I cherish these moments, the ones where I can finally find some sense of peace and quiet, some solitude. These moments have been rare in recent days. Every day has been filled with the hustle and bustle of a busy family. With a large family group, there comes drama, activity, and so much more, yet some nights this down time is necessary to refresh.
In truth, I love having people around all the time. I love knowing that I never need to be alone. The choice to spend time with friends or family is almost always an option. It's wonderful to feel that sense of community and family. There's nothing lonely about it. It helps me feel connected. It can also be terribly overwhelming
Tonight I've got some alone time. My partner is at work, where he'll be until the single digits are struck again on the clock. The room mates are out visiting with a friend. My children are all laying down in their beds, sleeping, or not far from it. I'm left with my own time, some time to refresh, some time for no one but me.
I'm not taking this time to do anything amazing or wonderful. I'm not using this time to work on sustainable living habits. This time has no use on creating a greener world. In truth, I don't want to make the world a better place right now. I spend nearly every waking hour focused on how to improve my life, my community's lives, and the world around me. Now I have a chance to spend my time on nothing but me. I can breathe and be myself again with no one around to influence or impede my actions.
Of course, in many ways, I am doing something to improve the environment with my time, but I'm doing it for me, not because it's in any way better for the planet. I'm taking my time to knit, listen to podcasts, and in general relax. I find knitting very relaxing, but too boring to do while not engaging my mind in other activities. Perhaps a complex pattern would change that, but for now I'd rather simple patterns. They let my brain relax and rest as the yarn slips through my hands. I'm listening to podcasts, though I could just as easily be watching television. I'm relaxing with every stitch. While the product may be useful for green living, shorties for my littlest one, it's not the product that matters. It's the motion of my hands going through the repetitive process of every stitch along the way.
Often times we focus on what needs to get done in the big picture. It's all too easy to worry about saving the planet or doing things in a better way. We forget to look back at the little picture, the small moments. It's too easy to forget about ourselves, or all out lose ourselves in the next step or what we should be doing. It's all too easy to lose sight of what we want because there is too much standing in our way.
No matter how dedicated you are to a course, no matter how strongly you feel in your convictions, never forget the quiet time. Never forget to step back, relax, and breathe. The world will keep on spinning. Life will continue to go on outside your own bubble, and you will be able to return, healthier, happier, and stronger with more conviction to the path you've chosen.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Crafting for Cloth Diapers
Have you ever noticed that those who do crafts tend to find practical reasons for them. The more practical the craft, the more practical the use. Yes, there are always going to be things that are not useful as anything more than home decor, but this isn't the trend. Why wouldn't we think the same with two natural things that fall so closely in line with each other?
For me, I'm a knitter, a breastfeeding mom that cloth diapers, co-sleeps, and attachment parents. Obviously, some of these fall straight in line. Cloth diapering and breastfeeding seem a common overlap. Co-sleeping and attachment parenting is another. However, knitting doesn't seem to fall in line with that.
What many don't think of, at least until they cloth diaper themselves, is the connection between cloth diapering and wool. Wool is a material that is highly absorbent, yet water resistant. It keeps warm, even when wet. It wicks away moisture. With the addition of a little lanolin, it is the perfect substance for diaper covers for cloth diapers. This is where the connection is made.
Knitting, spinning, weaving, and crocheting all easily utilize wool with the purpose of turning it into fabric. It's not surprising that many who cloth diaper would see the connection, the use, and the potential to save a lot of money by making their own. They make soakers, little diaper covers that keep the cloth diapers from soaking through to the clothes. They make shorties, baby sized shorts that work as diaper covers. They make longies, knit or crocheted baby pants that also work as diaper covers. It's a practical connection between craft and function.
I've seen these items for sale and have considered purchasing longies, shorties, or soakers for my sons. Some of them can get quite pricey. I've seen longies sell for $60 on etsy and e-bay. I thought it was completely out of my league. However, when looking at the cost of making them myself, things changed quite a bit. I can make a pair of longies for my son at his current size for as low as $9 in yarn and a few hours of time. I can make them in the largest size for as low as $12. The patterns range from free to $10, generally offering different options. Doesn't that even make a $30 pair of longies sound expensive then? Where if I make them, I get busy work, the satisfaction of finishing and using them, and save a lot of money in the long run. Doesn't making my own sound so much more practical?
