Stitch 'n Dish

Tag: mindfulness

  • When the stash calls

    When the stash calls

    This week I felt the call of my stash. I had grown somewhat tired of crocheting after making multiple Dragon Egg Dice Bags. They were a lot of fun, but I was ready to do something different. I have been exploring some crochet patterns and am finishing a knitted scarf for myself but was feeling…

  • A good time to be kind

    A good time to be kind

    … as we navigate these and other challenges, it’s going to be increasingly important to be kind to each other; to have patience with those around us and to always take a step back (and a deep breath) when we want to complain about what WE want or what WE didn’t get. It’s not all…

  • Analog knitting

    Analog knitting

    After a marathon of crocheting the granny stitch bags, including a couple mini ones pictured below, I decided to do some knitting. I had picked up 2 skeins of Wonderland Yarn, in blue. It’s a silk blend and a sock/finger weight that I piked up in McWalker Yarns final week. I decided to make a…

  • A shopping hack

    A shopping hack

    The other day I found myself “itching” to shop for yarn or fabric. I had a period of time (lunch hour) and a quilt shop within driving distance. I put the address into my GPS and headed out (10-minute trip). As I drove, I was having a conversation in my head asking myself about the…

  • January’s creative work

    January’s creative work

    Celebrating even the tiniest of our accomplishments isn’t self‑indulgence; it’s a psychological power move. The recognition strengthens our mind in ways that build over time, especially when we are juggling jobs/work, caregiving, or leadership roles – areas where progress is often difficult to see.

  • The hermit response

    The hermit response

    I will continue to engage with my fiber arts groups and remain connected with fiber friends. These are the connections that become so vital in times of national stress. But I will also allow myself to be comforted with the impulse to hibernate, focused on fabric and yarn; like my grandma before me. And like…

  • A loss of community

    A loss of community

    Crafters are creative and can transform simple things into works of art. As we continue to process the stages of “grief” around the loss of community that once resided in our neighborhood Joann stores, we can move on into new ways of being in community, finding and/or creating activities and small groups that promise a…

  • New habits, new norms

    New habits, new norms

    I suspect that a decent proportion of my fabric and yarn stashes came from past sessions of “therapy browsing” on Saturday afternoons or evenings at Joann’s, Michaels or in local fabric and yarn shops. While I have created many things over the years from those purchases, I have ALSO purchased a lot of fabric and…

  • Finishing touches

    Finishing touches

    I started this blog several years back to highlight the positive benefits of fiber arts activities for our emotional, mental and physical health. I continue to be awed by the depths of its healing potential – for myself as well as for others.

  • Reflections

    Reflections

    The last time I shopped in a Joann store was more than three months ago, right before their final closures. I said goodbye to the employees I knew, wishing them well, and as I walked across that parking lot one last time, I knew I was saying goodbye to an era in my life. As…