Crochet Mood Blanket: Week 3 Reflections

Three weeks in, and I am loving this project. As I wrote about before, the social media groups surrounding the Crochet Mood Blanket project are so inspiring! I am loving interacting with other "hookers" around the world, and thanks to all their gorgeous blankets, I am jonesing to make a million more projects. I want to make squares and hexagons and stripes until I'm out of yarn! It's also given me the push to work on my ol' granny hexagon blanket from years past.. Remember that one?!

I am using Loops & Threads Impeccable for my mood blanket. I did not make a chart for colors and moods, but am instead choosing a color that I feel is appropriate each day. I didn't want to make a chart, because I think emotions are complicated and layered and fluid; I don't think a chart would properly map out my days, you know? I just don't think I can categorize a whole day as "angry," "sad," or "happy." I am, however, trying to categorize days as good or bad. I am adding a border to all my squares: white for good days, off-white for less-than-good days. I'm also keeping a journal to write down why I chose each color, though we'll see how long I can keep up with that. I wrote up my own square pattern and you can find the tutorial here. 

Something that has really surprised me about this project is how enlightening it has been to actively think about and reflect on my mood. Truth be told, I don't think I've given "mood" much thought until now, but if I had been asked, I probably would have said something about how mood is a choice or that mood is determined by the day's events. While I don't disagree with those statements, it has been really interesting to notice how I feel upon waking up, before any "daily events" have weighed on me and before making any "decisions" about my mood. There have been days when I have simply woken up cranky and I have no idea why; days that felt heavy or depressing despite being undeniably similar to many others that felt fine. 

Furthermore, when I wanted to do the "good v. bad" days with different borders, I thought I would have almost all white borders, because I consider myself such an optimist. While I still consider myself an optimist, I have realized that calling a heavy-feeling, so-so, boring kind of day "good" merely because it wasn't awful and because it's nicer to call it good than bad, is silly. I have realized that I don't like to call things "bad," but that doesn't mean they aren't... You know? I've been striving to be more honest about my mood with myself, rather than painting everything rosey because it's nicer. 

Like I said, I am loving this project. It has been both inspiring and self-revealing thus far, and we're only three weeks in! 

Are you participating? What do you think of the project? 

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