It’s an addiction. It seems that I must try every new craft that I come across.
Not only do I want to try it, I must purchase everything I need to try it and to make at least two finished projects. I rarely finish two projects. I sometimes finish one of them. Sometimes I define “finish” pretty loosely.
Felt Wee Folk painted faces
I’m sure it’s not just one addiction… You have the overwhelming need to purchase all of the supplies and the equally overwhelming need to organize those supplies by color, size, or whatever makes sense. Putting them in cute little boxes or baskets helps. That has to be at least two major issues.
I start (and sometimes even finish) a project because I want to make sure I know how to do it before I can move on. I know I’ll come back to each and every one of these crafts someday and I need to be prepared…
Felt Wee Folk? I have tubs of broken down flowers for outfits and pre-painted faces for these darling 3-inch tall dolls. (When I pick this one back up, I have faces for a series of little Halloween Costume Wee Folks that I want to make.)
Needle Felting? I have squares cut, patterns prepared, and roving by the color-coordinated bag.
I purchased a serger at the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup this year and have the fabric and pattern for a skirt. At AQS’s Paducah Quilt Show I picked up some Japanese fabrics for a coat I want to sew for my daughter, Kennedy.
Fabric for a jacket
Two crafts are different: I’ve been a quilter for 17 years and, while I won’t categorize myself as a knitter, I do revisit knitting periodically (starting a new project every year or two without finishing that many).
What makes the difference with quilting? Perhaps because I truly love it. I had my own custom quilt business for two years in between publishing work. The problem is that with two small children at home and a full-time job, I just can’t find the time to make the quilts I love to make. So I look for substitutions. I like to keep busy in my TV time.
I have either the best or the worst job for a serial crafter. I am tempted every single day by our books and the proposals and magazines that come across my desk. AND I get to go to consumer and trade quilt shows!
What do you think… a twelve-step program? Trying to go cold turkey? Is there a patch for craft-a-holics? In the end, I guess I really don’t want one. I don’t want to be cured. It’s too much fun. And I know those little Halloween Costume Wee Folk will be darling when I get back to that box and next I really want to try fabric dyeing…
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The only patches to cure a quilter are the ones we piece or applique into our quilts, and I for one don’t want it to be any other way!
It must not be a rare disease – I have it too. I have fabric to quilt or sew, yarn to make items or decorate, beads for jewelry or decoration, wool to card, wool to spin, wood wheels to make spindles, plastic canvas to make purses, dolls to dress, on and on and on. What is the cure?
When I find something new, I want to try it. My problem is that I don’t get enough for just two projects. I have enough to do several – because I ‘know’ that I will love it and want to do more. Then I have it left over to come back to.
I do return to old crafts – when I’m tired of the one I’m doing and when I can’t find something that catches my attention that I want to learn.
I raised silkworms for two years. I wanted to know HOW silk was made. I was able to give the eggs away to someone who raises them all the time. I hope she does well with them.
I need help! (but I don’t really want it)