Chandelier of Ideas

Everyone is busy. That doesn't even need to be said. We have tasks that we must do every day, like brushing teeth or eating. We have task we chose to do every day, like making the bed or reading.


In my case, not only do I have the necessary tasks, daily, I have to battle with my creativity. So many ideas. I don't get single bulb ideas, I get chandeliers of light bulbs over my head.

What normally happens is there is so much rolling around in my brain, that I get overwhelmed: Writing ideas, crochet projects, organization projects, business plans. Not to mention actually working to earn real money. (I am a scheduler with A Closer Look Mystery Shopping and I do mystery shops for several firms.) On top of that, I have grocery shopping, cooking, dish washing, laundry, finding time to work-out a few minutes every day, and sleeping.


From what I have read, to be truly effective, I have to set up a routine and make deadlines for myself. I'd rather chew on glass, however, there is merit to this suggestion. This is, I am most creative in the morning, but that is when so many of the "ordinary" tasks take up precious time. Better if I would ignore my mother's voice in my head telling me I have to make the bed and clean the kitchen before doing anything enjoyable.

I don't get single bulb ideas, I get chandeliers of light bulbs over my head.

Ideally, I would get up, make coffee and toast, then slam out two hours of solid creativity before making the bed and cleaning the kitchen. I could work on those new crochet patterns, write stories, create a business plan, mentally organize my closets.

Then, I could do my job, which is repetitive and not terribly creative. Then, after working a few hours, I could work on the actual crochet project. Another repetitive task that is closely akin to meditation.


Yes, I think this is a good plan.

7 Surprising Health Benefits of Crocheting

Learning how to crochet can do more than you think for your mental health and happiness.

Arts and crafts are more than just a fun pastime, they’re truly healing and restorative and are actually very therapeutic. In fact, the healing benefits of crocheting (and knitting) are numerous and range from simply calming you down and easing your stress to potentially relieving depression and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Crocheting doesn’t just help you if you’re the one who’s sick – it helps the caregivers around you, your friends and family that help you, love you and support you. It’s also a very good craft to pick up as a hobby for group therapy sessions, as you’re healing together in a group without having the focus completely on you. There are so many benefits of crocheting, so whether you’re stressed out and can’t sleep or are doing your part to help slow down Alzheimer’s, you’ll be doing yourself and your health a favor.

1. Crocheting reduces stress and anxiety

When you’re feeling stressed or anxious in your daily life, take some time for yourself, pick up some yarn and your hook (or your needles), and spend some time being creative. By crocheting and allowing yourself to be creative, you’re taking your mind off of whatever’s been nagging you. By focusing on the repetitive motions of individual stitches and counting rows, your mind is able to be more relaxed and free from anxious ideas and thoughts. 

2. Crocheting helps with insomnia

By focusing on something that’s easy, repetitive and soothing, like crochet projects, you can calm down your mind and body enough to let you fall asleep. So the next time you’re tossing and turning in the middle of the night, don’t get frustrated, just pick up a work in progress! 

3. Crocheting helps ease or relieve depression

When you do something we like, our brains release dopamine, a chemical that affects our emotions and functions like a natural anti-depressant. Scientists now believe that crafts, such as crocheting, can help stimulate that dopamine release to allow us to feel happier and better about ourselves.

4. Crocheting reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 30-50%.

Crocheting can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 30-50%. By engaging in cognitive exercises and stimulating your mind, you can slow down or even prevent memory loss. Whether you plan on challenging your memory by learning a new stitch or technique or simply by reading and working up a pattern, by getting a little crafty, you’ll be helping preserve your memories.

5. Crochet builds your self-esteem.

We all want to feel productive and useful, and by working up a project to give as a gift or sell at a craft fair, we can do just that. Though we don’t craft just for the compliments, a little bit of external validation by someone buying your finished item or your gift recipient wearing that crochet hat you made all winter long can truly give us the self-esteem boosts we need.

