Thinking about Allison’s comment. I firmly believe that every time a person shares of their creativity with those around them, they are making the world a better place. Creativity comes in forms as infinitely variable as people; it’s the giving and the opening of one’s heart and time to others that makes the difference.
The struggle is finding the balance of time and for whom. I have never participated in one of the knitswaps before; at this time of year, my knitting always became too focused on getting things done in time for my family for that, and to commit to doing more felt like it would be adding stress (I had enough of that already, totally self-inflicted) to something that should be done for joy. There was always this normal human sense of, I can never do enough.
I’m in a different place this year. My last kid is newly out of high school, my book was made official in Martingale Press’s catalog two days ago–“Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls,” July 07, thank you, much appreciated–and I have a ton of finished projects, both beta versions here and the official ones at the publisher’s. I’ve learned how fast I can make things. I have a lot here on hand. I’m in, what is for me, good health. I think I’m finally beginning to let go of the fear that I’d end up leaving my future grandkids with no tangible bits of myself: my Grandmother Jeppson at one point knitted like I do, and yet I own not a thing she ever made. (Her ring, though, which Grandpa watched being made for her, as mentioned earlier. I treasure it.) One of the difficult things about writing my book was that I could not give away what I was making–well, actually, I did, the stories are about the friends I created my designs for, and then I went and knitted a duplicate of each for the book. Still. That’s months of work that couldn’t leave the house. And yet… I felt like I was knitting for all knitters everywhere. In hopes that someone, somewhere, might be inspired by a story or two to pick up their needles and go knit for someone in their lives. Cool.
So, at last, now was the perfect time in my life to participate, and I mean really participate, heart and soul, in that knitswap. To every thing there is a season. And so I dove into that Rabbit Tracks project, and got it done so fast that it left me thinking, why on earth didn’t I do this before? I could have! If I’d only let go of the stress. Planned a little more. Procrastinated a little less.
Like we don’t already all know that?
May everyone reading this be wrapped in comfort and wrap others in comfort this season, by whatever means works best for them.