What is it about cutting up fabric
and sewing it back together again
that is so gratifying?
Why does choosing yarn in beautiful colours
and spending a few hours basically hooking it into tangles
and knots
make the tough realities of life just a bit easier to take?
How can a needle and a few bits of coloured thread
yield small beauties that put the ugliness of the news into
the background for a while?
Craft is the perfect antidote to the horrors of the world
around us.
We crafty folk find happiness in sharing our knowledge
 |
| One of the workshops I teach |
 |
| One of the classes I take |
inspiring new friends
 |
| Teaching a new friend to sew on a rainy afternoon |
enjoying the company of old friends
 |
| Enjoying decadent treats on Craft Night with Jooles! |
The news has been getting to me lately. It’s all too much
sometimes. I switch off the radio and reach for something to make, something to
take my mind off all the negativity.
Craft therapy. In these tumultuous times, we’re all holding
onto our creative gifts, enriching our family lives with simple makes
 |
| I've been making snowflakes with linen thread and iridescent thread hooked together... |
And while conflicts spread the globe, so too do our creative
connections
We’re sticking together, we crafty folk, we’re reaching out
across the vastest distances to share the simplest of pleasures in this
complicated world.
Craft therapy.
Don’t you wish a news
report would end not with the weather, but with a Craft Update?
“And in Surrey this evening,
Chrissie Crafts has finally finished her daughter’s quilt! A lovingly made patchwork
in shades of rose and aqua, Chrissie reveals exclusively to us that this will
be Bunny’s Christmas present. Well done, Chrissie.”
Happy crafting!
Chrissie x
P.S. I first wrote about craft therapy a few weeks after starting my blog. You can
read it here.
Wise words, Chrissie, which will resonate in the hearts of many, many other creative souls.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
Great post Chrissie, glad you are still crafting,I haven't seen you around for a while and hoped you were OK. Jo x
ReplyDeleteIt is the eternal battle between creativity and destruction... I as well prefer to be amongst the creators :-) !
ReplyDeleteI would much rather receive a crafty update on the news. I just had to close the browser on a news story about Ebola, it's a very scary time.
ReplyDeleteWe need craft therapy to face the world !!! I agree ! I hope you and all of us are ok woth our makes ! So I wish you a lovely sunday
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean - I hate the news and actively avoid it! I know some say you shouldn't have your head in the sand, but it's just so depressing. I prefer to escape to a bubble of fiction novels and crafting fun - it takes my mind away from the horrors and to a nice happy place where I can try not to dwell on those horrible things going on in the world!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love the things you're working on in this post - lovely pretty soft colours!
Maria x
Such an uplifting idea.
ReplyDeleteYes, the world horrors seem to be spreading and attempting to take over. I pray for the leaders on both sides, that peace may prevail. Neither can I concentrate on all the horror all the time. In a golden dream, we crafters would share this joy and others would find comfort. That is we what we can do. Keep on sharing and opening hearts. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteCraft - best therapy there is, in my humble opinion! x
ReplyDeleteI cannot agree with you more Chrissie, the news is very worrying but I feel the media does build up the drama, and therefore the worry a bit too much. My own personal demons are quietened too by crafting and thoughts of my crafts, I don't know what I would do without it! Your crochet squares and your embroidery are gorgeous! And yes, I would love to have craft updates at the end of the news, but then that's why I log into bloglovin everyday :o)
ReplyDeletetake care, Sam xx
All your projects are so beautiful. I'm not sure which I admire the most-possibly your beautiful embroidery since I don't so it myself but yet again your crochet squads are so pretty. The news is so depressing at the moment. It is not a matter of ignoring it but of coping with it.
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you on this one, lovely lady! I find myself trying to avoid the news these days too...so many awful things happening and sadly we never see the many good and kind things that happen every day.
ReplyDeleteCraft is my therapy too and really helps me to unwind in the evenings and after work. You have some beautiful projects on the go....gorgeous colours which are very you!
Marianne x
Hi Chrissie, craft is definitly my therapy in this mad crazy world. Love all of the things you are making especially those granny squares. Have a great week best wishes julie xxx
ReplyDeletehmmm your crochet squares look perfect. Make mine look well dodgy! x
ReplyDeleteI so agree wit you. If I could not create I think I would shrivel up and die, and I am not being overly dramatic. It soothes me on the deepest level. I turn off the news, I stop reading the paper, I sit and create. It helps move me through even the toughest times.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Very wise words, you have been making some very lovely things, I also find great escape from lifes troubles in a good bit of crafting.
