Do you craft?
I’ve often said I’ve never met a craft I didn’t like, or at least give a try, hence the big storage closet that’s over-flowing with craft stuff even after cleaning it out a couple of times. And there’s nothing like a snowy day to fill you with the urge to pick up a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles.
My latest endeavor is a vest I’m knitting while watching TV at night. I don’t remember learning to crochet, but I remember teaching myself to knit from a book. I learned to sew from my mother on an old Singer sewing machine that went forwards and backwards and that was it - but it opened up a whole new world of fashion for my Barbies. And I remember her teaching me to embroider long before that so I could achieve my sewing badge in the church group I belonged to.
I had an uncle who did needlepoint - I have a footstool covered with his work, and the daughter has one of the chairs he did. My sisters like to do counted cross stitch, but I find it hard on the eyes. I do like to embroider though, and I have a couple of unfinished quilts made up of embroidered squares. And I’ve had to stop myself from crocheting afghans - I’ve run out of people to give them to and I have more than I can possibly use. :-D
One of my favorite places to visit when I was a kid was Owen Sound. Not because it’s a beautiful city, which it is, but because that’s where Aunt Florence lived. And Aunt Florence was the Craft Queen. She took craft classes and clipped craft sections from magazines and never failed to have a new craft to share.
Oh, the memories...
We made flowers out of crepe paper - big red poppies with black centers, and yellow daisies, and white tulips. Using fabric and starch we made fabric flowers using the same patterns, and she made the Three Wise Men that sat on her mantle-piece every Christmas after that. Then there were the St. Patrick’s Day pigs, made out of styrofoam egg cartons. Easter egg shaped bird’s nests made out of balloons wrapped in string.
I think of Aunt Florence every time I’m in the craft aisle of a dollar store, as I was on the weekend. And despite having a closet full of craft supplies I couldn’t resist picking up a few more. The granddaughter (hitherto to be known as GD) is at just the right age for crafts.
She already loves painting, and likes putting things together. So I’ve laid in a supply of pom poms and pipe cleaners and googly eyes. I even found a couple of craft kits from Christmas stockings past, which we tried out last week but while the school glue I had on hand is good enough for paper, I needed a proper craft glue to deal with pipe cleaners and pom poms.
Naturally, I subscribe to the belief that the best gifts are the handmade ones. So I was thrilled to receive a dragon GD (with a little help from her dad) made me out of an egg carton. Of course hubby immediately started whining that he wanted a penguin made out of an egg carton for his birthday. Well, they didn’t use an egg carton, but they did make a pretty impressive penguin.
Aunt Florence would be proud!
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