12 Ways to Get Your Crojo Back

Hi, you guys welcome. I'm Brada KB Anderson. And in this live event, it's gonna be a little bit different than my usual live events where I'm usually crocheting or showing you how to make things in some way. Um In this event, we are just gonna be talking about, first of all, um losing your crow, Joe, what exactly that means and how to get it back. Ok, so, um and I wanna make sure that you guys all know, I love it when you guys participate. If you guys have suggestions for other people, you might be really, really helping someone out by putting it in the chat box, but please don't hesitate to do that. I love hearing from you. Um And I know that you guys have lots of really good ideas out there. So please add to our conversation in that way. That would be really awesome. Also, if you have any questions or need any clarification for anything, um need to see something again or whatever. Just, you know, just let me know, just pop back in and let me know and I'll try to get everything answered during this event. So what the heck is Croo, right. So may maybe some of you guys already know what I'm talking about. Um But Croo is sort of like saying crocheted Mojo. So it's sort of like the magic you possess as a crochet that makes you successful. And um and that doesn't necessarily mean mean, you know, successful in the way that you have to make perfect projects all the time. It just means like you're, you're happy when you crochet, it's doing something good for you. Um You, you're excited to do it. You just sort of have this feeling about you being a crochet or being able to make something with your two hands and a piece of string and one little hook. I mean, it's, it's kind of magical, it's kind of amazing, right? And a lot of people use crochet as a way to decompress or a way to ex, you know, um sort of explore their creativity um to, you know, for some people, it might just be like, it might be very, the therapeutic for some people. I know it is for me. Um So when you start feeling like, oh man, I used to love to crochet and now I do not feel like doing it. Like, what is wrong with me? What is wrong? Why can't I, why I used to be able to, you know, grab my yarn and feel better or get really into this. And man, I don't even feel like I don't even feel like doing anymore. Um But there's something about that feeling where you still, somewhere in there you still feel like, but I really want that back, right? So, you know, it's important to you and maybe that's why you're here and you've joined us. Um So we're gonna be talking about ways to get that back to get that feeling of like being excited to crochet. Um you know, being able to share pictures with other people or share projects with other people, gifting things to people, just that whole feeling of crocheting and, and making your life better for it, you know, making you happy or making you calm or, you know, getting you over some kind of stress or even just being fun to be a creative person, you know, just making something with your hands is can be really satisfying. So, um so anyway, um the first thing I want you to think about if you have lost your rojo, a place to start is to think, ok, why did this happen? And you may not know and that's ok if you just are like, I don't know, I just don't feel like doing it. That's OK. That's all right. But if you think about it and you kind of have some ideas, you know, there could be things like, you know, you're just bored with what you're working on. It could be something like, you know, you need a, you need a bigger challenge or maybe you are feeling overwhelmed by your project. Maybe you're, you've made a bunch of mistakes in it and you're like, I'm putting you in the time out box and now you just don't feel like crocheting at all. You know, it could be that or it could be something that is a little bit more serious. Like, maybe you are grieving or going through, you know, some other kind of, you know, like, well being issues, ok? So if it's something like that, of course, you're gonna need to talk to somebody or figure those things out probably before your crow job comes back or may or maybe not. But as you know, I encourage you to get the help that you need. Of course, if, if those, if those are the reasons you don't feel like crocheting because that, you know, sometimes when we get depressed or have anxiety issues or other things like that, it can make you feel like you don't wanna do the things you used to enjoy, right? So that's just kind of something to look out for just something to think about. You know, is that why it's happening and then get the help that you need and just know, of course, crochet will always be there for you. It'll always be ready to pick up wherever you, whenever you jump back into it. So just have that in your head, you know, it'll, it'll be there. Um And you don't need to feel like you're on some sort of like time frame like, oh man, if I, if I don't start crocheting now it's just gonna slip away and I'll never do it. It's not, that's not gonna happen, it's gonna be fine. Ok. So sometimes you have to solve other little problems first before you can come back to the ones that are bugging you right now. So. Ok. So if the reason is that you are bored, oh, I wanna mention too. It's a sad picture of me losing my croo here. This is a download. Um And, and it has a bunch of notes, what I'm gonna be talking through today, my 12 ideas that I have to share with you today about how to get your croo back. Um And there is a little section at the end, of course, there's always the section where you can write down notes. Um You can write down notes about what we talked about or maybe you wanna write down notes of things that you have discovered about yourself, ways to get your croo back or other things to think about. Ok, that are related to this. So that might be very helpful to or if people jump in and have suggestions here, that'd be a great place to add those notes too. If other people, other people might have other suggestions on how to get your croo back. Ok. So the next thing, OK, so I wanna, I wanna talk about. The first thing is, um, you know, if you're, if you're just feeling kind of like, bored with crochet, it's not holding your interest. You're just like, well, I, I don't really wanna make this anymore. I'm kind of tired of it. It's ok to put your project project on pause and then it's ok to, to something else. I myself have multiple things going on at the same time. I didn't used to be like that. It used to drive me crazy and then I would have to complete a whole project first before I could move on. So know yourself. Now, I'm a little bit more open to having a couple of things going on at the same time. Um I've kind of learned how to adapt to that and it actually, I find that it helps because I like to have a project that's sort of like my TV, watching project. But then I also like to have a project that makes me think or learn something new or try out something new or kind of experiment. Um So if you're feeling bored, I would suggest that you try a new technique. So, yeah, you know, maybe you're just, maybe you're just bored because you've already, you know, perfected