“You think you’re nae making a connection – but you really are.
“Sitting winding a carder drum sounds so boring, but to them, they were part of the bigger picture.
“Because they were doing something with their hands it was like it opened the door to having conversations with them.”
In April, fibre artist and weaver Frieda Strachan helped run the Felt Fine project for Live Life Aberdeenshire.
Throughout the month she would visit tenants in Turriff’s Dawson Court Very Sheltered Housing complex to explore creativity as a tool for self-expression and “sparking” conversations.
They would explore Doric and think of their surrounding landscape and their own experience living in rural Aberdeenshire.
Miss Strachan is originally from Inverallochy, so speaks Doric and connects with the residents through their shared language.
After reading about the benefits of music for people living with dementia, the 35-year-old took her record player and her cherished Jim Reeves vinyl to play for the residents.
‘It was really rare’
The artist would spend sessions showing people how weaving, latch-hooking, punch-needling, or any other activity using yarn while talking to them.
She recalled the time a resident, who she believed had dementia, finally opened up to her over the carder drum after being hard to engage in the beginning.
He talked fondly about his past, remembering when he used to own tractors while he spun the drum and combed the yarn.
“I was just able to trigger something by giving him something to do,” she explained. “It gave him an opportunity to open up a bit – it was really rare.”
‘Setting time aside to be together’
Following on from the success of Felt Fine, Miss Strachan has now launched the Feeling Fine project with Live Life Aberdeenshire.
She hopes it will become a creative project throughout different care homes and sheltered housing across Aberdeenshire, focusing on the process and community aspect.
Miss Strachan plans to help the residents make practical things like cushions, which they can make individually, or perhaps a table runner for their communal area.
She bought a massive peg loom for them to be able to make a rug, and will even bring wool winders so people who don’t want to get involved creatively can still take part by organising.
A member of staff has even suggested creating a tactile sensory wall for residents with dementia.
By offering different activities to do, Miss Strachan hopes to get the residents involved, engaged, and trying different things.
Boosting mental health
She explained that she got into weaving because she needed to find something to do with her hands to stop herself feeling isolated, stressed, and worried – and now believes any creative outlet can help boost mental health.
“You dinna ken the seeds you’re sowing,” she said. “On the surface, you’re getting some folkies to do a bit of weaving, but it’s more than that because you’re setting time aside to be together.
“After such a long time of everyone being apart you dinna ken the impact that’s having behind the scenes.
“This project is like you’re coming out your home, having your tea with folk, chatting to folk you’ve never met, doing something new, and the things you’re creating, everyone’s got a hand in so you can spark conversations that way.
“I know from experience what fibre arts and crafts have done for me and how I feel about myself, I’m more confident, I’m a better communicator, it’s the trickle-down effect that makes you a happier person.”
Conversation