lost arts?
i was at my family reunion this past weekend and my father brought me a box of newspaper clippings from the early 1900s about my family members. my great grandmother did quilting, and she had put patterns that she had clipped from the newspaper in this box - and additionally, she had put a few stitched quilt pieces in this box too. as the weekend went on, we played white elephant/chinese bingo for 37 family members. the majority of the gifts were handmade. Cross stitching, paintings, quilts, wreathes, etc.
I thought about this: does anyone really do this stuff anymore? I know that Melissa does quilting, and i know a few girls who do scrapbooking, but beyond that i am completely unaware of people practicing hobbies like this.
I’m not sure where i’m going with this, really. i guess it made me think about the fact that i don’t really think some of these arts have been passed down from one generation to the next because we don’t have a need for them. we can easily buy this stuff in any walmart down the street. it sort of makes me sad. i know how to knit, i know how to crochet, i know how to paint, i know how to sew, but i don’t. i don’t because i don’t have to. so as time goes on, are these arts going to be lost arts?
i’ve decided that i want to do these things - they aren’t just necessities, they are creative hobbies. i’m going to pick a project and work on it. something with a final product - not just a goal. i don’t want to lose what i’ve been taught by the women of previous generations of my family.
Thats right, you do need to brush up on your woman’s work skills!