your granny squares and you're like, I don't feel like I need to do this anymore. Like conquer that. Um For some people that might be how they feel. I, I will never feel like conquered that moving on. Um But I do understand like you, you know, for some of us, you need to be to have, you know, stimulation where you are, feel like you're learning and absorbing and you're, you're making new connections with the thing that you're working on. So if that is the case, try out a new technique and I brought some little show and tell examples because I'm a very visual person and I just wanted to get you guys thinking about like, you know, where to go from this. And I, I did put a bunch of links in your download. So um to make it a little bit easier for you to find some things. Um If you're just kind of looking at wondering what I'm talking about here, wanna know a little bit more about these projects or, you know, just need a place to start. So that's in your download too. OK? So trying a new technique. So here I have this bag that I made. This is uh like a, I think I called it the Pollinator bag or Market toad or something like that. Um It has a little B on it so you can probably see the B motif. Um Maybe it's easier to see when it's on the table like that, but this is filet crochet. Um I'm not telling you you have to do this project, but I'm just gonna kinda show you some different examples of things that you can just check out and try. So this is made with having solid sections in it and then having these kind of open lacy windows and that's what creates this pattern. And this is just a different way to think about crochet filling in, having positive and negative space and being able to make pictures or you could even write words or something like that. Um But it's just, you know, something to get your brain working a little bit differently with crochet thinking about it in a, a little bit of a different way. It's not a difficult thing to do. Um And actually on the creative crochet corner website, we do have like a beginning learning how to filet crochet or some basics um that are available on the website. This bag came from a live event that I did for gold members and also on craft C as well. So, um if you're interested in making this bag, that's where that pattern uh and the live event for that is located. So another technique that might be fun for you to try is broomstick lace. So this hat uh was made with broomstick crochet. So broomstick crochet is just a really interesting way of making lace or doesn't even have to be lace. Um You can, if you crochet it with smaller loops, it actually can be a pretty warm fabric as well, which I was a little bit surprised at um when I was working up Swatches for this project. This was my Bewitched Beanie. Um It was kind of a spooky Halloween theme for last year's Halloween. Um And this was another gold project that I made. Um Also I believe on craftsy as well. Um But it, it involves a bunch of broomstick lace up here and then just some ribbing down here. And the thing that I liked about this, I had never actually designed a pattern in broomstick crochet before I made this hat. And it was really fun for me to figure out like how the stitches go together. What the relationship is like, it just kind of got my brain thinking about things in a different way, which was fun and it was kind of energizing just to, you know, when you learn a new skill and you're, then it makes you think, 00, I wanna try this or? Oh, what can I, what can I use this on or? You know, it's just kind of, um, it's just neat to learn a, a different thing and this is had a different, very different feel. You use like a gigantic knitting needle but you're not knitting. But you're just using that to make loops and then you crochet through bunches of those loops with the crochet hook. It's really fun and it goes really, really fast. It's a fun technique to try out. Another thing you can try. Um, this is, this is just a little technique and I know, I talk about this a lot but this is like, I think I figured this out maybe like two years ago that you can needle felt yarn onto your projects. And so that just all me and my brain explode with like possibilities. Um You all you use is a little tiny felting pen and then you just lay yarn on top of your project. It has to be yarn that felts OK. So like a wool or an alpaca, not a super wash and then you use your needle, um your needle felting tool or needle felting pen to just, it has all these little barbs on the needle and then you just poke it into your work and that secures it, it felts it into the fabric and it doesn't come off. You can see I can pick at it and it's not, it's not gonna come apart. It's awesome. But this is just kind of a fun little thing to, to decorate stuff. But you can design your project around being able to have this. Maybe you have a hat and you wanna make something for a friend and you can needle, felt a word into it or something like that. Um But it, you know, just, just to give you some ideas, it doesn't have to be like specifically a different crochet, stitch. You can just think about other ways that you can, you know, embellish your crochet or other other ways to express yourself Ok. So this is kind of like doodling with yarn. It's fun. All right. So the next thing I wanted to talk about, um, was maybe you are stuck in a project rut. Ok. So maybe you just, like, always make blankets and now you're finding yourself, like, not wanting to make another thing you're just done. But just think, like, if you normally do one, do one type of project, just shake it up and try to do a different type of project instead. OK. So like if you normally make blankets or sweaters or something like that, um try making a little toy, this little guy, I made him for a live event. I think his, his name is Butter or Butters. I can't remember. There was peach fuzz and Butters and they were named after the, the Color Ways of the yarn that I used. Actually two little hamsters. They're so cute. Um I did a live event on the on this. This is a free live event with a free pattern if you're interested in trying out the Amei. But this is a really fun one for me because that's when I first started figuring out like how to make this particular kind of little snout and kind of pinching this little area where the eyes kind of look a little bit more sunk in to give it a little bit of cuteness. There's all these little kind of techniques you can try out. Um just different ways of manipulating things may maybe you never thought you could actually make a little cri critter before. But if you watch the video, like, it's actually not as hard as it looks. Ok. So I would definitely recommend, you know, just switching up the type of project that you're making. Ok. Like just if, or you know, if you're, if you normally make things like with the worst weight yarn, try switching it up with like super bulky yarn, just see what that does. You know, it might be just the thing you need to think about your crochet in a different way or just to feel it in your hands. It, I know that sounds kind of crazy but like sometimes just feeling it like big bulky yarn after you've been working on skinny yarn, it