So Many Patterns!

[SabrinaRT]

Good evening everyone! This is my first time creating a new topic, and trying to figure out where to put it was initially difficult. Until I found this thread, and knew instantly this was the space to put it.

So far since joining Ribblr over a year ago I have had the pleasure of testing several patterns for other creators. A few months ago I got my own Ribblr Store set up. I haven’t actually finished setting it up yet. So there is literally nothing there, not even a profile picture. I am notoriously famous for being terrible with technology. My husband is often amazed at how bad I am with technology.

I currently have at least a dozen patterns I am currently writing. It started with one, that at this current time is very complex as it gives different options for every piece of the amigurumi. Which then led to me starting to write a new pattern that would be easy. Spoiler alert: it became complex too. And over the last year, I keep having creative bursts that lead to me starting yet another new pattern without finishing even one. And don’t get me started on how many projects I have started that are just waiting for me to finish.

Now, I haven’t always been this disorganized. Back on September 1st of 2016, at the age of 25 I suffered a massive stroke. I had blood clots in both my left arm and left leg. Some of those clots broke free and traveled to my lungs, heart, the veins in my neck, and brain. I was lucky to be in the hospital when the stroke happened, and was treated quickly. I was airlifted to a larger trauma hospital that specializes in stroke and heart attacks. I spent a total of 28 days in hospital. But I have been left with lasting side effects from the stroke. I have weakness in my hands, aphasia, cognitive function impairment, partial blindness in my left eye, memory loss, constant fatigue, and frequent migraines.

Even after 7 years, I’m still trying to learn how to function with my traumatic brain injury. I have the attention span of a goldfish. There are just so many things I want to do, and not enough time to do them. How do you guess prioritize what to do? I’m also looking for any suggestions for an app or something that I can create diagrams in.

What are your top tips for actually finishing what you’ve started, instead of starting everything and not finishing anything? I feel like a Magpie just picking up all the shiny objects.

Some pictures of some of my past work, to help detract from the novel I just wrote.

[pandachu]

First off, you are so damn strong for going through all that and coming out the other side. My mum has gone through something similar, except brain aneurysm vs stroke. The system that we worked out for her was physical daily planners and calendars, as her tolerance for screens are incredibly low now.

Wishing you all the best for your health going forward and your future shop xx

[DisneyIzzy]

That’s amazing how you went through that. It sounds terrifying. You’re so strong!! Best of luck to you.

Also I love the oyster pearl one

[NanaJanice]

I absolutely love them all!!! Keep on creating. I know of a 2 yo that would love this dragon. Please let us know when you get your store in order!!!

[SassyPumpkins]

Oh my gosh Sabrina, you have been through so much!

I am disabled with a spinal injury and am bedbound most of the time, and in a wheelchair when I need to be out and about. I suffer with clots and due to the heavy duty pain meds I am on, I have the attention span of a goldfish.

Like you, I was starting lots of projects and then not finishing them as I would get distracted easily or come up a design I just had to start. I now have a white board next to my bed. I have a project to complete list on there and a daily schedule for completing them. So in the morning after breakfast, I start out with my board and I pick which project needing finishing that appeals to me. I spend at least 30 minutes on it before I can get distracted by anything else. I put a timer on and some music. When the timer goes off, I decide if I want to carry on with it or if I need a break and do something else. This has helped me so much so I do not feel overwhelmed. If I decide to be online to relax or look around, I do the same, set my timer. It sounds odd but it has made such a difference. Doing it in small time increments allows me to do things to finish off the things needing to be completed without feeling like I am out of control, feeling bad that I am not doing things, and yet allowing my creativity to run also.

I also keep an ideas notebook where I write down ideas I have from something I have seen that inspired me for something else or if I am chatting with a friend and they mention something. This way I don’t lose the idea, and I can build the time into my day to work on it or to think further on it. It has given me a bit of my life back and has allowed me some control over it that I felt so powerless and overwhelmed.

I don’t know if these suggestions would work for you, as they have for me…but I hope they will. I understand the feelings you are going through. It is difficult learning a new way of living your new life and situation.

As for the items you have started but keep adding more bits to your design. I am not sure what you are designing, but maybe you could consider if the additions could be add ones at a later date…as another item. If that is possible you could have a page or two in your notebook for that item…example if you are making a cute little doll and you want her to have a hat, a few different outfits, some shoes, etc…and then you decide you want some jewellery to add and winter clothing, etc…rather than working on all the extras, finish the doll with one basic outfit, go live with it, then work on the other pieces as and when you can to go live with them as and when you need. If it is possible to add the extras to your designs that might be worth going to help you get your design out.

I hope things get easier on you and remember that you are stronger than you realise. I know it feels overwhelming at times…but look at how far you have come since your stroke!! That is huge, and many folks would have given up. So don’t you put yourself down!! Sure, cry or throw something when you are overwhelmed and frustrated, scream and cuss if you need to release that energy that is overwhelming you, then tell those feeling to do one, that you are stronger than those feelings and just take one step at a time. You are a talented woman and I cannot wait to see your designs released!! And if you are having a day, week, month where you are struggling, reach out to family and friends, reach out to this community, reach out to me, I will always lend an ear and a shoulder without judgement. None of us can cope with everything alone, we all need to lean on others at some points in our life…and yet even with our own issues, we are strong enough to support others who are struggling with things no matter how big or small. And the crafting community always has people who can identify with struggles, who can lend support and who care. Besides the craft itself, that is one of the things I love about the community most.

Sending long distance hugs and support. And wishing you a very happy 2024 with only good things coming your way!