6. Crocheting acts as a form of group therapy.

For those who seek therapy benefits in group settings, crocheting can be supremely beneficial. By placing the focus off of the patient and only the crochet project itself, it provides all of the previously mentioned health benefits of crocheting plus a sense of community and togetherness. By working in a craft, those in a group can immediately have some way of relating to the other group members, and it may help function as an ice breaker for more seriously conversations. Even if you aren’t actively seeking therapy, you can benefit from the sense of community that crocheting can bring.

7. Crocheting puts you in control.

Whether you feel helpless as a caregiver watching someone struggle or you’re the one struggling with your own illness or problems, crocheting is a way to put the control back into your own hands – literally. By choosing to craft, you are in full control of everything, from the type of project you’ll be making, the color and type or yarn and even the type of crochet hooks to work with, and that makes a difference in feeling like you have a say again.

 By: Julia Wiatr, Editor, AllFreeCrochet.com

Not Quite a Resolution

Every year, about this time of year, I get this idea that I should do something meaningful. Maybe a lot of people do that. New year, new ideas. I don’t really make resolutions. This is more of a PLAN for the year. More precisely, projects I hope to complete.

CHESAPEAKE BAY CROCHET

Overriding everything is getting my online business, Chesapeake Bay Crochet, really moving along. I actually sell more items on eBay, but I don’t plan to close my Etsy Store. Also, I am selling items on my other blog, Karen Writes AND Karen Crochets, by listing my latest projects.

A Corner of My Desk. A Large Part of My LIfe

This will involve creating patterns to sell as well as finished items. I have spent time researching key words and updating my SEO knowledge to be relevant to today.

KEEPING A DIARY

No, I am not thirteen. What I mean is, I have a little pocket size notebook that I intend to take with me everywhere I go. You can get them at Amazon. They are inexpensive and small enough to fit in a purse, backpack or whatever else you carry on a regular basis. This little notebook will the the place where I write down everything: ideas, grocery lists, interesting things, funny things, sketches, things I am thankful for, reminders. One notebook for everything instead of having several location for all of my stuff. Don’t you just love organization?

READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY

This is not a new idea for me. This is a plan I make every year. Even if my Bible reading consists on just one or two verses, I will read a portion of the Bible daily. Yes, I am a religious person and I believe in what I read. The Bible is my source of comfort, intelligence, wisdom, ideas, knowledge and belonging. I do not read it just for the sake of running a race or for a sense of accomplishment. Over the years, I feel as if I have read the entire Bible. It doesn’t go like a novel, where you begin on page one and carry on until completion. Depending on the day, I will carefully choose what to read: a song, a prayer, practical wisdom, history, an individual’s story.

One Year Ago

One year ago, I was worried about so many things that I cannot even remember, now.  That is, not until I got the email from FutureMe. 

FutureMe is an email service, where you can send an email to yourself, or anyone else, at some point in the future-a day, a week, a year, longer.  I used to think it was a cool idea, but now, it is a reminder of what I did not accomplish.

I didn't:

• Lose a bunch of weight
• Read the Bible every day
• Pray every day
• Get my finances on a better track
• Exercise regularly

Maybe, I don't have to accomplish anything at this stage of my life.  Maybe, my life is good enough right now. Maybe, some of those goals are unrealistic. Truth is, I am pretty satisfied with the way things are. The major change I would make is lowering my stress level, which is, I am very sad to say, sky high. There is a single person responsible for that.  Or rather I should say that the person I stress about is not going to change what he is doing and in reality, I am responsible for my own level of stress. 

So why do I worry about him so much?  He has no one else to worry about him.  Not really.  I worry that he will die and I certainly don't want that. I worry that he will not get better from his sickness that has been going on for nearly 3 months and he refuses to go to a doctor.  Why? Because he says that anyone on earth can look at his medical records and there is a "libatard" (the term he stole from someone else for a liberal retard)--likely the janitor at the doctor's office--that will take that information and use it against him to have him declared a menace to society and they will take away his right to buy a gun or own a knife.

