How Crochet and Chickens Save My Sanity from My 9-to-5
Crochet and chickens are the two things that keep me sane after a long, soul-crushing day at my full-time accounting job. I’m writing this post after signing off from one of the most defeated days I’ve felt in a long time.
I spent two hours fighting with a new accounting app today—I was trying to reconcile numbers, and the math just wasn’t mathing. It refused to add up to what it should have been, no matter what I did. I was staring at the screen, spiraling, and finally, I just slammed the laptop shut and walked away. I’m defeated. And right now? I’ve got a date with my favorite hook, a glass of wine that is definitely going to be bigger than I intended, and a show I’m only half-listening to. It is, quite literally, my entire personality for the next three hours.
Let’s be real: there is nothing quite like the feeling of having a spreadsheet formula mess up your entire day. You know the one. You’re staring at the screen, and you’re thinking, “What the fuck?”
From Spreadsheets to Stitches: How the Hell Did I End Up Here?
The Path That “Made Sense”
I’ve lived that nightmare. My journey started as a “responsible” choice right out of high school. I worked at a bank, then fell into a soul-sucking data entry job where the office was more toxic than a bad batch of yarn. I spent two years there, wearing my headphones, blasting Korn’s angriest songs, and thinking, “I can’t control myself, I f*cking hate you.”
I even trained as a licensed massage therapist, finding unique ways to help make the path a little more bearable for others by relieving their physical pain or bringing some much-needed relaxation to their stressful days. But the hustle was real. Then, life threw the ultimate curveball: my parents bought a restaurant.
My reaction? What in the actual fuck?!
None of us had any experience in the restaurant industry. I spent eight long years busting my ass doing everything from bartending to bookkeeping there. I actually had my two kids during this time, so working nights and weekends worked out beautifully—it let us save a ton of money on childcare while I handled the hustle.
But when my parents eventually sold the restaurant, I felt that familiar pressure to be “responsible” again. I went back to school for an accounting degree so I could pivot into a career that would let me work remotely and actually see my two kids grow up instead of missing everything. It was stable. Flexible. Responsible. And still… my creative brain was screaming behind the scenes for a fucking escape hatch.
The Day Crochet Saved My Sanity
After years of working my way up to a “Quality Control and Enablement” role, I hit another wall. I looked around and thought, “Is this it? Am I doing this forever?”
I realized I’d spent years telling my kids to chase their passions, while I was sitting back playing it completely safe. I wasn’t practicing what I preached. So, I decided to finally take the leap.
My journey into making things by hand actually started with an epic failure. Nearly two decades ago, I tried to teach myself to knit using YouTube. It was a total disaster. I’d get halfway through a project, spot a mistake, and have absolutely no friggin’ clue how to fix it. Every time a needle slipped off the loops, full-on needle rage would set in. I’d get so pissed off trying to slide the yarn back on without twisting the stitches that I’d just end up ruining the whole project.
So, I threw the needles aside and tried a crochet hook. That flipped the script entirely. Crochet felt forgiving. If I messed up or dropped the hook, the whole project didn’t self-destruct. I could just rip out a few rows, put the hook back in the loop, and keep going.
Over the last year and a half, crochet went from an off-and-on hobby to a daily non-negotiable. I made hats, scarves, and plushies (even though I absolutely hate sewing the individual arms and legs together with a passion). But the real shift happened about six months ago when I finally said screw it and threw out the instruction manual.
I tried to freehand a cowl without a pattern, and it completely evolved in my hands into a tank top. It was the first wearable I ever made that actually fit right, and I was so proud of it—even if I did finish it in the dead of winter and kept forgetting to wear the friggin’ thing once it finally warmed up outside! Since then, I’ve freehanded a massive granny square sweater, a bunch of granny square crop top sweaters, and some skirts (they aren’t granny square skirts). Creating something completely original out of a single strand of yarn changed everything for me.
How Crochet and Chickens Help Me Unwind
And Then, There Are the Chickens
If you follow Yarn & Yardbirds, you know it isn’t just about the hooks. It’s about the chickens.
It all started during the COVID madness when a friend of my husband asked if we wanted a free coop. We said yes, got six baby chicks—I named them all after Schitt’s Creek characters, so I affectionately called them my six “Schitt chicks”—then added more… because, let’s be honest, chicken math is real! Now? I’m the proud, obsessed “professional chicken tender” of a flock of 31.
They are officially “The Supervisors.” They don’t do much in the way of actual administrative help—they mostly just poop on things and judge my outfit choices—but they are the best coworkers I’ve ever had. Their names are a riot: Alexis, Cheryl, Betty, and the rest of the crew. Watching their personalities has taught me to slow down and embrace a simpler life. Honestly, highly recommend it.
Alexis
Pip-squeak
Fluffy
What to Expect From the Flock
I’ve learned that life is just better with crochet and chickens to keep things grounded. My husband Justin is supportive in his own, eye-rolling way. He builds the coops, fixes whatever I break, and braces himself every time I announce my next “easy little idea” that inevitably turns into a major construction build.
I’m stubborn, naturally goofy, highly competitive (I will turn absolutely anything into a challenge), and I have zero tolerance for rude people. Life is way too short for bad attitudes. Yarn & Yardbirds isn’t going to be a highly curated, heavily filtered lifestyle blog. This is a real-time creative experiment. It’s part crochet design journal, part tutorial library, part chicken updates, and total chaos. In a few years, the dream is to do this full-time—designing original patterns, making videos, and living a life I chose on purpose.
If you’re here for perfect, polished aesthetics, you’re in the wrong flock. But if you’re here for honest creativity, loud laughter, proud mistakes, and a few chicken interruptions… welcome to the flock. Pull up a chair, grab your wine, and let’s make some stuff. It’s going to be messy, it’s going to be real, and it’s definitely going to be a ride. Come on for the chaos!
