My Idea of Netflix and Chill

Ok. So honest confession here. My definition of Netflix and Chill, is NOT what the kids have attributed it as being.

I have ADCD, Attention Deficit Crafting Disorder. I have not coined that term myself. Thought I did, but I looked it up just now. Seems several of my fellow creative geniuses have this same disorder.

Seriously though, my house suffers from my lack of concentration on one craft. Ariel has nothing on me. I have gadgets and gizmos a plenty. I have yarn and vinyl galore. Need some mesh, I have twenty (rolls, at least). I have at least got to the point that I do not think I want more… I mean, if someone offers me some craft materials for free though, I am not going to turn it down. I can always use something, if not for myself, then to keep in mind when we have a fundraiser coming up and I need to create something, or when someone asks me to create something for them, I have supplies at the ready!

I get in the zone creating. Problem is I quickly grow bored. I have finished numerous wreaths, lots of dishcloths, a few blankets. I have tried my hand at making vinyl and other Cricut projects. Recently, I cut out about twenty butterflies for my daughter’s wall because her shelf seemed to swim in the huge space it occupied, and so she found a scene where the smaller butterflies lead to larger butterflies to create an optical allusion that the butterflies were flying at you. Her wall behind her bed looks AMAZING now.

Back to my point of Netflix and chill. When creating a new craft, I have to have something else to keep my mind occupied. This could go back to that whole bored easily bit, but I have to either try to read while crafting (which has ended up being disastrous a few times) or listen to an audio book (where I worry about missing key details in the book, when I concentrate on a tricky spot in a craft). What I have found that works for me is finding some mindless Netflix movie to put on, and then crafting at the same time. By mindless, it must be something with a happy ending, thus if I miss huge parts in the middle, I still know and understand it will end on a positive note. It can be sappy, or not. It can be a little dramatic, but not to the point of a mystery where I have to invest in the characters and storyline and try to keep up. The key is the movie must be something I can mindlessly watch.

This allows me to not be in the silence. I like silent moments; mostly when I am reading a good book, or a devotion. Silence when I’m knitting, crocheting, or moving mesh around on a wreath just makes me more stressed. I guess I keep up this inner dialogue (though trust me I talk out loud to myself more than a “normal” person should admit). I guess this inner (or outer) dialogue is full of self doubt or second guesses, so the key is to drown out that voice. I still talk to my materials. Not sure why. If a stitch is being difficult, or the yarn is wanting to get away from me, I will scold it. If my mesh is not fluffing the way I expect, I will try to coax it into doing what I want. I do this self talk with my electronic devices like the remote, or my cell phone also so…

So, I turn on Netflix. Mindless background noise with a sweet story attached. By the end, I have either finished a small project, or a have enough done that I know where I am headed next. These are the things that let me release any pent-up feelings. It allows me to center myself. I listen to music at other times, especially worship music, but sometimes I get so caught up in a song that I forget to count stitches, or forget where I am in a project, and then there goes the happy feeling. So usually more or less, I am Netflix and Chilling on my terms.

I have encouraged each of my children to find something that they can do to create that brings them enjoyment. My teen is into baking currently. She loves to create a new recipe, or follow an old one and share that creation and receive the compliments on how great a baker she is, or just enjoy the treat herself. My son loves to create whole worlds and homes and villages in Minecraft. He is always dragging either myself, or my husband, or his sister into his room to sit and take the tour of his world. While his interest is not mine, I can still enjoy the look on his face of pride of showing us what he has learned and recreated.

So, if this was a post, where we could ask the question of others, I would dare to ask, what project have you created lately? I remember that feeling the first time I completed a dish cloth and I was just astonished that my hands had put together from yarn and a set of needles, this small piece of fabric. It was an amazing feeling. I had painted wooden crafts in the past, but painting is not my forte. I had played an instrument when I was in school, but that was just recreating notes on a page. This was the first time I really saw my ability to make something out of materials I could pick (being the type of yarn), and I was so excited. Not nearly the joy of having my small human being in my arms, but a close 2nd. I think every person should have something that lets them feel that joy of making something your own.

I think that is where a little fear comes into play too though. Now that I have created something that I deem as beautiful, will others see in it what I do? I feel like in each of my crafts (or the ones I enjoy at least) that there is a small piece of me in there. I mean, there is literally a piece of me in anything I knit or crochet because I do not care how much I put my hair up, there will always be at least one strand that makes it’s way in my project. But there is a little piece of my heart in the things I create that mean something to me, or that I have made for a particular person in mind. Some of my latest wreath creations for craft fairs have lost that heart, because of deadlines or lack of inspiration. For the most part though, if I have someone in mind, or have been asked to make something for someone, I keep that person on my mind through the whole process. Baby blankets, equal prayers for the covering of the little one. A warm hat, or scarf is prayers for the one it’s keeping warm. Washcloths I only pray over if I know I’m using it as a set for a new baby, or for a housewarming gift. But when I place a piece of my heart out there, sometimes it’s not quite what someone was hoping for (more with wreaths) and so the meaning can be lost. Also, when creating, not knowing how something will be received, it can become a little more stressful. So usually my true Netflix and chill projects are just for my own household. Making a wreath for my own door. Making washcloths that my family or I will use, instead of giving away. These are the projects I do for me and truly can find some inner peace while completing.