ReplyDeleteClare xx
Chrissie what a wonderfully well said post. I can not imagine a single day to pass without it involving some form of crafty activity, I truly believe that it is good for your sole! I love the community that I belong to through my Blog, Facebook and Instagram and the friendships that I formed with like minded soles. Sarah xo PS make sure the cameras are there to film Bunny's face when she receives her gorgeous quilt. xo
ReplyDeleteOh yes oh yes oh yes! please let the newsreader say that one day.....waiting patiently because wishes come true sometimes...don't ya know?
ReplyDeletelove xxxxxxx
Couldn't agree more Chrissie - crafting is the ultimate therapy. Latest news headline round here .... Kate has started crocheting another blanket ! Hooray !
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, it would be wonderful if people spent more time crafting and less time fighting wouldn't it. I am glad that you are enjoying your crafting and I hope it brings you some peace. I love your yarn bowl, so beautiful! xx
ReplyDeleteOh yes Chrissie, wise words indeed, and very well said. Crafting is so often my thing to retreat to when it all gets too stressful. And yes, the news is especially awful lately, it gets me down too.
ReplyDeleteBut on a more positive note, that floral embroidery is simply stunning. Take care lovely. xx
Oh hear hear Chrissie! I'm afraid I avoid the news as much as possible, have beaten myself up about this on occasions but have literally had to to preserve my own sanity and peace in life. I have to imagine we live in gentler times and my crafting has been the best therapy ever prescribed. You put this so very well above! Love your idea of crafty news updates. We should put together a nightly bulletin! xx
ReplyDeleteA woman after my own heart!! lol I'm hearing ya. I used to wonder how people could cut perfectly
ReplyDeletegood material up into small shapes and stitch it back together......I so get it now. lol
Cheers, Anita.
Such appalling stories in the news recently, crafting certainly focuses the mind and helps to maintain a positive outlook. I love your snowflake and your embroidery is beautiful, as ever. Have therapeutic crafty week!
ReplyDeleteJane xx
great post Chrissie and I totally agree! I didn't know you did pottery though, are you taking a class?
ReplyDeleteSo funny, I like your idea of a news report! also love the wild flower embroidery, really lovely X
ReplyDeleteOh Chrissie you're so right - instead of 'drop the dead donkey' it could be 'show the new quilt'! I think the news is getting to all of us at the minute - how lucky we are to be able to turn to something so meditative ( I realise as I type this I am looking at a tangle of wool that I peevishly tossed to the side last night because I couldn't find the end!) Your work is lovely - and getting those snowflakes in already!!! Jane x
ReplyDeleteCraft therapy definitely works for me. I try to knit or crochet on my lunch break & it definitely helps me to forget that I'm at work! Your crochet squares are looking fabulous :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea craft news. Beats the depressing news we have on now. It's got to the stage where I avoi being in the room when it's on. Loving your crafty makes. Especially the snowflakes. X
ReplyDeleteSuch a bus lady! I love the crochet squares the relaxed colours look great together x
ReplyDeleteEek, think I commented on the wrong post. I was saying that, having worked for a while in art therapy in a rehabilitative setting, I entirely agree with what you say about it.
ReplyDeleteI think we are very lucky that we can "escape" by sewing, yarn crafts etc. Not everybody can.
ReplyDeleteYour work is lovely as ever Chrissie, and I particularly like the embroidery - so neat and pretty!
Great post, and I'm glad I can keep up with you via FB, lifes often too busy for blog posts but a quick FB post only takes minutes!!
Gill xx
<3
ReplyDeleteIt is a scary world we live in Chrissie ..... we crafters are indeed so fortunate that we can immerse ourselves in our crafty food-for-the-soul world for a timeout now and again! These precious times have saved my sanity many a time .. Pat xx
ReplyDeleteYes Chrissie - call it escapism, call it whatever, but I know for me crafting is a life-saver: I just HAVE to create with needle and threads, yarns and needles/hook etc., etc.. I would literally 'go under' without these activities/diversions! Great post, thank you! xoJoy
ReplyDeleteI would definitely rather receive a crafty update at the end of the news rather than a recap of all of the bad things that are happening in this world. I totally agree that craft can make everything seem so much better and that's what my blog is all about.
ReplyDeleteOh and I love the colour combination you have used with your granny squares!
x
Oh I so agree with this post. When the day to day world starts getting to me, my crafts can always center me.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put Chrissie. As always. I love the linen snowflakes, I've been crochreting with String!!! Making Christmas stars ... There's a giveaway ... I'd love you to come visiting!!! Your embroidery makes me swoon! And the soothing yarn colours lift my day. Thank you ... That is all!
ReplyDeleteLovely works! *** Merry Christmas!! ***
ReplyDelete