What do your friends and family think of your hobby?

Dear users, dear authors,
how do your friends and family react to your hobby?
Let me know.

My husband is now supportive and even tries to give me ideas when I’m stuck on how to bring a project to life.
My family in general takes it seriously, and every piece is evaluated openly and honestly.
Friends tend to brush it off as a cute little quirk, so I don’t even bother bringing it up with them.
My daughter recently put it perfectly: “Everyone has their own style, and you, Mom, have the ‘wool style’ :)”

My husband has only ever known me doing crafts. For him, it’s as normal as anything, since his mother is always attached to her crochet hook too.
And he always takes my photos. He’s much better at it than I am, and he really enjoys doing it. He’s genuinely happy when he can support me that way.

My children love that they can order whatever they want from me and I’ll make it for them. And my oldest especially likes designing the funniest little animals, which I then crochet for him. By now he’s very good at it, and he knows exactly how it needs to be turned into a stuffed animal.

With friends, it varies. My really good friends ask whether something is wrong if I show up at their place without my crochet stuff. They’re so used to it by now, and many of them then do something with their hands too — crochet themselves, paint, or craft with beads.
It’s great for chatting and drinking coffee at the same time. And meanwhile our children sit nearby and often play with the leftover yarn I bring along.

And then there are the acquaintances who tend to dismiss it as a silly obsession. Comments like, “Why do you put yourself through that? You can buy it much cheaper.” — those are still some of the nicer things I sometimes hear.
I’ve given up discussing it with them. And I know very well that they’ll never get anything handmade from me, because they can’t appreciate how much work goes into it.

Luckily, I’m surrounded only by supportive people. My son and his girlfriend were the ones who got me back into knitting in the first place. They’re thrilled with every new piece I bring them.

My husband is amazed by all the new designs. When I talk about knitting and crocheting techniques, it’s just as incomprehensible to him as technical details are to me. ;-)

By now, I’ve also infected my neighbor and friend with the knitting bug, and we inspire each other.

My mom thinks it’s great, and every now and then she says that she also did crafts when she was my age, but gave it up again—as if it were just a passing hobby. My son isn’t thrilled at all; he can’t understand why anyone would spend so much money on wool and yarn when you can buy clothes for much less. And in my circle of friends, I just get tired, condescending smiles because they think I’m ridiculous. Maybe I should find a new group of friends, because my current circle really has no clue.

My husband thinks it’s great. My kids do too, of course. I often crochet their birthday invitations
or little party favors, and they’re absolutely delighted.
Or their handbags, which they always proudly take out with them. The same goes for their cosmetic
pouches and tissue pouches.

My mother-in-law is always thrilled with my creations. For Christmas she’s getting a wonderful
vest from me.

My two friends are super enthusiastic and really appreciate it too. They’ve already been given
quite a few things and have always been very happy.

My former best friend always just smiled at me and didn’t think my creations were nice. She
also took the view that you can buy those things cheaper.

@ Sofis-Welt
Don’t give up on your old circle of friends right away. It was the same for me at first.

My husband actually told me once that it’s rude to crochet when you’re with other people. And he asked if I was really serious about buying 100 euros’ worth of yarn—back then, he had no idea that the amount could actually go up from there.....

And my best friend asked if I didn’t have anything better to do than waste my time like that.
Well, the next time she visited, I gave her a knitting kit for a scarf—needles, yarn, and the pattern. It was really simple—just knit stitches the whole time.
Since then, she’s even crocheted herself some circle vests.

But new friends are always great—especially when they share the same interests.

@ Josefa: For me—and many others—it’s not really a hobby anymore. It’s become a career.

But even here, it was a long road to acceptance. It started with my husband, then my family, and then friends and acquaintances. Today, no one smiles or laughs at me anymore—not even the men. That’s probably because of the income I earn from my “hobby.”

@ursulapetra,
I assumed that for everyone who does handicrafts professionally, friends and family naturally show it the appropriate respect.
Hopefully, that isn't just the case for you.

@Authors,
what have your experiences been with the response from those around you to your work, whether full-time or part-time?

