Craft Central

Hello forumites! This is a new craft thread dedicated to all things craft, including knitting, diamond painting, crochet, cross stitch, mosaics, etc! Basically, anything crafty! I have found that crafts are great for mental health as it allows people to be creative and gives them a way to express themselves with different mediums and items, such as wool, paints, etc. It can also help regulate emotions and promote relaxation as well as being a great conversation starter!

Tagging @ENKELI @Shaz51 @Ru-bee @rav3n @Glisten @AuntGlow @tyme and all forum members interested in crafts. Feel free to post any craft projects you may like to share and any craft ideas, news, etc, you may have. I look forward to seeing what things are shared here!

I love knitting, crochet and cross stitch. I have knitted blankets, adults and kids jumpers and beanies for charity as well as myself and friends and have also done a cable knitted scarf in the past for a family friend which was both challenging yet enjoyable. I often have several knitting projects on the go and will knit when watching TV - something to help me focus and interested in the program, such as a simple blanket which only requires wool, needles and a tape measure with garter stitch being the stitch of choice. If I’m stressed or going through a rough period mentally, I find knitting a beanie or 2 to be a great way of handling this period as I can focus on the pattern and not whatever is causing me issues in my life. Knitting beanies for charity and blankets is a great way of using up leftover wool as I know they will be all diffferent yet unique and be able to keep people warm, especially here in Victoria where I’m based. I’ve been a knitter for over 40 years and love being creative with the colours of wool- acrylic mostly! I love knitting my own jumpers knowing that no one else will have the same jumper as me and being able to make it my own preferred length and style.

In terms of crochet, I can only do granny squares so I’ve been making squares and blankets for charity.

As for cross stitching, I started it over 20 years ago when I was at uni and have recently got back into the hobby. This clownfish is the start of a bookmark I started last night which I’m stitching to remind myself of when I saw a clownfish at the Cairns aquarium on my recent cruise ship holiday in June to the Great Barrier Reef.

I have started doing diamond painting as of February this year thanks to starting it at a PARCS complex as part of my mental health recovery journey which I really enjoyed and found to be calming, meditative and good for dealing with anxiety and stress. I’ve got a cat canvas on the go and have recently completed 3 bookmarks from Kmart last week when I was on a mental health retreat. Below is a coaster I completed a few months ago from a kit from Kmart.

Enjoy your crafting!

Judi9877