Meryl Streep loves to knit!
She even knitted the shawl she wore for her part in the movie Doubt.
(A lot of work there...I hope she got to keep it.)
On a BBC Radio interview some years ago, she said that she knits between filming, partly for stress management:
"For me it was a place to gather my thoughts and understand the contemplative (life)". She went on to say "It's a sort of clearing out place".
She's taught others in the film industry to knit, as well. Passing it on, so to speak. And she's certainly not alone in her love of textile arts; many others do this. S. Epatha Merkerson, one of the cops on the long-running series Law and Order, is a dedicated quilter.
I have long thought that there's something more to knitting, crochet and yes, quilting, that lets these pursuits calm and comfort our hearts. It's not just the creativity, or the sense of productiveness. It could be the physical sensation of repeatedly rubbing across the textiles as we sew/knit/crochet/embroider -- in the same way that following the rosary beads encourages recall as you repeat the words of the prayers.
No, I'm not Catholic. But I do understand the value of prayer, and I have seen in my own life how my faith in Christ (the Boss) keeps me going. If the rosary encourages the meditative periods that prayer does for your life -- then why not.
Or perhaps it's something more basic...the memory of the texture of a beloved "blankie" that repeats itself as the fabrics or yarn move through your fingers.
I do know that it works.
Sewing with thread and fabric, or knitting a pair of slippers for much-loved daughters, calms me. Not only that, it gives me time to think and plan. Some of my best writing has happened during the same period I've been working on a new quilt design. They must originate in the same well of creativity -- because when the writing's going good, so is the quilting.
Try it yourself this busy holiday season. Even a small project inspires and helps!
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