The New Craft Circle

It is probably no surprise that here at Wildflower, I am almost always making something. I could give you a long list but just assume, if I use it regularly for self care, household cleaning, at least a percentage of my own clothing, the food I eat, the soil I use for planting, etc, I make it myself. Including a goodly percentage of the yarn I use to make some clothing articles I wear, and gift on occasion. Creativity, is a necessity and it is usually something that homesteaders are overflowing with. We simply can not help ourselves. It is an innate part of who we are as people. Some call it a character trait, others call it a gift…. I call it a character flaw. Anywhere else but on a homestead that is exactly what it would be. Because there is an element of dissatisfaction with what exists that is behind this feature of a creative person’s character. You find something at the store and say, “Well how nice it get’s the job done!” I find it and my response is, “It smells fake… And wouldn’t it smell better if I added chamomile to the lavender fragrance that they have over done and used a synthetic to produce….” And right there is where the creative process starts. Or I pass things and they would seem to most people to have no relationship with each other… My mind however manufactures one, I see what these things could be if married to each other. It’s just how my mind works and my mind never shuts up.

I first learned to craft and think creatively from a hippy Buddhist, when I was a child in the hippy Buddhist commune. She has since gotten a degree in art production and is a high artist something I will never be. But when I was a child, she always had some project going and together we ran the gambit. There is but one down side to homesteading. The isolation. It can be incredibly isolating. Much of the time I don’t even mind. But social skills are a muscle we must all work or they atrophy and deteriorate. Just because I live somewhat outside of society… Does not mean I want to entirely detach or that human relationships hold no value for me. I am in fact an inter personal and auditory learner. Learning is a life long process. So I literally need other people to learn from. I am also originally from a commune. Being alone…. It isn’t easy. I don’t like it. It feels somehow very wrong to me… For this reason I started a book club that meets monthly about 3 and a halfish years ago. It took time and effort to build it. Now it is going strong with quite a few wonderful committed members. So I decided, it might be fun to start a group to do what takes up huge amounts of my time so I am not alone so much. So, I have started a craft circle. It is in it’s  infancy.

Like the book club, for now the craft circle will meet monthly. If you are interested in joining us, feel free to get in touch through this blog.

Every creative thing in my view qualifies as a craft. I tend towards utilitarian crafting. Producing things with a purpose. Others, prefer producing something with less purpose beyond simply being beautiful. Either way it’s a craft. Anytime you make anything I consider it a craft. Cooking is a craft as is baking, knitting sewing, making self care, cleaning products, etc… It is also a craft to paint a simple picture. Or to repurpose something, or scrap booking too is a craft. Anything can be a craft.

These fingerless mittens are super super simple. Great for baby’s first knit. I actually ran out of one yarn color scheme and had to finish these with some other art yarn that I had spun. I gave these to my mum, because the warmth they offer helps her mild arthritis. Yes, crafting can be healing not just for the crafter as they process life while they create. But sometimes for the recipient.

In 2021, I earned a certification in plants as medicine through a program offered by Cornell University. So now I know how to use the chemistry of plants to heal. Self care, goes beyond just stuff we put on to smell good. Sometimes, it even combats very real health conditions. I have seen mushrooms, used to fight rosacea, And I myself, make a fabulous herbally medicated chapstick/lip balm, to heal and prevent chapped lips. Skin, is a massive organ that can have all kinds of issues and nature offers us so much to use to heal what is unhealthy. It’s not just great to create self care products that affect the skin. I also mix many teas for myself as well. I have a fabulous PMS tea I have cooked up, and a wonderful tea I drink instead of coffee every morning due to how healthy it is. I make salves, and tinctures, for my own use. These things too I consider crafting.

Sour dough bread baking too and baking in general, are also great homestead crafts.

In fact, there are all kinds of wonderful food crafts. Including the art and science of canning.

You can als0 keep dehydrated foods in jars! Not just actually canned foods.

Making candy is not just a craft and a cooking project. It is also a Christjmas tradition here at Wildflower. We make a number of varieties. often we gift to our loved ones and still have plenty for ourselves.

Gardening too is a craft I enjoy very much. We would be in a world of hurt if I wasn’t always keeping a garden to help feed us.

Sometimes a craft is as simple as filling a small bag with nice smelling stuff to keep in a drawer….

There is no right and wrong. The imagination and your need that is the mother of all invention are the limits.

This is just a sampling of some of the crafting I do.
Again, if you live in the area and wish to be part of the crafting club get in touch.
Thank you for reading.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm