Things[Hand Made]

This year I have been reading more about crafters and people who make things, such as The Crafters Companion. and the book of Julie Arkells exhibition Home. These books are having quite a profound effect on me.
I am often very reticent to tell people about the things that I make. Like many creative people I made things as a child. I made anything, with old toilet rolls, fabric, sticks, whatever was available. I come from a creative family and both my mother and father are very practical people making allsorts of things from sewing to jam making with lots in between. There is something in my family that gives us the desire to put together raw materials and want to make something out of them. It has always been as an amateur and I come from the sort of family in which a "proper"job is needed and art/craft is to be dome in spare tme.
As I grew up I would show people (not family but other people) my things and something in my personality meant that when they didn't like it or were not interested I took it to mean that I was no good at it. The more I now read of crafters I see that they also had this urge from young to make things. Along the way I was put off and got distracted by other things. This is not to blame anyone as it is just what happened but now I feel the urge to make things more and more. Whichever hormone it is that gives you this then I have it in bucket loads! I feel sad that I missed out on some of those years and still have to catch up. I am also glad that being home with my children gives me that time and thinking space to explore many ideas.