Deepti here, wishing you all Happy New Year 2021! I am aunt to Andrea, and “aunt” to Andrea’s brainchild, The Mindful Sheep. It is an honor to participate, and it is a wonderful feeling to have wool and words linking us.
We love Sheep, because when the sheep are done with their sweaters, we get to sweater up, too, and that is really good for the soul. We love Mindfulness, because that is also good for the soul (and a real help with complicated patterns.) Andrea, a certified Yoga Instructor, has more to say about Mindfulness at https://andreaneilyoga.com.
I live in Germany, and I can’t visit our local sheep. We are under strict Covid lockdown until mid-February or March - or July - or September. The news keeps changing. That is not the important part.
The important part is my startled reaction to indefinite house arrest: not depression, but a spontaneous, “Alrighty Then!” and a surge of energy to embrace the unknown through wool, and words, and community in whatever way we can build it.
The Mindful Sheep is one way. Andrea and Deepti’s 2021 Challenge to Knit All of our Stash is another. Sharing that journey with you makes a perfect trifecta.
When I was about 4-1/2 years old, I asked my mom where fruit comes from. An original, my mom didn’t say “from the store.” She walked me through the supply chain: earth, seeds, weather, farmers, harvesters, truckers, wholesalers, merchants, the fruit on my plate. Such elaborate interconnectivity made a deep, deep impression on my young brain.
Natural processes. Fruitfulness. Wool. Connectivity. Sheep turn grass into wool and wool connects us, makers, all around the world, with warmth and comfort and mindfulness and love.
Wool and Fiber connect us to our original mentors, to farmers, to teachers and tool-makers - and with our fiber-crafting friends wherever we meet: at home, in cafes and in pubs. But vIrtual pubs are, at least for a while, going to be our common ground. Let’s make the most of it!
Anyone who has cast a longing eye over beautiful fiber, or sniffed a skein of wool, is already part of the party. No further experience required. Pull up a seat, join us, and let’s share fiber adventures here at The Mindful Sheep. We truly look forward to hearing from you.