I say, "That is the craziest thing I have heard in my life..."

"Just you wait and see!  It will happen," says he, interrupting.

I respond, "Like it or not, you are not that important in the grand scheme of things.  Neither am I.  We are both merely drops in the ocean of nearly 8 billion people. No one is going to look at your medical records to see if you went to the doctor to cure nausea."

"That kind of thinking will get you in trouble with it all goes down.  Stick your head in the sand like everyone else."  He walks away to end the discussion.

I went on vacation to see new faces and to talk to new people and to get a fresh presepctive.  I took the problem with me.  It seems as if all I could talk about was him, my brother. I realized that I cannot hide from stress.  So, a new year and a new resolution:  REDUCE STRESS

My Next Project

I am still very busy making new items to sell here, on Facebook and on my ETSY Page. Everyday, I crochet, update blogs and websites and think about what I will work on next.

I have perfected my fingerless mitten pattern. For now, this image is of my fingerless mittens Mirasol Sisa Yarn in Stardust which is 60% lambs wool and 40% alpaca in the first stage: The Basic Mitten.

Fingerless Gloves

My creation is completed. As with any new crochet project, there are issues that must be resolved before I can offer the pattern for sale: Tweaks in wording and verifying that I didn’t miss a step.

These gloves were made with scrap yarn, so I am working on the real thing now, with real yarn purchased for the specific purpose of creating a pair of PERFECT fingerless glove. Well, as near perfect as I can make them.

I am not a machine. There may always be variations in stitches, or tiny imperfections that add to the overall beauty of the project. Anyway, enjoy the next step in my crochet creation project.

I used Red Heart Soft Yarn in cherry red, Patons Beehive Baby Sport Weight Yarn in Angel White and Susan Bates Silvalume crochet hooks size G and H

The Next Step

Work is progressing on my new creation: Fingerless Mittens.  They are starting to look like what they are!

Now the fun part begins.  They will have a lacy crocheted trim and have a couple of buttons added to each one.  They should be finished today.

Creativity

I have wasted many, many hours scouring the Internet for crochet patterns to match the vision I have in my head of items I want to produce.  What a load of rubbish!  What I mean is, I am working really hard to reinvent the wheel.  Why would anyone want to do that?

I have created my own patterns for crocheted items previously. Click here and here for examples of patterns available for digital download through my Etsy Store.

So, I am now working on a pattern for fingerless gloves, or more precisely, fingerless mittens because there is a thumb hole, but not individual holes for fingers.  I have ripped out stitch after stitch in an effort to create my patterns.

This it the first half of a pair of mittens:

Fingerless Mitten

Yeah, I know what you're saying.  It doesn't look like a glove or a mitten or anything else recognizable.  Well, maybe half of an orangutan mitten, but why would anyone want to put mittens on an orangutan?

I agree.  Stay tuned of the next iteration of my invention!

I Have Been Busy

I have been working feverishly to create items for my online store that can be found here and here.  I have sold several items on ebay recently and have even sold some items directly to interested individuals.

The key was finding what people wanted to buy and not concentrating on what I wanted to make.

Also, price control has become an issue for me.  If it is priced too high, no one wants it, even if the item is hand-made.  If it is priced too low, then the entire market for hand-made crafts is diluted.

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style:  Blue chenille, lace trimmed with vintage white/rhinestone buttons

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmer Steampunk or Boho Style: Red with black ruffle trim and large vintage buttons

Everything Old is New Again

I recently ran a poll on Facebook to find out what is the best name for my craft business that has actually been in existence for nearly 5 years:  It looks like CHESAPEAKE BAY CROCHET is the winner.

Initially, I chose wisely.  I considered other ideas like, Chain Stitch, Hot Pink Crochet, Karen Crochets and on and on.  But Chesapeake Bay Crochet is the hands down winner.

I'll go with a winner every time.

So, I make hand made crochet items and I sell them.  HAND MADE.  No made by a machine or by a robot.  Hand made by ME.

