Crocheting for Rest

Have you felt that insatiable desire for knowledge, for beauty, for creation?  Whether you have or have not, you are in the right place.   Mothers, we must nurture ourselves.  Of course we should prioritize good sleep and other healthy habits, like exercise.  We should have time for the things that bring us pleasure, but are we using our free time to truly rest? What does crocheting for rest even mean? Do we know what rest is?

What is rest?

 I would argue that real rest is found in true leisure, not idleness or physical health but in meaningful intellectual and personal growth. Like reading books that inspire and plant new ideas in our ever expanding minds.  We can be renewed by using our hands to learn new skills and create beautiful and useful things or being outside, reveling in the natural world.  These are things that drive inspiration and fulfillment. Fostering an atmosphere dense with what is true, beautiful and good will change even our most mundane moments.  Is it possible that this will bring us more rest than many other forms of “relaxation” popular in culture today? In my experience, as a mother, the answer is yes. I have discovered this by crocheting for rest.

Made In the Image of the Creator

I have often been awed by the fact that we are image bearers of The Creator God.  We are all endowed with creativity. The work of our hands is fulfilling.  To create beautiful gifts, useful things for our home, sentimental pieces for my children is an outcome I didn’t yet have the perspective to understand when I learned to crochet 20 years ago in college. Our children are so joyful when they create a picture for someone they love. Is that something we ever grow out of?  Of course there are many ways to experience this pleasure, but crocheting is one of my favorites.

Crocheting for Rest: Slow Down and Be Present

Crocheting is a beautiful and worthy way for moms to nurture themselves creatively, spiritually and mentally.  As we work with our hands, we can use that time  to be present when our children yearn for closeness or to be heard.  To sit in a comfy spot and just be there, not running to a fro as we so often are.  Crocheting for rest, with our hearts beating slowly into the calm or into the chaos of life. Engaged with the world around us and not fluttering about from task to task. All the while we are making something. It might be a gift – a sweater that will be passed down, a blanket that we will wrap around our precious ones.   Not that effective productivity is necessary, but if you feel you need the excuse to sit, there it is.

Quiet Crocheting Time

And what of the times when we are alone or unneeded by another?  When bedtime is done or it is early morning, depending on which kind of bird you are.  I’m a night owl, whether by necessity or nature I don’t know yet.  My children are surely the birds that get the worms.  These are the times when we have our minds to ourselves. If only we can capture them from the other thoughts that always beg for space when the noise stops.  If we use this time wisely, we can feed our minds while our hands are stitching a rhythm.

What looks like idleness, is actually a time of intense richness of mind. I sit crocheting quietly and let my imagination explore worlds built upon the ideas passed on to me from great minds through literature, music and art. Sometimes I listen to books, the Bible, symphonies, hymns, taking them in to become part of me. No moment is idle, but I am sitting quietly. I am at rest. And at the end of it, I feel satisfied and nourished in a way that doom scrolling or watching shows can never provide.

Crocheting for Rest With The Restful Stitch

I hope to draw you into this “grandma hobby”, teach you something new, encourage the creativity inside and show you how to keep feeding your mind as a woman made in the image of a creative and wise God.

I hope to share crochet patterns that are repetitive, but lovely. Patterns that are easy to create while engaging with the world around you in meaningful and life giving ways.

If you would like to begin learning crochet, you can begin with my tutorial How to Crochet As An Absolute Beginner.