# Craft items that you just don't "get" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693 "2003-04-01T13:30:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/21 "2003-04-01T16:26:48Z")
Or the hyper-embellished SWEATSHIRTS! Grown women with more crap on their shirts than they have on their display tables! I can’t take it. I will not wear a holiday sweater or sweatshirt. You can’t make me! Ditto for those STUPID t-shirts that say clever things like, “Old farts need lovin’ too.” Just kill me now. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/22 "2003-04-01T16:32:36Z")
I crochet, and a lot of the patterns I see are hideous. The toilet sets are particularly bad, but the worst I have seen is a cameo set. That’s right - let’s crochet a toilet seat cover in blue with a white cameo head on it! Ah - no. I keep threatening my friend (who is the one that taught me how to crochet) that I will make her the cameo set for her birthday or Christmas. Susan ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/23 "2003-04-01T16:37:40Z")
Oh nooooo! There is now a dimunitive variant of the [garden butt](http://www.tackyliving.com/crafts/yardButts.html) out there. > [@](#): > > Our adaptation works great with houseplants, container gardens, and is small enough to tuck in an envelope and send to someone special. Oh **Cowgirl**? I found a link with a pretty good variety of [timeout kids.](http://www.burns62.com/cornerdolls/index.html) They usually don’t give them faces, so when you pick one of them up for a closer look—aaaaaaaggghhhhh! A brief _frisson_ of terror!😃 ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/24 "2003-04-01T16:44:13Z")
Tabithinia… That site was quite disturbing 🙂 I never realized there was such variety in the bad kids depot! And they actually suggest having your RL child stand in the corner with this doll!!! I scrolled past the evil faceless children to find mice caught in a trap! Why would I want these? Oh and the sleeping baby! Looks like suffocating baby doll to me. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/25 "2003-04-01T16:45:04Z")
Lest I give the impression I’m anti-craft, I must share this. My husband’s grandmother used to crochet constantly. My MIL has countless sets of placemats crocheted in various color schemes - not to my taste, but at least they’re serving a purpose. One Christmas, Grandma gave everyone woven, duck-shaped baskets with 6 round crocheted pads folded and placed to look like a display of peacock feathers. Yeah, it’s kinda tacky looking, but those pads are so handy! I can use them as potholders, put a hot pan or dish on them, and if they get messy, I toss them in the washer. I never would have made such a thing for myself, but that stupid duck has been sitting on the counter in my last 3 kitchens, ready to protect my countertops from damage. It never matches the decor, but it never gets shoved in a cabinet either. So don’t mock it when you come visit me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/26 "2003-04-01T16:55:21Z")
Wow I have mega placemats too! Great Grandma has been working hard to make sure I have them in every color imaginable along with crocheted potholders and dish washcloths… Since I never use placemats in RL I have to make a serious conscious effort to have her see them in use on occasion. I’m not anti craft either… just anti crap… If I get one more coffee mug I may have to murder the giver. (Unless it is a monopoly mug 🙂 Can’t have too many of them! One thing about crafts in our family … once someone gets something then Great Grandma sees to it that everyone gets one wether it matches your decor/taste or not. Like we’re all supposed to have clone houses or something. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/27 "2003-04-01T16:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tabithina \* > \*\*Oh **Cowgirl**? I found a link with a pretty good variety of [timeout kids.](http://www.burns62.com/cornerdolls/index.html) > They usually don’t give them faces, so when you pick one of them up for a closer look—aaaaaaaggghhhhh! A brief _frisson_ of terror!😃 \*\* OH MY GOD !!! The line “quit messing with your sister and go stand in the corner” was frightening hilarious … I never saw or heard of these things before and I’m quite sure I don’t want to again … why in God’s good earth would a person want that? They are spooky beyond belief :eek: Crafts? Can’t abide then - my sis loves all that shitty cottagey/cosy country home look … makes me gag lol… me = minimalist (ie less to clean lol)… ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/28 "2003-04-01T16:55:42Z")
I’ve never heard (or seen, obviously) of Timeout Kids before, so I followed \*\* Tabithina\*\*'s link. WTF!? That is just truly disturbing. Why would anyone want one of those things in their home? ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/29 "2003-04-01T17:09:49Z")
**FairyChatMom** , I also have a couple tacky favorites of my own. God bless my brilliantly colored chicken potholder, for example. She has been saving me from burnt fingertips for at least a decade. I tend to eschew my nicer potholders in favor of her. He who mocketh my chicken does not eat. 😉 In the spirit of your thread, however, [lookit what crashed head first into the garden!](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2314615676&category=29512) [sub]Gotta love Ebay![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/30 "2003-04-01T17:17:30Z")
Are you shitting me? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/31 "2003-04-01T17:19:32Z")
