Dog Blankets!

Metaphor alert!  And photos of projects ahead.  You have been warned.

I struggle with depression.  It turns out that I struggle more successfully if I have something to do with my hands that moderately challenges my brain.  Bonus points accrue if the activity turns out to be creative or if it results in my environment being in some way tidier or cleaner.

I have had a stressful couple of weeks, which led to a cold.  In addition to the sleep disruption I expected from the snot, I got to enjoy a more-than-usually-bad bout of nightmares.  So I awoke yesterday in a Bad Mood.

I had, lurking in my closet, a bunch of flannel squares that someone passed along to me.  There were enough of them that I felt guilty throwing them out, but not so many that I saw my way to making a blanket or a crazy flannel shirt for T.  It was a ziplock bag full of misery.

Hours later, I have trimmed and sewed and sandwiched and tied and finished.  These little blankies may not be artifacts of the greatest beauty, but Syd’s dog, Polly, will get two for Christmas.  My dog-brother Peanut will also get two.  I saved one for Cricket.  I did not have to buy one single thing to complete the projects, so my stockpile of fabrics, batting, flosses, and threads has been reduced.  Something messy became something not-messy.  Something chaotic became order.  And that was a small transformation.

Mood is better.

Here are pictures.