Slow food? How about slow yarn...

Does your life move too fast? Where do you find the time and place to slow down? Sometimes, unexpectedly, it's in the midst of your next project.

Creating our new web site has been a time for considering and a time for ruminating. It's been a necessary time to slow down from the everyday 'making' we do in the studio and a time to reflect on exactly why and precisely how we do what we do every day of the year. My ruminations turned out to be a satisfying stroll.

We have good friends who are farmers. They're not high volume, fast paced farmers. They're 'farm to table' farmers. They're slow, methodical, breathing with the seasons and they embrace biodynamic farming (and that can't be rushed). The people who seek out their vegetables and meats are capturing that sense of calm, purpose and dedication with their food. Our friends are serving methodology as well as food on their tables. We all have a strong desire for authenticity and our farmer friends deliver just that.

I realized in a fresh way that my soul connects with that rhythm when I was cuddling one of our sheep, a Teeswater named Gilbert. Gil is a sweetheart, and like all of our sheep, he was raised to love his shepherds and be friendly and calm. Some cookies may or may not have been a part of that training. Either way, our sheep are not livestock...they're our friends.

While I was playing with Gil's long curls and planning out his next shearing and the shawl I would make from his handspun locks, I was struck by the idea that what I've made for more than 2 decades now is slow yarn. From assisting with the ewe's lambing to doing our own shearing to fiber washing and carding prep to spinning and then weaving or knitting...yarn and the garments we produce can't get much slower or more purposeful. Those things aren't just chores to get through, the reward is in the process.

What are you creating today? Join me in savoring the creative process and seeing 'slow' as a welcome and worthy respite from the rush.