I get the summer issue

So being new to yarn crafts, I didn't really understand why yarn stores get slow business in the summer, and why people don't work as much on UFO's. Trust me, now I do understand. We left our A.C. out this year b/c we need to save money. But it also hit the 90s the other day, and I have to say that the thought of working on my angora wrap while I am melting, didn't seem like a fun time. My three major projects for the summer were to be this wrap and two blankets, one of which is done in pieces, the other a huge beast of a plan (one I am pretty sure I am overreaching on). I think, though, now that there is a new plan for the summer. I do believe that I will be doing a lot of amigurumi where the biggest piece is no larger than the palm of my hand. Either that or I'll figure out how to crochet while sitting in a cold bawth.

Well, it's not art, so what is it?

I had an interesting encounter over the weekend. My aunt is not a crafty or imaginative person, which is totally cool, and she doesn't really understand my enjoyment of crochet. Finished projects have been shown to her before and there was little enthusiasm, which again is fine (it was a striped scarf nothing out of the everyday). This time however, she viewed the shawl I made for my mother for mother's day. It was lace weight, which is a nightmare to work with, and it was 58 individually made and connected flowers. I logged in at least 100 hours making this, and I am really pleased and proud of it. So you think that an aunt that has been a key person in my life would be interested and say all the right things. Even if she doesn't get it she should be able to be happy that I found something that makes me happy. Instead these were the sentence constructions that followed:
"Wow, so you could make doilies then"
"Well, it's not art, so what is it then?....I know crafty, that's it crafty"
"You should make quilts, I like quilts"
There was another sentence, but it was a family comparison which would mean nothing to any readers out there. My parents and my men were all happy I didn't punch her. I never claimed to be making art when I crochet, but to have it just so dismissed in one sentence was unbelievable, especially when it was followed with her wanting me to take up a craft I have no interest in, because it is what she likes.
I know that not everyone cares about yarn, and they shouldn't have to, but please keep in mind that people are proud of what they make, and you can always fake a reaction.
Also I am now with my friend Carrie and will be saying rather vehemently "it's not a hobby, it's a post-apocalyptic life skill"

Working on a Project out in the World

I'm a part of two yarn groups that meet in coffee shops, and it is really enjoyable (plus it gives my men some alone time which they enjoy). And in these groups you tend to have people coming up to you, commenting on how nifty it is that you are out in the world doing that, asking what you are working on, and being nice. I have found though a bit of a shift in that dynamic if you are out working on a project without a group. If you are alone in a coffee shop, people accept you working on something, but I will say that in airports you do get a strange look or two. I had to kill time before my flight and then at a transfer, so I was working on two different bags. You get a lot of stares, but because of the airport factor people will not engage you about it. Now I'm not saying I like to interact with people, I don't like random people talking to me, but it'd be better then the stares you get. Apparently working with yarn in an airport if you are under the age of 60, makes you feel like a little bit like a zoo creature doing something amusing (I think it was good old Homer who said - ah it thinks it's people). I have found that yarn is the best way to kill time at the airport, even better than a book, but it is weird to have the scruffy guy sitting next to on the plane, just stare at your work (hmmm, I was wearing a low cut top, maybe he was staring at something else entirely).

I'm not Randall Graves

So this conversation came up with the yarn group I hang out with and it is a big pet peeve of mine. It's not from anyone in my group, but something out there in the world. It is doing crafts and yarn work and saying that "you are taking it back" and it is "empowering to reclaim it" Grr arrg. Taking it back, sounds as plausible as a person "keeping it real". My first thought is always taking it back from where, and when I said this a friend said taking it back from bored, sad, lonely 50's housewives. The thing is though, for me, it is bizarre to think of taking something back from these women. This is for two reasons. One: what if they truly enjoyed working in these mediums, then me taking it back, is in fact taking away from time honored arts and traditions. And two: if these women were burying their needs and desires in crafting projects, I don't want to take all those cranky feelings back. From everything I've read, and what I know from familial experiences the lot of the 50's housewife was much better or much worse than we can or want to comprehend, so taking it back from them is at best a silly trumped up idea, or a disservice to what they were actually doing. My grandmother crocheted, it's partly why I chose crochet. I'm not taking anything back from a woman who had a hobby that gave her a great deal of pleasure for more than 30 years. So be warned, start talking to me about taking it back, and I'll just answer I'm not Randall Graves, I'm not going to try and take anything back.

(Oh and if you don't get the reference, you need to go out and rent more Kevin Smith movies).

Why I don't Knit (and have no plans to start)

So when people find out if I crochet, they more often than not ask if I knit. I do not and I have no intentions of starting to do so anytime soon. There are a few reasons for this, maybe not completely rational ones, but I don't find rationality a big plus in life. The first is that it was crochet that interested me not knitting. The second is that people ask me if I knit, and I like to be contrary on occasion. The third is that I have a friend who knits, so I don't want to follow her road. The other (and perhaps key) reason is that of the two practices, crochet is still more of the red haired stepchild. It simply isn't as cool, or done by as many people. Knitters say, oh you can't get the same drape, it uses so much more yarn, etc. If you go into yarn shops the accessories are about 90% for knitters, the book ratio seems to be about 6-1 favouring knitting, and people generally still have one particular view of crochet (doilies and afghans). Because of this I want to focus on crochet, not to improve it's sad little lot in life but rather just to make it feel loved. (Plus we get to do amigurumi, and it looks sooooooooooooooo much better than knitted creatures, so there)

Why I Crochet

So why did I choose crochet? There are a few reasons. First it was a more general I decided that I needed a hobby, something to keep me away from being on the computer for 6 hours a day, especially since what I was doing was of absolutely no consequence. I knew playing an instrument wasn't an option, but that I wanted something tactile. Then I saw the book Creepy Cute Crochet, and the thought of being able to make a little Cthullu made me very happy. Then I remembered that my grandmother crocheted - it was only afghans - but still it would make for a connection that I would enjoy. Plus in theory it wouldn't be a too expensive hobby as there is always cheap yarn out there. I bought a horrible learn crochet book, and started to pull it together. And it turns out that it was something I took to rather well. The funny thing is that I'm now like 6 months into my hobby and have yet to even try to make the Cthullu (though I do have a sad looking Nosferatu sitting on our dresser).

Just throwing up a first comment....so hello! It seems that most everyone on ravelry had a link to a blog and I figured, hey I'm a great person for jumping on bandwagons so here I am. Plus I have time during the day to throw thoughts out into the world. Like the description says, this will mostly revolve around crafting projects. The two things I do are crochet and a little sewing. So that is what I will be talking about. I'll get into the whys, and hows, and whats later on. I'm hoping to keep a schedule where I post 2-3 times a week, but we'll see how that goes.
That's the opener, I would anticipate that my first real post will be about why crochet, but until then TTFN.