I am working on updating my blog and my image for a better online presence.  I know how to do this!  I have a quality product at fair prices.  So, diving right in, again...

Mandala Crocheted by Kay Crochet

Etsy Updates

I have been working on updating my Esty site with additional pictures and items for sale. 

I have also updated my Pinterest site with similar pictures and items for sale.

Check them out!

Petrol Head? Gear Head? Motor Head?

I just don't know.  I've never before had a love affair with a car, except maybe my Chevy Cougar back in 2001, but even then, it was just a passing infatuation.

The number of cars that passed through my life is huge and not very stellar from a Ford Pinto, to a Beetle, to a AMC Gremlin, then a Plymouth Reliant K Car, and on and on ad nauseum.  Cars were transportation.  Nothing more than a method for traveling from point A to point B with a minimum number of calls to my road service. I had cars that were my least favorites, like the Honda POS that I (thankfully) totaled on Interstate 64, and cars that were favorites, like the peppy little Dodge Spirit.

Right after my near death experience on I-64 in which I lost a whole cup of Starbuck's Latte, I bought a Chevy Blazer from a friend and subsequently name it Big Blue. It was steady, faithful and reliable until it wasn't any longer.  Several times, Blue left me stranded and the repair bills piled up.  Because I needed reliable transportation, I bit the bullet, resigned myself to car payment slavery and started the search.

I live in Virginia, which has glorious weather most of the time, but there is at least one major snow storm a year.  After living in Florida most of my life where that sort of thing doesn't happen, I dreaded the next weather onslaught.  I wanted a 4 wheel drive car.  Maybe a Jeep.

Or so I thought.

The salesman at the dealership tempted me with an uninteresting car:  a 2010 Dodge Avenger (See photo.)

It had a single previous owner, six years old and... wait for it... only 13,170 miles.  

At first glance, I was all "Meh."  But I looked a little closer at the grill, and lights, the flared fenders over the wheels, the roundy hips in the back and my "Meh" turned into, "Maybe.'

Long story, short, I bought it, but still didn't fall in love right away.  That came later.  At first the Avenger was steady, reliable transportation that would get me from point A to point B without any call to my road service. 

Fast forward 8 months...

I made a road trip from Virginia to Florida, on my own.  A journey of 685 miles.  Somewhere on that trip, just the car and me, I fell in love.  It wasn't a head-over heels reaction.  It was slow, as I got to know her.  She became my close friend.  We bonded in a way I had never bonded with a car before.

Then, I gave her a name:  Emma Peel  (Look it up if you are wondering who she is)

I made it my business to find out everything about Emma: 0-60 in 8.3 secs, 2.4 liter engine, 173 hp @ 6000 rpms, 166 torques, 4 inline cylinders, 4 speed automatic transmission, front wheel drive, double overhead cams, average 24 mpg, curb weight of 1.5 tons.  That is just a bunch of numbers to me because I didn't bother to compare it to other cars. What I do know about my new best friend is that she wants to go fast.  She is eager.  She is willing. She is faithful and she is loyal.

On the con-side, she wags her tail more than a happy puppy.  She suffers from under steer in corners if I don't hold tightly to the steering wheel when going around and accelerate just right  (remember to brake BEFORE the turn and accelerate into the turn).  She has the same turning radius as the Queen Mary.  And the car is made of plastic... everything is plastic.  

Maybe it's time to dress her up a little... new seat covers and floor mats, steering wheel cover, maybe a dash kit.  After all, what girl doesn't like a bit of make up every now and then. 

Persistence and Flexibility

This morning a song from my youth made famous by the group Chicago was running through my head:  "Only the Beginning..."

The key to a successful online business is two-fold:  persistence and flexibility.

In the beginning, I have found that I need to try different things until I find that one perfect niche for me.  Right now, I am working with my abilities and seeing if I am making progress.  Mostly I am finding that sales on ebay seems to be the best.  Eventually, someone will buy what I am selling.  The question remains, do I going yard selling every weekend to find things I think will sell or do I continue crocheting items and putting them on Etsy?  I have put a couple of patterns on Etsy of items I have sold, but so far, no joy.

