Playing With Your Hands

December 15, 2023

From the time I can remember, the biggest thrill I would get as a kid was making something with my hands, and seeing it finished and knowing it was good.  It was usually an outfit for my Barbie who went to the opening of everything, including an envelope (she was a sucker for formal parties)!  I could tell that the garment fit, it was the right fullness here, it was finished well there, and it sang to me.  

Even today, working a piece of fabric over my hand to give an excellent roll, brings about a magical feeling

The older I get and the wiser, the more I treasure what I can do, and what I do, do with my hands.  There's a secret liaison between our hands and our brains that almost defies description, much less explanation.  

What scientists are learning in this age of electronic gadgets and technological advances is that we need this hands-brain connection even more.  So much of working with our hands, even simple acts like folding laundry and food preparation, have been relegated to a humdrum and menial task as if it takes no brains to do it.  When in fact, not only does it take brains, but it is apparently excellent for your brain's health.  Here's a really cute description from this article, about this phenomenon.

While sitting at my desk, I fantasize about scrubbing things. I long to get at the dirty-ish sliding glass doors that I stare off into space through, while pondering my writing. I cleaned the bathroom last week as a “treat” and got a high from cleaning the tub. It’s really weird.

Could this be a new way to procrastinate on my writing that my sneaky brain has come up with?

 

Apparently not.

 

I took some time to research this phenomenon. Now, my urge to clean makes perfect sense.

 

First, when we use our hands on a task that doesn’t demand much cognitively, it gives the mind a chance to relax and rest. As a knowledge worker (I’m a doctor, writer, coach, speaker, etc.), I’m constantly using my brain. It’s gotten worse with the advent of the smartphone, as I spend so much of my downtime reading interesting articles. I also love reading novels. My brain rarely catches a break.

 

I get a huge sense of relief and pleasure from doing something with my hands that doesn’t require me to think much about anything. It’s magnificent.

Second, when my brain is “offline,” it gives it a chance to work on problems behind the scenes. From a number of essays and articles that I read on this topic, it’s not uncommon for people to have breakthrough ideas while mindlessly working on something with their hands.

I'm not so sure I'm dying to clean the bathrooms, but I am dying to get my hands into some wonderful fabric.

Yes, I never met a green I didn't like and of course if you like green, you gotta love red, cause they are opposites on the color wheel!

But I did get a jacket cut out...still only a little pad stitching on the collar is done, so much more to do.  

Part of the draw of the stack and the newly cut jacket is that I'm simply dying to get behind the machine and have that wonderful endorphin rush of sewing.  I'm hooked on it.  It may not require all my mental facilities, but it is something I do well, and the pleasure I have in doing something well, is enormous.  I've researched and read books like Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work and his other book, The Case for Working with Your Hands or Why Office Work Is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good.  And with that knowledge comes a certain permission to go ahead and do these menial tasks and enjoy them.  Not only are they NOT beneath me, but they reward me with joyful and pleasurable feelings.  

What the studies tell us is that this handwork creates pathways of neuroplasticity, which means that the brain can form new avenues of discovering ( i.e., solving) things, and that ability to find these new avenues, when repeated, is like benching 200 lbs at the gym for your brain!

If we're to take this philosophy one step further, that means when we are pondering what to do and what to create, then the thing we must really be doing is not sitting in front of a white piece of paper.  That's the last thing we should be doing.  Even if it is just folding the laundry or sweeping the house, that small task can allow our brain to really relax and let the brain energy and creativity flow.

And my floors do need sweeping right now!  

OK, so I'm sure we are all doing something more than just sweeping the floor, but it really does pertain to peeling the vegetables, boiling the potatoes, setting the table, wrapping presents - all those things could be considered menial tasks, but the underlying atmosphere this time of year is so positive and filled with the Christmas Spirit that it's hard to turn down these positive vibes and particularly not to make use of them.  

This is a long roundabout way of saying several things: 

1. Because of all the little special things that you are doing for your family, your mind will literally be working overtime in the creative department.
2. This is normal, as a matter of fact, use it, cause Christmas only comes once a year!
3. There is a close creative bond between your hands and your brain, and working with your hands, even if you're not doing something creative, fulfills the creative need in your brain.
4. Enjoy even the most mundane of tasks and the sheer magic and joy that they can bring to you by using your hands.
5. On the practical side, you might like to tie a notebook around your neck as the ideas and creativity will be flowing out of your mind!  

Setting up your creativity like this - with what may seem to be mundane tasks, therefore allowing your brain to focus on the other ideas swimming around in your head is a perfect way to not only bring a lot of creativity to the surface but to enjoy the whole season at a really deeply rewarding and honest level.  

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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