A 'Creative' Dilemma

From "The ancient craft of knitting becomes cool again" (Dawn House, The Salt Lake Tribune)...

Didn't "love" the article overall, but I did really like this intro section:

Think of knitting on a higher, intellectual level -- the equivalent of binary arithmetic, which scientists have used to design electronic computers. Like knitting, the binary system has only two symbols, an "0" and "1," which translate into electronic impulses that have helped launch interplanetary probes or paid home utility bills online.

Knitting's basic stitches are "K" for knit and "P" for purl. These two stitches, along with their endless variations and combinations, can create intricate afghans, dresses, skirts and sweaters or simple mittens, scarfs and hats.

With my affinity for programming (or maybe just my sometimes Type-A personality), this is a perfect way to think about knitting as something beyond being "crafty."

I hate the term "crafty."

It seems derogatory. It seems pejorative. It seems belittling. It seems to turn what I'm doing into something meaningless, trivial, matronly.

I prefer "creative" or even "artsy" or even "artistic."

I've been "creative" all my life (and I was artsy for years). I create things in many mediums... fibers, paints, words, technology. By self definition, I'm an artist in many ways even when the reality of my life doesn't always let me feel like I'm living out the role as fully as I'd like.

Being "creative" is a central core of my life, a fulcrum upon which many threads of my being balance, connect, interweave. As a result, I spend a good bit of time dealing with my own creative angst and the philosophical musings and dilemmas a creative core inspires... how can I work in more time to do creative things? How can I manage the sheer range of creative projects that i want to be doing? How can I recapture the effortless creativity of my youth? How can I ...

The list goes on.

What bugs me is when people relegate my knitting (or any of my creative pursuits) to the "crafty" zone. "You're so crafty," other moms tell me.

I bristle.

Just the other day, a mom caught sight of a recently finished project of my own design. I'm working on writing up directions for it in little-boy sizes, so it's a project currently close to the surface for me.

She loved it.

I was trying to explain some questions/concerns/doubts I have about the design.

"I can see that," she said. "You're so crafty."

I bristled.

It was partly timing. My birthday is always an epitome of philosophical questions and plans and mental lists and frustrations and "what-ifs" regarding my creativity, the path my life is taking, where I am now, and so on. So, maybe the comment just ran smack into my own pre-birthday identity crisis.

But, I bristled.

Writing about utility/grid computing takes some creativity even if it's not fiction. People wouldn't look at my writing as crafty.

Working with HTML/ASP/PHP takes creativity even when you're programming databases, content streams, and navigation flows. People wouldn't look at my Web-related work as crafty.

Why is knitting "crafty"?

Why not creative or artistic?

I know it's a matter of semantics.

But it seems/feels/is important.