Photo from 74 Lime Lane

For the longest time I couldn’t figure out what “DIY” meant. I’d read it here and there and kept forgetting to look it up or ask someone. I felt relieved when I figured out it’s meaning – and chuckled a bit inwardly, realizing it had been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up I was surrounded by “DIY” as I know many of us were. From what I remember there was no political motivation either – my mom and my aunt made things for us kids simply because they enjoyed it. A good chunk of my clothes were sewn by my mom up until junior high, and a lot of my room decor and even many toys were made by my mom or other members of our family. As a child I didn’t distinguish between the items which were handmade or not, I loved them all fairly equally. A few items do stand out of course, like the super cute mushroom shaped lamp (the windows glowed!) that my Aunt made for me – the dollhouse lovingly made by my Grandpa, and some of the exceptionally bright outfits my mom sewed for me.

Embroidery Pattern from A Little Sweetness

Embroidery Hoop from neawear

Fast forward 25 or so years and here we are now – the world is different in many ways but DIY is possibly more popular than it’s ever been before. Unlike in my mother’s generation, many of us women are in our thirties and still haven’t had our first child, and many of us may choose to work even after our children are born. What does that mean? Possibly less time for DIY and even less time to make heart shaped cookies at Valentine’s day and Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for our kids before school in the mornings.

Fingerless Mitts Pattern from The Pompom

Owl fingerless gloves from Fingerless Mitts Pattern from Homelab

I’m sure that when we (finally) do have kids I’ll find a way to make the time to keep some of these very fun traditions alive in our household – I know how much glee I found in these creature comforts growing up. But will I have the time to make all my children’s clothes, toys, and such? Probably not. And because I’ll be a busy mom I’ll be happy that the internet is available so I can find beautiful handmade goods for my children, when I’m not able to make them myself. While we can’t always carry on every tradition, it comforts me that we’re able to make new ones – and in this day and age, make new friends in our neighborhoods and all around the world too. Today – I think that’s part of the joy of DIY for me.

I’ve rounded up both items that you can purchase as completed products as well as some patterns too, if you’re in the mood for some DIY of your own!