Finding Your Craft Niche

A new cyber friend's email today sparked the idea for this post. She said her DM was trying to teach her to crochet. My friend doesn't think of herself as very patient and keeps ending up choosing only small patterns. I'm thinking maybe she ought to try, just once more, with an easy project.

Back when I developed a free crochet pattern for a scarf for the homeless, our charity crafting group was looking for something very quick and easy. This also is a way to use up scraps. Anyhow, it uses a larger-than-usual hook, a "J" hook, and worsted weight yarn which works up more quickly. Because it repeats the same half-double crochet stitch all the way through, it is not complicated. I also offered another post as a tip for counting rows in a long, monotonous project.

If, however, even this one does not appeal to her, I feel I really need to encourage her to just quit trying with crochet. There are tons and tons of other crafts. Each of us has our own niche.

My DM, bless her heart, when she was alive, she was a master at both crochet and knit. She sewed like a pro, and embroidered, too. Of all those things, the only one that I seem good at, really good at, is crochet. When I knit, it's never smooth. When I embroider, I pull too tight and it puckers. I tried latch hook and I can't pull the knots tight enough. So, I found my "thing" and I really, really love doing it.

My sis, on the other hand, found she loved, and was good at, embroidery and decoupage. My brother made candles for a while did some macramé, and also some painted plaster decorations.

The point is, out of three kids, each of us found our specialty. Nobody should feel badly about what they cannot do. Instead, they should have fun trying everything that appeals to them, until they find what's right for them. Then they can dive in and share it with everyone around them.