When my Granny was getting older, she would have times of nervousness, where she had to be doing something, or she'd drive everyone around her crazy. Mama handled this, when Granny was visiting her, by giving Granny the start of a ball of yarn, and having her keep rolling the yarn onto the ball from a skein. It kept her busy and contented for a couple of hours at a time, giving Mama some free time to do other stuff around the house.