Fiber arts started for me as a way to move my hands. I had come to think of myself as extremely anxious in my early twenties. I struggled to get out of bed by my mid twenties and soon found myself watching TV for weeks on end. To try and ease some of the anxiety that held me in place, I learned to knit. When I got cancer and holding two needles put me to sleep with exhaustion, I learned to crochet. Fiber arts has helped me in more ways than one, but the primary reason is that working with my hands is a stim. Stimming is something that everyone does to help their bodies release energy. You may shake your leg when you’re anxious or dance when you’re happy. Autistic people tend to need to stim more than non autistics (or allistics). Because Fiber Arts have helped me so much with my autism, I like to make items that honor or aid autism. In that interest I make items that fall into my autistic special interests or items that fellow autistic people can use as a stim. I love making stuffed animals with moving parts to play with and different textures or sizes to carry around. I also really enjoy making whimsical items that bring a child-like sense of joy to a room.