Add some fall colors with a group project.

A few weeks ago, I had some friends over for a fall craft night. Complete with apple cider, tea and apples with caramel dip.

While I was growing up, my mom used to do exactly this kind of thing with her friends very often.

Especially during the holidays. Us kids would entertain ourselves, maybe with our own crafts or sometimes joining in on the grownup festivities.

Despite this being the “age of Pinterest,” along with all the other sites such as “etsy” and of course social media that promotes these kind of ideas, how many people actually get around to doing them?

We live in a world of ideas, but it seems like far too often we are too busy thinking about things, or talking about them, “pinning,” or sharing them on social media to actually make them on our own.

Not that there’s anything wrong with buying crafts, but many of us end up buying these things, already made from a chain store because we think we’re too busy to make them on our own.

While there are just way too many things that could be expressed on this subject, I do think we’re way too busy as a society.

We’re often distracted by pointless TV, or by reading other people’s opinions on Facebook.

The time that we think we don’t have, just needs to be redistributed.

I’m talking to myself here, too.

When was the last time you got together with friends and didn’t have to reschedule? Or actually talked to them without checking your phone?

Before the age of the internet and “social media,” we were actually much more social than we are today. Less distracted and more interested in the lives of those around us.

So while this may not seem like it has anything to do with crafting with friends, it has a lot in common with it.

Take some time out of your busy schedule and do something you care about with people you love.

One of the best things about doing a hands-on craft is that you’re so busy using your hands to create, that you’re not concerned about checking your phone.

Here’s to being less distracted and spending more time on things that matter.

This is a super-easy craft that you can really personalize and make your own, sharing materials with friends or just on your own.

It’s also something that could be made for each season of the year, just swapping out the fabrics that you use.

As always, thanks for reading and happy crafting from hbk!

MATERIALS

Fabric quarters, 5-7 different, but coordinating, patterns/colors

Scissors

Rope or twine

DIRECTIONS

1. Once you have picked out your fabric, cut into 1-1 ¢ inch wide strips. As far as length, we just cut the strips down the shorter side, which should be about 18 inches long.

2. Measure a piece of rope or twine, about 6-12 inches longer than the space you intend to decorate.

3. Fold the fabric strips in half, holding the top where the fabric loops against the rope, pull the other two ends around the rope, tucking through the loop and pulling tight. Think of it like the way you might tie a scarf around your neck. You will get the hang of it by the third or fourth piece!

4. Continue tying until you reach the desired length. We each picked out seven types of fabric and then mixed, matched and traded until we reached our favorite combination. This is one of the great pros to crafting with others, they can help you pick out what you didn’t even know you would like!

5. Hang and enjoy!

Katy Wise is a Fredonia resident.