Handcrafts

My mother made a comment yesterday about what a shame it is that people don’t learn handwork anymore.  Mom started school at the age of 7 (no kindergarten) and even in first grade they had hand sewing while the boys did some kind of carpentry.  I have her little embroidered doily that she made when she was 7 years old, which she had done before she went to school.  Her older sisters also taught her how to knit before she went to school and she would knit clothes for her doll.  As I thought about it I did have to correct Mom by telling her that the success of Pinterest reveals that many people are still interested in handcrafts of all kinds, including embroidery, crochet and knitting.

We had mandatory home economics in grade 7 and 8 but we only had it once every 7 days for 90 minutes (2 periods of 45 minutes each).  We were put in cycles so we were lucky if we learned to cook something twice a year.  We had 6 sewing machines so the 16 girls would have to shift about for their turn to sew on the machines.  Those who were not in the kitchen or on the sewing machine basically sat around and read instructions since the teacher did not sit down with us to show us any hand stitching, not even how to baste our project.  It was quite pathetic and did not inspire me to have anything to do with home making of any sort.  Besides which my mother was such an expert at all types of handcrafts and cooking and was highly critical of both my sister’s and my efforts that both of us rapidly gave up any attempt at competing in that arena.  Once I got to high school I chose Art and French over Home Ec and said goodbye to any type of handwork until in my 30’s.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, I got very interested in cross stitching being quite addicted to it until my eyes started to give out.  I also went through a phase of crocheting in my late teens and early 20’s; I find crocheting easier than knitting but it’s limiting in a creative sense (with sweaters and tops, since crocheting is generally too loose for me).  Mom is now trying to encourage me to knit (which I did learn how to do when I was quite young).  Mom continues to knit despite severe arthritis in her hands and I am sure one of my strongest memories of my mother will always be her sitting watching TV with some knitting project in her hands. 

Handwork is soothing work so it is a pity that more people don’t do it since it would help relieve some of their stress and/or boredom.