors. You may find a you there that you never knew was yours”.
