Sasha Obama has taken up one of her mother Michelle’s favorite hobbies: knitting.
On Wednesday, the 23-year-old was spotted partaking in the activity while relaxing at Everett Park in Los Angeles.
The former First Daughter dressed casually for the warm weather in oversized denim shorts and a turquoise T-shirt.
She wore a pair of dark sunglasses and stayed hydrated by carrying a bottle of water.
The one-time waitress seemed focused on the task at hand, knitting up a storm as she sat cross-legged on a blanket.
She had a pair of AidPods in her ears as she knitted by herself, indicating that she was intent on enjoying some alone time.
Her mother Michelle, 61, took up knitting during the Covid lockdowns in 2020.
‘Over the course of this quarantine, I have knitted a blanket, like five scarves, three halter tops, a couple of hats for Barack, and I just finished my first pair of mittens for Malia,’ she previously shared on The Rachael Ray Show.
Sasha Obama was spotted relaxing at Everett Park in Los Angeles on Wednesday
Sasha seemed focused on the task at hand, knitting up a storm as she sat cross-legged on a blanket
‘One is twice as big as the other,’ she added. ‘I’m still working on my stitching gauge.’
While she has joined an online community for knitters, she’s been careful to keep her identity a secret.
‘They don’t know I’m in the knitting community because I don’t use my real name, but I have some knitting, you know, tutors who I kind of go through to get my yarn and my patterns and all that,’ she said.
In 2022, Michelle once again gushed about her love of knitting, this time in an Instagram post.
‘Every time I tell people how much I love to knit, they seem so surprised! But it truly has become one of my most meaningful (and fun) pastimes,’ she wrote.
‘For me, knitting is a release. It lets my hands lead the way as my mind trails behind,’ the former First Lady continued.
‘And it turns out that knitting was buried in my DNA–I am the descendant of many seamstresses. My mom shared with me that every woman on her side of the family learned how to work a needle and thread, to sew, crochet, and knit.’
Michelle then shared that used knitting to keep her ‘anxiety at bay’ during the ‘bleak’ Covid-19 pandemic.
The former First Daughter dressed casually for the warm weather in oversized denim shorts and a turquoise T-shirt.
She had a pair of AidPods in her ears as she knitted by herself, indicating that she was intent on enjoying some alone time
Sasha briefly lifted up the blanket she was knitting to inspect it
Her mother Michelle, 61, took up knitting during the Covid lockdowns in 2020
‘Practicing it roots me in this idea that I talk about in my book, The Light We Carry called “the power of small.” It’s the idea that narrowing your focus into a small, seemingly insignificant task can remind us of our own agency,’ she explained.
‘It shows us our own ability to build, create, and succeed. I truly believe that when you know you are capable of small tasks, it makes the bigger ones feel easier. In this case, every small stitch builds into a bigger purpose.’
Barack and Michelle’s first child, daughter Malia, was born in 1998, while Sasha followed in 2001.
Both girls are currently living in LA, where Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2023 with a degree in sociology.
While Malia is busy carving out a career for herself in Hollywood, Sasha seems to enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle.
Sasha kept hydrated by sipping from a large bottle of water as she soaked up the sunshine
The 23-year-old adjusted her sunglasses as she stared off into the distance
At one point she fully reclined and was sprawled out on the grass flat on her back
Malia was mocked by the internet last year and gently chided by her father after she dropped her famous surname for her first movie credit.
‘It’s still nepotism,’ one internet commenter said after Barack Obama confirmed the former first daughter, 26, will go by Malia Ann on the credits of a short movie called The Heart that she’s made with megastar Donald Glover.
Another commenter said ‘Nepo baby,’ while a third suggested Malia had dropped her surname professionally to avoid being associated with dad Barack’s foreign policy decisions while in office.
Barack himself gently joked about his daughter’s decision to snub the name on the Pivot podcast, branding her ‘stubborn.’
He said Malia and sister Sasha ‘go out of their way to not try to leverage’ their familial status but indicated he was supportive of their decision to do so.
The former president said: ‘The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,’ he told host Ryan Clark. ‘I mean they’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.’
The Heart debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