**Tabithina** , that is disturbing on so many levels!! Cracked me up!!! So, who else thinks crafters should be licensed before they get a glue gun? Just because you can stick two things together, doesn’t mean you should. Think of the children!!! ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/32 "2003-04-01T17:24:27Z")
Holy Christ. That link was terrifying, **tabithina**. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/33 "2003-04-01T17:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tabithina \* > \*\*Oh **Cowgirl**? I found a link with a pretty good variety of [timeout kids.](http://www.burns62.com/cornerdolls/index.html) > They usually don’t give them faces, so when you pick one of them up for a closer look—aaaaaaaggghhhhh! A brief _frisson_ of terror!😃 \*\* That’s positively freaky, I’ve never seen one of them before. And you’re telling me that people actually use them for decoration in their homes? Weird. The dresses on everything, I’ve only seen in pictures, never in real life. I know knitters, so I see people with afghans, but most people I know just don’t have crafty stuff around. And those who have gardens stick to flowers and trees… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/34 "2003-04-01T18:10:24Z")
I have found my anti-craft soul mates. From crocheted toilet paper warmers to the bend over grandma things to time out kids to the hugely gaudy embellished sweatshirts and everything inbetween, I have eschewed for years. I’ve always said, in a hushed voice, as I’ve learned that I am apparently in the minority, that craft shows were the place for bored, talentless housewives to hawk their wares at overinflated prices. I am possibly the only person that can go to a craft show with a few friends and not spend any money on a thing. Clearly, there is something seriously wrong with me. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/35 "2003-04-01T18:14:07Z")
Where do you people live?!? I thought I lived in an area where crafts were pretty big stuff, but I have, thank goodness, never encountered a Time-out Kid (shudder), or a vacuum/dish soap dressed as a person. Fake people aren’t my thing, I guess. I can’t think of anything nearly so horrific to add to this thread, but count me in as someone who doesn’t care for straw or tole-painted items in the home. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/36 "2003-04-01T18:18:34Z")
My life will not be complete until I have a Poopie Duck. And a set of pink flamingos that light up. And a garden gnome or two. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/37 "2003-04-01T18:22:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*the children in the corner. wow. Those are bad. Did you know they have holiday outfits for them too? \*\* “Go stand in the corner, and don’t come out until HALLOWEEN!” I agree with everything said so far, and add anything made by Frank on Trading Spaces. I know! Lets paint a face on a wooden egg, then put a hat and dress on it and flop it on a shelf! Um…WHY!!! Anyone else astounded by how out-of-control scrapbooking is? I mean there’s now an entire industry devoted to paper, paper punches, scissors that cut in a pattern, special glues and glitter that didn’t even exist 3 or 4 years ago. I can’t imagine the time and money that’s going into some of these scrapbooks. Will they ever be looked at? I know when I actually bother to take a picture of anything it goes into an album and pretty much never seen again. Just not a big “picture person” I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/38 "2003-04-01T18:25:02Z")
I saw people-shaped plastic bag holders a little while ago at the Hudson’s Bay Company. I think you pulled the bags out of their stomachs. It was weird and horrifying. A friend’s mom does cutesy crafts. Their house is full of fluffy angels. All her kids make revolted sounds whenever she finishes a project and sticks it up, but she soldiers bravely on. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/39 "2003-04-01T18:27:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by genie \* > \*\*Where do you people live?!? I thought I lived in an area where crafts were pretty big stuff, but I have, thank goodness, never encountered a Time-out Kid (shudder), or a vacuum/dish soap dressed as a person. Fake people aren’t my thing, I guess. \*\* There’s a big craft fair/show at the state fairgrounds here every couple of months. I’ve gone a couple of times, but it’s always the same cutesy-country crap. The geese and duckies and teddy bears and Time-Out babies and straw hats or brooms with flowers for the wall, or wooden knickknack shelves with hearts and bows … just not my taste. Ugh, I HATE teddy bears. During the spring and summer, it’s combined with a garden show, and I like to go to that. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693/40 "2003-04-01T18:32:26Z")
And why is it that these people can make a living at it? I think of the talented musicians and fine artists that can’t rub two nickels together, and these slackers are bringing in the dough hand over fist! It just ain’t right, I tell ya! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craft-items-that-you-just-dont-get/165693.md?page=3)