just, I don't know, it kind of gets your gears turning like, oh, what else could I do with this or this is interesting, you know, and it's, and it's very, I mean, if you switch to a super bulky yarn, it just crochet, crochets, crochets up so fast. That's what I was trying to say. Um That, you know, you get that instant gratification and sometimes that's just an extra bonus, you know, when we're crocheting and feeling kind of like listless about starting a new project, you know, maybe you're just like, uh you know, I, I just, I can't, I don't even know what I wanna make, but if you just make a quick thing, sometimes you'll just feel a little bit better about it. All right. So the next suggestion that I had was um oh Julene is popping in here. Does the project yarn have to be needle felt as well or can you needle felt onto Merino project? Co crochet work? Ok. Um Yes. So both things have to be able to felt Merino wool will felt um unless it's a super wash. So if it's a super wash then it won't. Um, so both the, the yarn here and the yarn that you're felting too, both of those things really need to felt to make it a really good bond. You can kind of felt with yarn. That isn't fable. I mean, I have actually tried this before to see if, you know, just that barbed needle will tangle it up enough that it'll stay. And if you were doing something like a Christmas stocking or something like that where you have a little name on it, you might be able to felt it enough that it would stay there, you know, but if you're gonna wear it or if it's gonna be on mittens or something like that, I mean, I, I just wouldn't recommend I wouldn't recommend using, um, a yarn that is not a, a felt yarn for either of the components. Ok. It has to be, uh, it really should be felt for the, the decoration and for the thing you design um decorating. I guess I should say that was a good question. Thank you, Jolene. Um OK. So let's see. So the next thing I wanna mention is to join a crochet group or it doesn't even need to be a crochet group. It could be a crafting group. Um A group of my friends from my, my last job that I had, we would get together and then we would, you know, there were crochets and knitters. Um, everybody was a, so because we came from a costume shop actually, but, um, some people would bring their bead work or other kinds of art. It was really cool just to be, um, working in a space where there were other people who are making things too and you could, you know, even if it didn't directly apply to what you were working on just the energy and seeing what other people are doing, um, that was just a really good feeling to have and to have like a group of people who, you know, maybe, you know, if you join a group, maybe people would have other suggestions, you know, of, of if you're, if you're coming up against something and you're having a hard time, maybe a different way of looking at it. Um, it's great if you have other crochets to crochet with. But, you know, of course, if you don't, or, you know, if you don't have other people who do crafts, you can't you can't, um, get together in the same physical space. There's lots of areas on the internet, of course, where you can get together in groups, there's rivalry and there's Facebook and there's lots of other kinds of ways to connect with other people. And, you know, if you've never done that before, I just recommend just checking it out and seeing what it's like. I mean, you can always stop doing it, you know, it's ok to just dabble in it and see if it's right for you, but sometimes it just really helps to have other people there. Not only just to encourage you, but just to be sort of like a source of inspiration or there might be other people there who would love to, for you to teach them things to, you know, at your groups. So they might have questions for you. You can kind of exchange information that might make you feel really good. Um It's just, you know, being able to have people to interact with can really help a lot with motivation of stuff and to get back into things and be excited um to do stuff, even these live events really, even though I can't see you guys, I know you're out there and I, I mean, I can see a little list of names of people that are here. It makes me feel good that you guys are here. You know, it just having people who are around knowing that you know, they're into the same stuff that you are. I mean, even sometimes that's just like enough to get you kind of excited about stuff. Um Another thing I wanted to mention was, um if you are just feeling like, super overwhelmed with your project, like, maybe you've been working on some kind of color work thing and you're just tired of it. Like you, you made a mistake or maybe you didn't even make a mistake. You're just doing the same. Like you're just concentrating really, really hard. It is OK to put a pause on that. I know I mentioned this before but I, you know, I think we have a lot of guilt when we don't finish things and hopefully it will get back to that project, but don't let it ruin, you know, your feelings about crochet for other kinds of crochet. Like I like to put things in a little time out box when I'm frustrated with them, just put them away, you know, maybe not completely out of sight. I mean, it just depends on the kind of person you are. Maybe you need to hide it in your closet to feel better about it. That's ok too. No judging. Um, but sometimes it's ok to just stop and be like, mm, I'm done with that project for now. OK? And then you can move on to something else and you can do something that's like really quick and really easy and it just makes you feel like good right away and you can gift it to someone or you can wear it yourself and then just having that thing that you can just, you know, like a quick, easy, maybe you're watching TV, that kind of a project. Like no thinking kind of project. I love those have rescued me many times from feeling like I'm losing my, my CJO because I, I call them a chaser. It's like I do a really difficult project. And after that, I just wanna make something that looks cute and it's easy and it's like no brain time, right? So I actually did a live event about this kind of project a couple weeks ago, I did a live event on the, on the freestyle beanie is what I call it. I have a couple of examples here that I brought with me. This is my beanie pa. Well, it's not even a pattern. So here's the other thing, like sometimes you just don't feel like following someone's pattern. Sometimes you're just like, I just wanna make a thing and I want it to fit and it's gonna be, I wanna make it the way I wanna make it. I wanna make it with this yarn. I already already have in my stash. Um And so this way of making things will help you be able to make a beanie that fits yourself or whoever you're making it for. It's so easy. You're just making a rectangle. It's, it's, there's nothing complicated about it. So if, if you want something that's just super simple. Um but gives you instant gratification makes feel good. That would be uh something that I would suggest is checking out that that live event or you can find something similar. Maybe you just wanna make a little cowl or, you