I’ve never been super crafty. I can follow a paint-by-number, my mom taught me cross-stitching once, and I can even make something kind of cool out of Legos. But I’ve never had the patience to learn something worthwhile, like knitting or sewing or painting or pottery.

Every so often, however, I get the itch. This past weekend, a combination of the impending holidays and a charming craft show did me in.

Saturday afternoon, I stopped in at my in-laws’ church for a day-long craft show. I was planning on just dropping into my mother-in-law’s booth to sit for awhile and share some coffee. But as soon as I walked in the door I knew I was in trouble.

I saw hand-painted china, delicately and sweetly laid out with their matching sets. I saw (or smelled, rather) the best homemade candles. I marveled at some of the coolest woodcarving I had ever seen. I saw jars of homemade cake mixes, handmade fleece blankets, and knitted ski caps. There was an abundance of handmade jewelry, made with glass beads, clay, turquoise, stones and polished rocks of every color. There were innovative items too: tiny beads that, once placed in water, kept a live plant alive for a month before you had to water it again; two-sided quilts, so you can match both a fall-themed home decor and a Christmas one; even little bandanas that slip onto dog collars to match every season of the year.

While I don’t have much patience to learn a trade with my hands, I’ve always had the desire to learn. But I was overwhelmed, because I had no idea where to begin. There are so many options.

So I decided to start with the people in my life who have already made the leap.

Since Saturday, I have made arrangements with my mom to learn to make some jewelry, plans with my mother-in-law to learn how to sew blankets, and a phone call to my little brother to see if he might help me edit some photographs I’ve taken throughout the year to give as Christmas gifts. I have an offer from my friend Andrea, knitter-extraordinaire, to help me find some simple sewing patterns, and my friend Rachel has suggested a baking day.

As I look forward to these plans over the next few weeks, I am starting to notice gifts I have been given that took time and effort for the giver to make. I have a string of turquoise and red beads on a necklace from a college roommate. I have a set of picture frames filled with hilarious photos from a good friend. I have a fleece blanket, the pattern picked out and handmade by my mother. I have countless mix CD’s from my little brother. These gifts always remind me of the time and love they were made with.

But more than anything, I find myself getting more and more excited about these how-to sessions coming up for other reasons. Yes, I’ll learn how to do a couple things I didn’t know how to do before, which is useful. But I’ll be learning alongside people I love. We’ll make a pot of coffee, sit down over patterns and beads and pictures, and together we’ll figure out a way to make something beautiful from what’s in front of us. We’ll laugh and catch up and work together.

Whether I keep my creations or not doesn’t matter. And while they may have a little more value than a store-bought gift, they will have a long-lasting value for me. I will have the memories and enriched relationships with the people I love. And that’s what really matters.

2 Responses to “Handmade”

1. Rachel Says:
   November 24th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

   I made the blog! I know exactly how you feel…I’m a crafter who runs out of steam before ever finishing anything. That’s why I turned to baking - it has a fairly short turn-around time and you HAVE to finish. Plus, there’s the tasty, tasty results!

2. Laura W. Says:
   November 25th, 2009 at 9:24 am

   LOVE THIS!!!! (And love you, too!)

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