The Luxury of Crafting

Happy Thursday lovelies. I’m sitting in my craft room today, sewing barefoot with my music on and a window cracked open just enough to hear the birds chatter to one another. I love soft days like this. The ability to create whatever I want and the time to do it at my own pace. I was thinking today what a luxury that is; crafting or making something because we want to rather than because we must. Sure, crafting is my “job”, because of the blog . . . and it’s been my job before when I co-owned a paper crafts store. But, even when making things isn’t necessary, it’s still my favorite thing to do.

CRAFTING – It’s a Generational Thing

Jump on over to my ABOUT ME page and you’ll see that I come from a long line of creative women. We all sewed. Some of us created in the kitchen; baking, cooking and entertaining. Most of us painted in one medium or another. Some of us did floral arranging, and macramé, others stained glass and made scrapbooks. The common string between us all is that we are each makers.

When I think of my Great Grandma Winnie, with her waste-long silver braids criss-crossed a top her head, I think of her as busy and strong. . . a do-er. She spent every waking moment with her hands in the task of either making, fixing, or cleaning. She gardened, sewed, embroidered, baked and cooked; all the ‘crafts’ necessary to run a household in the early 1900s. She made beautiful things; intricately laced and embroidered handkerchiefs, the most deliciously rich chocolate cake, from scratch of course. I am confident thought, nothing was done just for the pleasure of doing it. Winnie was a crafter out of necessity and a careful crafter at that. Every material or ingredient counted and what Winnie created from them had to have purpose and longevity.

Each generation, from Winnie on has been incrementally blessed with the luxury of crafting for pleasure. My Grandma Maxine sewed gorgeous clothing. I think she did this partly out of necessity, a way to dress impeccably for less, but she also enjoyed it. There was nothing she couldn’t make and she enjoyed the challenge of achieving perfection. Still, every bit of fabric was used and if it wasn’t done right, it was done again.

Not Afraid To Try

My Mom, Vikki, was probably the first generation to experience crafting as a hobby. Yes, she definitely put her mad sewing skills to work to make custom curtains and designer equivalent clothing for much less than buying them finished. But, for a time before she worked, she took classes and explored all sorts of arts and crafts. She enjoyed crafting days with friends. I distinctly remember them laughing and talking while working on pom-pom ornaments and plaster mache dolls.

I AM; THEREFORE I CREATE

Inside my desire (need) to create are the snips and scraps of all the creative women in my life. Like Winnie, I like my projects to have purpose and use. Like Maxine, I have an eye for detail and a tendency towards wanting perfection. And like my Mom, I love exploring new crafts and mediums. Watching these women MAKE . . . create . . . helped mold my creative soul so that today . . . I enjoy the bliss of a soft day, a stack of new fabric and sewing barefoot – just because.

I feel so fortunate to have the time, resources and ability to create for the pleasure of it. Crafting enriches my life in so many ways, one of which is to share this wonderful niche of Arts & Crafts with so many crafty awesome people – YES! Like you – you crafty awesome person! Go forth and use glitter!

Pssst – Wanna know how to make that cute little cactus pin cushion in the picture above? It’s all HERE

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