know, just a granny square even you just can make something and appreciate it and then be able and then sometimes just having that feeling of, oh, look what I made, I did this with my hands. This looks good, you know, then you can just ignore the thing that you shoved in the closet because it was really complicated until you feel like going back to that to, to tackle it. It's OK to just kind of do some easier projects um to kinda ease yourself into thinking about crochet and being excited about it again. Ok. Um OK. So I want, I also wanted to mention that making something to donate to a cause that's important to. You can also be a really good jump starter for when you're feeling just kind of like lost and you just don't like, you don't have a direction, you don't know what to make next. Maybe you don't really feel like making anything if you check out like maybe some of your local shelters. Um They might have ideas of things that they need like hats, mittens scarves, that type of thing. Um It will fill you with like a sense of purpose and probably help you actually complete the project because you're gonna be thinking about the person who's going to be benefiting from what you're making. You're gonna feel like you're helping somebody, which you are and it's just gonna be, you're gonna be tying those good feelings to, you know, the project that's in your hands that you're working on and maybe that'll lead to a whole bunch more crochet work that you're gonna donate, which would be great. Um Or maybe you're just gonna do a couple of them and then you're gonna feel like excited about crocheting other things, you know, specifically for yourself or for someone else, you know, or whatever, that's fine, but it's, you know, it's just a way to get yourself back into it and help somebody else at the same time, which is awesome. And in the download, I put a link to this um website for creating a soap zack. Uh There is a woman who decided, well, she realized the need for people to um for people are experiencing homelessness to be able to have soap that they, that can travel with them. Um And that they can use but be protected. So you're not getting it all linty and gross and dirty. Um So she made a soap sack. So it's like a crocheted little covering that goes over the soap and it has like a little hanging loop or a drawstring at the top to keep it in place and they can bring that, you know, with them wherever they're, where, wherever they're at and then have their soap with them. And it, so it, you know, it's, it's basically a covering to keep the soap clean. But also the covering has a secondary purpose which is to use as a washcloth, which I thought was just genius because it's just very simple and genius. I mean, and, and it's just an easy project for people to do beginners can make them. Um So I added that link in there because I just was, I just thought her idea was just great. So I'm gonna be working on those and I'm thinking about doing a live um and upcoming live on those as well. Um Just to, to give you guys some patterns and some ideas on how to make those because they're quick and easy and it's, it's helpful. It's, you know, helping somebody who has a real need in the community. OK. All right. So number seven is to organize your stash. Now, have you seen a lot of my lives? You may have heard me mention that I'm not like the most organized person and people have asked me before on tips on organizing my area um that I craft in and right now I'm crafting at the end of my couch, my specific little crafty end and then I have a table with uh my supplies on it. Um, but I am working now on having a better space in order to crochet and that, you know, I don't really have a budget for that. So I'm going to be really creative about that. Um And you don't, I'm not saying you need to go out and buy organizational things for your crocheting area. But, um, just even pulling out all your yarn seeing what you have and putting it away in your boxes or bins or however you are storing it, putting it away in a different way. That makes more sense to you. Or maybe you're arranging it by color, you know, you could have all the colors arranged, you know, in a line or something like that. I don't know if you have a shelf or maybe you have a basket. Um, but if you kind of arrange things in a different way while you're going through that, you might start like seeing all these yarns. You kind of forgot. You had some of us have larger Stashes and we might forget about some of the yarns we have and we might be like, oh, I forgot I bought this. This is so pretty. I'm gonna, I'm gonna figure out a way to use this, you know, it just going through your stuff can sometimes it like clears out that cluttery feeling that you have, but also you just can kind of reassess what you have and you might be inspired by some of the actual, you know, yarn that you've forgotten about, that's hiding away somewhere. So that, that's another suggestion is just organize your things. Um Number eight is teach someone how to crochet and I touched on this just a little bit before, but teaching somebody else how to crochet is just very gratifying. So if someone's excited to learn how to crochet, maybe like the neighbor kid or like your sister or just, you know, somebody else, you know, who you work with. They're like, oh, I, I heard, you know how to crochet. This is a great time to do that because if you're starting to feel like, I don't know if I even care about that, you can, first of all, when you're teaching someone else, you're going to be able to like, remember probably what you felt like when you were learning how to crochet. Um it'll bring back some of those memories and it'll start to kind of like rekindle those feelings of how you were so excited. You learn how to do this. I mean, if you just stop and think about what you're doing, you're taking this long string and this is like little tiny, very simple tool and you can make hats out of it, you can make blankets out of it. You can make, I mean, you're, you're making a string turn into an object. I mean, it is kind of amazing when you actually like, really think about what you're doing. I mean, I think it's easy as a crochet to, to look past all of that and to just sort of like, oh, this person's doing all this complicated color work and I'm just, you know, making this granny square blank, like it's easy to, to not realize how magical you are just even knowing how to do it. Just simpler stitches is like magical to somebody who doesn't, especially to somebody who doesn't know how to do it yet. So being able to teach someone else like this magical craft, you can see it through their lens, you can see it through their eyes and you can, you can make a lasting impression like you might be, you just might be teaching that person like something they're gonna do for the rest of their lives. You don't know. You know, maybe they'll do it for like five minutes, but maybe they will do it the rest of their lives and they will teach other people too. So it is a really cool gift to be able to teach somebody else. Um And to feel like you are able to um give them a way to express themselves, give them a way to, you know, use it for all