Practicality

I am an odd duck.  I'm pretty sure most people I know well would agree.  I'm very artsy, having done music, theatre, visual arts, etc.  However, in the day to day I'm a realist and can be extremely practical.


I want to learn to can not so much because of any romanticized notions but to put food up for a later date as to provide for my family.  I'm learning to knit, not so much to make beautiful things, but practical things: blankets, socks, hats, scarves, cardigans.  Same reason I'll soon be attempting to learn to crochet well enough to use the nylon and make those kitchen scrubbies I love so much, along with cotton dishcloths for our home.  I want to sew to be able to make baby items, clothes, and bags.  And I want to learn to quilt so that I can keep warm blankets on hand since we keep our house cold in the winter.

I'm not completely unromantic when it comes to crafts.  I do want to make heirloom things for my children to pass on to their own.  I want to learn to do tatting to make lace doilies and tablecloths like my great-grandmother did.  And I have found I miss my grandma while I'm learning to knit, wishing I had thought to have her teach me when I was younger.  But usually I am intent on making something useful.  A friend recently joked that if the apocalypse hits it'll just be G, me, and the cockroaches.  I don't think I'm there yet, but I'm trying. (And if G gets his way with the bees and farm animals, we'll probably be set!)

 Source

I'm fortunate... I'm a quick learner and a perfectionist, so once I make up my mind to learn something, whether it's mathematics, knitting or dance I tend to do well.  My problems generally stem with the perfectionism side and thinking I have more time to work on something than I do.  I always have a super long list of projects, and so few seem to get done, but I keep on trucking.  I'm lucky G's similar and has lofty goals of carpentry and home/car things.  We're all about self-sustaining here... one knitted dishcloth at a time!