One of the things I love about crochet is the tactility of it. I'm a rather tactile person, and so the feel of the yarn between my fingers it part of the pleasure. It's also why I tend to handle skeins as I'm deciding what I want to use.

I don't really know of a way to make sewing less fussy. I like sewing okay, but it's not something I do "for fun." If I have a costuming project for theater or something, then yes, I can do that. But I don't use my sewing machine for crafts, per se. My sewing machine is more of a useful tool than a way to unwind.