Sunday, August 17, 2008

Dear Cool Crafty Goddesses

Please stop. You are making me feel hopelessly inadequate. Crafting is now so cool and hip and edgy, those of us who don't have an Etsy shop are feeling like the kids who always wore the wrong brand of shoes to school.

I knit, I crochet, and I can make a scarf. You knit and crochet and make cutsie tiny animals. I can't even pronounce amigurumi.

I quilt, and make nice, basic bed coverings. You quilt and make works of art that I can't even conceive of.

You do-it-yourselfers are fearlessly painting and making mosaics and etching and throwing pots. I once tried to put up a garland around my dining room for Christmas. I had a glue gun in one hand and a staple gun in the other. When the ladder fell I threw my back out. My kids learned some new words that day.

I scoffed when the scrapbook craze began. "Grown women! Playing with stickers!" I don't laugh any more. Scrapbooking is so fantastically creative and complex I know I could never do it.

But really, if there is one person who must be stopped, it is you, Mary Engelbreit. I used to love your eclectic mix of soft colors and funky flea-market decor. You featured artists who painted and strung beads and had lovely inviting studios. I was so inspired. Now your magazine frightens me. It's just too -- creative.

I must be old. I can't keep up. I have been left in the dust.

Call me when simple retro craftiness comes back in style. I'll be over here making yo-yos.

(Wasabi Girl made a bunch of the yo-yos on here. They turned out different sizes, so it's a bit wonky. I love it because of its imperfections.)

18 people stopped folding laundry to write:

Unknown said...

Yikes, if you feel craftily inadequate, how should I feel? I can't knit, crochet or quilt...

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I feel this way too. Like it is all to hard to keep up. And then someone will say TO ME...that they could never make/do the things I do. SO I guess it is all relative.

I adore the yo-yo quilt. BECAUSE it is not perfect. LOVE IT.

Cheryl Lage said...

Oh Dear...I was just starting to believe I had comrade in my craft-challenged state, and then I beheld the stunning, perfect-in-its-imperfection yoyo quilt...made even more marvelous by the team effort.

Gorgeous. And I'll sign the anti-Engelbreit petition...tell me where and when. ;)

Liz Jimenez said...

I love your stuff! And yeah, I'll just never be the person who makes quilts that are truly works of art. I can make nice things, things friends and family might appreciate as gifts. But probably nothing I'd ever consider bringing to something like a quilt show. I'm happy over here in the amateur circle.

And previous commenter Marcy is totally right - it's all relative. I have people who ooh and aah over the things I make, and it takes all of my effort not to say "oh, it's not actually that good... you should see what REAL quilters do." :-)

Anonymous said...

I haven't even made one yoyo. And I barely crochet. I tell you all this in confidence to boost your moral.

WIDNEY WOMAN said...

Oh, Three, I can relate to everything you said. It is as if you put pen to my angst. But please know, it is YOU who is MY Cool Crafty Goddess that I can NEVER match or even hope to be in the same league as. I bow to you in reverence.

DebD said...

Coming by to say "Hi" and thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. I like your kind of craft abilities. simple and useful. I'm a philistine and can't do much of those things anyway. I do make my own soap but, no matter how much I try, it never ends up looking "pretty". An Esty's shop is definitely not in my future.

debi9kids said...

That is a wonderful quilt! I feel the same way. I am crafty, but will never be able to sell what i make. I can give it away, but I can't sell it :)

Anonymous said...

Oh that's adorable, I hope you keep it always! Love it!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you - I can just about crochet in a straight line,and sometimes not even that. Knitting? Not really. Sewing? Hah! My mother was a brilliant knitter, sewer and quilter and I inherited none of her skills.

I don't go near scrapbooking, no can do!

I like collecting retro stuff and scanning, because it is so uncrafty and I can just about handle it...

I adore the yo-yos, they are terrific.

Bob and Jenn Peacock said...

I wish I could be more crafty!

Anissa Mayhew said...

I think it's awesome and take it from someone who made a pottery plate that friends of my sister ask "which of your kids made that?" about, it's about the love you put into it.

Coloradolady said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coloradolady said...

I love the yo-yo quilt. I really like the colors...sorry I had to delete the last post....too many spelling errors. I'm tired! Please visit my last entry on my blog...wanted you to see it...smile!

Shawn said...

LOL funny post -- and probably so relative to many other women like you.

I'm crafty-challenged, unfortunately, so I just look at other blogs and tear up at my inability. I think, "If only I could ... '

Eileen said...

Love that little yo-yo quilt. The colors and prints are my favorite!

So I guess you are not the only one who doesn't have an Etsy Shop. But you certainly have a wonderful blog. ;-D

Burbank Babe said...

So says the lady who made me a teddy bear...

Elizabeth said...

When I was in college I went to an "art quilt" exhibit at the Museum of American Craft in NYC. There was a 7 foot diameter quilted SPHERE hanging over the stairwell! Yikes. I gave it up right about then.
I like your yo-yos
Blessings, E

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs