Yup, I have a craft calling. Ever since I was young, I have had this desire to create things.
It started with a simple cross stitch that I made when I was 5 years old in Brownies. I still have that cross stitch - brown thread on an orange gingham fabric. Then it continued with a latch hook rug one summer. My mom bought one of those rug kits for each my sister and I, expecting that it would take all summer to complete. We belonged to a small beach club, and we had the run of the place. We could play in the sand, go out on the dock, swim in the pool, play on the swing sets - really some of my best and favorite memories of my childhood. It wasn't fancy, but it meant freedom for us. When I started that rug, which ultimately became a pillow, I just kept going. I finished it in a couple of days. Oh, how I loved watching it actually become something. After that, my mom took me to the local yarn store and splurged on a custom 12" x 12" latch hook handpainted mesh. It was a picture of a strawberry - totally 1972! I remember the store owner helping us choose which colors we wanted to use - holding up different reds and browns. It was the best feeling ever. It took me forever to finish that strawberry, but it eventually became a pillow for my grandmother. And yes, I still have that somewhere too.
When I was 10, my mom taught me how to crochet. We found ourselves back at the LYS and she bought me acrylic yarn to make a granny square afghan. It was brown and orange and yellow and cream. At the time, the colors did not really thrill me, but it was another gift for my grandmother and she really liked them. I was more of a rainbow girl - I liked all of the colors of the spectrum - still do. That afghan took me 7 months to complete, but I did it, and the recipient loved it. I don't have that one, but I wish I did. I like those colors today.
My next big foray into crafting happened in junior high. Home economics! I was taught how to sew. I used to try to use my mom's old Kenmore all the time, but could never get the bobbin working properly. So my Barbie dolls were often dressed in some handmade outfits with lots of threads hanging off of them. I loved sewing so much that it became my craft of choice - for the time being anyway. My first official project was a yellow and blue plaid jumper. Plaid? what was I thinking? Everyone else was making aprons. I made a jumper, and I matched the seams - not flawlessly, but pretty good for a 13 year old. And I wore it. Once.
From there I was hooked. I sewed every chance I could. I'm not so creative that I could make my own patterns, but my analytical self could follow any pattern. My home ec teacher taught me about ironing. Ironing? Oh my goodness, how that improved my craft! I took sewing classes all through High School and actually made my own graduation outfit - a purply maroon prairie skirt with a matching jacket. It had tiny white flowers throughout the fabric. The skirt had two ruffles with a little white eyelet ruffle trimming each ruffle. The jacket called for quilted fabric, so I machine quilted each pattern piece diligently, and then sewed the bolero jacket together. Because it was quilted, I had to sew binding around the jacket and the cuffs. I could not find a matching color, so I cut bias strips of the fabric and created my own. It was such a labor of love. and I thought I looked awesome.
I should have realized then that Crafting was in me.
It started with a simple cross stitch that I made when I was 5 years old in Brownies. I still have that cross stitch - brown thread on an orange gingham fabric. Then it continued with a latch hook rug one summer. My mom bought one of those rug kits for each my sister and I, expecting that it would take all summer to complete. We belonged to a small beach club, and we had the run of the place. We could play in the sand, go out on the dock, swim in the pool, play on the swing sets - really some of my best and favorite memories of my childhood. It wasn't fancy, but it meant freedom for us. When I started that rug, which ultimately became a pillow, I just kept going. I finished it in a couple of days. Oh, how I loved watching it actually become something. After that, my mom took me to the local yarn store and splurged on a custom 12" x 12" latch hook handpainted mesh. It was a picture of a strawberry - totally 1972! I remember the store owner helping us choose which colors we wanted to use - holding up different reds and browns. It was the best feeling ever. It took me forever to finish that strawberry, but it eventually became a pillow for my grandmother. And yes, I still have that somewhere too.
When I was 10, my mom taught me how to crochet. We found ourselves back at the LYS and she bought me acrylic yarn to make a granny square afghan. It was brown and orange and yellow and cream. At the time, the colors did not really thrill me, but it was another gift for my grandmother and she really liked them. I was more of a rainbow girl - I liked all of the colors of the spectrum - still do. That afghan took me 7 months to complete, but I did it, and the recipient loved it. I don't have that one, but I wish I did. I like those colors today.
My next big foray into crafting happened in junior high. Home economics! I was taught how to sew. I used to try to use my mom's old Kenmore all the time, but could never get the bobbin working properly. So my Barbie dolls were often dressed in some handmade outfits with lots of threads hanging off of them. I loved sewing so much that it became my craft of choice - for the time being anyway. My first official project was a yellow and blue plaid jumper. Plaid? what was I thinking? Everyone else was making aprons. I made a jumper, and I matched the seams - not flawlessly, but pretty good for a 13 year old. And I wore it. Once.
From there I was hooked. I sewed every chance I could. I'm not so creative that I could make my own patterns, but my analytical self could follow any pattern. My home ec teacher taught me about ironing. Ironing? Oh my goodness, how that improved my craft! I took sewing classes all through High School and actually made my own graduation outfit - a purply maroon prairie skirt with a matching jacket. It had tiny white flowers throughout the fabric. The skirt had two ruffles with a little white eyelet ruffle trimming each ruffle. The jacket called for quilted fabric, so I machine quilted each pattern piece diligently, and then sewed the bolero jacket together. Because it was quilted, I had to sew binding around the jacket and the cuffs. I could not find a matching color, so I cut bias strips of the fabric and created my own. It was such a labor of love. and I thought I looked awesome.
I should have realized then that Crafting was in me.
