Hats...

I craft, therefore I am.

If that's the case, than I not only exist, I actually exist in pretty much every nook and cranny in my house.  And in my car.  And at work.  And if that's the case, I guess I maybe only half exist?  Because I often only get things half finished.  And then I get bored, and I move onto something else.

A year and some months ago I was getting to the end of my very first pregnancy and felt the urge come on strong to make something for my as yet unborn son.  With only a month or so to go I needed to figure out something I could finish quickly to have ready by the time he arrived.  A blanket or afghan of any kind was out, and I've never once had success at crocheting a sweater.  But a hat - aha!  That I could do.  And so I made my very first hat for Little Man.  It was the cutest little bear hat.  A touch big for a newborn, but it had been a long time since I'd actually spent time with a newborn and my memory of the size of their heads was a little bit skewed.  By the time he was 2 months old it fit perfectly, and I'd discovered a new love.

Hats.  Baby hats.  Boy hats and girl hats.  Plain hats, animal hats, flowered hats.  Striped hats.  And because my poor child only had one head, and even in the greater frozen north winter eventually ends, I ended up with a plethora of hats.  I began selling them, just because I loved making them and figured, hey - I could make a little bit of money this way.  And I learned a very valuable lesson.  As soon as you start getting paid for a hobby it becomes much less fun.  It becomes an obligation.  You can't just put a project down because you're bored with it, because someone is waiting for it.  You have to suck it up and finish it.  And that's how you start to lose the love.

And so I decided I was no longer going to try to make money selling hats.  I'll still make them, because I love them.  And I may even sell them now and again.  But I won't make things to order, I'll make them because I love them and I want to make them, even though I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.

And crafting will become fun again.