June1, 2024
As with so many things, this started with me saying “I have an idea, but don’t worry it’ll be fun!” And that’s how we got started into planning what I’m calling the 30 Days of Dopamine challenge. But before that, I read the Piecing for Cover essay by Ayelet Waldman for the New Yorker.
In the essay, Waldman details how she and other have turned to quilting as a refuge. She talks about studies done with neurologists at Johns Hopkins that share how working with your hands offers dopamine. She even gets into more nitty gritty of how your brain works and how quilting as both an artistic endeavor and mathematical challenges involves both hemispheres to make your brain work better together. But she’s talking about something in quilting that I know everyone in the quilting world has said at least once; quilting is cheaper than therapy (unless you have really good insurance. Or a really good local quilt shop HA).
Waldman’s Piecing for Cover hasn’t left my brain since I read it a couple of months ago. But I’m not a writer or a neuroscientist. What do I do with this information? I’ve reached out to several people I admire and who are experts, and we’re all going to chat and encourage you to work with your hands for the month of June. There’s no photo challenges, no prizes, no competition. It’s not a paid class, no fees, it’s all accessible to everyone. I think we all need a reminder to make and create at the moment. I’m calling it 30 Days of Dopamine, and I hope you follow along.