Every so often I like to pop over to Craftster and drool over all of the innovative, beautiful and ultimately fun projects these people come up with. I’ve often told myself “this month I will enter the craft challenge” or “next holiday I will get involved in a swap” but so far, I’ve done exactly 1 challenge (which came out great!) and no swaps.

Part of my problem is the fact that I am, at best, a “good enough” type artist, and I always feel a twinge of anxiety that anything I make will never measure up, and I would hate to disappoint anyone. Bless all the wonderful souls out there who measure, fold and trim to exact specifications, whose handmade efforts are flawless enough to grace the shelves at a Target, but mine are not.

Just as I see no reason to throw away a perfectly comfy shirt or pair of pants just because I may have spilled a little wine on it, I have never been good about catching all the little details that make a project professional looking. As I get older, it is easier to put a little more patience and effort into those details, but I am fairly sure I will never be able to master them completely. If my potholders come out relatively square what do I care if one of the edges caught in the sewing machine? If my new nightgown is sturdy and comfy …who cares if there happens to be a hole in the arm?  There is a certain beauty in the flaws, and since pushing myself to care about things that don’t matter to me is ultimatley counterproductive to my well being, I prefer to celebrate the fact that I have something in common with my great and great great grandmothers… their quilts may not be square inch perfect, but they were warm and made with love. I recycle, reuse and repurpose nearly everything I come across. I take joy in creating something useful, something sturdy, even if I can pay $5.00 for a brand new one at Wal Mart. It just makes me feel good.

So I may enter one of those swaps after all. I have a feeling other DIY’ers can probably appreciate that sort of outlook.