Well, the longies, shorties, and soakers will be parading in soon. I've got a pattern that I love and yarn on the way. I don't know why I hadn't thought about that option when I was thinking about going back to cloth. It would only make sense that I would pick up the needles and make them myself. I can't wait to start rolling them out! Not only will that help reduce my impact on the world around me, but they will be natural, not made from chemical processes. They will give me something to be productive and keep myself busy. Best of all, they will last for many years through many children, even if all of them aren't my own.
For me, I'm a knitter, a breastfeeding mom that cloth diapers, co-sleeps, and attachment parents. Obviously, some of these fall straight in line. Cloth diapering and breastfeeding seem a common overlap. Co-sleeping and attachment parenting is another. However, knitting doesn't seem to fall in line with that.
What many don't think of, at least until they cloth diaper themselves, is the connection between cloth diapering and wool. Wool is a material that is highly absorbent, yet water resistant. It keeps warm, even when wet. It wicks away moisture. With the addition of a little lanolin, it is the perfect substance for diaper covers for cloth diapers. This is where the connection is made.
Knitting, spinning, weaving, and crocheting all easily utilize wool with the purpose of turning it into fabric. It's not surprising that many who cloth diaper would see the connection, the use, and the potential to save a lot of money by making their own. They make soakers, little diaper covers that keep the cloth diapers from soaking through to the clothes. They make shorties, baby sized shorts that work as diaper covers. They make longies, knit or crocheted baby pants that also work as diaper covers. It's a practical connection between craft and function.
I've seen these items for sale and have considered purchasing longies, shorties, or soakers for my sons. Some of them can get quite pricey. I've seen longies sell for $60 on etsy and e-bay. I thought it was completely out of my league. However, when looking at the cost of making them myself, things changed quite a bit. I can make a pair of longies for my son at his current size for as low as $9 in yarn and a few hours of time. I can make them in the largest size for as low as $12. The patterns range from free to $10, generally offering different options. Doesn't that even make a $30 pair of longies sound expensive then? Where if I make them, I get busy work, the satisfaction of finishing and using them, and save a lot of money in the long run. Doesn't making my own sound so much more practical?
Well, the longies, shorties, and soakers will be parading in soon. I've got a pattern that I love and yarn on the way. I don't know why I hadn't thought about that option when I was thinking about going back to cloth. It would only make sense that I would pick up the needles and make them myself. I can't wait to start rolling them out! Not only will that help reduce my impact on the world around me, but they will be natural, not made from chemical processes. They will give me something to be productive and keep myself busy. Best of all, they will last for many years through many children, even if all of them aren't my own.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Socks in Summer?
Last summer I was sitting in my kitchen, knitting away when a friend of mine asked what I was making. I said it was a sock. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Socks in summer?" she asked. "Why would you knit socks in summer? It' not like you're going to wear them." I gave her some vague answer about simply wanting to make them at the time. I didn't put much thought into it at the time, but it is a good question. Why was I knitting socks in the summer?
Knitting socks in summer makes perfect sense if you look at it in a logical and practical way. Socks are the perfect project for summer. They're small and light, so you can work without having a good deal of fabric sprawled across your lap. Their size makes them easy to transport, making them perfect for summer vacations and days at the park or beach. Even just a day in the yard or on the deck is wonderful for sock knitting. There's no worry of the project tumbling off your lap because it's simply too big and getting dirty. Socks are excellent for those summer months when everyone is getting out and being active.
Though I go around barefoot or in sandals much of the year since I've come to Texas, making socks even when I don't need them is a logical choice. While I may not wear socks in the summer, or most of the spring and fall, it would be impractical to wait until I needed something to make it. Socks, mittens, scarves, hats, and other necessities of the winter months are best made ahead of time, then put away so there's no last minute scramble to make them when needed. Planning and preparing for winter ahead of time ensures the easiest transition to those colder months where you really want to bust out those winter woolies!
