Yarn Giveaway!
Yarn Giveaway!
It’s hard to find good friends.
It’s hard to find friends you can lean on in hard times, have deep conversations with, and be totally yourself around.
My North Star November series reminded me of how much the loving support of a good group of friends can really mean. It was amazing to see this community come together with care and intention.
When I’m able to connect with like-minded souls on a really personal, deep level regularly, things flow more smoothly.
I experience less resistance in my daily life, and I’m better able to keep gratitude towards the forefront of my mind.
As I mentioned in my last post (super cute free slouchy hat crochet pattern in that post too!), I’ve decided to bring more real life talk onto the blog. To help keep the conversation flowing, I’m hosting weekly meetings in my Fiber Friends Group where we’ll chat on a certain topic and spend time holding space and stitching together….an online knit and crochet crafty group.
Each week, I’ll share some of the main chatter about the current theme and a little yarn giveaway here on the blog.
That way those of you who aren’t part of my online crafty group can still be involved in the conversation.
If you’d like to join in the live video conference each week, come check out my Fiber Friends Group!
To enter to win….
Check out this week’s conversation in the video below and then comment and tell me…
Do you think wearing your heart on your sleeve and openly sharing life challenges like depression is simply feeding into the mind body addiction?
I’ll be randomly selecting one comment to win the prize shown (Ultra Alpaca Light yarn in purple and mystery stitch markers) sometime next week. Entries will be accepted through 12/11 at 11:59pm (MST). The winner will be announced in next week’s crafty gathering post.
This week’s Fiber Friends Winners (Congrats! Thank you for your heartfelt responses to this week’s real life topic):
Morning Conference: Audrey Jones
Evening Conference: Diane Richardson
32 Comments On “Yarn Giveaway!”
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I don’t think it does. I feel like openly sharing is more about letting others know they are not alone in the way they feel and helping others. A friend of mine from church gave me what she calls a therapy necklace. It has an imperfect pearl with a bead on each side. It’s to remind you that God made you (the pearl) and that you are not perfect but beautiful anyway. The other 2 beads are to remind you that someone always will have it better than you and worse than you.
Wow! Love the idea of that necklace. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
I think wearing your heart on your sleeve with ones you trust is a very healthy way to thrive in life.
I have found doing the opposite just feeds the internal battle in your mind. Which for me resulted in extreme out of character actions. Which then resulted in the uphill circling of the battle. Bc only after I do the extreme is when I exhausted the daemons and I felt better but actually created havoc in my life. It was worth it then.
Now that I’ve practiced openly talking about it I’ve come to recognize when my daemons start to stir, I talk openly with my children and it gives them a warning, allowing them to help me keep and stay focused.
We do not judge. We have to understand that we all have something that will trigger us negatively. Just need to have the tools to handle an outbreak.
Love to have found this group.
-Sun Vangvanh
Love this comment. So much wisdom! Having the tools on hand when we need them is huge. Thanks for sharing.
I really enjoy reading about other’s paths to beat depression. I search for new ideas to help myself as well as different points of view and it helps me to see how others are progressing. But on the other hand, sometimes when I’m at a really low point, I use these stories as a way to tell myself that I can never succeed as other people have. So I try to avoid social media and such when I’m really low. Instead I turn to a good friend or my husband for some much needed clarity. I do think it’s important to share and learn as much as we can about depression and how it affects our lives so that we as humans can live the best possible way we can. Thank you so much for this series, I’ve found myself going back throughout the month to re-read sections. ?
I absolutely agree that sometimes we can beat ourselves down if we see other people doing “better” than us. Self compassion and becoming a nonjudgmental observer of ourselves can be so helpful in that. I’m so glad you found the series helpful enough to even re-read sections. Yay! Thanks so much for your comment.
I think there is a balance between wearing your heart on your sleeve and keeping everything under wraps, and this can vary from individual to individual. It’s sort of like having cancer. You may or may not choose to share details with friends or strangers. While I applaud your series and being brave enough to share your stories, I agree with Sandi that social media can be a dangerous, double-edged sword.
For sure sharing on social media perhaps isn’t right for everyone. And there is a certain balance in finding people you can really trust to hold space for your feelings. Thanks for the comment!
Openly sharing life experiences can be a very healthy way of dealing with depression & other personal issues that would otherwise be emotionally & physically crippling if faced alone. Talking things out usually helps me feel better, & I appreciate the advice or constructive criticism that comes with sharing.
Thanks for the comment Kim! Absolutely agree.
with the amount of ppl suffering metal health issues to day, it is great to know we are not alone and others can relate to what we are going through. There is a saying ‘shared joy is double the joy, shared sorrow is half the sorrow” , everyone should be able to talk openly with each other and not be judged. Life is hard especially when there are outside forces we cannot control like health issues or unexpected huge life events. Being compassionate is one way we can help each other.
Love this comment Karen! Being able to tell the truth non judgmentally is hugely healing and something I think we all need work on. Compassion is definitely key. Thank you for sharing.