the things that you are using crochet for, you know. Um And that can help you just sort of remember. Oh yeah, this is why I love this. I, you know, it, it can come back, you know when you're teaching somebody else. All right. So, oh, we've got another comment here. I look forward to the second Saturday of every month when I meet with my crochet group. This is Mabel, um who left a note here. We bring our latest projects, blankets to baby booties and even the occasional Amaga roomy. We discuss everything from family updates to the latest crochet techniques we discovered. Awesome. Yes. See it. That's really awesome that you have that Mabel, that is great that you have a group of people and you know that it's gonna happen like monthly, which is awesome that you always have that to look forward to. And I bet you, you know, just keeping up with what everybody's doing in their own life, but also their, with their projects they're working on. I mean, that must just be really inspirational. Um And that's really awesome. Uh And Sea Wolf Pack three is saying running late but glad to make the live stream these look like super great patterns. Thanks. Yeah, so yeah, check them out there. Um There's a lot of links in here. Um And I think uh my friend here is putting up some links in the in the chat too as well. Um So that you can check out those live events if you maybe you missed some of those. So, all right, let's see. OK. So number nine, work on a project with someone else. So this kind of goes along with, you know, getting together with your craft group. Kind of this is like a, a step further, maybe in a way. So I find that if I'm feeling like, ok, I'm just not getting this done because I just keep putting it off, but I want to do it. Um Sometimes it helps to have a little bit of accountability. So, you know, having a group of people that you can come together with and make a gift for someone else or maybe it's for someone in the group. I don't know, maybe you take turns on who gets it. But if you kind of split up the responsibilities of uh like a larger project into smaller pieces and then everybody comes together and make something together. Um That is kind of, that is a very good motivator because, you know, other people are counting on you to be able to finish this project. But you also get the bo you know, added awesomeness of seeing what the other people are making, being able to talk back and forth. Like, oh, do you think this is gonna work or what do you think about this? You know, just kind of having those conversations related to your project can kind of maybe, you know, bring back those feelings of like, oh yeah, this is really fun. I'm learning stuff. II I wanna make this, oh, let's do this next time. You know, you might feel like doing more projects together as a group and just kind of, um you know, being able to, everybody makes a little part. It's maybe a little bit less stressful because you don't have quite so much to make. But then when it all comes together and you have, you know, it's kind of one of those things like it, the end result is greater than the sum of its parts or whatever. Like I feel like that applies here. You know, like, for example, um I listed in here and there's a link in here for the gallery throw project that we just finished up doing a crochet along um very long term crochet along for months. Uh This gallery throw blanket that I designed. It has a bunch of different squares like 30 total squares. Um I think it was six different designs and five different color ways or five different designs and six color ways. I can't remember but you, you're never making the same square more than once the exact same square. It's um it's a good one for people like me who just wanna move on to like learning the next thing. Uh But that one is really, you know, easy to divide up because you have all these different squares and you can just say, OK, you know, there's five of us working on this project, we each make six squares and then we get together and have a party and then put the blanket together or maybe you can't physically get together. Um But you know, you could get together on Zoom or in some other way, um, to kind of see it all come together, maybe one of you is gonna end up constructing it or you could be making a set of things like maybe your coworker is having a baby and you wanna give her things that all kind of like go together. So maybe you pick out the yarn together. Um And then you make like a matching set, maybe a little sweater and a hat and a pair of booties or, you know, whatever it is and then when you bring them all together, it's this really super cute set and they all kind of belong and you, you, you know, you only had to make sure you complete one smaller part so you can get that done. But then you have this bigger feeling of accomplishment because you contributed to the project as a whole. So that's another way to look at things. Um And yeah, so working on you when you're working on projects with other people, it's got the accountability. You have the social aspect and just being able to bounce ideas off of each other. And then that feeling of completion, you know, when you get it all together, just feeling really good about like a larger project that you contributed to. All right. So another thing, oh, we've got another couple of comments here. Oh, let me catch up here. Oop Yolanda is saying I tried to teach my daughter how to crochet, but it was kind of difficult since I'm right handed and she's a lefty. Ok. So, um Yolanda, if you are able to have her watch you in a mirror, it will look like you're left handed another thing. Um Or if she can watch a video and you flip the screen like horizontally, it'll look like they're left handed. So there's another little tip. You know, if you're, if you're watching something and she wants to see how to do it as though, you know, she was watching the person left handed. If you flip the screen horizontally, it'll, it'll look the same as though. Um You know, they were a left handed person crocheting and I did wanna mention to you about the um teaching somebody else how to crochet. I forgot to mention I did uh like a 14 day learned how to crochet um series that's on the Creative Crochet Corner website. It's free. Um And it comes with two downloadable, loadable patterns as well. Um And I walk you through those two patterns and we talk about, you know, working in turn rows, working in the round, you know, the basic stitches like single crochet, half, double crochet, um increasing and decreasing and things like that, that's all included in that class. So if you are thinking about teaching someone else and you're like, I wanna teach somebody but I don't really, I, I, you know, if you just wanna have the structure kind of planned out for you, you could take a look at that class and teach them the same things or you could watch that class together. Um And if they're a left handed person, just flip your screen or watch it through a mirror, um to make it a little bit easier. So that is kind of a handy way of teaching, you know, to have the lesson plan kind of put out for you. Um Already, so that way you can just kind of take a look at that and follow