Interview with a Guy Friend

I decided to interview one of my good friends. I knew that he did a lot of woodworking, but I didn’t know if he did any other form of crafting. I learned a lot more about him during this interview. After the interview I actually helped him make a Ravelry account and search patterns for some scarves that he wants to learn how to knit. I already helped him buy some knitting needles and some durable Red Heart and I plan on teaching him how to knit in the very near future!

Question: What crafts do you do on a regular basis?

Answer: I do modifications to shirts and jeans (adding patches and a little sewing). I also do a fair amount of wood working. Oh yea, and I make my own fly fishing lures. When I was younger I made drums because I didn’t have any drums even though I loved them. I made a lot of them because I loved them so much.

Question: When did you learn how to do these crafts?

Answer: When I was really young, I learned how to do these at home because I didn’t really want to ask anyone else for anything or ask my folks to buy a bunch of stuff for me that I could learn to make myself.

Question: Who taught you how to do these crafts or did you learn them on your own?

Answer: Mostly I taught myself to do everything. I studied other fishing lures and just taught myself how to make them. I taught myself how to sew by trial and error but with tons of mistakes. I learned how to make drums by experimenting with different materials and stuff. When I saw a drum in a music class, I decided to make one. It’s kind of an adventure trying to find the right materials and plastic to make the drum. My twin helped me put the experiments together (like I put the plastic on and my twin tied it down). The plastic needed to be tough but still needed to have a slight give in order to make the right sounds. Also, I wanted to make several drums with different sounds and tones, so I had to play around with sizes and different kinds of plastics, containers, and materials in order to get the finished product I wanted. I didn’t want any logos or anything on the plastic, so that added an extra challenge.

Question: Do you have any other family members or friends who do this too?

Answer: My twin and my mom. My mom actually had an arts and crafts shop at one point. She did woodworking, signs, wreaths, airbrushing, gift baskets, etc for her shop.

Question: Do you have any crafts in mind that you would like to learn in the future?

Answer: Knitting!

Question: What benefits do you get from crafting?

Answer: You get a totally unique product that fits your style. Plus the little bit of positive attention is awesome too!

Question: Have you tried to learn other crafts in the past, but never really succeeded in learning them?

Answer: Not really, I like to stick with it. Though I never really finished learning how to draw with melted crayons, because I didn’t have a lot of wax to play with so it didn’t go anywhere.

Question: Would you be willing to try learning these crafts again?

Answer: Maybe if I had a lot of crayons at my disposal, but it doesn’t really seem as interesting now that I’m older.

Question: Why do you think that other people craft?

Answer: It’s something to do with your free time. Plus it’s good, clean fun. You can’t really get in trouble if you’re just knitting something. Also, the sense of the accomplishment you get when you finish something makes it totally worth it.

Question: Do you craft for yourself or for other people?

Answer: Both.

Question: Do you appreciate handmade gifts more, less, or the same as store bought gifts?

Answer: I appreciate handmade gifts way, way, way more than store bought gifts! I think it really shows how much someone was thinking about you when they were making it. Even if it costs less, it means more. Seems more personal, like they really know me. That’s why I make more homemade gifts for people I know. I even made a wooden chest for my friends’ wedding!