Beauty and Sustenance

There is freedom in creativity. There is also control.

We need both as we make our rugs. It is one of the the things I love about making rugs, the freedom to choose.

In our daily lives we try to have a routine and some control but things can change on a dime. Something comes up, someone gets covid, the plane is late. Plans change and you have to roll. In fact, the better you are at rolling along and adapting the happier you'll be. 

In your rug though you get to choose. You control the colour, the temperature, the narrative. It is such a relief from real life where so many things are happening that you have no control over. That, I suppose, is part of what makes it a peaceful pursuit that carries us away. 

We need this. We need this place where we can go and make beauty a priority. A place just for us to settle ourselves. A place in the storm. It is said that the motion of hand over hand is calming and I know it to be true.

We have this powerful ability to carry ourselves away from heaviness. That is not to say we have our head in the sands. We do not. In fact we must not. We must care for each as best we can with what we have. We must look after each other in any way we can.

Yet, there are times when we need the freedom to choose to be alone with our hands so that our hearts and minds can restore themselves. This is goodness too.

So many of you are caring for someone. Most of us are looking out for someone. Most of us want our life to be about more than ourselves. And this is good. It is also good to have respite so you can continue on with your habits of love. I believe that making has always been a respite for people. It has for generations been one of the places that people turned to for soul care. It matters not what you make, or how well you make, but that you make it. 

That you show up for yourself so that you can continue to show up for others. It is one place where we feel we have some control. The yellow goes here, the red goes here, and I go with it, believing for a moment, that in this lost world of colour and texture I am making a difference because I am. I am creating beauty. Beauty and handwork create sustenance and we all need that.

Thank you for reading. I am always honoured that you do.