For the sake of making

Last fall I began making things for a school fundraiser. There was no particular pressure to do anything specific, or perfectly, or with a certain color. It needed to be something I could complete, but that was it. WIth these parameters, I cast on a multi-purpled shawl on big needles, and an assortment of odds and ends yarn and a simple pattern. I did not follow the pattern perfectly. The shawl turned out a little chunky on the bottom, with plenty of lacy holes, tassles, and a plethora of textures and colors, but the the best part about it was that my hands had something to do that didn’t have to be perfect.

In the decades I’ve been knitting, my personal projects have become more ambitious, finicky, and attention-eating. They require quiet time to calculate gauge or pick up stitches, time that is precious and rare, time that must prioritized. These projects are generally very satisfying to make and complete, but I have far more dinking-around time than I do quiet, focused time.

Small, imperfect projects I can do while watching Blown Away with my family or waiting to pick up my child serve (at least) two purposes. One, I can do something with my hands, and this allows my brain to process something else, whether that’s what’s on tv, or the latest interaction I had with my family. Two, it’s fun to see something out of nothing, and I’ll admit, satisfying to make something that potentially has value to someone else. A third aspect is that this can be a form of creative expression, a way to keep creativity moving, and an expressive outlet for things that may not have another place to go.

When you have an outlet, it allows things to flow. In terms of emotions, I think of this like a river. If the river is dammed, it backs up until the water finds another way to flow. If you don’t process your emotions, then they will find a way to seep out anyway, often in confusing, inconvenient, or uncomfortable ways. Having some method of creative expression can give voice to what’s going on inside you without making things weird, as well as give you insight into what really needs your attention.