The next idea is creating a SteamPunk Barbie clothes pattern and also to create a clothing kit to sell.

For today, I will complete the shawl I am currently working on.

Choose Your Thoughts like You Choose Your Words

Now that you have examined how choosing your thoughts makes an impact on your growth and potential, you can also take a look at another area in your life. Firstly, however, take a moment to realize that there are two components of whether or not you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

Growing up, you may have been told that you are not as good as someone else in a certain academic subject, sport, or talent. This has been your belief for all of your life. After all, you were told this over and over again. You heard people in your environment from parents to teachers that you were not as good as someone else in a certain area.

On the other hand, you may have been told that you were perfect in a certain subject or area and never really taught to question those parameters. You may think that the bar was set, you reached the goals and that your job is done. This is part of growing up with a fixed mindset.

Secondly are the stories you create as you grow up; you may have judged yourself as someone who is not as good as simply because a statement was made on one occasion. You held onto that belief with no prompting from someone else, yet you continued to carry it into adulthood. Either way, there is no need for blame in either of these situations. As an adult, you are free to re-create your life as you see fit.

Choosing Your Words for Your Self

When a friend comes to you feeling unaccomplished or less than, you more than likely are an encourager – someone who takes their feelings into consideration and lifts them up. Why not do that for yourself as well. Change your thoughts, change your mind and watch how you talk to yourself as well.

When it comes to yourself, do you beat yourself up, criticize yourself and not give yourself the same break you would give your own friend? Choose kinder words of communicating for yourself and be aware of too much negative self-talk. 

A growth mindset allows you to tell yourself that you did not do as well as you had hoped and also speaks to you that you can and will do better, achieve more. All this without the negative self-talk that comes along with it.

Choosing Your Words for Others

In the same manner you would want to speak to yourself with kindness and encouragement in order to foster your potential and development, take that opportunity to foster and encourage the development of another.

Instead of making excuses for them, hold them accountable, encourage them to see where they can do better and offer them the possibility of achieving more and doing greater things with their life and with their minds.

When you choose your words carefully, whether to yourself or to others, you make a difference which can then result in making a change.

Do You Fall Into This Trap? Comparing Yourself to Other People?

If you are human, you have done it. You compare yourself to other people. The good news is that people out there compare themselves to you and the not-so-good news is that you do it, as well. While neither is benefit of the other, it is simply part of human nature. It’s how we grow, it’s how we strive, but sometimes, unfortunately, it’s sometimes an excuse to give up, as well.

A Fixed Mindset

If we don’t have something to compare ourselves to, you might reason, then how will we learn to achieve and grow? Sometimes, when we compare ourselves to others, we have something to gauge our success and failure with and, therefore, a measure of where we can do better and achieve more.

However, unfortunately, for those with a fixed mindset, this does not occur at all. There is actually a reverse method of thinking. That reverse method tells us, since we are not as good as the other person, we might as well just quit. That doesn’t work in the world of intelligence, however. It is ineffective, at best.

Do you ever find yourself viewing someone else’s success as only a way to make yourself look bad? If so, you are not alone in this thought process. For some, the success of others equates to highlight their own failures. Excuses are made such as the other party being luckier or having it easy. Another excuse is to say everything just comes easily to that person or, even worse, use their success to highlight some other unrelated shortcoming. What if you could re-train your brain to adopt a mindset of growth?

Growth Mindset

On the opposite end of the spectrum is a growth mindset. You can give yourself the opportunity to change and grow over time as you learn to re-train your brain to a growth mindset. When you view someone else’s success as a way to strive harder, do more, and work harder, you re-train your brain to view this not as an excuse to stay status quo, but as a reason to thrive.

If you choose the thought patterns that intelligence can be developed and you can most certainly train your brain to reach higher heights, you will see a radical change in your life. Once you get that your self-image has nothing to do with failing at something and that this failure is actually a path to higher learning, you will be at ease in your own skin.

