Maybe send a letter
And the "discovery" of analog hobbies
I joined a group of like-minded women and girls last night to write letters to our representatives. Pens, paper and envelopes seem particularly flimsy when ICE and BP agents are shouldering heavy artillery and using it to murder American citizens.
What can I do? What can we all do? Maybe send a letter. Maybe make a phone call or 50. Make donations. Say prayers. Maybe still our minds with stitching.
If you do decide to go the letter-writing route, here’s good news from the USPS: They’ve just released stamps commemorating Harriet Powers, who was born into slavery and made astonishing artwork late in life.
Maybe take a minute to read about Harriet Powers, a person who no doubt lived through unimaginable cruelty and still found beauty and wonder in her world.
Bring on the color
Winter is not messing around in Ohio this year. It’s all we’re talking about. I’m more than ready for Snow White to pack her bags and go. In the meantime, I’m using cozy couch time to work on a floral still life of sorts. Here’s how it started and how it looks now. Is it done? Probably not. Stay tuned.
What are you stitching now?
Everything old is new again
Have you heard? The newest trend is to carry an “analog hobby” bag to keep you from scrolling when you have a minute of downtime. “Revolutionary!” cry all of us who have been carting around our knitting, sewing, crocheting, English paper piecing, etc. since God was a boy.
Ok. Crotchety is never a good look.
So, yay! Really. There truly is so much to be discovered when we create with our hands and our hearts. Analog hobby bags for everyone! (Maybe especially our kids?)
Here’s how Better Homes & Gardens puts it:
An analog hobby is something that you can do slowly. It’s meant to be peaceful, providing your mind with a respite from the busyness of the digital world. Scrolling through your social media feed inundates you with hundreds of bits of information all at once—focusing on an analog hobby can help you expand your attention span and train your mind to focus better.
Not sure the attention span upgrade has kicked in for me yet, but “respite from the busyness” sure sounds lovely.
Making ripples
Way back in December 2023, I started a Substack post like this:
You stitchers are some of the nicest people on the planet. I bet when you see a need, you look for ways to fill it. Have you used your skills as a maker to help others?
The post included 12 ways to share your time and skills to support causes and make the world a little softer.
What ones did I miss? Do you have a favorite?
Another way to send out a ripple: I don’t know if you have a creative re-use store in your town, but Scrap It Up is local to me. I can donate my unused craft supplies (a lady never mentions the size of her stash) and purchase supplies with all the proceeds going to a local arts organization. Win-win!
Here’s my $4 haul from today:
Sensing a theme? Yup, I’m having a few friends over for Galentine’s and forcing them to do a heart craft. I’ll just tell them it’s analog and it’s good for them.
Happy stitching everyone. Thanks for being here.
— Janice
Love this take on analog hobbies being rediscovered like they're some new invention. The whole concept of slowing down to stich or write letters isnt revolutionary, but maybe we needed to call it somthing trendy for it to catch on again. That connection between doing something with your hands and actually focusing on one thing at a time is genuinley powerful in our hyperconnected world.
Analog hobby bag. Now I feel old. Sheesh.