along or you can just kind of look through what I was teaching and pick out the things that you wanna teach someone else if you just don't quite know how to start. All right. Um OK. And see Wolfpack is saying a recent game changer for me, my tip was to get an inexpensive hands free around the neck, crafting light to illuminate what I'm working on. It has reduced the glare and headaches from using bright lamps. That is a great tip. Yeah, and we should talk about that for a minute because, um and actually that will kind of lead into my next topic too. Um It is, you know, you, you could be having trouble feeling like you wanna crochet because you can't really see what you're doing or it's causing you headaches or it's causing hand fatigue or other issues. Like, it could be like a physical thing that's making you feel like, uh, I don't wanna do that but you wish that you could do it. So, you know, try out some different things, you know, like Cindy, uh, like c wolfpack is suggesting try out, you know, getting a light so you can see better. Um, you can try doing some exercises for me if my hands start feeling like, because you're doing a lot of pinching when you're crocheting. I mean, not necessarily pinching, pinching, but you're gripping things and holding and kind of doing squeezing a lot with your hands. Um For me, the things of work for me and I mean, I'm not like a physical therapist. I have no, this is just things that work for me that I just wanna share with you. I have noticed that if I stretch my hands like this kind of like, I'm just kind of dancing, you know, just kind of pulling back on my hands and they just take a minute and do this. I can feel like it loosening up a little bit after I kind of stretch out here. And another thing that I know I have a problem with is when I'm working really hard and concentrating my shoulders go up and up and up and up to my ears. And then I realize this is really, really tight and I have to just remind myself, drop it down, like keep your elbows down. Um, so, so what I'm trying to say, I mean, that's not, it's not gonna work for everybody and all their things they have going on with, um, you know, having, um, fatigue problems but just don't give up, like, try to figure out what is causing the pain and try to fix that, you know, so that it's not causing you like crochet shouldn't be hurting you. That would be, that's just, uh, it hurts my heart to think about that. But, you know, just try and solve that problem. Um And like, see wolf pack was saying, you know, it, it'll make a big difference if you can't see what you're doing or you're having a lot of strain. Um Just seeing what, what you're doing. You know, there are ways around that with the, with the, with a better light. Oh, and she's saying she found one in the hardware section at Walmart for under 10 bucks. See, that was an inexpensive fix. All right, and moon is popping back in again. She was at my last live event earlier this morning. Good morning. Hello. Uh Angel Jolene is saying, could maybe have a yarn exchange, somebody else might like what you no longer do. Yes, that is actually something that I am going to be talking about in just a minute. Ok. All right. So yes. So the what Cindy was saying about or what C Wolfpack was saying? Sorry. I know her name is Cindy. I'm sorry. Um, what she is saying if your finances allow, um, go shopping. She, she, that, that is my next topic to go shopping if your finances allow and, and, you know, you can fix some of those things that are bothering you, but also that kind of leads into just shopping to, um, kind of get excited about crochet again. Ok. So it might be shopping, like, with the light to help fix some kind of physical thing that's going on or it could be shopping just for fun. So now, of course, like I said, at the beginning of that sentence, if your finances allow, not everybody is gonna be in, you know, able to have disposable income to be able to spend that on shopping. You might just be using your stash, you might just need to stick to your crochet, but we're gonna get back to that in a second. Um, with Jolene's comment about having the exchange, but if you are able to spend a little bit of money on shopping and it doesn't necessarily need to be a lot, you can think about things like the obvious yarn. Ok. That's where we like, always go to first is thinking about yarn. Right. Most of us anyway, um, if you have enough money to do so it's really fun to just look on Etsy and see all the cool kinds of hand dyed yarn or hand spun yarn. It could be something that you have never seen before. Really cool color ways. I mean, it's just kind of eye opening to see what's all out there. I think it's easy to get stuck in a rut where you are only, um, looking at the same kind of yarns when you go to the same store and then you're just not feeling very inspired but there's all kinds of things out there, um, you know, on Etsy or other websites too, um, where there's some really unique stuff and just really, you might just see something that might just kind of like, blow your mind a little bit and make you wanna start crocheting like right there. So, um if that happens, if you find something or maybe you're pulling together a collection of colors to pull together into something, you know, maybe it's just that and if, if you're feeling inspired by the yarn and you were able to buy a little bit of stuff, you know, you're able to afford that. Um And you do that, make sure that you have a project in mind when you buy that or you can come up with something pretty soon after you buy that because you don't want to just buy the yarn and be like, well, that's pretty and I still don't feel like crocheting because that would be a bummer. So even if you're just going to take the yarn home and make something super simple out of it, just like maybe a single crochet cowl or maybe actually I brought this because this was something where I was just pulling colors together and I just felt kind of inspired by the colors and I just made granny squares and put it into a headband. I actually did a live event on this um for the creative crochet corner. It, this is actually part of a granny square collection. So if you're a granny square maker, um there's some other things in there like a purse and a little like zipper pouch and I'm trying to remember what the other thing is. I feel like they were. Oh, just like you making one granny square for a dishcloth. OK. And so that, that is like the perfect thing. If you go to the store and you just pull together a really inspiring color palette, maybe you just go home and make yourself a dishcloth and then you start feeling better about that, right? Um So the other thing besides yarn is tools. Um So another thing to look for, I just brought in some kind of fun stuff. One thing that you might wanna try is, you know, it, then this leads back to being uncomfortable while you're crocheting. You might wanna try a new tool out just to see if that helps, you know, a new hook type out. Sorry, just to see if that helps you because that might make you feel completely different about crocheting when I first tried these hooks. These are um Clover and Moore Hooks. They are my