the crafty gene :: final installment
Still with me?
Actually, my return to crafting was bit of a delayed reaction. The first year of Iris’ life, I was so intently preoccupied with her that I hardly thought about all the things I put aside when she roared onto the scene. But as she toddled into her second year, still very demanding but not quite so totally 100% hands-on as in those infant days, the crafty urge crept back in through the cracks. I began craving the creative outlet of making things (aside from a baby and milk) again. I took up embroidery again after a 20-year lull. I dusted off Helen and began to put her through her paces. And I stumbled across the infinitely inspiring world of craft blogs. Loobylu, littlebirds, Soulemama – if any of you are in the house, I’m sending you a big salaam for showing me what you could do in your spare minutes here and there. If it hadn’t been taken, I might well have named this blog While She Naps.
My grandmother passed away while I was living in Japan, more than ten years before Iris was even a twinkle in my eye. How I wish they could have known each other! But even if my mom is right and the crafty gene skips a generation, meaning Iris hasn’t got it, I hope my girl learns from J and me what I learned from my grandmother: to be resourceful. To find satisfaction in creating the things you use. To use your creativity to transform your environment into one that is unique. That it is possible to opt out of mass consumerism. That you can make something beautiful from scraps.
Actually, my return to crafting was bit of a delayed reaction. The first year of Iris’ life, I was so intently preoccupied with her that I hardly thought about all the things I put aside when she roared onto the scene. But as she toddled into her second year, still very demanding but not quite so totally 100% hands-on as in those infant days, the crafty urge crept back in through the cracks. I began craving the creative outlet of making things (aside from a baby and milk) again. I took up embroidery again after a 20-year lull. I dusted off Helen and began to put her through her paces. And I stumbled across the infinitely inspiring world of craft blogs. Loobylu, littlebirds, Soulemama – if any of you are in the house, I’m sending you a big salaam for showing me what you could do in your spare minutes here and there. If it hadn’t been taken, I might well have named this blog While She Naps.
My grandmother passed away while I was living in Japan, more than ten years before Iris was even a twinkle in my eye. How I wish they could have known each other! But even if my mom is right and the crafty gene skips a generation, meaning Iris hasn’t got it, I hope my girl learns from J and me what I learned from my grandmother: to be resourceful. To find satisfaction in creating the things you use. To use your creativity to transform your environment into one that is unique. That it is possible to opt out of mass consumerism. That you can make something beautiful from scraps.
posted by angelique at 7:38 PM
1 Comments:
The more I read about you the more I'm convinced I'd like you just as much in person as I do on the page (screen?). I don't know if writing about yourself makes you feel like you're drawing back a little too much of the veil but I have to say that it's enjoyable to me to feel like I know just a little more about a friend I've never met.
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