I have written quite ranty posts lately, so why don’t we balance it out with wholehearted praise for my favorite people. I recently had a rough time with my mental health, and while I didn’t tell anyone until after, my nearest and dearest managed to make me feel so loved and so supported during it that everything felt that much better. 

Because of certain experiences I’ve been through in my younger adult life, I can admit that I have a ton of trust issues with people, but the way these beautiful souls I get to call my inner circle help me navigate that is simply amazing. So, here are some fundamental things they’ve taught me, intentionally and unintentionally.

Aka how I became a more “boring” person, because I consider things instead of spontaneity. For those who don’t know me that well, I’ll preface this by saying that I try to make my choices in a way that best serves my five-year plan (whatever that might currently be), and some of these might change a bit as my plans change, but these are such basic, general things that they do stay quite the same as time goes on - now that I’ve started paying some attention to them. 

...and why more craft people should have stronger boundaries.

Since the holidays are coming up soonish and I’m sure the evergreen “can you just make this for me” will enter many crafters’ lives, I’m here today to break down why an innocent request is actually not that innocent. (If you read the last words to the beat of Oops…I Did It Again by the one and only Britney, you’re my kind of a vibe.)

This post was originally written as a draft a couple of years ago after someone in my life (accidentally) pissed me off by requesting I should make them a sweater just because. I say accidentally because I want to give them grace for not understanding what goes into making a sweater, as they don’t knit themself.

Several people seem to think that me having the skill to make my own clothes somehow makes them entitled to that as well. Well, I hope you have years of time and patience to learn because that’s what it took me to be at the current level. This is the price I pay for having exactly the items I want; it takes time, effort, patience and some knowledge. If you want to borrow my skills to have something, your responsibility is to compensate accordingly.

What a provoking title. Clickbait-worthy, even. I don’t actually think these are all that provocative ones, unless you are the person who benefits from me not having said boundary. I said what I said. Disagree if you want. You're allowed to feel like that.

And as we live in the age of “mandatory disclaimers”, here’s one for you. None of these are telling how anyone else should be or behave. These are structures for me to stay happier and healthier both physically and mentally. If they offend you, that’s your shadow work to do, not mine.