The importance of craft

When you're feeling sad, numb, angry, scared, or worried, a good response is *always* to spend time making something with your hands

My Election Week project was to knit an applied double-knit button band on my Book Club cardigan-in-progress. It took the full week, but I just finished last night.

Throughout Election Week, I hosted the very first Knit Together virtual retreat for paid newsletter members, and it was a deeply meaningful week for me.

I hoped the retreat would be helpful to others—and from the notes and emails from paid members, it seems like it was—but what I didn’t fully expect was how meaningful it would be for me.

The retreat went like this: I sent a shortish version of this newsletter every day for 8 days, encouraging folks to turn inward, if only for a few minutes each morning, and to do something small, but hopefully meaningful, to hold on to hope. Hope for the beautiful, diverse, inclusive, welcoming, and warm-hearted world we want to live in.

The day after our retreat ended (3 days after the election was called), I had a little mini-meltdown. Nothing terribly exciting to share (and I’m well, no need to worry), just a collision of worry about what may be coming with some very particular old stuff for me. I think most folks who voted for Harris/Walz are likely feeling some version of this. And those of us with childhood ACES or other difficult experiences carved into our nervous systems, well, we’re feeling it particularly right now.

I’d like to offer all of you a piece of what we shared during the virtual retreat in the hopes that it will help you find a harbor for yourself today.

The single most important post I’ve read about the election has been the following by Tanmeet Sethi, an integrative family medicine doctor. Although it was written before the election, it is especially applicable now, as our brains still want to figure out what will happen and what we can do about it.

Your (election) stress is directly related to 2 brain functions

The very high-level takeaway is: Brains want to know, and brains want to do. But here’s the thing: we don’t know. Like me, you probably have a pretty good sense that folks we care about will be harmed or targeted—and that may be us, our loved ones, or whole communities we love. But we don’t know yet and being on hyperalert isn’t helpful, and it won’t help us make good decisions when 💩 policies and laws start rolling.

So, for today, let’s give our brains (and bodies) something else to do.

Over the last year or so, a few new studies have come out about the negative impact social media and screens have on young people’s developing brains—leading to more anxiety and depression. I believe knitting, crochet and craft are the antithesis of screens—and that working with our hands can be a protective influence.

We don’t yet know what a Republican White House, Senate and potential House of Representatives will mean for all of us, but there is one consistent theme I keep hearing: the importance of hobbies, joy, connection, and pleasure when times are difficult.

By working with our hands, by spending a little bit of extra time making something with yarn, we are intentionally giving our brains a space to rest. And that is an evidence-based way to support our mental health.

Today, I encourage you to spend a little extra time with your knitting, crochet, or yarn craft.

Let it really sink in that you are taking good, tender care of yourself by spending time with your yarn.

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As a reminder, this is a no-Tr*mp space. I do my best work—making connections, inspiring you to knit more, creating a space of calm and respite—in a space of shared values. I like to think of this space as a lighthouse.

On a deeper level, while other businesses may make a choice to keep their social media or newsletter spaces apolitical, this is not my choice. Here, I push back against the -isms of the world, with words and inclusive business practices. I’m learning and improving all the time.

To my fellow blue voters, to other women, to my queer family, my Black, brown and Indigenous family, to the trans kids and genderqueer folks I love, and to everyone who’s ever been pushed to the margins, I say: Knitting, crochet, and yarn craft are for us. This space is for us.