Finding Craft Love in 2021

I've always loved crafts, I've attempted many and I'm always drawn to them. I can cross stitch, I can do a very basic knit, I can sculpt things from air drying clay and I can make a pretty beaded bracelet but if we are being honest here, I'm not very good at completing a project, I always get distracted by parenting needs ... and I know I shouldn't say this but ... I'm also a bit rubbish at crafts - I love them, but I'm not a natural. 

The thing is, I've recently been incredibly drawn to crafts, I don't know if part of it is pandemic boredom - There isn't really a whole lot we can do in a pandemic and I need to keep my mind busy and my children busy.

Or is it just that very brutal confrontation of our own morbidity and wanting to leave something to cherish behind? Being fortysomething with only one kidney really makes you contemplate survival odds.

I started making my daughter a scarf using just basic knit, I attended a Hobbycraft press event and there was an amazing knitter there who refreshed my memory on the basic technique my nana had taught me when I was somewhere around 8 but this particular event was back in 2017 and between serious building work on our home and the wonderful chaos that comes with parenting, this partial scarf got left in a box until just a few weeks ago when I rediscovered it and with a mixture of both boredom (these days I tend to feel a bit 'meh' if you know what I mean?) and the curiosity of my children - "what is it?" "How do you knit?" and the predictable "can I have a go?" I picked up that partial scarf and it is now a bit longer partial scarf that may become a snood because it takes me forever just to do one row, this is the most imperfect scarf you can imagine, full of holes, mistakes and quite bobbly for something that isn't even close to completion!  BUT most importantly I have (almost) successfully taught my two children the basic knit! 

I purchased wooden knitting needles and a small ball of multi-coloured cotton yarn for them both - I think for children, the tactile combination of the wood and the natural yarn is quite grounding, I read somewhere that it's very calming for children suffering from anxiety (which most children in a pandemic are facing) and it's great for childhood OCD, it's also a much needed screen free task!

So now I am so full of creative ideas I feel like I could burst! My children also want to explore "off screen"  - I want to try new crafts and expand on the ones I can already do, but most of all I'd like to make things to gift to the people in my life. 

We are entering a weird stage where schools are returning but nothing else is back to normal, not to mention the schools are only back for a couple of weeks before a 2 week easter break. 

I know I'm not alone with feeling a little worried about the children going back and I need to keep my mind occupied so it's the perfect moment to pick up a few new skills.

Have you tried a new craft or rekindled an old skill during lockdown?