Wouldn’t that be nice to be at ease in your own skin? If you change your mind, you can re-train your brain to view failure as a stepping-stone to new successes. You will begin to understand failure as a learning tool and not as a way to define your image. 

So, the next time you want to compare yourself to someone else, stop and ask yourself if his/her success can highlight inspiration for you. Maybe he/she put a tremendous amount of effort into the realization of dreams and all that hard work paid off. This could be a learning tool for you rather than something viewed as an enemy. 

Other people’s success could be a way and a means for you to learn, grow, and, most importantly, be inspired.

Communication and Changing Your Mindset

Older theories about intelligence dictate to us that we are born a “certain way.” We have certain traits that others do not possess, others have certain traits that we do not possess, and that is that. There is no room for growth or expansion. Our intelligence is as it always was and there is no room for improvement.

However, today, we know better. We know that we have the ability to change our mindset and, therefore, improve our capacity for learning in leaps and bounds. No longer is the status quo necessary. We can grow and strive to achieve more academically and, therefore, in life.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Each one of us go through our days speaking our mind, saying things without giving it much thought and sometimes even holding things in and not speaking up for ourselves only to berate ourselves later on for doing so. If you take a moment to recognize and record the words you use daily, you may come to realize that the words you choose might directly relate to the mindset you have.

What is a Mindset?

A mindset is the mental attitude you adopt which dictates how you will or will not perceive, react and respond to situations. Why is it important? Your mindset can and will determine your life from academics to career and beyond.

Why is it Important to Communicate Effectively?

The way you interpret your situation communicates to your brain. When it comes to intelligence, you may have a long-standing belief that you are either one way or another. For example, you may feel that you are average and are not questioning that old, limiting, and long-standing belief. It is important to communicate effectively by choosing the thoughts that will change the outcome.

For example, there have been many firsts in your life. You had to allow your first child get on the bus to go to kindergarten without you there. The next child it was a little easier and by the third child, if you had one, this task was not as big of a deal as the first time you had to face it.

By communicating to yourself that you can and will get through the many things that life sends your way, you are able to meet and face more and more challenges along the way. More importantly, you get to do it with ease and grace; as long as you communicate to yourself that, you can and are able to do so.

Communication is so much more than the words you speak to yourself; it’s also the thoughts you think. When you challenge yourself and achieve, you reset the communication bar. You allow yourself to see that not only can you achieve more by learning new things and taking on more challenges, but you also get to see that you can take on a growth mindset instead of a limiting one.

Getting My Head out of the Working World and into My Business

The first step to this new venture was to get rid of my "9-5" attitude.  I had to shake off the boring remnants of my previous employment.  I took a two week "Stay-cation" and spent some time getting my house in order, weeding my front yard, getting my veggie garden moving in a good direction and planting some flowers.  

Seems mindless, yeah?  Maybe on the surface, but it was also very therapeutic.  My frenetic life is over and I am learning to slow down my pace and live.  Each day, I look forward to waking up instead of dreading the prospect of having to go to work at a place I really didn't enjoy. 

Without getting all hippy on you, I will admit that I not only stopped to smell the roses, I took time to contemplate the perfection of each blossom and the miracle that made them in the first place.  My advice to you is simple: If you can't quit your job, at least take some time each week to unplug from your frenzied routine. 

I am reminded of the movie, The Last Samurai, when the man who owned the house and the village where Tom Cruise was held captive told him, as Tom was trying to learn the way Samurai fight, "Too many mind.  Mind of people watching, mind of warrior, mind of weapon.  Too many mind,"  Tom realized that Nobu was telling him that he was overthinking the situation.  

So, to myself I say, "Too many mind."

The New Chapter

Many people get panicked when they find themselves unemployed, but not me.  I recently quit a job that paid me really well so I could concentrate on my online business.  I really want to make a go of this opportunity.  I have laid the preliminary ground work to this adventure and now, I have to move full steam ahead.

