Spinning, knitting, crocheting provide stress relief

Check out some of Sarah Prewitt’s custom-made work at The Knitted Armadillo.

“I started with crochet, picked up knitting, and then decided I wanted to make my own yarn from raw wool. I started watching YouTube videos about it. One thing led to another, and I was driving two hours to buy a spinning wheel. I’ve had it about two years. Some of them are pretty expensive, but this is a cheaper one. It’s how people used to make their clothes. It’s how they used to make everything. I’m not the greatest spinner in the world. But with the yarn I produce, I’ve been able to make all sorts of things: scarves, hats, sweaters, blankets, toys. If there’s a pattern, I can make it.

“I don’t spin as much as I’d like to because it takes a lot of time. But I knit and crochet pretty much every day. It’s very relaxing. It’s like therapy. When I feel stressed out, I’ll pick up my needles or my hook and just relax. Maybe it’s the methodical moving of my hands, keeping myself busy, that does it. Maybe it’s also being able to take just a string and a stick to create something. There’s a real satisfaction in that.”

— Sarah Prewitt