Becoming a Crafty Woman, part 2

Michael's homework assignment for this week was to try a craft you've never tried before. 

Let me explain how hard this was for me. While I am no way a crafter, I have tried out a lot of crafts. This comes from two different things: 1) I grew up in Utah, which is basically the crafting capitol of the world, and 2) I grew up with a very crafty sister so when she tried something, I usually tried it too. I sat for a long time trying to think of what I had never done before, but all I could think of was what I had done: 

crochet (learned this in two different church youth groups)

cross-stitch (I've been doing this since I was about eight and the only thing I have continued to do over the years)

counter cross-stitch (learned at a church youth group, but have never really done it. The counting takes too much attention)

sewing

cake decorating

scrapbooking

painting

drawing

tying quilts

sand pictures

collage

decorating pillow cases

beading

And more that I can't think of right now.

Anyway, it was tough to think of something I'd never done. There was a craft fair in Provo Saturday, so I went with some friends and hoped that it would give me inspiration. As fun as the fair was, no inspiration came. So after dinner that night, Mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and walked around for about an hour, looking at what they had and hoping that something would come to us. 

As an example of how not crafty we are, about 80% of the things we saw we had no idea what you would use them for. I'm sure a crafty person could see those things and come up with a million ideas of use. In spite of this, I realized that Hobby Lobby makes you feel like you could be crafty. Oh yes, they're good. 

Finally I settled on knitting, which I had previously avoided because the two needle thing seemed too complicated. But it really isn't! Mom hasn't knitted for about 30 years, but after some fiddling around she remembered enough to help me cast on, do a basic knit stitch, and cast off again at the end. This is something I really like about crafting--usually it's something someone else teaches you and I like the idea of it being passed on. Unfortunately, it might stop with me because I don't know enough to be able to pass it on to anyone!

Here's my first knitting project: 

It's a dish cloth!

Oh, and don't worry, there are plenty of "worship flaws" in there. I didn't feel like taking it out and starting over again. (Laziness probably contributes to my non-crafty state.)

I actually might use the left over yarn to make a kind of "sampler" of different stitches. What I like about knitting (and cross-stitch/embroidery) is that it's something you can do in front of the TV. This makes it more pleasant than just sitting there knitting, and it also automatically makes your TV time productive! Win-win!

Anyway, I'm glad that Michael Ann is giving me these homework assignments because I'm learning a lot about myself.