Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Why 100 Scarves?

My One Hundred Scarves Project is part dare, part charity, part therapy, part financial goal, and part creative experiment. After my job as a school librarian was downsized and I suffered a miscarriage, I decided to create a big, audacious goal for myself: to make and market one hundred scarves. One hundred is a lot, especially considering the cost of materials and the time involved in creating each scarf. But I have so many designs that I've been itching to realize and the goal allows me to pour myself into it wholly, without reserve.

In a wonderful article on miscarriage and infant loss, the author shares Stacey Dinner-Levin's "Affirmation After Miscarriage." This is an excerpt:
"I will learn to live not in fear and once again see beauty in my world and purpose in my existence.
In spite of my new knowledge that things happen that cannot be controlled, I must call upon the places within me that tell me I do have control over much of my life and use this control to aid my healing."

With each scarf, I not only see beauty in my world, but touch and create it. I find my purpose in crafting gorgeous, soft works of art to keep people warm and make them feel good. I may not have control over my job or my pregnancy or even how many scarves I sell, but I do have control over the creative process and my commitment to making one hundred beautiful scarves.

The profits from this adventure will be used to pay for future pregnancies or adoption, except for a percentage which will be donated to Share, a national organization that helps people coping with pregnancy and infant loss. You can see all my scarves currently for sale in my etsy shop.

When I'm not warping the loom or weaving or twisting fringe or felting or dreaming up a new design, I am teaching yoga, doing part time administrative work from home, and taking long walks with my husband. If you have any questions about my project or how to get in touch with someone who can help you through a loss, please leave a comment.

2 comments:

sucker4acoustic said...

Kelly,
I am so glad I know about this blog now! Your words are beautiful along with your scarves. I love being able to see your talent displayed like this. I really can't wait to see what comes of this challenge!

Kelly said...

Thanks so much! You should win a Special Friend of One Hundred Scarves designation for being such a great support! :)

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