Crafting as meditation: you've heard about it, but how do you do it?

I've read lots of articles and seen video clips about the benefits of crafting. Whatever your favorite craft is, it's good for you in so many ways, both physically and mentally; as fellow crafters I'm sure you have benefitted even if you aren't aware of it. In the upcoming year, we want to encourage you to embrace your craft as the vehicle for well-being that it is.

I've posted here and there about the temperature blanket I began in January. Though I haven't posted about it for a little while, I have kept up with it. I didn't crochet a hexagon every day, but I did always record the weather and assign colors accordingly, and then make 2 or 3 hexies as needed to catch up. The blanket has been a constant companion to me; sometimes a vaguely annoying squeaky voice niggling at me to keep up, sometimes a much-needed alto voice of lullaby to soothe my brain, but most often the warm baritone of consistency and routine. It has provided many moments of quiet, simple work which requires little if any focus on the work itself, and I found myself using those moments to reflect and discover things about myself (whether I wanted to or not). You can read about a few of those journeys in the other posts about my blanket in this collection.

Morning ritual.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the project for me has been the consistency of my dedication to it. It is not normal for me to stick with a single project for this long. The reason being, I am one of so many women of my generation who finally decided that the plagues of anxiety, overwhelm, lack of focus, and exhaustion due to masking those and other issues might be something for which I should seek help. I did, and promptly was diagnosed with raging ADHD. It was quite a relief after living my whole life feeling like a crazy person. I now take medication which has helped very much. I tell you this for two reasons. One, I want anyone else out there feeling anything like I did to seek help if you can. I can't even begin to tell you the impact that getting help has had in my life. The clarity of hindsight of the way things had gone in my life before was startling and cathartic. Two, it also directly relates to my blanket project.

Along with medication, I was urged to try breath-work and meditation as ways to calm my neurons and direct my focus. I did try, I promise. Like many beginners, I found it frustrating and annoying. I wondered what is the point of this if it is only frustrating me. I gave up. Picked up a project to work on instead because that is always the thing that calms me d.......oh, wait. I had been doing it all along. My whole life, in fact. Looking at things with my involuntarily pried-open eyes, I could see that my knitting and crocheting had always been my form of meditation. (The meditative state is defined as: A state of mind where a person is fully absorbed in the present moment and is in a state of deep relaxation. It's characterized by heightened awareness, a sense of inner calm, and the ability to see things more clearly and manage them.)

I could stop beating myself up for constantly starting and putting down unfinished projects. Knitting and crocheting WAS the project. I had not been inconsistent and flighty, I had been vibrating from one level to the next of meditative states. I have consistently been holding yarn in my hands and making the same motions and taking the quiet breaths and letting my mind quiet and settle into the peaceful rhythms for over 40 years now. I knit or crochet every day, without fail. You can't get any more consistent than that! Looking back, I can see now that this  constant meditative practice was the thing grounded me and kept me sane no matter what else was happening around me. 

I feel so deeply grateful both for this realization and the crafts themselves. This gratitude was the biggest driver of this year's Big Sky Blanket Club design. There has been lots of interest over the year from customers following along with my current temperature blanket, even just from the standpoint of how it's looking and whether or not I'm keeping up with it. It has been lots of fun and I do love how it looks, but what we really want to share with our new design is what it can DO for you in the process of making one for yourself. I don't know anyone who couldn't use a simple way to bring a little calm and relaxation into each day. We have all heard the term "self-care", and sure, who couldn't use some of that? But what does it mean? How do you do it? We think picking up your needles or hook and some beautiful yarn for a little while each day is a great first step to figuring that out. Taking those quiet moments for yourself might be all you need, or it might quiet your brain just enough to learn what more you need to really take good care of yourself.

Once-a-year registration for the club is open November 2-10. We hope you will join us! Click here to join.

-Tracy