Springtime Blues, Greens and Pinks!

Springtime Blues, Greens and Pinks!

Hello! If you're new to my podcast, welcome! And if you're returning, I'm very thankful that you came back! It means so much to share my joy of knitting, sewing and quilting with you!

You can find me on Ravelry and Instagram as elissapack. You can also follow the #stitchgoddess and #stitchgoddesspodcast hashtags!

After what seemed link an eternal winter, Springtime has arrived in East Tennessee! It's actually been quite a long spring: last year, the daffodils bloomed for about 2 minutes before they succumbed to an early summer. This year, trees and flowers have been in bloom for a really long time, and they have been a welcome balm over the greyness of winter. You can bet that I really needed that first flowering of spring! It came just in time!

I've never actually had any sort of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but I've been experiencing an alarming amount of anxiety in the last month. I feel overwhelmed - a LOT. It just seems like I can't keep up, catch up or get ahead, and it has made me feel paralyzed. I wonder if this could be Springtime Lethargy. The internet is immensely useful for self-diagnosing... 😊

To try to alleviate these unusually strong feelings of being overwhelmed, I've been hunkering down in our library - which I painted a really calm pink sea salt color - and I am frequently spending the evenings in here, watching the sunsets and knitting, binge watching Midsomer Murders and knitting, and reading...and knitting! (I've also taken out a sense of frustration on our overgrown boxwoods holly bushes and flourishing weeds in our front garden!) I've been making huge progress on my springtime green Flying North Socks and being in love with my Impresssionists Shawl MKAL - these pinks are sublime!

I've been slowly working on my Awesome Ocean Quilt. I have just one more creature to sew, Salty the Seahorse, and I'm about halfway done with that block. I think that trying to finish this quilt in April (in under 2 weeks) was one catalyst for becoming overwhelmed: There are a lot of tiny seams and triangles, and hours of pressing seams open at the ironing board. I've had to break up the sea animals into manageable tasks - and then break them down further: draw diagonal seam lines on all the necessary pieces - take a break. Sew straight seams, trim and press open - take a break. It's coming along, albeit slowly.

Perhaps it's the notion that I've made both physical and mental lists of all the things I need to do that is making me either procrastinate or work feverishly - neither of which particularly fills me with joy. So, I've scaled back a little to work on things as the mood strikes me, and to just do a little at a time. The good news...I'm starting to feel better!

Finished Objects

• Tacit Handwarmers : pattern by Hunter Hammersen | knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Snake
• Impressionists MKAL : pattern by Helen Stuart of Curious Handmade | knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in HiLo, Kilim and Oxblood. 

Works in Progress

Knitting

• Flying North Socks: pattern by Maria Montzka of Stitched in Sweden | knit in Just a Girl and Her Dogs Yarns in Spanish Moss.
• Kingston Tunic : pattern by Andrea Mowry | knit in Wool Days Scout in Blueberry
• Icy Sweater: pattern by Kim Hargreaves | knit in Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Aqua

Quilting

• Awesome Ocean Quilt : pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

Thanks for watching! I'll be back soon! Happy knitting, sewing and quilting!

Cheers,

Elizabeth