You know how you occasionally just have to step outside your bubble to feel alive again? Well, I’m really bad at allowing myself to do this. I feel I should be making better use of my time, always criticising what should be done first! “Right!” I hear you say, perhaps with a frown. I know. But I’m getting better at letting go.
In August 2026 I went to Tear-up Festival, THE basketry festival in Britain, to keep learning from and with world-renowned basketmakers, and one in particular again this time: Hege Iren Aasdal. We wove a vedmeis, a traditional basket from the west of Norway, over three days: two days preparing weavers and one day weaving the basket.
Now that is slow crafting, but it felt so good to soak up new skills: just having fun, playing, having a go, challenging yourself a little and being open to whatever happens. Failure or faults can be part of that. Without any expectations.
You become completely absorbed in what you’re doing. Being away from house and hearth, I could let myself forget about what I ought to be doing and focus on the now.
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