What I Find Rewarding About Crafting
What do you find rewarding about crafting? Pick any of the crafting hobbies you do, and what is it about that hobby that you enjoy, that maybe relaxes you, maybe it stirs up creative juices. Today, I’m sharing what I find rewarding about crafting. And for me, it’s a combination of things.
CHALLENGE
I enjoy the challenge of a new project (most of the time). Selecting a pattern, touching all the different yarns to pick the best one. Mostly learning a new pattern, but every now and then, throwing in my own twist to the pattern….maybe trying something to see if it’ll work. That little bit of feeling like a rebel. Sometimes it is creating my own patterns or winging something that actually turns out pretty well.
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Part of what I find rewarding about crafting is that I can get giddy over the sense of accomplishment when I finish a project. Anyone else? Being on the last row or last round of a project and the giddy excitement that completing it is right around the corner. I think this stems from the fact that I’m a list maker and an organizer of things. When I write a to-do list, I love to cross things off, so much so that if I do something significant enough that wasn’t on the list, I’ll add it, just so I can cross it off. No judging. 🙂
DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING
This one kind of goes with the sense of challenge. I consider myself a learner. I enjoy learning new things in areas that interest me. Note that I mention “in areas that interest me”. That’s not to say I won’t venture beyond that, but I’m also not saying that I stick with reading a book I don’t like just for the sake of finishing it.
Same with a crochet pattern I’m not enjoying. I enjoy reading about productivity and self-improvement. I enjoy crafting in new and different ways. I love falling down rabbit holes, whether it be Pinterest or another avenue, of crafting ventures to find new ideas. Overall, I just really like learning. I was the kid who came home in sixth grade science class and as part of studying, I’d re-draw and color in an amoeba or paramecium. It wasn’t homework. It wasn’t even going to be turned in. (Anyone remember mitochondria?) My sixth grade science class has evolved into a crafting prowess, always looking for a new way or new technique.
HISTORY
While this isn’t the main reason I got into crafting, once I was in it and I had the opportunity to look back, I realized the connection it gave me to my own ancestors. I remember the doilies my Grandma made and had sitting out on tables. I remember Grandma’s stack of craft magazines sitting on her living room table. I used to love poring through those and being inspired! The pile of counted cross stitch sitting on an end table.
No matter what craft I created, I felt a closeness with those who came before me, especially my Grandmas.
“A grandparent is a little bit teacher. A little bit parent. And a little bit best friend.” —– Unknown
But I must give credit to my Grandpa too. He was a DIY-er and could fix anything. Many of those characteristics were passed on to my parents who lived them as well. And as a result, I had a great series of life lessons in frugality, determination, and making things last. Sometimes now, when I’m working on a project, I’ll think about one of my grandparents smiling down on me, and then I wonder what it would be like to have them sitting next to me for just an hour. And sometimes, we have a conversation. It’s a little one-sided, but I’d like to think I get just as much out of the conversation as they do. 🙂
Suffice it to say, there’s a love there that my adult self remembers from childhood. A love that I hope to pass on to my children and grandchildren. Yet another reward for crafting.
CREATIVITY
As a kid, I was usually into some sort of creative pursuit. Whether it was playing with Fashion Plates, writing poems, drawing random items, making cat’s eyes (with yarn and popsicle sticks), painting rocks, stitching plastic canvas or cross stitch, making toothpick ornaments out of old Christmas cards, or any number of other creative adventures, I always felt this part of me. This creative side of me. It wasn’t something I did to check off a list. It was something I did because I felt naturally drawn to it. I enjoyed it.
Final Thoughts on What I Find Rewarding About Crafting
Why do you craft and what do you find rewarding about it? You’ve read through all the reasons I find crafting a rewarding adventure. What are some of your reasons? Drop me a note in the comments below! I’d love to hear what keeps you coming back to these creative pursuits.
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