Economic Uncertainty

The phrase (term?) is all over the airwaves these days. Yes, the government has gone back to work, but all anyone seems to be thinking is, when will it happen again? The key word there is when, not if. With those birdbrains down in DC making life stateside a bit precarious, I thought I would take this moment to remind us how grounding and tangible the hand crafts are. 

Politicians can come and go (making all sorts of stupid pronouncements) but knitting is knitting. I find such comfort in pulling those stitches through each other, row after row. Knitting needles and yarn are constant, certain.  I started my Holiday knitting the other day and it makes me feel so good to know that those socks will be worn for years by their recipient. Because I am making them with my own two hands, I am knitting my love into them, stitch by stitch. They will keep my family's feet warm for a long time, not fall apart after a couple of wearings. Congress can sputter and delay and screw with our economy all they want, but they can't impede my knitting progress.  

The baby quilt that is almost finished will most likely protect a wee one from the Maine cold for many years. I can hope it might become a favorite for bedtime stories and snuggles. Wherever it winds up, it will not waver with political folly like Congress. It is constant, and analog, and tangible and pragmatic. Making it has given me great pleasure and satisfaction throughout the process. Combining the colors and shapes until they look just right, sewing them together, watching them take on new life and meaning by their proximity. There are too few places in life where one can find that kind of creative satisfaction. My crafts feed my soul, my psyche and my sanity. In the past couple of weeks I have found refuge in their occupation.

We may not know what tomorrow will bring in terms of prosperity, but we do know that our hand crafts will persevere, and the pursuing of them is constant and fulfilling, and concrete and real.