@Josefa, it wasn’t like that at first (I registered my business 10 years ago). At first, my husband made some comments that I’d rather not repeat. But since I’m such a “scaredy-cat,” I immediately registered the business and then tackled everything that came my way, step by step.
Back then, my female friends and “female” family members also kind of thought: She’s crazy! That’s so old-fashioned! Nobody needs that!—But lo and behold: that’s changed; even the men show me respect today (though I’m sure they still don’t understand how you can make money doing “something like that”).
Today, thanks in part to the respect of my loved ones, I’m truly happy with what I do.

My family and friends are very supportive of it now, even though at first there were some who gave me that funny smile—as if they didn’t take it all very seriously :-)
The reaction to my professional work has also changed over time. I have one friend who’s really jealous. And my husband now sees it in a different light, too, after initially thinking it was all just a crazy idea. I feel much the same way as Ursulapetra—he doesn’t quite understand why anyone would spend money on “something like that.”

A lot of people in my circle are amazed that you can make money by writing patterns. But that’s also made knitting and crocheting seem a bit more “serious” somehow. And my husband is always amazed at all the ideas I come up with and is simply happy for me about the sales.

The people who know me think it’s great, and I don’t worry about the others.

Hi everyone,

my mom recently told me, “You’re already better than I am.” I thought that was great! My whole family loves my creations.
When I’m crocheting on the couch in the evening, I notice my sister staring at my hands with fascination. I’ve already crocheted a lot of things for her, from keychains to slippers! And she’ll probably never have to buy pot holders either :)

Among my friends, it’s still considered very old-fashioned, and most of them don’t really listen to me when I try to explain and show them what I do. Only one friend totally gets me. She makes good money on the side by sewing dog collars.

But either way, I don’t care what others say about my hobby. Crocheting is my passion, and I’m glad I discovered it for myself.

Have a nice holiday and a long weekend

Yours, Svenja

In my family, a few people appreciate the craft itself, but even they think it’s not worth making things yourself since you can just buy them. I very rarely talk about my crafts—and only with 2–3 outsiders—but even then, the reaction is usually something like, “That’s nice, but what’s the point?” And then the question comes right away: does anyone actually buy that? For them, that seems to be the only acceptable reason to make something. It’s a shame that I can’t share this passion with anyone, but it makes me happy, and that’s what matters most.

My husband helps me come up with new ideas.
My grandchildren love the doll clothes.

Luckily, there are plenty of like-minded, nice people here on the forum to chat with! For the rest of the “non-crafters,” there are also other (less important) topics to talk about :0)

Many admire my work and are happy when they receive something handmade from me, but I’ve also heard reactions like, “You can buy that cheaper.”
My grandchildren don’t like crocheted clothes at all, but they’re thrilled when they get crocheted stuffed animals that no one else has. So they keep telling me what they want every now and then. (Maybe that’s why my shop mainly features amigurumi.)

But you also shouldn’t make the mistake of “drowning” friends and acquaintances in your hobby, whether it’s with gifts or conversations. That quickly annoys others who aren’t as interested.
And I think doing needlework when friends are over is a no-go, unless they’re like-minded people. Because when I’m crocheting or knitting, part of my attention is always on the craft, and that’s just rude to others.

Hi,

my mom thinks it’s great, even if she doesn’t necessarily like everything I crochet. My grandma was always thrilled—and sometimes downright proud—that I enjoy doing crafts just like she and my mom do. My husband might not quite get it, but he tolerates it almost without comment (the other day he asked if a wool mouse was building a nest in our basement. And at one point he did comment because I’d ordered a relatively large amount of yarn.) And he definitely listens to me sometimes when I talk about crocheting, embroidery, and so on. And what really amazed me: He can crochet foundation chains :-) I guess that’s something that stuck with him from his needlework classes back in school.
My son is happy when I crochet balls, animals, blankets, and so on for him. And when he gets a hat or a scarf from Grandma, he’s totally thrilled, too. He’s even started placing orders with us.

And yes, among my friends, the reactions range from understanding and enthusiasm to total indifference. But at least I’ve found one friend who loves crocheting just as much as I do. We chat about what we’re working on and look at each other’s projects.

Best regards,
Chris