favorite hooks. I love them so much. I was like, OK, no, going back for me like I am dedicated to these hooks now because they just the way that I crochet, they just felt so much better. I was kind of surprised. Um But beyond that, like if you're not just trying to find a hook that makes, that feels good in your hands and makes you feel like crocheting because it just has the right feel to it. Um Or maybe this will also have the right feel to it. Who knows? But if you look on Etsy, I included a link in here, I think. Um If you look on Etsy, yes, I did. Um For handmade hooks, there are so many cool crochet hooks. You guys, I did not even know that these were out in the world until I was working on this. And I was like, oh, what else? What else, what other kinds of hooks are there out there? And I started seeing all these really cool crochet hooks and I was like, what? Mind blown? I want those. Um So I, I did splurge and ordered a couple of these hooks. Look at these, these are like hand carved handmade crochet hooks. This one has like little mushrooms on it. This one has like a little forest scene and I saw them. I was like, oh my gosh. I'm gonna feel like like a little fairy crocheting in the woods or something. I was just so excited about them. Um And then some super bulky yarn with these would be super fun. I'm not saying you have to buy all these kinds of things to feel better about crocheting, but if you have the extra money, um sometimes uh a cute little notions thing like this little adorable little alpaca tape measure. Um Sometimes these things just might spark something in you and then you might be like, OK, I'm gonna try that hook out and then, and then all of a sudden you're back into crocheting again. Um But let's address the whole thing about not having money for shopping, which is completely understandable. Um If you do not have a budget for that and you just really need to stick with what you got. Let's go back to what Jolene was. Um let's see. Was it Jolene? I think. Uh uh uh uh let me look through here. Um She was suggesting we have a yarn exchange, which was another thing that I had on my list number 11. Um consider organizing a trade with others. So, um that would be a great way to get some new like either tools or yarn um into your hands and be able to trade some of the things. Um You know, maybe will spark something in someone else, something that you have that you don't even care about anymore, you know, maybe somebody else could really benefit from that. So, uh organizing a trade, like if, you know, people who also are crafters, knitters or crocheters, people who have yarn. Um Of course, you can get together or organize some sort of trade. If you don't know anybody, there are some other uh yarn trading groups that are specifically for that on Ravelry and also on Facebook. So check into that because there's a lot of, you know, uh just yarn swapping kinds of things or also even probably tools. I saw a lot for yarn. I can't remember if I, I saw some for tools, but I'm sure they're out there um because there's so many crafters out there. So, yeah, definitely look into just kind of swapping and along with that, then if you are, you know, if you're having issues with, you know, your hook giving you, you know, like wrist issues or other kinds of things, you may wanna just borrow a hook from someone else and try it out on a project for a while, you know, maybe you can say, hey, can I borrow this for like a week and just see if you like it, you know, you don't have to commit to buying anything, but then at least you'll know um if that type of hook is going to help you with, you know, whatever problem that you're having, if you're feeling uncomfortable as you're crocheting. So that's another thing to do is just, um, just check it out. And I recently learned that my library, like, just my regular library that you can check out books, they have little sets of knitting needles and crocheting hooks and stuff that you can check out, which I was just like I had no idea that they had that. So that's something to maybe look into. Possibly you have a library in your area who has those kinds of things. Um Maybe not. But um hopefully you have some kind of friend or somebody in the community who wouldn't mind lending something to you just so you can kinda try it out and see if you like it. All right, we have a couple of extra comments that I didn't get to yet. Let's see. Where are they? Um Oh, and Julene is saying I also have experimented with adding sewing and embroidery thread leftovers to change the color profiles of basic neutral yarn. Cool. I have never done that with sewing thread or embroidery thread. That's a really cool tip. Thank you, Jolene. That, yeah, that is really interesting. Now, see, this is why I'm doing this because I am learning new things from you guys. This is awesome. Thank you very much for that. I will be thinking about that. Um And Shai is saying good crocheting y'all. Hi, welcome back. And Yolanda is saying what I tried to do was have her face me. Oh, this is her talking about her da left handed daughter. I think, teaching her how to crochet. What I tried to do is have her face me and watch me and pretend she was my mirror. Lots of hilarity ensued and we didn't get very far. Yeah, I, oh, my gosh. I, I can just imagine that must have been. Well, at least you had some good times. It sounds like you had a fun time and she'll probably appreciate that, but you can always try it again. Um Yes. C wolf pack. Yes, Cindy is the right name. Yes, I do remember you. I mean I know your name but I'm trying to use your screen name just to be respectful. But yeah, I can, I see your, your c wolf pack and I know it's you. Um ok. All right. So let's see. Just one more tip that I have for you guys. Um This is the last tip. So if you guys have any extra tips, please uh add them into the chat or if you have any comments or anything like that, please add them into the, into the chat. Um because I am just gonna talk about this one last topic which is to bring your crochet with you somewhere. You would not normally crochet. So, um what I mean by that it could be something like just bringing it to a park or bringing it to a coffee shop or a ball game or to the beach. Um it could be bringing it over to someone else's house if they're doing something, like, maybe you have a friend who's, you know, like, oh, I have to do all this stuff today and I don't want, I just don't really feel like doing it and, like, you know, I have to clean out this cupboard and I don't feel like doing it. Well, you could bring your crochet over there and then you could, I know it sounds crazy like, why are you gonna bring something you don't feel like doing? And they're doing something they don't feel like doing. But sometimes when you're, you're trying to do something that you don't wanna do. If somebody else is there, there's just like this moment of like feeling accountable a little bit, but also kind of like looking at your project in a different way, like, maybe this isn't so bad and I got buddy to talk to while I'm doing this, you know. And then you might be like, oh, actually, this is great. This is fine. She's cleaning her thing out. I'm