Hi there. Nice to meet you. I'm Angel (though people call me Bagel) and I'm today's guest-blogger.  Credentials? Not many, really, as far as writing goes. But as far as making Knots? I make knots with sticks, hooks, needles, string, yarn, and wire. I also do non-knotty things like wood burning, painting, spinning, leather-work, and anything else I can get my hands on. I just plain old love to create, especially when I get to do it with my sister (<shameless plug> together we are "Geeks With Scissors" <end shameless plug>).

I saw Jess's offer for guest-writers, and I thought "What would I write about?" I almost didn't respond. But then a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page about being asked if she was alright with "just being so-so. You know? Never really being successful."

My friend is the single most amazing crochet-artist I've ever met (keep in mind that I've never actually met Jess). She also runs a small shop offering creations by local artists (much like The Treehouse that Knot by Granma is about to be part of). She recently moved into a bigger space (again, much like The Treehouse) and is naturally getting to play with all of the new problems that come along with a new location. But not only does she hold her own, she also raises a beautiful family with special challenges of its own. And someone asks her "Are you alright never being successful?" This post isn't even going to be a question of what you consider to be successful. This post is going to be about why the answer to that question is unequivocally "YES!"

We artists and crafters don't make things to make money. We do, on occasion, get paid for the things that we make. Some of us even get paid rather well for the things that we make. But if it were suddenly completely impossible to sell hand-made things? Do you know what we'd do? We'd just keep on making those things. We'd give them away if we had to. Our houses would be overflowing with what we'd made. Because we can't stop creating. We don't make things to make money. We only make money because we have to make more things. Making makes us happy. Money is just a necessary evil on the quest to "make" more.

Some of us do have day-jobs. I'm one of those people, though I've noticed that all my jobs end up being hands-on things where I even get to "make" at work (printing, sign-making). Even so, I look at my job not as a career, but as a way to keep a roof over my head so that I don't have to crochet in a cardboard box under the overpass. Because if I lost my house, yes - I would collect grocery bags, make plarn, crochet in a cardboard box under the overpass, and sell my plarn creations for enough to buy ramen noodles and real yarn. And yes - I've thought this out. If I lost my job, I would still create. Ramen noodles come second.

Am I rambling yet? Stop me if I ramble, please. I've never done this before and I may be a little nervous.

Plenty of my friends have these "career" things and make lots of money and are perfectly happy with that. But I look at them and realize I never could. A job to me is just that - a job. It's temporary until I can make to make a living. My dream career is to make things to share with you. My highest ambition in life is not to be famous, but to be known amongst my peers as "that person who makes some really nice things". So when someone asks "Are you OK with just being so-so?" I respond "Yes. Yes, in fact, I am. I'm not rich. I'm not famous. I'm not living in a large house or getting that promotion to go to New York. But I'm making things and I am perfectly happy."

Keep calm and Make On.

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Too many crafts?

If you do more than a couple of different crafts, you know the drill. You say you craft. Someone asks what you do. You pause a moment, deciding if they're the sort of person who really wants to know, and then you decide if you just say "oh... Knitting and stuff" or if you start listing them. Here's my list, so far, in whatever order it pops into my head...
Knitting
Crochet
Sewing
Embroidery
Quilting
Tatting
Wire jewelry
Felting is up next

Sometimes, I just condense it down to "I work with fiber" or "I don't work with glass or paper".
But then I see people who do just one thing, and their work is SO gorgeous, and they can work SO fast at it! And then I'm terribly jealous that I can't just pin myself down to one craft that I'm going to end up REALLY good at. I'm not terrible at any of the crafts I work at (at least, I don't think so), but I take considerably longer than I should to make a simple project. I keep trying to pick up just the one, and stick to it. It never takes, of course, because I see some blog or a Craftsy project and I can't help myself. My latest distraction was a class I just HAD to buy on Craftsy for "Brilliant Knit Beads" by Betsy Hershberg. Half of it is just an instruction on beaded knitting or knitting with beads (there is a difference, be it ever so technical). So now, I'm adding beaded knitting to my knowledge base.

And is this a bad thing? No.

I have no intentions to be world-renowned for my crafts. I don't even have any intentions of making a decent living from them. I just do them for the fun of it (though my sister and I do sell online and elsewhere). And when one craft-project goes so terribly wrong that I never want to look at a pair of knitting needles again, I can always turn to the hook or the wire-pliers for comfort. They even inspire one another and can be integrated. Add a little tatting embellishment to a wire earring, or a crocheted motif onto a bit of knitting. Dangle some beads off the end of a knit scarf, or off a crocheted hat. I've got a good 50 years yet to become an expert in every single one of these and then some. And I'm not going to rush it.

I know this is kind a pointless blog, but it's one I've meant to write for a long time. I meant to write more, as well... but time's getting away from me today and if I didn't get some words down right now, I'd never get around to this whole blogging thing at all.

Have a great week... and please share. What mixtures of crafts do YOU know, and how do they work together?