My 17 year old son has been in therapy for over a year now. In September, 12 days before his birthday, he took an entire bottle of antidepressants and most of a 2nd bottle. Thankfully it didn’t kill him but it will always haunt me that I didn’t see how bad his depression was getting. While in the hospital, he asked me and my husband several times why his dad hates him.
I guess I said all that to say that his bio dad had him convinced that getting help made him a sissy. If my son had ignored his dad and reached out to me (or ‘wore his heart on his sleeve’ with those of us who love him) my 17 year old wouldn’t have a drug overdose on his permanent record.
His dad, btw, lives in a different state and only sees him one month a year. He may text him one or two other times.
Sending love to you and your son. It’s hard to open up (especially for younger people) but yes – being able to be open with trusted loved ones can make a huge difference.
Sharing is caring, then there’s understanding and learning. We as a whole, but first as individuals can make a difference in the world and its starts with ONE individual, (That’s YOU.)
Couldn’t agree more that the change comes from within.
No. I think it can be very healing to open up and share.
I think it is fine for some people to share their feelings with others. I think it really depends on the individual. I only share my deepest feelings with one friend. I like to keep some things to myself.
For me? I’ve been dealing with depression and severe anxiety for many years and talking about it with others is beneficial, opening up about my conditions that for years I’ve kept quiet has not only helped me in my journey but has also brought me a lot closer to my friends and family. I think a lot more people have dealt with mental health issues or someone close to them. Overall talking can be healing!
I think being open and honest with those you know and trust is very healing and healthy to build strong and lasting relationships.
But I do see how being to open and vulnerable with people you don’t know can leave you open to stronger disappointments if other don’t understand you or do not react kindly to someone being so open. I also think how you approach your attitude when sharing with others is important, if I’m sharing to build other up and share positive results I see it as a good and healing type of shairing whereas if someone is just sharing for attention I think it can lead to Deeper problems of depending on others and there opinions of you.
Couldn’t agree with your comment more! Motivation for your sharing plays a big part, and trying to approach with perspective is important.
I feel that not trying to hide what you’re really feeling can be very healing…you can find support from some very unexpected places. Life really can beat us down, and when you hide behind a fake smile and tell everyone you’re fine when inside, you’re falling apart, it’s hard to break that cycle. Speaking about your struggles, sharing what you feel about life’s challenges, you can find people who you never thought would or could help. “No man is an island” rings very true to me!
Love, love this comment. No man is an island indeed. Thanks for sharing!
I have a friend who greatly struggles with depression and while I personally don’t always understand what she’s feeling I try to listen and help. I really like reading things like this because it helps me understand better and understand that sometimes what I’m feeling is mild depression. I know that being able to communicate that with people is so helpful, especially if you have many people in your life that do not truely understand or even try to understand what you are feeling. I also believe there is a point where you are feeding your negative feelings or sharing with people who feed it. I think that part is on an individual level of what you need to share and keep to yourself and how to decide who is helping and who is hurting.
So much wisdom in your comment! Thanks for sharing and for entering the giveaway.
communicating my feelings to others which I am very lucky to have and The fear of judgement is quite difficult to manage, and choosing an audience is hard , but it really does help to share experience I am in charge of my thoughts, they are not in charge of me. I give them space, I learn to live alongside them, but I won’t encourage them and over time they will wither and die. I won’t !! I have learned since being in a group of great people from all walks of life all over the world that shareing our feelings with each other is actuly help ful and lets me see i am not alone as i think i am at times yes i may wear my heart on my sleeve but in shareing each others lifes ups and down together we can learn to find ways to cope and try to look at the brighter side of things
I think sharing your pain or struggles is always good for you and those you share with. Sometimes people need someone more prominent to say something before they see that they can share too.
I don’t think it’s negative to open the emotion-communication channels between people.
Being open can be important when forming bonds with people, building friendships. It can be helpful to share real feelings and thoughts, but it can be painful and difficult to bare one’s full self especially if someone has suffered broken trust, low self-esteem, or forms of abuse. Everyone can benefit and learn from one another over time, though, whether the emotions are all out on the sleeve or if they are a bit more guarded.
I think it is healthy to be able to talk about your problems with someone who cares. I listen to my friends because I know they feel better. Advice or suggestions are welcomed. Judgments are not.
I wear my heart on my sleeve and it has been a blessing and a curse….there will always be negative nancy’s, but I will choose to love others as God has asked me to….my mistakes and heartbreak has helped many others.
I think you have to have a balance too. If we aren’t able to share with others then it will build to a breaking point. But you can’t wollow in it either. For me, I find that when I have been really depressed it’s hard to do anything at all but when I put forth effort to help others it slowly helps me and when I can talk with trusted friends, it is much easier to deal with all the things going on around me.
I think when you speak from your heart no matter what the topic that it encourages others to feel safe to do so as well. Sharing our experiences can also be a wonderful teaching tool.