I’m the type of person who always has to be doing something with their hands– in high school, I had three primary outlets: the first was a hairtie that I’d absentmindedly contort into strange shapes; the second was a lump of putty that I’d squish and squeeze; and the third was a ballpoint pen that I’d spin around my fingers much to the chagrin of many of my teachers when I would accidentally drop it and make a loud sound. At some point, I decided that I might as well use this restless energy for something productive, and that was how I fell in love with doing crafts (specifically crocheting, but that’s a story for another day).
Because of this, I was instantly drawn to the Made With Love club when I saw their booth at the Anteater Involvement Fair. It’s basically an arts and crafts club, but with a philanthropic spin, as the club provides a space for members to try out new and different crafts, only for their creations to be donated to a charity. The event I attended focused on sewing handwarmers (basically bean bags filled with rice that would hold warmth if microwaved). I’ve only had a little experience in sewing, so it was definitely a learning experience. But, in the end, I managed to make a functional handwarmer.
I’m sad to say that I finished at 8:30, I had told my ride that I would be done by 8, and in my haste to get home as quickly as possible, I completely forgot to take a picture of my work. This is unfortunate in some ways (I texted my friends and asked them to wish me luck before I tried a new craft in a moderately high stakes environment and had nothing to show for it after). But, it’s also a bit fortunate because my handwarmer was not the prettiest thing in the world, so you can all just imagine that it was much nicer than it was.
I had a lot of fun doing it though! It was nice to leave my comfort zone but stay within the bounds of fun; I feel proud knowing that I could sew something if needed and fulfilled knowing that I was able to contribute to a good cause.