I’ve been busy creating more crochet patterns for pet blankets and researching the topic of “stress-mitigation”, in preparation for my next e-book. I began this research at the end of last year, not knowing how applicable it would be in 2020. One of the many blessings of CFC, which I never anticipated even in the slightest, is how beneficial crafting often is to the people wielding the hooks and needles.
I’ve learned over the past 13 years, just how relaxing and rewarding it is to make these cute little blankets. It seems “crafting” is a wonderful way to unwind and even counter-act the stressors we all experience.
I asked readers, in my last newsletter, to tell me how making blankets was helping their mental health as they deal with the new reality of Covid-19. By far, the greatest number of people told me that they make blankets to relax, especially given all that is going on in the daily news. A close second, was the need for people to be able to do something positive. That certainly doesn’t surprise me at all!
Without exception, CFC volunteers and supporters are among the best people on the planet. People who have joined our team want to roll up their sleeves and help charities, not stay home. I’m so happy that our helpers can still stay at home, stay busy and make a huge difference.
My research is leading down paths of crafting as active meditation, as triggering the “relaxation response,” having a positive influence on anxiety and depression, and many more avenues. I cannot wait to share it with everyone!
If you’d like to contribute to what I’m learning, I’d love to (privately) hear your perspective. Please email me at Linda@ComfortForCritters.org and I’ll send you a few questions to answer. As we all look for our own ways of dealing with the heightened stress of 2020, it often helps to hear that others are searching this out as well. Your thoughts, experiences, successes and even failures in “crafting through stress” can be yet another way you can help others. Bless you!
