Thank you everyone who shared their joy with us this past week. Check our Facebook Page to see some of the work shared. All of us at the shop truly enjoyed reading all the responses. Since I am writing from home, I don’t have access to the shop email. So, I will share some of the joyful emails next week.
This week is truly historic. From remembering Dr. Martin Luther King today, the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Wednesday, to who knows what the Senate will do by the end of the week. So how do we weather history? Observe, participate, learn, change ourselves or history, or do all of these. And someday you may read about it in your children’s or grandchildren’s history courses. I know we all have "COVID Quarantine" projects that we will always remember when they were made and why. Will we also have 2021 projects to remember these events by?
I try to sew, read, do handwork, watch mindless TV and some good TV, listen to podcasts and radio, and listen to music. And of course, work. These activities center me and let me think about what is happening. I usually do a couple of these at a time, especially some of the above activities paired with music. I also like to listen to podcasts and books while sewing or driving.
What do I listen too in the way of podcasts? Sometimes just light and funny –“Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” “Ask Me Another.” I also listen to some informative podcasts – “MoBituaries with Mo Rocca,” “Off Shore,” “Serial.” There are several quilting and sewing podcasts that are good too – “Running Stitch,” “Quilt Buzz,” “Behind the Seams,” and “Textile Talks” are a few. I also like to listen to “Levar Burton Reads” and “Clarkesworld.” Levar Burton picks a wide range of short stories to read and then does a little one-sided discussion. This discussion lets you in on why he chose the book. He’s also done some interviews with the author after the reading. Clarkesworld is short science-fiction stories. “This American Life” and “Fresh Air” also get thrown into the mix as well.
The books I listen to depend on what’s available at the time from the public library. Sometimes I find some more of an author I like or a series I haven’t finished. Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch by Michael Connelly is a good, non-thinking series to listen too. If you miss a little bit because you are concentrating on sewing, you can still follow along without backing up. I also like to listen to Neil Gaiman books. He usually reads his own stories. There is always humor thrown in with tragedy, doom, and everyday life with some fantasy sprinkled on top. Recently I’ve listened to ”The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead, “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and some Jodi Picoult. Added in may be some young adult fiction and very light mystery/murder.
Music can soothe the soul or get you dancing, singing, and/or humming in your car or office. My musical tastes cover the whole range. NPR’s Great Performances and Your Classical has a great selection of classics to listen to. WCVE’s music station is another good place for music all day long. I’ve curated some stations on Pandora and now have them all mixing. Classical, rock, Broadway tunes all combine to keep me on my toes concerning the writers, singers, and tunes and lyrics (if there are any). YouTube can be nice to get a whole concert by a specific composer or band to play all at once. Did you know that research found that the faster the beat of the music, the faster people tend to drive? Wonder if that is true for your foot on your sewing machine pedal? Experiment at home. :)
What do you like to listen to? What soothes your soul these days? Let us know, since we always need a change or new things in our lives, really.
Happy sewing everyone,
Phyllis and the QA Staff