Making Through the Hard Times

If your January is looking anything like ours, the name of the game is "unexpected." We've been talking about this a lot in the Needle + Purl HQ: how to keep going when we feel frustrated, afraid or tired.

I can't tell you why we're the people entrusted with these times. Maybe it's random. But, we are the ones who get to go through it. We are the ones who the world will someday say, "They did this." And I hope someday someone will say of me, "She got through it by caring for others before herself. Thinking about what her neighbors and her community needed. Building a business, but building compassion first."

Makers know how to take something and make it into something else; how to mend broken things; how to warm people with the work of our hands. And that work matters so much right now. Our families and communities need us. I hope we find courage and hope in that, when we put on our masks and go out into each new day.

During the months of January and February, Needle + Purl will be donating 10% of our sales to Women's Lunch Place in Boston. They provide meals, free medical care, advocacy and support to over 1,800 people a year. You can learn more about their good work at womenslunchplace.org and maybe consider your own donation. As we move through the year, we will be thinking about other ways to care for our community, so stay tuned.

And in the meantime, if you need a way to keep your hands busy and soothe your nerves, embroidery is a great option. This summer when I needed a break from knitting, stitching gave me a reset button - a chance to play around creatively with no strings attached (well, ok, it actually uses a lot of strings - but no swatching!). I have loved it ever since.

Whatever you like to make, it's a good way to give yourself some rest. And we could all use more of that.

Courage, my friends. We are all in this together.