Reading my buddy (and coworker) Hannah’s post the other day got me thinking about inspiration in my own life and how I handle my crafty endeavors.
As you all well know by now, I’m a knitter through and through, always have been, always will be. It’s my therapy, it’s my energy, it’s part of my life like my dog and my family.
Knitting is not, however, the only crafty thing I wish to do. There are *tons* of other creative things I’d love to try someday (and hopefully someday soon) but there are a myriad of reasons why I haven’t tried them yet and they’re not already waiting in my queue.
- Crafty things cost money. I don’t have a lot of funds right now. I do have a budget for edible food and shouldn’t I have a budget for soul-food? Well, what’s the Ramen of soul-food?
- I’m afraid. Of what? I’m not entirely sure – probably failure. I always tell other knitters not to be afraid of their knitting when they are nervous to try a new technique, what’s the worst that could happen? It doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to and you can (usually) reuse the yarn for another project or the same project if you’re inclined to try again. So why does trying other crafts scare me?
- I could be judged. If I try something new and someone else sees it, they are completely free to judge that thing I did and that makes me feel like I’m the one being judged because I created that thing. Why this doesn’t bother me with knitting, I don’t know, because it’s already a part of my soul?
I’ve always wanted to try painting. It’s this magical, mysterious world that I love to watch happen and I love the finished results but I have no idea how it actually works. I mean, I get the basics – you put paint on a surface – but the intricacies of the thing are just so cool to watch. My uncle is a great painter and he recently shared his process for creating a painting and it is by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen. And have you seen Heather’s mandalas? They’re so pretty and interesting to look at, they make me calmer and more contemplative.
I also wear copious amounts of jewelry and think that’d be a fun thing to take up and try.
Pottery throwing is another something magical that I’d like to try someday and I know there are pottery studios around.
And, of course, photography. I’ve been trying and learning and trying and learning and experimenting and learning for years and although I’ve gotten better, I know I’m not there yet. Luckily, this is something that is pretty much required as a knitting blogger, I like to show you what I’m working on and to do that, I have to take pictures! Also, it’s inexpensive since I already have the tools.
What are some things you’ve always wanted to try? How do you get past your inner roadblocks to actually do them?
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