Crafting Etiquette

So you are a crafter, and you think just sitting without something crafty in your hands is a waste of good crafting time. But there is a time and place for everything, and sometimes, doing something crafty isn’t the right thing to do.

Yes, it is definitely OK to craft when
"watching" your family members play cricket!

As an example, knitting or crocheting at a Rankin Cottage Crafts monthly meeting – that’s just fine, and in fact, almost to be expected. Taking your sewing machine with you on a weekend away with your husband (and yes, this is a real example), not so good.

So what are the rules of etiquette for crafting? Let’s take a few situations and see:

Watching TV – but of course you can craft! It shouldn’t even be questioned. If the craft is something you can do without concentrating, then go for it! If you have to look at your work, or the pattern is a bit more complex, make sure what’s on the TV doesn’t also require serious attention. You don’t want to have to re-do the crafting you’ve done, and constant requests for explanations may annoy your TV-watching companion. Just try to keep any knitting needle click-clack to a minimum.

When travelling – as long as you aren’t the driver, I’d say this one is also “of course!” Driving across the Nullarbor Plain, whilst not as boring as some might think, is improved greatly by the opportunity to finish that cross-stitch you’ve been working on for years. The train trip to Sydney is quite a pretty one, but it is mostly the same every time, and you can get that scarf finished, as long as the person in the seat next to you doesn’t hog the elbow room. As for the flight to Melbourne, feel free to crochet to your heart’s content – crochet hooks are allowed on the plane, but knitting needles and scissors are not.

At the movies – maybe not. It’s dark in there, so it would have to be something you definitely don’t need to look at. And with the price of a movie ticket these days, you want to get full value from what you are seeing.

In a meeting – well, it depends. Is the meeting related in any way to craft? If yes, then I’d say crafting would almost be compulsory. If no, again, it depends. Surprisingly, not everyone sees craft as an essential activity, and can view it as an indication that you either aren’t interested in the subject of the meeting, or are just plain rude. So, if the other people in the meeting know about your crafting obsession and are tolerant of it, then maybe it is OK. But generally, I’d say err on the side of caution, and wait until another time to get out your embroidery.

During a meal – generally this one is a no. It’s a definite no if it’s a dinner party – you need your wits about you to keep up with dinner party conversation, and the other guests would almost certainly take offence. Even if the meal is just yourself and a sandwich, it’s better to put down that hand-sewing for the time it takes to eat – don’t want vegemite on your new, handmade bag.

What are your crafting etiquette rules? Have you had any interesting reactions when you’ve been crafting in public? Have you been a part of Knit in Public Day?

Craft as Therapy

Whew! We survived our 30^th birthday celebrations, and are now back crafting as if our lives depended on it. Actually, crafting is what we do best, and whilst we enjoyed our birthday, it’s great to get back to those knitting needles, crochet hooks, embroidery flosses, and the ever-growing stashes of fabric and yarn.

If you ask a crafter what they love about crafting, chances are most of them will mention at some point that it is “like a friend, who you can sit down and spend time with” and “like therapy, where the rest of the world and all its stresses and responsibilities disappear for a while”. Pretty much, we all feel happy when we are crafting.


And here are some of the results of that time spent in “therapy".

This time of year is a great time for crafting – it is cold outside, but the place we go to do our craft is usually nice and cosy. Every now and then, you can emerge from the craft cocoon for a nice cuppa, before heading back there.


We’ve produced any number of scarves, beanies, socks, mittens and bedsocks – not all of them are pink!

We have cardigans, jumpers, and gloves, for all ages.

We have an enormous sense of pride and satisfaction from creating these things that we hope other people will enjoy, almost as much as we enjoyed creating them.

But best of all, we are getting back our sanity, from spending quality time with our “friend” and “therapy”, craft.

Happy Birthday to Us!

It has finally arrived – our 30^th birthday. We’ve been working towards this for many months so it’s wonderful for it to have finally arrived.

During June our celebration includes demonstrations each weekend of various crafts (see our calendar for details of what’s on). We have had a small group of people who have attended these demonstrations, and have had a go themselves! Don’t these ladies look like they are enjoying trying out candlewicking?









We put up a memory board with some of our history on it, and surrounded it with items showing some crafts from years past – remember decorated straw hats, fabric-covered photo albums, and smocking?

