Some of the items that I made have specific organizations in mind that I will donate items to, while there are people who will just ask if I can make something for the organization or cause. Sometimes I will and sometimes I won’t. That’s the privilege of being an adult and crocheting for pleasure. Many people will say, you should sell your things. The cost of the materials that I would want to use, not to mention labor makes this difficult.
I have 24 scarves already spoken for this year and I was planning to donate them to my local shelter and my best friend’s mom asked for hats and scarves for the homeless. This will be a great opportunity to help me use up the yarn that I have.
This may not be a sexy picture, but it represents warmth. Between the two bags (which are technically log carriers) there are 24 scarves. This photo does not include the two already given away or the red scarves which are in a different bag – so they won’t be given away by mistake. As I mentioned that I was planning to use up the yarn that I have in my working stash another project comes along. I actually thought I had made more than I had but I did have three scarves that I gave up on and two that I ave away as gifts. That’s pretty cool. Working with yarn that I like makes a project go by quickly. I finished a hat this afternoon because once you get through that tedious beginning band part (I do bottom up) it’s smooth sailing, especially when you are working on a baby hat. Many books have been written about mindful projects. It is nice to have projects where you are really concentrating on what you are doing and focusing on the stitches and the recipient. Most of the time, I like to zone out since crocheting is a relaxing pastime for me. The deadlines that I have are imposed by me, so if a group is requesting winter items, I can donate… or not. That is the most wonderful thing about crocheting for pleasure.
I suppose mindfulness comes in when I realize what yarns I like and don’t like to work with, which makes the process enjoyable or abysmal. Relaxing while being productive is what is the best part of crocheting. I look forward to spending time during the week relaxing and adding to my cache of finished projects. People who know me will ask where I donate items to or if I have some items to add to their group’s project. I earmark some items for specific groups and then just make things, because there is always a need and if I make them (scarves, hats, etc.) they will go to someone in need.
