See my process replicated here- http://www.askpatty.com/page.php?ID=302&t=Man_vs._Woman_Oil_Change

I feel this way about any number of things, chiefly foreign languages. My German’s gone all to heck.

I am getting into cross-stitch, but it doesn’t have the same kind of fascination the crocheting does, mainly because it feels more decorative than functional. I will perhaps feel differently when I finally get better enough to do more cross-stitch and embroidery to make pretty things.

I know what you mean about the discussion that accompanies creativity. I have no artistic talent, but I remember seeing a marked improvement in drawing when I took an art class. I don’t think I can do half of what I accomplished in that class now, but I wouldn’t mind trying again.

My mother used to make my dolls when I was younger – out of clay and out of cloth. I loved helping her, because again, it made time pass while you are looking at only a fraction of the whole, and you end up with something you can use.

I like to do all these little projects because it’s a way to immerse myself into things that have nothing to do with housework, jobs, anything stressful, and see something take shape right before my eyes. Each effort – each piece – adds up until something new and distinct emerges. I love that feeling of creation.

When it comes to writing, and back when I was painting, though, I am not using it to leave my world. I am using the process to absorb all the stresses of my life, the angst, and to spit it back out in a different form. It’s in a way like how people use exercise to work out aggression. Some forms of creativity for me is all about working off the negative energy and bringing me back to a positive frame of mind.