The Thing About Anxiety...

...is you never know when you're going to get smacked upside the head with an attack. One minute you'll be hanging out doing your thing, the next moment you want to crawl into a hole because the tiniest little thought turned into a nightmare that you can't shake.

Back in January I had these grand plans of updating my blog on a weekly basis. It's now the middle of March and I've posted how many times?

Early February I got slammed with one of the longest bouts of anxiety I think I've ever experienced. It was a daily battle not only to get out of bed, but to make it through the day without losing my shit in front of my students. (Wouldn't that endear me to them? Bawling without being able to tell them why. Ha!)

More so than any other anxiety bout, this time everything seemed extra difficult, heavy. Even my knitting, which has been the one thing I could count on to help pull me out of it or at least ensure I didn't fall deeper into the hole wasn't doing it. I'm grateful I didn't completely stop knitting, but there was a definite slowdown.

Normally it takes me a little over a week to knit up a hat, taking into account the pattern, yarn weight, and the ability to get a seat on the train during my commute. The hat I just finished for Habibi took me over a month. That's the norm when I'm knitting for myself, but for him? Practically unheard of. That's how I knew things were bad.

Thankfully, with the improved weather and more sunlight, I'm finally coming out of it. But it's always there, in the back of my mind, waiting to strike. The only thing I can do when it does, is to battle it back with my two pointy sticks.

Like Pulling Teeth

I'm so bad at knitting for myself.  I always think I want to make myself something, but when I get started on a project it takes me months to finish it.

Case in point, this cowl.

I started it back in December and just finished it yesterday. It was a slow and painful process. I never wanted to work on it, when I did I couldn't get into the groove. I nearly did a happy dance when I bound off the last stitch, but since I was at the library I think that would have been frowned upon.

There are a lot of knitters out there who can knit for themselves, honestly I'm a bit jealous. I just can't, if I'm not knitting for someone it's never going to get finished.

Now that the cowl's finally finished, I'm itching get this new yarn wound so I can make Habibi two new hats.

Because a knitter's love can never have enough hats.

Wining the LYS Lottery

A couple Saturdays ago, Habibi and I ventured out to Home Depot to pick up some things stuff we needed for the apartment. On our way there he spotted a yarn shop that we hadn't seen before and decided to check it out.

When we walked into Slip Stitch Needlecraft it was obvious they've already outgrown their cozy, welcoming space. Yarn was everywhere, cubbyholes, shelves, boxes full of new yarn all over the floor waiting to find a home. In talking with Claudette, the owner, she told us they're already looking to move to a bigger location down the street, which is a testament to their success.

Yes, they're the same colorway. 

Claudette is a lively, outgoing woman, originally from Jamaica. In talking with her you can feel just how much she loves what she does, her customers, and the neighborhood. While there Habibi and I saw how she made sure to welcome everyone who came into the store, check to see if they needed help, and spent time getting to know them, not just as customers, but as neighbors.

It can be tough to find a local yarn shop (LYS) that you can really click with. The last one I loved going to on a regular basis was when I was still living in DC (Stitch DC), and didn't ever really find one when I moved back to Buffalo, even though are quite a few. So finding Slip Stitch Needlecraft is like winning the LYS lottery.

Claudette and her shop are great additions to the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. I can't wait to go back and see what new yarn goodies they'll have when I do.