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
Meet the Maker
Louisa, aka The Craft Pixie, describes herself as:
“Thirtysomething, upcycled graphic designer, guerrilla crafter and urban allotmenteer, managing my Type 1 diabetes, depression and infertility through crochet and art.”
She shares:
“After 20 years struggling with anxiety and depression, I have found that crochet soothes my troubled mind. It gives the negative a conduit, a direction, and from an ugly twisted place something can be created instead of broken.
Wink’s passing has touched many lives. She was inspiring and still is. She is beloved by many, some of whom she never knew she helped.
Love and peace to you all.”
Visit The Craft Pixie on Facebook and Instagram.
Words by Wink
In August 2014, Wink shared her wooden yarn bowl, saying:
“Most people use yarn bowls to keep their yarn from rolling away when they’re working with it, and to protect it from dust, specks of fiber, and other things you don’t want ending up in your yarn. I don’t know about you, but I rarely use a ball of yarn. Wait, let me rephrase. I rarely use balled up yarn 😉 I usually cake my yarn, or pull from the center of a skein. When you use your yarn like that, there’s really no worrying about your yarn taking off and rolling around on the floor. So I was a little worried wether a yarn bowl would be put to good use in my house hold. Turns out; a yarn bowl is such a nice little place to put your yarn, that I use it with all my WIPs!”
About Depression
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 book When Depression Hurts Your Relationship: How to Regain Intimacy and Reconnect with Your Partner When Youre Depressed
“Depression sneaks into your thoughts, your feelings, the way you interact with your loved ones. It colors your world with a negative hue – everything seems darker and less hopeful. Depression saps your energy, drains your motivation, and makes it difficult to enjoy time with your partner. When you struggle with it, it becomes difficult to engage in the world around you. You start to have less and less confidence in your partner, in yourself, and in your relationship. You feel lost and overwhelmed, with a sense that things will never get better. When you’re depressed, you tend to perceive your partner’s interactions more negatively and feel higher levels of guilt and shame, and you are more likely to be overcome in the face of difficult emotions. In essence, you may feel poorly equipped to manage unexpected or emotional events in your relationship.
The other side of the coin is that relationship problems can be a precursor for depression. Large amounts of relationship stress – arguing, anger, resentment, and withdrawal – are difficult for anyone to deal with. But if you’ve struggled with depression, relationship problems may send you into a downward spiral. Constant conflict that never gets resolved – explosive fights and angry words – makes you want to retreat from your partner. One or both of you may withdraw from the relationship altogether, trying to avoid conflict by keeping your thoughts to yourself. But that doesn’t really solve the problem, and you end up feeling disconnected and lonely.”
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.