[SabrinaRT]

I’m glad your Mom is doing better. I wish that what I wrote in my post was the extent of my medical problems. Unfortunately it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I also suffer from osteoarthritis in all of my joints, degenerative disc disease, tendinitis, and a few other minor things.
I’ve tried doing a daily planner, but find I can’t keep with it consistently enough. But thank you for the suggestion.

[SabrinaRT]

Thank you. I replied to pandachu explaining some of the other health problems I deal with. Unfortunately we aren’t all dealt with the best hand. So all we can do is make the best out of the situation we are in.

[SabrinaRT]

Thank you. I had done a smaller dragon in blue, but wanted to make a bigger one. So instead of doing it the smart way and finding a pattern for a dragon in the size I wanted, I freehanded it. I named him Sylvester the Dragon. He sold not long before Christmas. Everyone loved his eyebrows.

[Anion]

I have a similar problem with attention

im autistic so i have a pretty low attention span.
i start and drop things very quickly and have loaaaads of wips. And i started designing patterns for my store but procrastinated releasing them so i only have the 2.

I found that testing is the best solution for me. It gives me a due date and someone that relies on me to finish. That makes the project more important in my head.
A habit tracker helps too, I talk more about it when talking about organizing

As for organization.... im horrible at that too.

People are surprised at how messy and scatterbrained i am cus they think people with autism want things perfect …which is actually why everything IS a mess, i cant achieve perfection so i freak out when i try to organize and give up

for organizing irl i find that body doubling is the best solution. Body doubling is when you ask someone to hang out with you while you clean. they dont have to help, just be there. I like to body double online with friends. we dont even have our cameras on or talk, but just the fact that we are cleaning our rooms together is enough to help me.

for organizing tasks, i just use google keeps… tho i do forget about it sometimes … but it does help a little bit lol.
i also use an app called loop habit tracker, to keep track of goals and habits. you might need some help setting it up tho, i had to play around a bit to figure out how to use it. but i like the app cus you can set up widgets, so when finishing a daily goal, you just click on the widget and dont have to open the app. Not needing to open an app prevents a little barrier for me

i add projects i want to finish in the habit tracker too, so basically, if i worked on the project atleast a little bit that day, i click that i did the task. You can set up your own goal, you can do work for at least 30 minutes, or hour, or something. I just start small

[Sakura17]

These are so cute! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

[SabrinaRT]

Organization is so hard for some reason. I’ll look into that habit tracker you suggested. I find most days I have no motivation to do anything other than crochet. So I have a hard time motivating myself to do things like the dishes, or cooking, or cleaning. I’ve even struggled with finding the motivation to shower at times. And it’s so frustrating, because I feel like I should just be able to do all of the things I listed because that’s normal. But my brain doesn’t want me to do all of those perfectly normal things, and I’m like, WHY?
Also, the body double idea sounds interesting and I will look into finding some people that are willing to help me, both in person and online. Because that idea sounds like something that might work for me. I think my biggest issue is the getting started part. Because once I’m doing it, I don’t have a problem continuing. So I’ll look into ways to figure that specific part out.
Thank you for all of your suggestions.

[SabrinaRT]

I’m going to DM you. So we can continue this conversation without taking up all of the space on this post.

[Jbear13]

Hi! Wow, I just want to say thank you for sharing. Although it didn’t happen to me, I have family experience with the effect that a stroke can cause and how hard it can be. I wish you the very best of everything!!! I cannot wait for your store to open. I will be sure to follow.

If you don’t have a nice dedicated space for your works in progress, that’s would I would recommend! I recently got a cute little rolling utility cart from Joanne’s that I really love. And seeing my works organized also makes me happy and excited to pick them up again

A little dry-erase board could also be a fun way to track and organize your w.i.p as well!

[SabrinaRT]

Thank you for your support. Unfortunately I don’t just have personal (as in myself) experience with how a stroke affects a person, but I also have a family member who has also had a stroke. My Dad suffered a hemorrhagic stroke about 6 months after I had my stroke. His unfortunately was much worse than mine. Which is likely due to the age difference. I was 25 when I had mine, he was 60. He ended up being in the hospital for 3 1/2 months. He has really bad muscle weakness on his entire right side. Which means most things he can’t do, and there are lots of things that he needs help with. But he’s making do the best he can. We did have testing done, and our strokes were not genetically linked. So that was a plus for the rest of the family who were worried for their health. It was just unfortunate circumstances for both of us.

I am definitely considering getting myself a whiteboard or something similar.

[Jbear13]

Oh jeez. Not to sound morbid but atleast you were not in the recovery process alone. My grandma actually was the one to have a stroke. The first one was the worst and that caused me to move in with her. She’s had a few since then but not in a few years thankfully! Thank you for sharing that, perhaps I should get myself tested in the future.

I wish you AND your dad all the best things!!

[Jbear13]

And going back to the white board idea… be sure to get lots of colors to write. I think using different colors during organizing/list making makes things extra engaging and fun!

[SabrinaRT]

It’s definitely not easy. My husband and I had actually just moved back to my home town 5 weeks before my stroke with the hope we’d be able to bring my grandma home. We had moved into her house. We rented her house for about 20 months before she passed and we purchased her house from her estate. Life isn’t easy, and it’s definitely not fair. We have to make the most out of the hand we’ve been dealt.

I hope your grandma maintains her current good health.

[Anion]

i feel you on that, its hard to do stuff. dishes, brushing teeth, and showering are a huuuge problem for me. Sometimes people tell me to just do it, but i cant

idk if it would help you, but on days where i dont have energy to shower, i atleast wet a hand towel and clean myself with that. its easier than showering and helps me feel less gross. and for hair i use baby powder or dry shampoo to help a bit.