Elaine Ricci is a lifelong crafter.

“This is something I have been enjoying since I was a little girl” she says “and I will be doing it for the rest of my life, no doubt. It is my hobby, my relaxation, a way to still my mind when the rattle of life becomes too loud, and most of all, it has become a way to bring people together and unite over a common interest.”

Ricci has been meeting with a group of like minded crafters under the banner of “Stitch Craft” every Thursday at 2 p.m  in the great room in the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library for the past six months. “We have a dedicated group of 6-8 ladies, who have been coming regularly. They each bring their own projects and we work on everything from knitting, crochet, quilting to felting - anything goes!” Between us, we have a lot of experience and although this is not a class, we could probably talk someone through a project if they were stuck. 

Ricci moved to the area five years ago, and  ran a similar group in Rhode Island for many years. “I had been missing this sense of creative community since we moved here,” Ricci said, “especially during the pandemic, so once it was over I thought - now would be the perfect time to do this here. Even if you don’t yet have a project, but have an interest, Ricci encourages interested parties to come along and meet the group. “This is as much about companionship and an opportunity to get together with like minded people, as it is about the craft itself.”

Crafts can be very solitary practices, but they don’t have to be, they can be social too. It has also been acknowledged in recent years that crafting has also shown to improve mental agility, improves both gross and fine motor movements, and also decreases cognitive decline. It has even been shown to be a natural antidepressant!

“When I'm stitching something, I have to focus on what I'm doing, so I forget all  the other worries that are going on in the world, which is a very good thing. It is like a meditative state that enables you to clean the slate and empty your mind of all the unnecessary clutter. ” 

“Creativity is the use of the imagination in the production of an artistic work.”