Those darned Muggles
Recently I started watching the Harry Potter series of movies (love you Netflix) and even more recently I was asked to explain how I deal with the non-crafters in my life, and impress upon them the importance of crochet and knit.
Muggles.
That's what they are I realized! In the world of Harry Potter the muggles are the people that don't have magic blood in them at all. So now I've taken to referring to the people in my life that don't have crafty blood in them as muggles.
Luckily both my parents were crafty.
But that doesn't mean that I'm not entirely surrounded by muggles because there are quite a few! They are hiding in plain sight. Everywhere I go.
I'm not scared.
Not much.
Anywho.
Here are some survival tips that I've come up with that perhaps can help you as you deal with the muggles in your own life:
Muggles.
That's what they are I realized! In the world of Harry Potter the muggles are the people that don't have magic blood in them at all. So now I've taken to referring to the people in my life that don't have crafty blood in them as muggles.
Luckily both my parents were crafty.
But that doesn't mean that I'm not entirely surrounded by muggles because there are quite a few! They are hiding in plain sight. Everywhere I go.
I'm not scared.
Not much.
Anywho.
Here are some survival tips that I've come up with that perhaps can help you as you deal with the muggles in your own life:
- Immediate family. That is, those that live with you in the same dwelling. Most likely you can't kick them out just for not having crafty blood. And sometimes you may even want to keep them for a while longer. I suggest that you treat the poor dears with as much compassion you can muster between bouts of crafting and yarn shopping. For some that leaves the hours between 2am and 5am free to be compassionate.
- Neighbors. This is tricky. They are all around you (even in rural areas). You don't want to anger the neighbors so you must tread lightly. I suggest trying to teach them to craft, that way if they have any crafty blood in them it will be activated and you've won yourself an ally. Not that I'm suggesting you try to take over the neighborhood one crafty person at a time. Not really.
- Pets. I know that in Harry Potter's world the animals around them have an important part in their day to day lives such as delivering mail and turning into objects, but in the crafty world you must come to an agreement with the pets very early on. As cute as the little creatures are, chewing on one's yarn as it comes out of the skein so that one gets wet spots periodically is unacceptable. Unless of course your pet is cute, then they most likely get away with anything they want. Unfortunately both my cats are very cute. Sorry to the editors out there about the cat spit in the garments. I'm just saying is all.
- Extended family. Those are the ones that you have to see at reunions (in-laws, cousins, etc) and they scoff at you because you always have a crochet hook in your hand. A polite "no thank you" will put them in their place when they ask for a baby blanket or toaster cozy. If they inquire "why not" simply instruct them to treat you as the superior creature that you obviously are and that you'll consider it in the future. Having them bow in front of you so that the rest of the family gets the message too is quite effective.
- Strangers. Inevitably your PDC's (public displays of craftiness) are bound to draw lots of attention. Just last week I spent a lovely 30 hours in the Newark airport and luckily I had quite a fiddly two-color project with me and that pretty much kept me from drinking too much Starbuck's and hurling myself out a window. Anywho, I had many people come up to see what I was working on and while the crafty ones gave me a wink and asked good questions, the muggles were obvious as they told tales of woe of childhood crafting disasters, grandmothers disowning them, personal accidents with knitting needles, etc. Patience helps because usually they have to be somewhere and you can wait them out. More recently I've discovered the joy of saying "this is how I make a living, what do you do?" That will make a muggle scurry away every time. I quicker way is to point your crochet hook at them and declare "rat-race-icous death-icous".
Wow, this post says it all, good call on the muggles. I think I can finally use this term comfortably.
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Love it! Muggles is a word that's now in my vocabulary!
And you were less than 30 minutes from me as you made new friends at Newark Liberty International!
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I'm slowly indoctinating everyone in my family into the crafting life so that there won't be any muggles in my life. The boys are already loving all my yarn (especially the wool - I have a bunch of socks I'm knitting that have dog-spit sections). My granddaughters are learning to dye, and they did some pretty cool potholder weaving on our last vacation. My brother is loving rubber stamping and thinking of buying a machine that makes polymer stamps so that he can come out with his own line of sentiments. My daughter and her family might be the last holdout, but I'm not giving up yet ... I'll get knitting needles (or dye bottles) in her hands one of these days!
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I love it! I wish my husband understood my love for all crafty. Although I don;t really get the writing script (he is IT and a Systems Analyst) or all the myriad of music equipment (he is a musician) and the cost of those items.
