Covid19 - Crafting, hobbies, hibernation and well being.......

Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

Covid19 - Crafting, hobbies, hibernation and well being.......

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A community member@Sandra126  started a thread called, “Another Positive Post”, where many hosts were listing their plans across these quieter, uncertain times, regarding maintenance etc on their STR/ LTR home stay spaces. 

 

We diverted a bit and @Lizzie  thought a craft thread might be useful. So here is the creative start of one!

 

Let’s make ourselves “that community” that can work, create and care for one another, across the globe, during this global village crisis. We’ve seen many videos on Facebook and Twitter and other such forums. We’ve seen good and bad behaviours....

 

This is about changing how we might react to Covid19 during shutdowns and self - isolation periods. 

 

History: (You can skip this bit)

I remember when my children were young and we took them to playgroups, as I didn’t work full time when they were little.

 

In the early 80s, in Adelaide South Australia, I regularly attended a community hall on a Thursday morning - where you could learn a craft or hobby,  have some socialisation and adult company. There was a free crèche for the kids... WOW you might say! The numbers were limited per activity table or group. But there was all forms of needlework, knitting, crocheting, calligraphy, painting porcelain: you name it, it happened.

The entry fee was a gold coin donation ($1 or $2), which covered the hall electricity and the cuppa and biscuit you tended to eat with it. As people grew closer, they might even dunk it! Now that’s a safe and comfortable feeling, when you dunk your bikky in public!!!!

 

So here I am, in a different time,  living in the tropics. KNITTING supplies good to go!

Knitting is not high on our “to do” list here, unless the air conditioner is maybe turned down low... so you are not uncomfortable with the wool on your lap. Hahaha...

 

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So here is a CAT wrap, I made all my children in the 80s. Nowadays, we have shoulder head travel cushions for air travel, available everywhere, but these are a tactile toy, as well.  They could be made to be door draught stoppers, or keep the body minimal for a scarf. It’s about just “doing” and staying positive. Not dwelling and getting melancholy about the things we cannot control or change. 

 

My kids all had a different one, which was their car pillows as we travelled around parts of Australia.  There wasn’t much available back then......

They became camping buddies, when toy space was limited. Also that extra length for the car pillow,  could be used as an “annoyer”, when trying to distract their siblings in the car, in the next seat. When you would hear a parent voice in the front seat, sing out : “Stay in your own space, back in your cubicle. We’ll be stopping soon.......”

 

These original cats were made for a family holiday - road trip style. For that’s how we did it back then, because air fares were unattainable, a pipe dream for an average Australian family of five.

One got lost out the back of the camper or car, between Julia Creek and Charters Towers in Queensland. The youngest child was so devastated I had to knit another! 

 

The ginger one in the main image (completed), was made in the late 80s. It belongs to my eldest daughter, she’s now 36 and one of her children now cuddles it. That’s a lot of cuddles over 30 years! . 

 

So here I am....decades later, with acrylic wools chosen, all different for four grandchildren. If I survive, I’ll have to make a fifth for the newest addition.

 

So please give us some ideas, as we head back to some basics for our well being. 

 

 

34 Replies 34
Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

Art is healing, empowering, comforting and builds connections. I love the drawings more than I can say,   I'm planting veggies & flowers & making art, what else can you do?

That's exactly right, @Sally221 . Maybe I'll start an art post, I have many more of these diary entries.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

I'm going to be sewing up masks next week. There are none whatsoever available here and many people are wanting them, including restaurants for their staff. 

@Sandra126 Thank you so much for sharing your diary- I just love your work.

Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

Oh, Sandra, you should, pretty please! Each one you have posted is more powerful than the one before, it would be a gift and a bit of solace in these times. Yours is a talent that deserves a wider audience & I hope that happens, best from a huge fan, Sally

Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

I'm also making masks for the folks at the local discount grocery store, they are on the front lines - I'm finally mastering (okay, mastering is dramatic hyperbole) my vintage singer. I have a stockpile of coffee filters I use for herbal sachets, old sheets, Velcro and some elastic. The idea is a washable mask with a slip in pocket for the filter which can then be disposed of, I'm hoping to have things refined before the next senior shopping day on Wens. I've known many of the checkers for decades, they have watched my kids grow up so I won't be a random stranger handing these things off & I'll do bleach spray & air dry etc as I package them.