Lizz Leral of Quilting For Community on the links between quilting and mental health, and how accessing the flow state via hand-oriented activities can help unlock answers to life’s questions

In episode 297, Kestrel welcomes Lizz Leral, the Executive Director of Quilting for Community, to the show. A nonprofit organization, Quilting For Community is focused on building community by teaching the art of quiltmaking.

“The act of focusing on such a small area of the world — nothing else exists in that little area but that piece of fabric, and whether you’re measuring or you’re cutting or you’re pressing — and my experience has been that when you’re in that state, the answers for the other questions come to you.” -Lizz

Over the last several years, I’ve been super curious about the links between activities we do with our hands and our mental health. I’ve read research about how quilting or other crafting activities can reduce overall stress and provide benefits for our mental health.

There’s this idea of being in the FLOW state, or this feeling of being entirely in the moment and hyper-focused, and in a sort of zone.

Amidst today’s world where speed reigns above all else in many circumstances, this is something that I find very interesting. According to books like Stolen Focus, we are having a harder and harder time accessing the flow state today – because we are constantly interrupted by a text or an email or a DM or whatever other random notification that comes through.

Or let’s be real – we also just get that urge to check our email or texts or IG or whatever, because most of us are addicted in one way or another to our tech.

In the book I mentioned, Stolen Focus, it’s explained that if you get interrupted while focusing on something, on average, it takes 23 minutes for you to get back into that state of focus.

But like I mentioned, certain HAND-ORIENTED activities can help transport us to that special place. One of them being – QUILTING. 

This week’s guest has a powerful story that led her to quilting. After feeling the significant mental health benefits of it herself, she’s now found creative ways to share it with others through her nonprofit. 

Quotes & links from the conversation:

• “I know that it’s possible to do things and to have an impact on your community using the things that already exist. Sometimes people have an idea to do something, and what stops them is — oh, how can I afford this and I’m going to have to get all these things. And they go on Amazon and they add it all up, and they say: I can’t do it. And I think we’re missing that — look a little deeper; everything you need is here.” -Lizz (29:02)

• “The relationship between quilting and wellbeing”, research from The Journal Of Public Health

• The Third Place, mentioned by Lizz (the places you go when you aren’t at home or work)

• Quilting For Community’s Website (access free quilting classes there)

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