I have been in a bit of a “fiber funk” lately – otherwise known as a slump, or the loss of my CroJo (not sure what this is when it also extends to knitting!)

I haven’t had any inspiration, motivation or even INTEREST to pick up my hooks or needles and crochet or knit. This is likely due to a combination of things, including the extreme heat and humidity we have experienced lately, as well as this being a really BUSY time of year. My oldest grandson graduated from high school, so there was a party to plan, Father’s Day and several family birthdays – plus my full-time job, and a couple side hustles – I simply couldn’t find a lot of extra time to sit and knit or crochet.

I have ALSO been struggling with the change in my crafting routine since the demise of Joann stores. I have come to realize that I spent a decent amount of time and MONEY at Joann’s. Not having that option has been a POSITIVE for my budget, and exerted a downward pressure on my accumulation of things that have an unlikely chance of ever being used; but it has also seemed to inspire a feeling of “meh” about my crafting, and specifically my fiber arts hobbies. That has NOT been a good thing, so I am thinking a lot about what all this might mean.

When I have had a short window of time where I could knit or crochet, I tried to overcome these “fiber blues” by picking up various Works in Progress (WIP’s) because it didn’t require any creative thinking energy; I could just pick up the project and keep going. The pink knitted pocket scarf below is one I have been keeping by my couch for just this reason, and it has been a welcome option.

Some evenings I pick it up and only work one or two rows. At other times, I am able to sustain a longer session and have begun to see real progress on this half of the scarf and am looking forward to the color change that comes at the mid-point.

This funk and the end of Joann stores has been accompanied by some rather earth-shattering events in my inner circle. Members of my family have been involved in a years-long saga involving attorneys and a lot of money. A recent turn of events appears to hold the promise of finally STOPPING the aggressors in this case, and is a welcome blessing for my family.

The challenge? It’s very much NOT a blessing for those on the other side, and I am wrestling with the back and forth of the accompanying emotions.

As a generally decent human being, I feel compassion for anyone who experiences life’s challenges. I am also human enough to feel some righteous satisfaction when the hand of fate seems to step in and take care of a bully. These opposing emotional “forces” are adding to my sense of disconnect, and with little to no interest in picking up hooks or needles, I have been feeling more than a little ungrounded and unsettled.

I realized, late yesterday afternoon, that I needed to push through some of the resistance I was feeling to crocheting, knitting and sewing because in those activities I find solace, strength, healing and comfort – all things that I can benefit from right now.

I browsed through the patterns I have downloaded on my phone, looking for a quick project. It’s still a bit too muggy for me to want to engage with an acrylic yarn for a large, drapey project so I was looking at little ones, in cotton.

Enter the handy-dandy Air Pods holder and some Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn in a “summery” colorway from my stash.

The Air Pods holder is basically 2 small crocheted granny squares that include loops made of chains and positioned at the middle top of each square: one that is 5 to 7 chains and one that is more like 35 chains. These form the closure where the LONGER chain loop threads through the smaller chain loop. I also put these on a carabiner so that I can clip it to a belt loop or bag.

I may add a happy decorative-only button to this as well. I think I have some flowers, flip-flops or other Summer-inspired plastic buttons that would be perfect!

I can report that I felt quite satisfied with my small finished piece, and am looking forward to using it this afternoon when I go for a walk. It feels like the worst of my “fiber funk” may be starting to lift, and I will be able to shake off the final shreds of it that I’ve been dragging around.

My “recovery” comes just in time to start worrying about the implications of a slowdown in consumer spending and what that will mean to the U.S. economy (consumer spending makes up about 2/3 of the nation’s economic output). Trust me – the closing of Joann’s has had an impact on more than crocheters, knitters and sewists – it’s impacting the US economy!

More on that and the related macroeconomic issues in later posts.

For now, I’m grateful to see the end of this fiber-frustrating melancholy, and look forward to my next project!

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(C) Fiber Harmony