Hello everyone.
This is hard, but I want to try, sharing the mandalas I have crocheted as a contribution to #MandalasForMarinke.

I am lost of words what to write about this project, so I am writing a link here, so you can go check it out yourself, to read about what it is all about.

http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/mandalasformarinke/
http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/2015/06/mandalasformarinke-crochet-project-in-memory-of-wink-from-a-creative-being/

When I first read about this project, to help raise awarness of depression among other things, I immediately felt I wanted to try to crochet some mandalas to send to this project.
And, small moments at a time, I managed to crochet several different mandalas in various sizes, to send to Kathryn. Because of my own current depression and fysical problems, I got late, but asked Kathryn for a private extension of the deadline, and got it! I am so thankful about that, it was so important for me to be able to do this.

Now my mandalas are on the way to Kathryn in USA and I wanted to share them here on my craftyblog.
I have not written much here for a very long time, for many different reasons, including lack of energy because of illness.

So this is my first post in a long time.
But an important one.

Well, here are pics of the mandalas I made.

They vary in size, the biggest is 30 cm and the smallest 3 cm.

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Something about why I chose to contribute to this project:

I wanted to contribute to this project because I love to crochet and it is one of the things that helps me get through tough days. And I felt that I can finally do something that feels meaningful, that what I make will help someone (other than myself).

I am also living with depression and other mental health problems since more than 20 years now. I am still alive and that feels like ”just luck” sometimes, because I could have been dead as well, after several suicide attempts.

It is so important spreading the word and information about depression/suicide, that people and society finally starts to talk about it and recognize it for what it truly is and not keep on ”hiding it” like ”hush hush we don´t talk about that stuff”.

I realized so many times that depression has no limits to who is affected. You can be poor or rich, ”successful” or homeless, have work or not, be alone or not, anywhere in the world. It can ”hit” anyone.

And why is it ”ok” to talk about someone that died from, say a heart attack or cancer, and not someone that died from depression? Depression is no more of a ”choice” than any other illness.

And the ”stigma” of it makes it even harder.

But we can help change that. We, together, are powerful, we can help raise awarness of depression, and many other mental health problems/illness. Knowledge and talking about it is power. If we keep on ”hiding” it, everybody looses.

Kindness, compassion, talking about it, knowledge, it can help so many people in the long run.

I have been so inspired by Marinke and her work for a long time. I love her use of colors, her patterns are so well written and high quality and such an inspiration.

I love that she was so open with her struggles and story that she didn´t ”hide”, this also inspired me so much when living with a tough story/life myself.

I so wish this would never happen to anyone again, in the perfect world. There are so many people lost. I sometimes wonder why it happens that I am still here.

But I am here still, and hope that my contribution will help someone somewhere somehow. It has already helped me, to focus on something I like to do, and to help me get through tough times.

And a big thank you from me to Kathryn for doing all this for so many, with this fantastic project #MandalasForMarinke

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This have to be all from me for this time.
I hope I soon can be back with some updates and photos of what I have been doing/making.

/Annelie