What's the collective for a group of crafters?

I have made a discovery.

I’m not the only geek!

I realise that my love for cross stitching is not a completely normal hobby for a 26 year old. It’s one traditionally associated with old ladies but I am proud of my hobby (kind of).

Normally when I tell people I like cross stitching, I do it with slightly hunched shoulders and an almost wince on my face as I prepare myself for the onslaught of incredulity. It’s kind of the same pose I adopt when I tell people in Hull that I went to private school. It doesn’t go down well over here.

Anyway back to the cross stitching...

I no longer need to be afraid! I can proudly declare to one and all that I am a stitcher! Because I now have an army behind me.

Ok. It’s not an army.

A friend of mine has got a few people together who also like being crafty little so-and-sos.
And we meet on a Thursday in a coffee shop that stays open late and we sit about and do our crafty things and drink tea and gossip. (I’ve just realise that rather than making us sound cool I’ve just described us like a group of old ladies. Fail.)

There are people who crochet, people who knit, people who cross stitch and there’s a dose of embroidery thrown in. Some people come and go but there’s a faithful core of 5 of us who are there come hell or high water, needles and thread in tow. I’m not going to lie, I’m not massively productive on these nights, it’s more about the talking than the crafting for me but once Christmas is over and the last of the cards have been finished, I’m looking forward to getting one of them to teach me to knit or crochet.

And it’s been good for me. I was getting a little bit bored with myself to tell you the truth. Money’s tight at the moment (when is it ever not but I’m trying to get myself out of the mire of student debt so I am resigned to the fact that this will be my life for the next couple of years) and I was just sitting in and watching rubbish on TV. Not good for your social skills.

Now I know that at least once a week I’ll have somewhere to go and some people to see. You don’t need to spend loads of money to make yourself feel refreshed, you just need a break from home for a while. And yes, most other nights I will be sat at home, watching something dreadful on the TV like The Hills or another programme that rots my brain and cross-stitching, but on a Thursday I will be out on the plains, free to frolic and roam with my fellow geeks....I mean crafters.

The christmas cross stitching has unfortunately started a little late this year so only 'special' people are going to get cross stitched cards. I haven't decided what the criteria is going to be but I do know that this little guy is for my Mum...

(I've made it back to work! Managed to last the whole day today as well although I am now absolutely shattered so I'm going to take a holiday tomorrow and have a long weekend with plenty of sleep so that I'm fully recovered and back to myself on Monday morning.)