over here working on my crochet and kind of like reuniting with my crochet and it's good and then maybe she'll be like, hey, can you show me how to do that? And you'll be like, yeah, I'll clean out a little bit of your cupboard too. Ok? I'm just imagining a lot of crazy stuff. All right. Um Let's see, Debbie is saying I have an old sweater that is decades old. It reminds me of a popcorn cable combination stitch. I would like to send you a picture as an inspiration piece. This sweater was not handmade. Is there a way to get the picture to me? Oh, I submitted the question to the ask the expert email. If you would like to see the picture, you might be able to reply to my email. It's very pretty. Ok, Debbie. Um I will probably get that ask the expert email that is probably coming to me. I haven't seen it yet. Um But I'm guessing I will get that. So I should be able to take a look at it. It sounds really pretty. So you're saying an inspiration piece for something that I would design or maybe do a stitch pattern kind of thing? Um Yeah, ok. I mean, I'll take a look. I will definitely be on the lookout for that for that message coming in. So I should be able to get that. That should be coming to me. Um Sea Pack is saying we have a local reuse shop that employs people with disabilities and it is a great inexpensive source for yarn fabric and tools. Yes, that is a really good point. Thank you for bringing that up. I meant to mention that and I forgot. So thank you. I'm glad that you, that you um brought that up. Yes, and I, I have bought lots of things at thrift stores before. Um, both just the yarn and also like a sweater and unravel the sweater and use the yarn. I actually did a blog post on that a little while back. I can't remember what month it was, but it's on the creative crochet corner website with some tips on unraveling sweaters from thrift stores. So if you are short on cash, you can buy like a whole sweater's worth of yarn for just a few dollars and sometimes the yarn is really good. So there are some different things you need to look up, look for and watch out for like the main thing is look on the inside of the sweater and make sure there are not surged seams like a cut seam that's been bound off by thread because then you're, you're only gonna get a whole bunch of little strips of yarn and it's gonna be a sad day. But if it's not like that, if, um, if it looks like pieces that are maybe chain stitched together, um, definitely check out that blog post because they, I'm basically going through like how to take it apart and, um, what to do to kind of get all the kinks out of the yarn when you, when you frog the whole thing. But yeah, it's, it's a really great, you know, like, like Sea Wolf pack was saying there's an, um, that is very inexpensive way to buy yarn and fabric and all kinds of stuff and just remember like the, the clothes in there. Those can also be your yarn store and your fabric store. You can cut things up. All right. Let's see. Um, let's see. Wolfpack saying it's called Scraps and Skeins. Oh, that's cool. So, maybe it's like a good, a really good, um, Kraft thrift store. Right. That's awesome. I wonder if I have any of those in my area. I'm gonna have to look for that. That sounds very cool. Um Me is saying I, I was and recovering from a life altering trauma, I had a therapist tell me just pick up your crochet hook. It took me a minute, but I did it, it helped a lot. If you are struggling, just pick it up, maybe put some yarn in your hand. It helps. So that's awesome. Thank you so much for, for adding that to the comments section. I I know that it's like hard to talk about that kind of stuff, but sometimes just the right person will see your comment and it'll make a huge difference. So thank you Mel for adding that to our comments. Um Let's see. Oh Kelly is saying you're hitting it right on the mark with hand fatigue. Clover hooks help me move, move smooth smoothly. OK. So you like those too. Also, I realize that I naturally on autopilot, tighten my tension and have to be aware. Yeah, that's one of those things. I think a lot of people have trouble with that, especially. And it, I think it's especially happens when you are figuring something out for the first time. Like most of the time when I'm making a mitten pair of mittens or a pair of socks, unless I've made the pattern before. Usually the first mitten or sock is just a little bit smaller than the second one. And I know this about myself because when I'm figuring something out I get a little tighter with my tension and it's a little bit smaller. So I know this about myself. So I can kind of like prepare for that when I do the second one. And I say to myself, ok, the first one, I probably crocheted a little bit tightly. Just keep that in mind and it really does help to know that about yourself. Um But yeah, it is tightening your tension and you just, you need to be aware of your body and what you are doing and if you're, you know, you just stop and think, ok, where are my arms? Where are my hands? You know, and like you'll notice if you're like tightening up that you gotta, you gotta stretch out, you gotta make sure you're taking your breaks, right? Ok. Let's see. Oh, and, and Kelly is saying, oh, and copper, copper compression gloves really, really helped. Ok. That's a great suggestion. I have not used one of those before, but I um but I have seen them before and I was wondering about that and Mela saying great, great tips, Kelly. Yes, I would add, apply um, some, some pain creams. I love the CBD creams. They, they've helped me more than most OTC stuff. Awesome. That was a good suggestion. Yeah. Yeah, we gotta take care of ourselves and especially, you know, when you're doing something that you really love doing, you wanna be able to keep doing that. So you have to keep like, keep your well being and check and keep like, you know, just be aware of what is happening to your body when you are maybe immersed in something else. Um You just have to be more aware of stuff and make yourself take breaks, make yourself stretch. Um Try to figure out what is causing all the issues that you you might be having. So thank you guys so much for all these tips. This is really great. Um to have you guys all here and to have you guys all, you know, participating in the chat box. I love that. All right. OK. Well, thank you guys, thank you guys so much for being here. Um I love being able to chat with you guys about all this stuff. It's important to be able to feel good about your crochet. I mean, you wouldn't be here watching this if you were like, I don't feel like crocheting anymore and I don't care, right? Like the reason you're here is because it's doing something good for you or it has done something good for you in the past and you want that back. So, um I wish you all the best. I hope that if you are having problems, you know, losing your croo that some of these tips here and also some of the tips that other people have shared in our live event today that they will help you out. Um because I want you guys to all be go back to being happy crocheters, ok? Uh Thank you guys so much for joining me. I really love this live event and I will see you soon. Bye.