Irish Crochet Throw Degrades into Tablecloth: Retrenchment Life Lesson Learned

The Irish crochet motifs that I am still working on.

Things often don't go according to plan. The Irish crochet throw I was working on has now become an Irish crochet mini tablecloth, or something of that kind. Seeing that I might need to move country again, second time within a period of 3 months (tiring and exciting at the same time), I have to lower my costs and baggage. So, dum-dum-dum, the throw won't get what it needs to grow into a full throw.

Disappointment: Only an Emotional Stage

I cannot afford the wool to finish this project, neither can my new sponsor. My mother is so kind as to buy me the wool to (at least) make a small table decoration of some kind. Since I can't take my entire apartment with me, I have to leave a lot behind, and the throw-decoration thing goes to my mother.

It is rather disappointing, as this project was going quite well and I was enjoying it, but sometimes we need to accept we are not in charge of our own lives. We are also having quite an adventurous life, one that I know many people would love to live. We are still young, so we can afford restarting a few times until we truly find our feet.

Disappointment is short-lived, or it can be, if you allow it. You can stay disappointed or you can work with what you have. I went through my disappointment stage, like we all do. You just need to push through to the next stage, namely acceptance.

The Life-Lesson

The Cause

This whole affair was quite a life-lesson. My husband was retrenched from a job we never thought would sell-out or go under. We were comfortable, thinking we are okay now, financially secure, as he got a promotion. Not even a month later, we heard the news: Everyone needs to panic. We are calm through this; our only issue is the rental apartment, which is turning into a real headache.

Life Tip

Never get stagnant and too comfortable in your current situation, as it can change so easily and quickly. If you have wanted to live in a caravan while you explore the world, then start planning. Don't just dream, plan out and then live the dream. Don't plan for years, though, as that is just stagnation as well. Anything can change in a few days time and then you might never get to do what you want to.

Also, don't look at an issue like retrenchment and think "Oh no, I'm done for". Take a deep breath and think of all the open doors, all the possibilities that you couldn't try before. Your safety net is gone, what will you do now? You fly. You go do whatever you wanted to do, because if you do nothing you will be in a very bad situation. If you do something, it might change your life for the better.

We know that retrenchment sucks - it really does, but when we really thought about it, it became exciting. What do we want to do now? Where do we want to go. Yes, it is easy to say when you have the money for it, but guess what? We don't have the money for it, but we make it work either way, because we have to. We cut our costs, we take action immediately, we look for lower positions and we go for it all out.

Different Perspective

My throw is now a downgraded little tablecloth, but at least it is still something. I will post another blog the moment it is done, so you can see that even when it isn't what I wanted it to be, it can still be something great when you look at it in a different light.

Hope you are inspired to make that change and find your happiness in the disaster.

Handmade Gift: My Grandmother's Birthday Necklace

I have never been good at remembering birthdays. I almost forgot my own grandmother's birthday! I am blessed to still have my grandmother. This necklace I made with her in mind, and luckily she likes it. Here is what I did and my thinking pattern for those interested.

Take note that I haven't made any jewelry in such a long time, and I was quite worried that I would have forgotten how. It is like riding a bike - I was quickly able to get the hang of it again. I started off by choosing my colours and arranging them as I would like them.

I decided to give it different levels, which I did through the use of crimping beads. I covered the crimping beads up to ensure that it all fits in nicely with the design. I wanted to use ribbon, but decided it wouldn't really enhance the elegant, yet simplistic look - always know what you want and how to get it!

My table soon looked like this:

Quite an organised mess...

In the end, my grandmother was very happy with the necklace and it fitted perfectly with her top she wore on her birthday outing. There is nothing like giving a gift made by hand with love. Next time, try making someone something rather than running to the shop; most people would appreciate the gesture of time and effort.

Feel free to tell us about your own crafts!