In this memoir, Peggy Orenstein sets out to make a sweater from scratch -- shearing, spinning, dyeing wool -- and in the process discovers how we find our deepest selves through craft. Orenstein spins a yarn that will appeal to everyone. The COVID pandemic propelled many people to change their lives in ways large and small. To keep herself engaged and cope with a series of seismic shifts in family life, Orenstein set out to make a garment from the ground up: learning to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, then knitting herself a sweater. Orenstein hoped the project would help her process not just wool but her grief over the recent death of her mother and the decline of her dad, the impending departure of her college-bound daughter, and other thorny issues of aging as a woman in a culture that by turns ignores and disdains them. What she didn't expect was a journey into some of the major issues of our time: climate anxiety, racial justice, women's rights, the impact of technology, sustainability, and, ultimately, the meaning of home. Orenstein shares her year-long journey as daughter, wife, mother, writer, and maker -- and teaches us all something about creativity and connection.
