Lockdown: How are you all coping right now? How’s your crafting going?

Dear users, dear authors,
how are you all doing right now with the lockdown and everything? Are you finding enough distraction and relaxation through your crafts?

That’s actually why, thanks to my oldest daughter, I got the idea to start making and sewing dolls that at least somewhat resemble my daughters. Without my sewing machine and embroidery machine, I really don’t know what I’d do or be able to do, since my other hobby—photography—involves being outside and is therefore off the table for now.

I’ve been keeping myself busy with yarn and needles. My “yarn thieves” are always on the prowl.

Other than that, I have the TV on all day.

Since I get an IV at the doctor’s office every six weeks, I unfortunately can’t bring any yarn with me.

I hope we can get through this time together just fine.

I’m currently teaching my daughter how to crochet. Her first project was a crawl tunnel for the guinea pigs.

Knitting is even more important to me right now than usual, since it really helps me unwind. But overall, I’m doing fine—after all, you can still make phone calls or stay in touch online.

I’m knitting.
I’m also translating an older pattern into English.

Speaking of languages—I’m trying to get the katakana (Japanese syllabary) to stick in my head.

Landlady: How old is your daughter? The tunnel for the guinea pig sounds fun—do you have a photo?

Anton and I go for lots of walks with his go-kart… luckily, the playgrounds are open… and we do a lot of crafts. Yesterday we made a car out of a toilet paper roll… It took an hour to make, and then he played with his new car for over an hour… which is great, of course.

We’ll see what we do tomorrow.

I always crochet in the evenings. Right now I have three projects (wedding cake, dragon, unicorn)—it’ll probably be a while before any of them are finished.

Aside from homeschooling (I’d rather not go into too much detail there), there aren’t really that many big changes. Work is work, and everyone still has a job; household chores are still household chores; the huge garden is still the huge garden.

And now that toilet paper is available again, that’s “normal” too.

I’m always a little shocked by how aggressive people often are in their language because of the lockdown. I don’t know what kind of salaries these people (especially the ones who yell the loudest) had, but it always seems to me as if, before the lockdown, they went out to eat every day, traveled, and threw parties with 30 people.

I don’t “crochet anymore” either, because the number of hours in a day hasn’t changed due to the lockdown, so there aren’t any noticeable changes in that regard either.

I’m finally tidying up my sewing room (which I’ve been putting off for so long)…… so I can actually find things again…… throwing things away, getting rid of stuff, etc. You can’t just set aside every little “scrap” of fabric, hoping you’ll need it someday…… 

What was it like a year ago? Back then, the weeks were nicely organized: an afternoon (or morning) at school, volleyball, Pilates, English, the senior citizens’ university, and on Thursdays, “Grandkids Day” in Zurich; every now and then a concert or a day hike; once a month, helping out in the cafeteria at the retirement home… And now: all gone—at the moment, English is only available as an online course on the computer. Luckily, I have my huge stash of wool and yarn and a head full of projects, a mess in my office and sewing room—and a wild little kitten!
Tidying up works great in my head, but in reality, unfortunately, much less so—but I try to make at least a tiny bit of progress every day. Fortunately, we’re still allowed to buy fruits and vegetables at the market, and the library is open for borrowing books. So every now and then I turn winter vegetables into a new dish (there’s certainly no shortage of recipes!), read, and in the evenings stick to my usual routine of watching TV and doing crafts. Almost the only way to see other people is to attend a short Sunday service (a maximum of 15 people, with social distancing and masks, of course).

Since I’m retired now, I have more time for knitting and crocheting. That’s my favorite thing right now and a great source of comfort. And designing new patterns, of course.

I really don’t feel like going shopping right now, but luckily our organic grocery store delivers to us and a farmer just around the corner has a farm stand. Everything else is ordered online.

What makes me sad is that I see my granddaughters so rarely. The time when they’re this little can’t be made up for later—unfortunately. 

Is everything going well?

To be completely honest? It’s really starting to get to me. Up until now, I’ve always told myself, “Okay, this is just how it has to be.” But now that I see how unreasonable and careless people are becoming, I don’t know if it makes me sad or angry.
If you say something to someone while shopping who’s standing too close to you, they yell at you. One “gentleman” suggested that if I wanted real closeness, I could give him a... Fortunately, a store employee overheard this, and the “nice fellow” was kicked out of the store and banned from the premises.
I also miss my dance group. Every Tuesday, I get nervous. I don’t even want to think about what it’ll be like when dancing is allowed again and I’m no longer part of it. Unfortunately, I had to leave the group because I couldn’t stand the stalking attacks from one of the members anymore. The man couldn’t accept being rejected and called me or sent me messages up to 60 times a day. That really took a toll on my health, and it’s completely unacceptable.

I really enjoy crocheting all sorts of things, but I just don’t have the motivation to sew them all together afterward. So, I’ve ended up with a whole bunch of unfinished projects sitting around, waiting for better times.
Luckily, I’m slowly running out of filet yarn; otherwise, I’d soon have more curtains or window hangings than I have windows.
To really get my mind working, I’ve started designing puzzles again. I used to do that a lot on a shipping forum, which unfortunately was shut down.
Well, now I’m going to see what’s on TV.
I’m glad things are going so well here, that you’re all doing well, and that you’re writing so diligently.
Best regards, Marlies

Marlies, I can totally relate to how you’re feeling—I’m in the same boat. I miss my family and just being able to give them a hug.

Love, Inge

Hi everyone,

oh my, Marlies, that sounds pretty intense. I can believe that’s really taking a toll.
It’s pretty wild how some people behave when they’re shopping.

It’s a good thing we have this forum here—we can share our thoughts, get things off our chests, and motivate each other… that helps a bit.

But what I miss most of all is the personal closeness with my family—hugging, doing things together, going for walks, or this or that…
WhatsApp is only a small consolation.

I’m still on short-time work until further notice; it’s been extended through May. How on earth is all this supposed to go on? I have no idea.

Oh dear, Marlies, that sounds really tough. Hang in there.

Andrea: Yeah, the hotel and restaurant industries are really struggling right now.

I’ve been doing pretty well since yesterday. I hate filling out forms, and yesterday I finally managed to fill out the application for unemployment benefits. I’d been putting it off forever.  Starting in April, I’ll be unemployed (I don’t even want to think about that). I have three job applications in the works again. Well, we’ll see.

Today I bought a used bike for Anton. We have plenty of time to practice right now 

What happened to Marlies is just awful. Unfortunately, you come across more and more people with a lot of aggression these days—even here—although, to put it in true Saxon terms, I’d say I’m not exactly lost for words, and yet there are still times when you simply don’t know what to say to certain people.

Personally, I’m finding the lockdown very annoying by now—it’s really taking its toll. Well, we’ve been doing a lot of remodeling in our apartment since November, so we’ve been kept pretty busy. Now I’m bringing forward the spring cleaning—we’ll see.
I do feel bad for the small businesses, though. It’s not as if I used to be dancing at a wedding every weekend, but it would still be nice to just go to a restaurant again sometime.
My daughter wants to get married this year; the date is set for the civil ceremony, and the celebration itself wasn’t supposed to be all that big, but unfortunately everything is still impossible to plan.
But I don’t want to complain—a certain degree of caution is probably essential, and we can only hope that the future will bring back a little normality.