Saturday, July 10, 2010

White with one and a granny square please

The accepted etiquette of crafting with visitors

Little Boozle 2010

We have recently had a spate of visitors,
family or friends,
for morning tea or afternoon tea or even a meal.

I am the courteous hostess,
baking up a storm,
setting up a lovely table,
 ensuring that the kids are playing nicely.

So I make sure everyone is laden with food and coffee
then sit and chat...and crochet.

And wait for the inevitable (tongue in cheek?) apology from my husband
"Yeah, sorry, Tas will just sit there and crochet in front of you"

Hmmmm.
Am I being rude?
 I mean, I openly admit that, with age and child bearing,
 my multi-tasking skills are diminishing;
yet I can drink coffee, follow a conversation
and crochet a  few rows of double crochet
even with some occasional eye contact.

I also find it hard to sit and not do anything with my hands.

And if I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak,
then bring it on, I say.

It never occurs to me that anyone might be offended by this.
I make sure that hot drinks are kept topped up,
that any blood from the kids gets a "Dora" or "Cars" bandaid pronto,
and I never run off quickly to my sewing room to run up a dress while the kettle is boiling
(as much as I might want to, depending on the visitors)
Most people that come into our house know that I am forever sewing or crocheting or the like
and really I just think that they accept that it is what I do.
Even if it is just a bit rude.

So what do you think?

Given that most of you are sewers and/or crafty people,
I am expecting y'all to support my cause
and say that it is entirely respectable thing to do.

(But regardless of public opinion,
I don't think that I am going to stop)









12 comments:

Cath @ chunkychooky said...

I just found your blog and bizarely was about to ask everyone the same thing!! I not only crochet/ embroider/ hand sew finishing toys when people come over, I take my crochet when we go to other peoples houses! I, like you, do not cope sitting there with idle hands. So you would be most welcome to crochet at my place or yours!

Sally said...

Go for it I say!
I took my crochet to work with me and would take it with me to team meetings (they are so boring!). My boss thought it was a fabulous idea - stopped me making trouble elsewhere.

Lola Nova said...

Absolutely supporting the handcrafting while in the company of guests!
Whilst on holiday I discovered my husbands family has a yen for Bridge. I do not play Bridge, nor do I have much interest in learning but, as a guest I would not expect them to give up the game. It was also a perfect opportunity to take up my crochet.
Likewise I do not feel the slightest bit uneasy about taking up a stitchy thing while my company devours the fresh berry cobbler I made.

Tania said...

I feel your angst! Like you, I won't be changing my ways and I have decided that it's all about educating my nearest and dearest (and anyone else who cares to visit), maintaining a bit of eye contact, not working on any lacework projects at the afternoon tea table and keeping my hands busy while the rest of me is calm and gets on with some probing questioning. HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT YOU CAN HAVE EXTREMELY INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS WHEN THERE IS CRAFT TO DISTRACT AND PEOPLE SEEM LESS WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THEY MAY DIVULGE?????

Mary said...

Agree agree agree with everything everyone has said. I take my projects everywhere and they are scattered all over the house. I pick them up and do little bits here and there all day, everyday regardless of who is around. It keeps me sane, relaxed and as Tania said, in a better frame of mind to converse on an interesting level. I don't think any family that visits me even notices that I do it anymore. Maybe hubby is jealous and secretly wants to be out in the shed but is stuff is not portable enough.

Plus I'm guessing that a lot of your visitors are also recipients of the stuff that you make.

Mary
(who just realised I don't have you in my reader yet I could of sworn that I did)

Michelle said...

Go for it I say. Surely people can't be offended by that if you are stilling keeping up with the conversation. I wouldn't work on something complicated but if I don't need to concentrate on what I am doing then sure.

quilary said...

Not rude at all. I get fidgetty if I can't hand quilt or crochet. My mind wanders and I lose track of the conversation, or I jump up and down and fuss about the kitchen - which makes guests tell me to sit down, join them and enjoy myself. So a little bit of handiwork makes me a better host!

Jo-anne Blossy said...

I certainly don't think its rude at all. You are still socialising. I say "Go for it!"

At least you aren't anything like one of my brother-in-laws. He would just disappear after a while no matter who the visitors were. We would often find that he had gone to bed for a snooze without even saying a word.

Kat said...

IT's not like you're texting or anything :-) I concur with everyone else. If anyone has a problem with it, I'd get up and go and do some sewing!

Renee said...

An interesting issue. I have never crocheted with visitors, but this week I tried it out. I blogged about it this morning. It's difficult to do it in front of people who don't have the same passion for it. Good post - I like your style!

My Handmadehappiness said...

i have to say that i defo am for crocheting whilst guest's are around, i think it is frowned by some people... i am a person who has to be doing something or feel's that time is being wasted also i find it relaxing.... i think non crafters don't know what their missing, also if they crocheted/knitted they would realize that it's not too difficult to do both and doesn't distract attention from them... i take my crochet lace every where i go the people in the library & starbuck's are very used to it!!!

Pearlin J said...

I do not crochet or knit when I have people over.If there were someone who likes to crochet or knit, I would definitely love to have them over and crochet/Knit together. Sadly there is not many I know who do.I do carry my work everywhere to work in the car.