And we decorated Rankin Cottage (with a bit of help from long-suffering partners of crafters, and a mystery yarn-bomber) – it scrubs up pretty well for a building that is over 170 years old, and certainly looked cheerful.


Our Big Day, though, was Sunday 14^th June, when we had an afternoon tea after the ceremonial cutting of the birthday cake. Mayor Gary Rush said a few words, and then introduced Rose Bolam, who did us the honour of actually cutting the cake. Rose cut the ribbon to open Rankin Cottage Crafts 30 years ago, and we were very pleased she could be there for our party.

Actually, we had a number of other dignitaries attend – Councillor Monica Morse, who often pops into Rankin Cottage; Betty Ives, a Bathurst Living Legend, and patron of Rankin Cottage Crafts; Jane and Robert Rawlings from the Daffodil Cottage building extension fundraising committee, to whom we made a donation; some past members of Rankin Cottage Crafts; and many of our current members, including Marcia Cubis and Pam Parsons, who were made Life Members on the day.

After the formalities, since the weather was so nice to us, we had our afternoon tea party in the back yard of Rankin Cottage. All in all, it was a lovely day.

Happy Birthday to us!!!

History and Nostalgia

May and June are all about looking back at our history, both as part of the celebrations for Bathurst’s 200 years, and because Rankin Cottage Crafts has been in existence for 30 years – what an achievement for everyone!

We’ve taken the opportunity to get involved as much as possible, and spent an enjoyable, although very cold, couple of days demonstrating heritage crafts as part of the Colonial Fair on both the actual Proclamation Day of 7^th May, and the big affair that took place on the Saturday. Don’t we look the real deal!

Back at the Cottage, we have our usual fireplace display, but this month we are focussing on heritage items – it is amazing what old things people still have. Some customers have had to ask what various things are, but some have been a bit nostalgic, as many can remember things from their own childhoods, or from memories of their grandparents.

Life back then was simpler, but it was also harder. Can you imagine ironing with those old irons that went on the good old combustion stove? I have clear memories of my grandmother using them in her kitchen, and she even ironed the sheets with them!

Here are a few specific items people may remember – the good old party-line telephone, a cast iron meat mincer (be careful not to mince your fingers), a carriage light, a (small) saddle bag, and what good household would be without the louse powder (for the chooks, of course).

Rankin Cottage is very proud to be able to be part of the Bathurst 200 celebrations. We have our very own Living Legend in Betty Ives, who also has her own figure in the Peoplescape installation. Betty’s status will be recognised in July with a tree planted in her name as part of the Bathurst Living Legend celebrations.

In the meantime, here at Rankin Cottage we will be busy preparing for the June celebration of our 30^th birthday. We have demonstrations of various crafts each weekend during the month (see here), and a special birthday party, including afternoon tea and a cake to be cut, on 14^th June – our actual birthday. Everyone is welcome, but please contact Pam Shurmer on 6331 7572 if you will be coming along.

Bathurst 200 and Autumn Colours

Fantastic news! Our 30^th Birthday Celebration has been endorsed as an official Bathurst 200 event! Can you tell we are excited? For details of how we will be celebrating, check out our Birthday page.

But while we are busy behind the scenes getting ready for our big birthday, we are also making sure there are lots of items in Rankin Cottage.

If, like us, you have started to notice that bit of a chill in the air, you would realise that Autumn is upon us. The days might still be warm, but the mornings and evenings are telling us to get ready for the colder weather. We might need a light jacket, or ¾ length sleeved jumper, to keep us warm leading up to winter.





And don’t you love the colours of autumn? We highlight those colours in our crafts – in the tea cosies to keep that teapot warm, and in the egg cosies, to keep those breakfast eggs warm (until we eat them, of course!).

For those who like the soft light of autumn, how about some candles to flicker away on the table?

The variety of crafts here in Rankin Cottage is fantastic!

Summer Gardens

Yes, we survived the silly season, and now we turn our attention to the new year.  The Christmas decorations have been put into storage, and it’s time to get some colours other than red and white into our lives.

The Fireplace display here at Rankin Cottage Crafts has been changed to show all the lovely colours you can find in a summer garden. Spring isn’t the only time of year when the garden is lovely to be in!







Our members have stitched clothes to dress the little girls in your life, and hangings to dress the home.











If you want to spend quality time looking after your garden, we have the perfect garden gloves for you.











If you can’t quite see yourself in the garden, or don’t have any flowers to pick, why not try some flowers that don’t require any watering?