Crafting revelations

Photo to the left is the Kool-Aid tie-dye for Christmas.

As the new year starts, I have reflected some on my crafting. Leave me a comment about the list after you are done reading it.

1. I cannot craft a gift for someone unless I have good thoughts. Thoughts about the world, my life, the person getting the gift, everything goes into my creative process. Progress can halt, slow, increase madly, or move along at a good pace all because of my state of mind.

2. Some people see crafting as work; I see crafting as a celebration. It's a happy process. My sister-in-law celebrated Christmas in her youth, but did not make crafts or bake cookies. Her family went to the store for gifts and cookies. I could not explain well enough that my celebration of the holiday included the process of making things. Making things is how I express care; it also prepares me emotionally and mentally for life and the holidays. It puts me in a good mood.

3. I appreciate people when they make genuinely nice comments about my crafts. If someone makes fun of me for crafting, I'd prefer they look at it as something constructive and give me a non-sarcastic compliment. Crafting gives me something constructive to do. I don't sit still very well, and crafting allows me to sit still. I do not craft for competition, to out-do people, or to make myself look good. I craft because it fills a need -- to see that I am making progress at something (somehow, sweeping the floor after kids doesn't fill the need), reducing my tendency to move around enough so that I can sit on the couch with my husband while he watches TV, always having a gift ready for emergencies, etc.