Only a Hobby

well used padded gloves I needed when I was dealing with nerve pain from a pinched nerve in my neck

 

I saw online this morning that someone was giving another person a 'hard' time because they were working on their 'hobby'.  How could they when the world was going to hell in a basket?

I got similar comments after I had been a weaver as my profession for about 25 years when I would once again show up at the local craft fair with thousands of dollars of hand made textiles for sale and one of the 'ladies who lunch' would come by, notice that I was standing in my booth, look around and then say something to the effect of 'oh, you're still weaving?'

I would smile and say "Yes, I am."  And more than once I would get a confused look and then the person would say 'oh, I guess you need something to keep you busy.'  And off they would go.

It was always confusing to me.  Do lawyers practice law because they need something to keep themselves busy?  Do doctors?  Does anyone work at something because they can't think of anything 'better' to do?

Even now, in 'retirement' I still weave - for all the reasons that the craft captured my interest right from the start - I keep learning.

But also?  I like the physical act of weaving.  I like sitting down at the loom and throwing the shuttle.  I get endorphins (yes, because I weave that energetically).  And at the end of the day, I feel as though I have been productive.

Right now I weave because it is an act of creation, not destruction, and we have more than enough people 'out there' trying to destroy our world, the very planet we live on, and it may not be much but the world can use all the creative energy it can get.

I fear that we are going to see huge changes in our society, most of them very bad for the average person.  Will I be able to keep generating an income from weaving?  Maybe not, but I *hope* I can keep learning, and writing about what I learn.

Ultimately, with the general feeling of 'burn it all down' wafting around, we may just get our wish.  And then people like gardeners, spinners/dyers/weavers and all manner of textile workers, may find they need to do these old crafts as survival skills.  Just one more reason for people like me to keep digging, trying to understand the craft, and share that knowledge with others.

I heard that Canada Post will be starting back to work today.  My books are still available at blurb.com, tea towels at my ko-fi shop, and online classes at Long Thread Media and School of Sweet Georgia.

As a person I may be pretty much powerless, but I can stay creative, stay learning, stay sharing what I learn.  And that's not a bad way to end my days...