Are you a snob?

One thing I was often conscious of growing up, was the people that I thought were snobs.  The definition of snob changes as you grow. One of the definitions from the dictionary goes something like this:

...a person who strives to associate with those of higher social status and who behaves condescendingly to others...

I have always been a down to earth type person, I hung out with the people I liked, regardless of their social standings.  I have known (and still do) people that would snicker at something someone else was saying,  not because they enjoyed their company, but because they were looking down on that person.

I do have to admit that I went through a period of my life where I was an "art snob".  I wanted to do art, but I didn't think that I wanted to do crafts. At one point,  my sister was able to hook us up with an artist type that was giving us personal instruction in pottery.  Apparently he was a bigger art snob than we were. We took care of that. Much to his dismay, he was haughtily dismissed after referring to our artsy adventures as "our little craft thing". 

To me, growing up, crafts meant gluing cotton balls on a construction paper star to make a Santa, or making ducks out of clothespins.  I realize now how much work goes into crafts. So to Crafts, I say "I am sorry I was such a snob". I realized how snobby I had been when a person was asking about a necklace I had made, and she said in a very condescending tone, "oh, you just strung that?", as if to say "how boring is she, she might as well be stringing Cheerios".  You know, I really don't want to be that person.

At least we know that's it never too late to change.  I can appreciate the great works of art that hang in the most famous museums, and still appreciate the thought, planning and work that goes into crafts like scrap-booking and mixed media art, things that I'm not into. I realize now, that I don't have to like the finished product, but I understand and can recognize when someone has really tried on something.

On the other hand, if I don't like you, and that sometimes happens, it will be extremely difficult for me to acknowledge your talent. Especially if you "dis" my sister and me.

I actually don't know what prompted me to go off on this rant.  Maybe because I haven't made a post for a while.  In any event, I have been doing  bit of crafting down in the art/craft studio and will soon have pictures to prove it.

Take care, y'all and try not to be a snob. 

Hello Friday...

Hello Friday, Susan here.  Even though I'm not in the traditional work force any more, I still have that "it's Friday!" attitude every week.  I like to think about what has happened during the week, what we have done, and what needs to be done to start a new week. 

The hubby and I have been a bit under the weather this week.  He has been slightly sicker than I. We both had sinus problems, body aches and general malaise.  That's an interesting word and works quite well for how we were feeling, but it you read further down in the Wikipedia description, you will find all kinds of related conditions. but that's another post for another day.

Any hoo, I just wanted to come by and say hi and let you know what artsy creations I have been working on.  As you my know by now, I am once again trying to perfect my knitting and crocheting skills and I have come up with these...

This little table runner/scarf is a practice piece using bulky, self striping yarn.  This is such a cool way to work. Here is a little blurb on About.com explaining a bit about this type of yarn. I didn't realize there was such a thing until I dug a skein out of a care package that Sissy sent.  I started working with it and soon realized what was happening.

The little cosy on the glass jar holding my silk forsythia, started as a practice piece using the knit, purl technique that makes ribbing.  I knitted it flat and then joined the edges together for a matching piece to the table scarf.  I'm planning on using this same technique for a wrist cuff or two.

I learned to crochet back in the 70's, but I never progressed past the basic crochet stitches.  If fact, I didn't even know there were other stitches, but in one of my new magazines, Crochet World, one of the patterns has a stitch called the afghan stitch. This stitch, also called Tunisian crochet is traditionally done with a long crochet hook that has a stop on the end.  After reading and reading the instructions for this technique, I finally had to go to the Youtubes to see it being done.  After seeing it in action, I realized that I could do a smaller version on a regular hook.  After several false tries, I did come up with this.

You may be able to tell that I inadvertently began to decrease the stitches after several rows.  I finally realized that this was happening and made the necessary adjustment.  This is such a cool technique.  It is part crochet and part knitting and makes an almost woven piece of fabric.  I've seen online this method used for yarn items that are then cross stitched on.  Very cool.

Well, that's what I've been up to this week.  That and continued work on the blue knitted shawl.  I hope it is still going to be a shawl.  It started out as a scarf, but I made it too wide.  So I'm calling it a shawl, but I think it will do double duty as a lap rug.  Well, I'm having fun with it and it keeps me off the streets.

Hope everyone is having a great fall.  Remember that I have another blog (check my right hand sidebar) for other projects that my friends, followers and I will be posting online.

So take care and enjoy your weekend.  Happy Friday!