Kudos to the  ad agency for Aleve (pain medication). Their latest television ad campaign uses participation in favorite hobbies as a motivation to be pain-free. In one clip a woman talks about how she loves to knit. She is shown working on a project with an interesting yarn and chunky needles. In another commercial, the pitchwoman is shown beading jewelry, complete with a board set up with a necklace in progress.

What's neat about these commercials is that (without even knowing it) they position crafting as a positive and desirable activity.  But what I think makes me happiest is that whoever was in charge of these commercials got it right. All of the props were correct, the right yarn, the right project, the person doing the project going through the correct steps. The settings were contemporary and the women didn't look dowdy.

These commercials are a long way from the quilted TP cartoons that showed matronly women "quilting" tissue with knitting needles.

I wonder what the next hobby will be... woodworking? Sewing? Painting? Keep going Aleve, we've got lots of great crafts for you to showcase--Beth