Of crafts and homemade love

I really love crafting. I have no talent for it - that's not false modesty, it's a fact. I once cut out a heart and my friend looked at it and cried "What is that?!" She genuinely couldn't tell. And as for the scarf ... two more rows last night and it still looks "special", folks.

But I love making things. I like choosing materials, I like the patience the actual making cultivates (even if I curse and scowl my way through it at times), and I like giving away homemade love. It's the best kind.

Homemade cupcakes or store-bought ones? Sure I get excited when I see Hummingbird Bakery packaging. I'd probably eat the box if I could. But to know someone gave of their time to make me cakes from scratch? No contest. My friend gifted me with two brooches, made from recycled sweaters, at lunch yesterday and I squealed at her all the way back to the office. It was also a spontaneous gift (I'd offered to buy them). Spontaneous, homemade love. Even better.

This crafting/homemade/homely/whatever-you-want-to-call-it thing has gotten me a reputation for being twee and a bit of a grandma. I grow vegetables in my parents' garden, I sewed a baby blanket for my beloved's 'newphew', I'm learning to knit, I'd rather spend my birthday having afternoon tea than in a club, and I'm a member of the National Trust (the latter two aren't crafts, of course, but apparently they add to the granny factor).

The teasing I endure is from good friends, and on this basis I thought I was fine. But thinking about it yesterday, I found it sort of bothered me. I actually started to question my pursuits ...

Then, I saw this on the Meet Me At Mike's Facebook page:

"This is the place to be if you are
a) nice
b) sweet
c) adorable
d) a bit loco
e) smart
f) geeky
g) nannarific
h) into H's
i) all of the above"

The traits listed here had all been used by friends and family to describe me at some point (except the H's thing, no idea what's going on there). And here were more than 1,600 people who seemed to think these traits were pretty awesome.

And why shouldn't they - when did being nice and 'nannarific' become a bad thing? :)

I realised that perhaps I'm the one being unnecessarily self-depricating and interpreting what might be fondness, or even admiration, as an insult. Perhaps I'm the one who's embarrassed; scared to carve out my nostalgic, whimsical place among people who might not understand or approve.

This fear is a large part of why I never do anything (hence this blog). And it's a ridiculous way to live. The time spent looking inwards and worrying about what people might think could be better spent making cakes for my office. Or helping a secret wannabe gardener grow some herbs. Or knitting more scarves to give to friends. Maybe that's when it goes from being a half-hearted declaration, that leaves people a little confused and puts the focus on self, to a fully-embraced lifestyle that invites others to join the party.

Onwards.