Coronavirus has forced the closure of restaurants, stores and other places where we gather. And with so many people staying home, hobbies are becoming more important.
For some, knitting, crocheting and sewing have been ways to stay grounded and connected with others - and it's also a way to help those working on the frontlines of this pandemic.
At Scratch, a yarn shop in Lebanon, five plush, colorful couches sit facing each other, surrounding a turquoise painted hearth. This is the heart and soul of the place, where people would sit and make things together, drinking tea or coffee, and talking -- before the time of social distancing.
“So we’ve heard about relationships and breakups, there’s work dramas, there’s help on what you’re working on,” said Karen Zook, one of Scratch’s co-owners.
She says these connections were just part of the daily rhythm of being a home base for knitters and crocheters in the Upper Valley.
Since last week, Scratch is a lot quieter. Zook and her co-owner, Jessica Giordani, closed the shop to the public due to COVID-19.
But they’re still open for orders and delivery.
Their mornings now start like this: Zook and Giordani put on some music – on Monday it was Lizzo -- and examine the day’s orders that are laid out on a table.
Before they get started, both put on a pair of gloves.
“So that I’m not touching the inventory that needs to go out to people,” says Giordani.
The shop is making sure customers are well-stocked since they can’t come in and buy yarn. They deliver to people within a 20 mile radius of Lebanon and also offer curbside pick-up.
Making these deliveries around the Upper Valley reminds Giordani that her job -- selling yarn, teaching people how to knit or crochet -- is emotional in unexpected ways.
She says people come in with big goals, like making a piece for a new baby or a grandmother, or simply something cozy for themselves.
“And helping people pick the things that will be perfectly soft or long term durable or just the perfect shade of raspberry is an intense connection with people, it’s kind of like feeding people,” she said.
Over the weekend, Jessica Giordani, one of Scratch's co-owners, taught her first online knitting class.
CREDIT DANIELA ALLEE / NHPR
Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons are when people used to come to those plush couches at the shop to work on their projects, side by side.
Last Thursday, that happened via a video call.
“It was fantastic. Cats running over people’s shoulders and dogs popping their faces on the screen,” she said. “It was moments of levity that everyone definitely needed.”
Everybody seemed to be working on one thing.
“Sweaters, so many sweaters,” Zook said. “We’re going to have to do a fashion show with everybody’s social distancing handmade wardrobe once this is over.”
One person on that Thursday call was Melania Lavric from Grantham. She’s been working on a blanket and a new sweater.
“It’s this lovely, happy cheerful aqua color. It feels really nice to be knitting with it right now,” Lavric said.
These stories are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.