Who am I? Batman?

Much like the other craftyholic ladies, I wear and bear several hats. (Sometimes the odd cape). I am a mother, wife, teacher, daughter, sister, niece and friend. Oh, and I am a crafter too, but not just one craft, nah, that would be too simple (!) Patch worker, quilter, cross-stitcher, embroiderer... I’ve given most crafts a try, expect crochet. Crochet cruelly did not take to my fingers; it discarded me and decided to settle in my mother’s deft hands. I won’t let that one needle (can’t be that hard surely) beat me; I’ll give it another go. But when??!

Most people have responsibilities, some care for a child (whether that child is a little ‘un, a big ‘un, step, grand or man), others hold down employment outside of their craft, some more make a living from their craft. I am admiring of all, as they are all equally of benefit to society and the economy. I have a mini-Bramble to nurture, a Mr Bramble to look after, a Patch that needs tidying, hoovering, dusting etc., and a flock of leaves to tend to (my day job as a teacher).

People often comment, “Oh, I don’t know where you find the time”. I just shrug and think, well, I love making, I have a mini-Bramble, so the house is always going to look like a toy factory exploded in my living room. Life’s too short.

I wonder how many more people out there are who feel an overwhelming sense of “too much to do” and turn to crafts to help soothe their hectic lives. Generations ago, learning a craft was a necessity, people needed to know how to make and to mend. In a previous blog post I have bleated on about how people are too consumed with ‘stuff’. People buy, and they buy, and then they buy some more. Shopping has become a therapy for us as a country and an economy. As a hobby, or therapy, shopping is an expensive one. One which many are now unable to afford.

Crafting as a therapy is much cheaper and ultimately more fulfilling. When you make something with your own hands, your own mind, you have made something truly from nothing. How satisfying is that? Very!

When you turn your efforts to making, instead of just consuming, you treasure things more. I bought a cake today, I felt good about that. Why? You ask. For one thing, I blooming love cake, but also because a colleague had made them by her own fair hands AND all of the money raised by her baking will be given to a charity.

Making something is beautiful in every way. Try it today as therapy. It’s cheaper than the alternatives, I promise.



Mrs Blackberry