Cora
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Until now I have taught the muggles in my life to weave. I used it as part of my curriculum for home schooling. But, NOW, I have all three children in schools from college down to 3rd grade. I am looking forward to a fruitful time of crafting now that my daytime nest is empty. For my husband's sake I try not to show too much joy over this development when he is around.
I am also out in the public after driving them to school so I have learned to take a spinning wheel with me and find open public places such as parks and self-serve restaurants, such as Panera Bread, (not a plug, just a good place to weave), they have a fireplace that is cozy in the winter to spin by, or great outdoor seating, while I wait for some child to finish school or after school programs.
This seems like a world of fun to me and most are too intimidated to ask what I'm doing, but they do watch!
Hope this gives the added perspective that you asked for!!!
Liana
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Love it.
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I had similar experience in Chicago O'Hare Airport (I am convinced it is just a disguise for a vortex). My mom had just taught me to crochet, and I was flying home (or attempting to). It happened to be the weekend that Saddam Hussein was executed AND there was a bad storm over Denver. Nothing brings out the worst in people like international incidents and weather. People were yelling at the desk attendants to "fix it." Unreal. The only thing to do was to find a quiet corner and sit down to practice chains and single crochets. It's probably the only reason I made it out of there sane and alive.
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This is absolutely brilliant!!
I actually just finished buying all the HP movies and the books just arrived in the mail today (I had to get good & in to the movies before I would try to go backward & read the books).
This comparison is so perfect. When I think of all the times people have hovered over me and gone "AW I just don't have the patience" and I just have to smile through gritted teeth because my crafts GIVE me the patience to deal with the people I hate every day.
I wish I could make a living being crafty instead of being a Slave to the Man like I am... life would be just about perfect.
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If they refuse to convert to The Crafty Side, I tend to take the offensive by smothering them in tacky handmade stuff (the lemon yellow & lime green striped toilet paper cover was a big hit). If you can't beat 'em, try harder! hee hee.
p.s. I also wish I could say I made a living by being crafty. Unfortunately I'm chained to spreadsheets that make me stabby (keep those knitting needles away when I'm on a deadline!)
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What an absolutely brilliant post! The very worst kind of muggles are the ones who comment on how they just wished they had the time to be crafty but (work, housework, take your pick) gets in the way. I simply tell them I decided long ago that my children and husband prefer a sane me to a spotless house.
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Amen!
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One of my favorite replies to strangers (which is not original to me) is to say with a wink, "Oh, don't you know that art is the fast track to fame and fortune? You should try it!"
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Drew, I think you've written the forward for your next book! Great analogy and very funny. ROFLOL.
I used to get no respect from my DH for my craftiness. Then I was downsized from my spreadsheet-building job (Kelli, are you listening?) and started crafting full time.
It's now our family business and my craftiness gets all kind of respect.
If I could only get my DH to say, "Yes, Your Crafty Highness." LOL.
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When I'm knitting or crocheting in public Muggles I don't know will often approach me and ask me to make them things (slippers, boxer shorts, socks, et cetera). Sometimes I know it's just to initiate conversation, but IMHO, that's akin to a stranger coming up to you and asking if they can sniff an article of your underclothing. Crafters understand the inappropriateness of such a request. In any case, if it's a good day I just smile sweetly and tell them they will just have to wait because I'm swamped. If it's not a good day I remind them that I am holding two (or one) sharply pointed instruments that are capable of causing bodily harm. That last one works like a charm every time.
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What irks me about Muggles is when they say something like, "That must have taken you a lot of time!" Thus they suggest that my time was wasted. This is often spoken by someone who has long brightly polished finger nails (how long did it take her to grow, file, and polish them?) or by someone who just got off the computer after playing 500 games of solitaire.
Now as far as my pets, all of them but one especially I'm convinced are my demons, but that's a different movie (Golden Compass).
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Loved the post! My knitting and crocheting has gotten through numerous hours in airports, doctors' offices, bus commutes and even grocery checkout lines!
Most Muggles in the HP are well-meaning but clueless -- and that has been my experience with the craft-Muggles I've met in public. They tend to be in awe -- especially when I first started knitting socks in public (they're so portable) about 15 years ago. I think people were fascinated by the idea that someone would make socks by hand instead of pick them at the local Walmart!
I am blessed by family members who appreciate my work and look forward to receiving socks, hats, scarves...even Tobie the Malti-Poo appreciates a sweater and refrains from chewing on it! Alas, my cats contribute their drool to my work.
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Great article, loved it!
Aileen~
http://aileensmusings.blogspot.com
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