Does crafting make you happy and content?

Dear users, dear authors,
how is it for you? Does crafting (always) make you happy and content, or do you also have times when that’s not the case?
What’s particularly important to you?

Handmade crafts make me happy and content, and when it actually looks like something, I’m MEGA SATISFIED :-) With clothes, it’s important to me that they fit properly and well, also with knitted cardigans. The items should be as compatible as possible color-wise with my other clothes, because walking around looking like a parrot isn’t really my thing :-)
For me, for example, English paper piecing is something where I can totally switch off; it’s like chilling with a needle in my hand, I wind down and don’t hear or see anything anymore except the piece I’m working on in my hand.
What I especially enjoy is designing something myself, especially cuddly children’s toys.
But I’ve also had phases where nothing at all went smoothly and I had zero desire for handmade crafts, but thank goodness those never lasted very long. It’s different when I get a doctor’s ban on needlework because my *old bones* are acting up again; that’s much worse.

I feel content when I’m crafting. When I’m working on a project where I know exactly what the final result should look like, I really enjoy it and can relax.

What makes me unhappy are my many UFOs. They just sit there and sit there, and I already have the next idea in my head—I can’t control myself and end up starting the next project.

Fortunately, sometimes I’m disciplined enough to finish what I’ve started. Or I unravel the work I’ve already begun.

I think, for me, the journey is the destination. I don’t mind unraveling everything and starting over. A scarf I started might, after a few detours, end up becoming a blanket. 

For me, that’s 100% true!
It lets me totally unwind and relax—when I can’t knit, I feel like something’s missing.

For me, crafting is something that makes me very happy. It lets me relax and fully express my creativity. If something doesn’t turn out right or takes too long, it can get boring. I get past that by simply knitting or crocheting something smaller on the side.

A day without needles is definitely a lost day. ;-)

I feel the same way as Moni.
I crochet or knit every day, even if it’s just a little something.

For me, a day without crafting is a day wasted—even if I knit or crochet just a single row. It’s incredibly relaxing, and I love it when a piece emerges from my hands “as if out of nowhere.” I recently discovered sewing—which I’m currently learning from my mom—and find it just as satisfying as working with yarn, especially because I also enjoy spending time with my mom. I particularly enjoy the creativity I can express as a break from the somewhat boring daily routine, where everything is just the same old thing.

Absolutely! Crocheting and knitting are relaxing (most of the time!), and every finished piece makes me happy and a little proud. I just wish I could be a bit more organized and not always have several unfinished projects lying around!

Starting this fall, I’ll be even happier because I got the green light from my doctor—I’m allowed to knit again! I’m jumping for joy. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time for it right now, but who knows—maybe it’s for the best to wait until the move is all wrapped up.

For me, crocheting is therapeutic, and I’m totally hooked on amigurumi.
At this point, I don’t even know what to do with all my little animals anymore. Some of them just wander off on their own. I’ve also donated a few to the daycare center.

Akela, I can totally relate to how happy you are. I think not being allowed to knit anymore would be the worst punishment for me.

Ellen, with your crocheted animals, you’re bringing joy to several people at once: yourself while you’re crocheting, and the kids at the daycare center as well. It’s a great idea to donate them there. Children’s homes or orphanages would surely be grateful for them, too.

I can’t go a single day without a needle either—crafting definitely makes me happy, and
for me, it’s also a way to calm my nerves. When everything and everyone is getting on my nerves, crafting helps me the most.
Right now, I’m also finishing up my UFOs; I make that a goal every year.
Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work out.

@ johansi
Take a look here: https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/forum/topic/118647/januar-projekte-teil-2-die-crazypatterns-handarbeitsgruppe
At the end of the month, Josefa always holds a really motivating awards ceremony there for everyone who has finished one or more UFOs. That helps many of us stick with our UFOs more easily.

Thanks for the kind words, Ruth. :-)