Learning manual processes opens a dialogue with the past and reasserts the value in knowledge that is no longer “necessary” to daily life. I turn to the crafts of the past not to reject technological progress, but to reject the present’s insistence on efficiency and profit. Washing, picking, carding, spinning, and weaving wool all occupy a different time scale from modern life. I savor the sense of connection in that slower time when my hands act as the conduit between past/present and mind/body. These are the moments when I feel most attuned to my body and intentional in my actions. Immersing myself in manual processes is an act of meditation, generation, and catharsis. I also develop an intimate understanding and appreciation for the slowly transforming material which centers me in the physical realm. I use the term “labor” not in relation to economics or difficulty, but more broadly as “productivity”; I am motivated as much by the finished cloth as a sense of peace and satisfaction.