Early voting has already started in many states, and from now until November 12 as a small thank you to those who vote in the Midterms I’m offering a 5% discount on all orders (use the code IVOTED at checkout). Obviously I have no way of knowing if you actually voted, but knitters by and large are honest folks.
Like many people I have been fighting a grinding sense of doom when it comes to current events. Scrolling through my Instagram feed a few weeks ago I came across Thea Colman’s post about writing postcards for postcardstovoters.com . The traditional forms of political engagement are either ill-suited to my personality (like most people I hate getting political phone calls; phone banking is not for me) or just impractical given my current situation (door to door canvassing is a lot harder with an infant) so finding something that I could actually do in my spare moments made me really happy. I like having a way to quietly remind people to vote without interrupting their dinner. And who doesn’t like getting handwritten mail? So I signed up to volunteer and set to carving a simple block print for faster postcard production.
Via Instagram I’ve been offering to send postcard writers sets of my postcards, and the response has been heartening. Sending out my neat little packets of postcards feels like send out bundles of hope; a visible reminder that I a not alone in my fears, that other people care too.
And when I read something in the news that makes me think grim thoughts I can sit down and convert that feeling to ink. In my experience, the salve for anxiety is action, however small.
I am addicted to the simplicity of Instagram, while my blog has become the thing I hide from in shame for not writing all the things I should have written by now, so I’ve been remiss in not making the same offer of postcards to my blog readers. If you would like a batch of my postcards please send me an email. The “price” is that you will promise to use them to remind others to vote.
