Use those handmade items!
January 10, 2009 by Del
Filed under Creativity, crafts, gift, miscellaneous
Sometimes, you create something and it’s so lovely that you don’t want to “ruin” it by using it. So you drape it over the back of the sofa or fold it and put it away, only to take it down every now and then to admire it. I made some dishcloths once for my aunt (dishcloths, people, dishcloths) and she admitted that she let them sit for months before she actually used them because “they were so nice.” She only broke down because she didn’t have any other dishcloths to use.
On one hand, I’m really touched that she thinks so much of a simple dishcloth that I knitted when my skills were still pretty new. On the other hand, I’m like “Use the dishcloths already! That’s what they’re for. I can make more!”
I hear knitters and crocheters make these beautiful things, but refuse to wear them/scrub up with them/bring them out into the light of day. If you go through the effort to create, then I feel that project should be used for its intended purpose. Otherwise, why spend all those hours making it?
If you have anything at all hiding in a closet, sitting in a chest, tucked away in a drawer — if you are at all proud of it — by all means, haul it out. Use it, wear it, scrub with it until it’s worn through with holes. After all, isn’t that why you made it in the first place? 
Hear hear! I couldn’t agree more. There’s just no use “saving” something for later. Why? The time is now!