I try to get at least 6,000 steps every day, and more whenever possible. It’s an easy way for me to manage my physical health, mobility, and it’s one of the best “tonics” I have found when my mental health is lagging.

I am fortunate to live in an area that was blessed by the largesse of Andrew Carnegie more than 100 years ago. He endowed a system of libraries for the people, so there are libraries in just about every neighborhood in the county! In fact, I am in walking distance of 2 of them.

Thanks to the many resources in our local library, I have become a big fan of audiobooks because they allow me to “read” while crocheting, knitting or sewing, and while walking to the library to see what books on those same subjects I may be interested in reading.

In years past, when I had taken a new job that turned out to be quite challenging in terms of the environment (not the work), I borrowed CD audiobooks to play in my car on my new commute. I had been working remotely for the previous 3 years, and the change to being in the office 5 days a week, and commuting at the beginning and the end of the day, was a shock to my system.

I had ALSO taken a salary cut to move into that job which made sense at the time. I was moving from a start-up environment, which paid well but was extremely unstable in terms of longevity. When I say “unstable“, I mean to say that in one 6-month period, I had more than 6 different managers come and go, and things kept moving around in ways that I didn’t always think made sense (I was hired to bring a specific skill set to the table).

At the time, moving into a federal job seemed like the PERFECT shift from chaos to stability. And it was, for more than 10 years,…. but that’s a tale for another day. I’m still glad I made that move, and I appreciate the lessons I learned along the way – one of them being the many ways my local library can be supportive in times of upheaval.

Those CD audiobooks are still there, but now we also have Libby which allows patrons to borrow an audiobook and listen on their cell phone or tablet. Libby is SO popular that it comes up as a topic regularly at a local crafting community gathering that I attend.

Crafting + audiobooks = happy!

Still, I have found many benefits in having access to the traditional books still found in great numbers in libraries. One significant benefit to me is the wealth of books on crocheting, knitting, sewing and other crafts that are available to borrow. This weekend, I took advantage of the warming weather and walked to the library to see what might be there and found 3 books (covers pictured in this post).

I have a number of skeins of NICE wool and silk yarns and thought that the 60 Quick Knits book would be a nice place to start as I “shop my stash” for projects well-suited for those yarns. I have already identified a pocket scarf, a pair of wrist warmers, and a hat that have sparked my interest.

I also have a few skeins of Noro yarn which I love, but for some reason struggle to find a good FIT for my Noro collection and the patterns I find. I am hoping to find a good match in the Knit Noro book, especially as it has some options for 1 and 2 skein projects!

Lastly, I was delighted to find the Fat Quarter Gifts book! I have been making a lot of smaller projects with fabric, and had been searching for a couple patterns, somewhat unsuccessfully.

Library books with multiple patterns allow me to see which ones I want to undertake, how well the pattern is written, and more. I also just enjoy browsing through them without a concrete goal. It’s very soothing.

As a writer, I am familiar with the process involved in getting a hard-copy book published. The content has to go through more vetting than an online eBook that is self-published, and more testing than an online pattern.

There are definitely pros and cons to this, and I remain a big fan of the purchased online crochet/knit/sewing patterns. I am ALSO well aware of the challenges designers face when selling online.

Still, there’s something to be said for access to patterns that we can see from start to finish before buying the supplies and starting on a new project. I’ve written a good bit about the support to our overall mental health that comes from crafting, and specifically crocheting, knitting and sewing.

The OPPOSITE of this can happen if we get our mind set on a project and find instructions that fall short or disappoint. This can result in our planned project remaining a WIP, or even a pile of fabric or yarn due to our struggles with the pattern.

As with ALL things in life, balance is the key. We should support crochet/knitting/sewing (and other craft) designers as often as we can within our budget and other factors. We also need to understand that sometimes the family budget says “No“. For these times, or when we’re not finding what we are looking for online, our local libraries are a TREASURE!

Wherever we find our patterns and inspiration, we are fortunate to have libraries that stock books to support our creativity with fabric, yarn, and other crafting supplies.

Lastly, recent governmental decisions are threatening the sustainability of local libraries. Please visit your library regularly, and support them any way you can, including financially (donations) if that’s in your budget.

Libraries are awesome places. Let’s make sure they remain viable parts of our communities!

(C) 2025 Fiber Harmony