Tamara G's Crochet Contribution to Mandalas for Marinke

mandalas for marinke

Here is the next of the beautiful, inspiring, special contributions coming in to the #MandalasForMarinke remembrance project. I am grateful for each and every amazing contribution. You are invited to join; learn more here.

Beautiful Crochet Mandala

tamara g's crochet mandalasformarinke

Tamara used the Winter Mandala crochet pattern, which was the first mandala pattern of Wink’s that she ever saw.

Meet the Maker

craftyescapism crochet mandalas

Tamara shares:

I’m a Brit now living in Houston, TX with my husband, two children and scruffy mutt. I’m a freelance market researcher and run a weekly crochet and knitting workshop at my local yarn store.

And adds this beautiful message to Wink:

craftyescapism crochet mandalasformarinke

Thinking about you Wink.

I was so sad to hear the news. I first spotted one of your mandala patterns in a crochet magazine back in Spring 2014, thinking, “that’s lovely” and so your name became familiar to me. I decided to participate in this project because raising awareness of depression is so important. 

I have personal experience of dealing with intermittent low moods and find that crochet helps immensely especially when crafting with others.

detail of tamara's crochet mandala

Tamara can be found @craftyescapism on Twitter and on the Crafty Escapism blog.

Words by Wink

crochet mandalasformarinke by crafty escapism

In August 2014, Wink was working on a beautiful crochet shawl pattern by Charissa of Mad Mad Me. I want to share some of what she wrote during her process because it reflects a lot of the joy I got just from reading Wink’s writing about her regular crafty life:

“This pattern is so groovy because it consists of a bunch of spiral circles. They’re really easy to make and the pattern is quick to memorise, so I had a big stack of these babies in no time! I think mine are a bit smaller than the original ones from the pattern, so I’m going to use up all this yarn and then I’ll see what interesting shapes I can make with the spirals.

But this yarn though… Oh my, it’s just so gorgeous! The colours are SO rich and are unlike anything I have ever seen before.

Are you drooling? I know I am! I’m working it up with a 5mm hook, and using a stitch marker is highly recommended. It turns making these spirals from a counting menace into a very relaxing project :)”

About Depression

close-up crochet mandala by tamara

One purpose of this project is to raise awareness about depression so each post will end with some facts, thoughts or quotes about depression, suicide and/or mental health. Today I want to point you to the organization To Write Love On Her Arms.

“To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest directly into treatment and recovery.”

tamara g crochet mandalas for marinke

TWLOHA says:

twloha

And they add:

The vision is that we actually believe these things:

You were created to love and be loved.
You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known.
You need to know your story is important, and you’re part of a bigger story.
You need to know your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. We believe everyone can relate to pain, all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know you’re not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty, but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions—moments, and seasons, and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real and help is real.”

To Write Love on Her Arms is also the name of a film about the woman whose story first sparked the organization:

All contributions to Mandalas for Marinke are welcome and will help raise awareness about depression while honoring her work in the same way that this great contribution has done today. Details to join here.

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