Am I scared?  Yes.  Am I uncertain about the future?  Yes.  Am I willing to plow ahead?  Yes.

I could have been the author of the book in the picture because I feel happier and calmer now than I have in a long time--the result of ditching the job that demanded too much of my time, energy and resources.

This new chapter is just beginning, but I will keep you posted with my thoughts and feelings and ideas.  I will try to chronicle what works and what doesn't when starting an online store.  

I inherited two things from my parents:  Rheumatoid Arthritis from my dad and a love of crochet from my mom. 

Crocheting intricate doll dresses and tiny doilies became increasingly difficult to the point I had to have surgery to repair joint damage in my right hand. After my surgery and several months of physical therapy, I was ready to take to the crochet hook, again. I had to make adjustments to my crochet techniques, essentially learning my craft all over again.  I began using an ergonomic hook, which made all the difference.  However, if I go a few days without crocheting, I notice more stiffness in my hands and they are far more achy and painful. 

By following these tips, I am able to 

• Warm up. Soak your hands in warm water and lightly stretch them before starting your project to reduce stiffness.
• Switch it up.  Move between crochet projects so you don't put excessive, repetitive strain on your hands. For example, I will alternate between a project that requires tight stitching, such as a doily or other thread crochet project, and something looser, like a crocheted afghan.
• Loosen up. The more forceful your grip, the more you compromise your joints and hands. Be intentional about a more relaxed grip. 
• Pick projects carefully. Very large projects such as oversized sweaters and afghans can get heavy and might be hard to manage. If you’re making a gift for a birthday, allow yourself plenty of time to complete it so that you don’t strain your hands while rushing to finish.
• Rest. RA can flare in response to certain triggers, and one of those is overwork. I definitely pace myself rather than overworking my joints.
• Try heat. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it does for me. I use special gloves designed to help support the joints and keep my hands warm.
• Take medication for pain and stiffness. Talk with your doctor about the best drug options for you. You might want to take medication before a prolonged period of work on a project.
• Get support.  Reach out to the local arthritis association groups, through which you’re likely to find other people coping with the same problems.

Above all, don't allow your illness to rob you of your love of crochet. 

Make the Most of The Time You Have

You can manage time better by finding lost time. Lost time is that which you didn’t even realize you were wasting in the first place. It’s almost like keeping change in a piggy bank and one day you realize it’s totaled over $100! 

Don’t waste the time that most people do. 

There are ways to find time that’s often overlooked because people tend to think of time management as being large blocks of time available. But you can do a lot with just ten or fifteen minutes.

Don’t waste the time you have while waiting in a doctor’s office or while exercising. If you like to use a treadmill, you can get one that has a desk so that you can take care of something that has to be dealt with. 

Realize that not everything that seems important is. 

It only seems that way. Look at your life and stop doing the things that aren’t important that drain your time. If something isn’t a matter of you being happy and succeeding personally or professionally, then it’s not important. 

Run ahead, not behind. 

When you get behind schedule, it can make you feel a lot of pressure and it adds stress to your life. Try to get things done ahead of time because this gives you a buffer in time management. 

Delegating is a great way to help with time management.

Most people like to do things themselves because they know then that the job is done correctly. But if you do the things that others can do, it’s draining your time. For example, some time drains are things like mowing the grass or cleaning the house, scheduling meetings, handling social media updates. 

What you can do is to look at how much it costs you do the tasks that you do. If someone else can do them, then you’re not only losing time - you’re losing money. 

If you earn $200 per hour, then an hour of mowing the grass costs you $200. But if you pay someone $50 to mow the grass, then you saved an hour and $150 because you gained time. 

Deal with emails the right way. 

Handling email causes more people to get off track than any other online task beside social media and online games. 

Manage your time wisely with email by setting aside a specific time to deal with email and setting a time limit on how long you’ll take responding to the messages. 

If they’re not important, don’t save them to look at later because they’ll only pile up in your inbox. If your life allows you to, hire an assistant to deal with handling your email