When I was a kid and complained to Mum I was borrrrred it would elicit precisely one of two responses.
- “I’ve got something you can do – here’s a basket of nappies you can hang out.”
- “Sarah, you need a hobby”.
Poor Mum was always on my case to do things with my time that didn’t have a point and weren’t achievement-orientated. To sit still. To stop dreaming up ambitious business projects and taking on more head-y obsessions (like analysing Jim Morrison poetry when I was 14).
As I’ve aged I’ve developed a deep respect for people with real hobbies. And have started to experiment with the idea myself.
So, at 40, I’ve taken up knitting. Admittedly it was ahead of a trip to visit my parents who are at an age where they repeat stories. I figured knitting was a way to have something to do while I suffuse my explosive impatience during these kitchen-side chats.
Anyway, I went about it by buying in a few kits from Wool and The Gang.
I like them. This is why.
- Wool and The Gang are sustainable and ethical. Their cotton yarn is pesticide-free, for instance, and the business is geared at supporting Peruvian communities (their wool is from Peru; also see The Crew details below).
- They repurpose T-shirt off-cuts from factories, tearing them up to become their Jersey Be Good yarn. I’m about to