My intentions to blog on a weekly basis starts now! I plan to blog about my passion of crafting. Crafting is for everyone at any age. From babies footprints to make pictures or convert into a silver charm to the elderly with the knowledge of dying crafts. I have met a lot of elderly ladies who have talked about tatting and I have even been given a shuttle and fine cotton to work with. I cannot understand the pattern and neither can I find anyone who can show me what to do - a dying craft!
I was never given an option to craft at school like in the "olden" days where house craft was amongst the subjects girls were taught. In my time at school we did food technology. This consisted of learning how to make coleslaw and cheese sauce. I was one of the lucky lot of kids whose parents taught cooking at home; like I allow my daughter to cook and experiment in the kitchen. After all, just like crafting there is no right or wrong and it takes many attempts to actually get it right! I have never needed to make cheese sauce since leaving school but have done lots of crocheting and sewing! Something I learnt from my mother and subsequently furthered at night school.
Dr Jenny Whitling from University of Sydney reflected on the mind health benefits of yarn crafts. She concluded that people knitted and crochet for various reasons. The common themes were that it was relaxing, calming, soothing and meditative. It helps stress, expressive creativity and facilitates better concentration. It is said that Albert Einstein knitted to calm his mind and clear his thinking!
http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/inspiring/news/health-benefits-of-yarn-craft.shtml
Subsequent to Dr Whitling's research, Cardiff University have also concluded that knitting has significant psychological and social benefits. Participants in the survey had a higher cognitive functioning, improved social contact and communications with others. Knitting and yarn craft has been shown to activate areas of the brain that are good for generating a sense of calm and contributed to improved emotional processing and better decision making.
I love to crochet and love that I do not need to carry a lot of items just to make a fantastic product! I also love to teach crocheting to people in my home town in Sheffield. I sell my crocheting items which range from a pair of baby booties to mug cosies.
Some of my knitted items.
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