Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Repeat After Me...

At present, my days are filled with a constant level of pandemonium: demanding career; familial obligations; scads of bills; a plethora of appointments; making time for friends despite the perpetual fanfare; all amidst the backdrop of the ever so lovely and uninterrupted teenage tumult courtesy of my adoring daughter. Life’s mélange, so to speak. Needless to say I need to decompress from my daily toils in the evenings or I shall not be long for this world. So, how and where do I find a degree of downtime?

I find my brand of solace in repetition.

Yes, the act of pulling a loop of yarn through another loop of yarn over and over again is very meditative. Feet to treadles, wheel in motion, gentle twist entering strips of carded wool in a seemingly endless cycle is definitely calming. Aiding shuttle in its journey to and fro across the taught expanse of warp threads is nothing short of sheer tranquility. Moving brush from dye pot to fiber again and again, each stroke an explosion of color, pigments seeping into the essence of the yarn’s being, is my serenity.

This kind of repetition is the ultimate in restorative power.

A power that is produced from something as simple as reworking a familiar pattern in an unfamiliar colorway…



A power that is honed while working a pattern repeat ad infinitum.



A power that is all at once supportive and expansive with every lap around the niddy noddy.



A power that is generated at the end of each and every day in the humble environ that I call home.

What would I do without yarn???

8 comments:

Chelsea the Yarngeek said...

It's good to know I'm not the only one whose life is making her a little crazy. Without yarn I would be sitting in a loony bin, talking to myself, rocking back and forth. The repetitive motion of crocheting, knitting, and spinning are the only things that keep us sane. If they ever take yarn away, we can share a room at the asylum. :)

Crafty Christina said...

I love the new colors on the skull sweater! Like you, crochet is my therapy. It helps to loosen the tension in my body and relax.

Anonymous said...

Crochet is definitely my therapy as well. I have a stressful job as a school psychologist, and when I get home, I need the quiet time to de-tox. :) It really is amazing how soothing it is.

Caroline B said...

There is an organisation over here in the UK who promote knitting as therapy to stress, psychiatric disorders etc. so there's definitely something in it!

SAM said...

Since fiber is my work and my escape I sometimes have a hard time - but I totally agree. I generally switch from what I'm feeling is "work" to something just for me. Right now both knitting & crochet are work so maybe I need to go dig my spindle out of the closet and spin some yarn!

Micky said...

I just got net back. I'll be so glad to get to see all your crafting again.
I need some major inspiration and you just happen to be a big supplier of that for me.
Hope everything has been good for you.
I obviously am so excited to be able to comment, that I haven't even taken time to read yet.
:)

The Bookworm said...

hi lady...love that skull sweater.
just poking around your blog, your work always amazes me.
I agree crochet is therapy.
http://yarnchick.blogspot.com/

Cyberpenguin said...

Wow, your work is so utterly cool. I am in awe of your talent!