Have you heard the word? It is a current term for knitting, crochet, needlepoint, quilting, embroidery, rug-hooking, weaving, and all those sorts of handcrafts. Suddenly they’re all the rage. Social media is filled with posts devoted to them, craft stores are being swamped with new customers, and the world is waking up to the virtues of handmade.
I couldn’t be happier. But despite being a grandmother myself, I bristle a bit at the “Grannycrafts” term. I’ve been a dedicated needlepointer and knitter for many years. I fall under the “I was doing it before it was cool” category here. Believe me when I tell you it has nothing to do with whether I get the senior discount at the grocery store. Creativity is ageless.
I’m much more a fan of the term “analog crafts”—as in non-digital. And I completely understand the attraction in today’s loud, rushed world. Everywhere you look, people of all ages, men and women, are rediscovering crafts their mothers and grandmothers (or fathers and grandfathers) have enjoyed. I’m especially pleased how needlepoint has seen a phenomenal resurgence among young people.
The trend has caught on in books, too. One look at the mystery shelf of any bookstore will tell you that crafts are popular themes for cozy mysteries. They’ve always been around, but being the author of the needlepoint-themed cozy mystery series THE NIMBLE NEEDLE MYSTERIES, I heartily endorse the resurgence they are enjoying.
It’s no real mystery why people who love to read often also love to craft. I’ve had knitting characters in my books for years, and happily branched out last year to include the world of needlepoint in my mysteries. As I always have said, “Not every reader crafts, but almost every crafter reads.” Audiobooks can even enable you to do both at the same time! What’s not to love?
So why such a strong connection? Here are some reasons why I think cozy mystery readers are such fan of…okay, I’ll say it…”grannycrafts.”
Both offer a cozy, comforting escape.
If I’m stressed, feeling too rushed, or stuck waiting somewhere, I almost always turn to my knitting or needlepoint. Heaven help us all if I’m trapped on a delayed flight without one of them, if not both! The soft texture, the color, the harkening back to a simpler time all soothe me in ways staring at my phone simply will not. And many crafts are highly portable, just like a book. You can access the escape anywhere and everywhere you need it. A good cozy mystery will pull you in, get you thinking, and keep the pages turning, offering an escape from the challenges of the day.
They offer a momentum that builds a steady stream of progress.
A good mystery takes you on a journey where you can juuuuuust see the next turn in front of you (and maybe in front of the sleuth!). You watch the clues start to weave together, see the relationships form as our sleuth gathers the support he or she needs to solve the case. You don’t mind—in fact you enjoy—a twist or turn because you know it’s just part of the path. It’s part of why you enjoy the genre. Crafts build steps upon steps—stitches upon stitches—with just the same effect. I started knitting when I was a young mother because it was one of the few things in my life that stayed “done” when I did it. I could literally see my progress, even if it was just a tiny bit. A good cozy mystery lets us see where we are and reminds us we’ll make progress. These days, that’s a welcome affirmation.
Both center on community and connection.
There are thrillers, suspense novels, and procedurals, but cozy mystery lovers expect something unique from their novels. Alongside the mystery, there needs to be the kind of town and friends you’d love to call home yourself. Readers look for humor, a touch of romance perhaps, and a community that looks out for each other. They’ll follow a favorite sleuth through a whole series of stories with the loyalty of a best friend. It is one of my favorite compliments to receive when a reader says “I wish I lived in Gwen Lake.” Or “I want to be a NYAG”—the band of outrageous “Not Your Average Grannies” who serve as the most popular secondary characters in the Nimble Needle series. Crafts offer that same connection. Traveling as much as I do, I am often knitting or needlepointing in public. It never fails that someone strikes up a conversation. Amusingly enough to our topic, I often hear “my mother/grandmother used to do that.” Another fan of any craft—be it knitting, needlepoint, crochet, embroidery, or even quilting—will begin talking to me about their current project and what they love about the craft. There’s an instant connection there, and we’re not strangers anymore. No one expects that camaraderie in a thriller, but readers demand it in their cozies.
Both offer a unique sense of satisfaction.
Ask any crafter how good it feels to finish a project and see it put to loving use (or just hanging on a wall), and they’ll beam with satisfaction. All the many steps have come together to create something new and lovely. In a world where so much feels incomplete and undone, we crave this. My life may be a disjointed mess, but the beautiful scarf or elegant pillow I’ve just created is a finished work of beauty. Mysteries combine many connected elements to come to the final product of justice done. The bad guy gets his due. What’s lost is found. A victim gets justice. These can be things that feel rare in our current world as well. We may not always be able to see the right balance in the world around us, but we can open a good cozy mystery and escape to a world where we know that balance will come in the end.
It’s no surprise at all to me, then, that cozy readers are taking up—or maybe have always taken up—cozy crafts. Whether you get your cozy mystery fix in an e-reader, in an audiobook, or in good old print, you can be assured that the community, connection, and satisfaction you crave is coming your way inside the story.
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