A Collective Exhale
"Crafting isn’t a luxury. It’s grounding. It’s how we push back against the chaos, how we take care of ourselves and each other, quietly and with intention. This isn’t performative, it’s personal. A few stitches. A handwritten card. A handmade gift no one saw you make. It’s everyday activism. It’s care work. It’s how we stay connected to what matters."
Dear One,
I know a whole bunch of otherwise normal-seeming people who take a complete break from making things in the summer. They say "it's too warm" and "I'm too distracted". And while I understand that gardening and paddling and hiking and birdwatching and cycling are best done when the temps are gentle---I struggle to hide my astonishment when people tell me about their summer sabbatical.
I'm stunned because it wouldn't be good if I were to stop working with fiber for that long. I knit in order to untangle my brain. I mend and sew in an attempt to keep myself sort of grounded. And while I love to be outside in summer digging in the dirt and hiking in the woods, I do those things in addition to the fiber-y things that keep me reasonably sane.
And, whether you are sensing it or not, we each need to do something deeply tactile on a regular basis...preferably using both hands. It's good for our brains, it's good for our bodies. I'll extrapolate from there to say that it's ultimately good for our relationships and our communities.
I don't mean to suggest that your favorite fiber project looks the same in June as it might have in January, though. I definitely lean more toward cotton and linen and lighter weight yarns during the summer.
Smaller projects tend to work better in summer, too. We're teaching a Sock Knitting Class in a few weeks---and learning to knit socks means you have a small portable project for ANY season.
And perhaps summer is a time when you put down your crochet hook and knitting needles and your fiber therapy becomes embroidery. Or visible mending. Or potholders! These are the same potholders you made as a kid, but the loops are 100% cotton and the end product is larger and handier. The loom is metal and comes with pattern designs, tools, and enough loops to make two initial potholders. Big, beautiful bags of additional loops are available. For when you become obsessed. Because you might.
Making things is a bit like breathing. You may change your rate, depending on the season and the activity...but please don't stop altogether. And it's not a race. There is no stopwatch in sight. The benefits are quietly, beautifully internal.
Gaby
