How many Forgotten Gifts do you have? Based on the holiday season during which I am writing this, you may have a different interpretation in mind for the word gifts. What I am speaking of here is some long unused activity or ability. Some would classify them as hobbies. I call them gifts. I would even go so far as to call them treasures.

Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through affiliate links (marked with asterisks) in this post.

What’s the Point?

I’d like to think everyone has one or many of these Forgotten Gifts. If they’re fortunate, they may have turned it into a main or side form of livelihood. Some of us have put our gifts in the closet because we’ve decided we can’t pay the bills with them, so what’s the point? Does it bring you joy? Does it clear your mind? Does it feed your soul? If it does any or all of the above, then that is the point. Even if you don’t make money from it, committing to doing it on a regular basis is a worthwhile intention.

Name Your Gifts

Is your gift some form of art? Do you draw or paint? What about dance? Do you have an instrument in the back of your closet? Is it some form of needle crafts? Is your gift something you use so regularly and unconsciously that you don’t even recognize that it is a gift? Maybe people have told you that something you do is a gift, and you dismissed their comments as platitudes. Did you say to yourself “They don’t really mean it. They’re just being nice.” Possibly, but maybe they’re being nice AND they really meant it!

My Needles

Recently I was in a craft store and saw this beautiful yarn (*much like this one) that spoke to me. It said “Buy me!” Of course it went home with me, but I had NO idea what I would use it for. It has been years since I last crocheted or knitted anything. However I liked the yarn so much that I knew I would find something online. I did! In fact, I found some great free YouTube videos that tell you the stitch pattern, and demonstrate how to do it! In the end, I rediscovered crocheting, and it was like reconnecting with a long lost friend!

My Needle Crafts History

If I go back to my childhood, I remember my Mom crocheting doilies with a very thin white yarn and skinny crochet hooks. In high school I majored in Home Economics, and (aside from Foods) Needle Crafts was my favorite area. My needles (crochet, knitting, embroidery, and quilting) and I spent a lot of time together. During my Senior year of high school, one of my teachers once commented that my knitting during his lectures did not bother him. Unfortunately, not all teachers agreed! 😀

Benefits of Needle Crafts

>>>Improves Wellbeing

Back to today. As I was working along with the various crochet videos at night, I realized that I was absorbed and focused, but relaxed and distracted. I did some digging and found a PubMed article that concluded that (like knitting) “The data suggests that crochet offers positive benefits for personal wellbeing with many respondents actively using crochet to manage mental health conditions and life events such as grief, chronic illness and pain.”

>>>Prevention of Alzheimer’s

It was great to see that research, but it got better! A Mayo clinic study cites Preventing and Treating Alzheimer’s as another benefit. The linked article identifies some of the reasons why. The two-part Better Brain Toolbox blog posts written earlier identify this area as a topic of keen interest for me.

>>>Mental Health

Needle Crafts is not just for women either! In this article, they share how Great Britain diver Tom Daley used knitting to aid his mental health during the Tokyo Olympic games.

>>>An Antidote for Uncertainty

In her latest book *The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, former FLOTUS Michelle Obama shares how she used knitting during the pandemic as one of her tools to ease her anxiety. She said:

In all my decades of staying busy, I had always presumed that my head was fully in charge of everything, including telling my hands what to do. It hadn’t really ever occurred to me to let things flow the opposite way. But that’s what knitting did. It reversed the flow… It detoured me away from my anxiety, just enough to provide some relief.

Michelle Obama, *The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Chapter One

BTW, she taught herself to knit using YouTube videos!

Conclusion

So…I conclude this post – and this year – by challenging you to rediscover one of your forgotten gifts. From the research and studies, you can see that it’s not only crocheting and knitting that offers these benefits. So find whatever that is for you and revisit it. Like me, it may be like reconnecting with a long lost friend, and it may be great for your overall wellbeing. That would truly be a gift that gives back. Do share your commitment or intention in the Comments section. 😉

Update – Resources Summary

Added this section to the end for convenience and to also highlight one of the free easy crochet videos I found.

EASY Crochet Stitch For Blankets video – See the *Picasso Rainbow Ice yarn from this free video in a different shade!
*Korean Scrubby Yarn – This is the yarn that is similar to the beautiful yarn that beckoned me
PubMed article – Happy Hookers: findings from an international study exploring the effects of crochet on wellbeing
Preventing and Treating Alzheimer’s – Mayo Clinic Study – knitting may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 30-50%
Is Knitting Good for Your Mental Health? – Olympic Diver Tom Daley’s Knitting Habit Has Mental Health Benefits
*The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times – By Michelle Obama. Available in most stores for a better price!
Health Benefits of Hobbies – WebMD outlining the benefits of hobbies in general – not just needle crafts 😉