Perhaps it's time we all started to connect with the patterns of the land. Maybe we should all look to preparing for winter in the summer, well enough in advance to put plenty away for winter. It's just one more way we can connect with the natural cycles of the land we live on and get back to the older ways. If we can develop habits that allow us to live more naturally in the world around us, it will help find a way to be even more self-reliant. There will no longer be a need to buy from stores last minute because instead, we'll be more prepared in the first place!
Knitting socks in summer makes perfect sense if you look at it in a logical and practical way. Socks are the perfect project for summer. They're small and light, so you can work without having a good deal of fabric sprawled across your lap. Their size makes them easy to transport, making them perfect for summer vacations and days at the park or beach. Even just a day in the yard or on the deck is wonderful for sock knitting. There's no worry of the project tumbling off your lap because it's simply too big and getting dirty. Socks are excellent for those summer months when everyone is getting out and being active.
Though I go around barefoot or in sandals much of the year since I've come to Texas, making socks even when I don't need them is a logical choice. While I may not wear socks in the summer, or most of the spring and fall, it would be impractical to wait until I needed something to make it. Socks, mittens, scarves, hats, and other necessities of the winter months are best made ahead of time, then put away so there's no last minute scramble to make them when needed. Planning and preparing for winter ahead of time ensures the easiest transition to those colder months where you really want to bust out those winter woolies!
Perhaps it's time we all started to connect with the patterns of the land. Maybe we should all look to preparing for winter in the summer, well enough in advance to put plenty away for winter. It's just one more way we can connect with the natural cycles of the land we live on and get back to the older ways. If we can develop habits that allow us to live more naturally in the world around us, it will help find a way to be even more self-reliant. There will no longer be a need to buy from stores last minute because instead, we'll be more prepared in the first place!
The Rose Bush
Today I needed to get out of the house for a while and get my mind off some of the stress that's been getting to me. I pulled up some of the weeds around the mesquite tree. We dug up a little of the ivy so we could relocate it. Then we moved on to the butterfly garden. It was clear that it needed some more serious help. She got the weed whacker and I tried a different direction. I went to deal with the rose bush.
There's still a good deal of work to be done, but the rose bush looks much better. The concrete step off the lower deck is now cleared off. I had to cut back at least a foot of bush and pull a whole bunch of grass that had grown on the layer of dirt that collected. The rose bush seems to have composted it's own dead leaves beneath it. I had to pull those back and the weeds. I cut back the pieces underneath only to find tons of dead branches, dry and snapping in my hands. The weeds seemed to be suffocating the lower growth, meaning the bush had to grow that much farther out in order to survive. It was being smothered by weeds. I had to pull them out as I went. Maybe when I get it cut back enough that I can reach under it I can dig out all of the weeds. I need to pull out all the dried dead sticks, leaves, and petals as well. There's all these strangely growing branches that twist and turn back on themselves.
Hopefully the rose bush will start looking better soon. Once it's got a little bit of love, it will be so much happier and healthier. It will do some good to cut out all of the dead and get all those weeds out from suffocating it. This is just the first significant step towards healthier land. Now I just need to be motivated enough to finish the rose bush, tackle the butterfly garden, and clear out all the weeds around the mesquite tree and the old garden plot. It's so much work, but that will be worth it in the end.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Land
I was out for a walk on our land today. It's only a small plot, an acre. It doesn't take long to travel the whole of it. It's a peaceful walk. The sun decided to come out after all. It was beautiful, well, as beautiful as a regularly mowed back yard can be.
My inspiration was to take photos of our land. At first it was to document a "before and after" portrait of our yard, perhaps with little photos of all the progress as we went. A part of me knew that, just like with children, this yard would change so much, and I wanted to remember where it had all started. I wanted to have record of what we've done, all our hard work. I wanted to be able to look back and appreciate everything we had worked so hard to achieve. In some places there is massive overgrowth. In others there is fresh death of pulled weeds and recently cut grass. It was a mixture of pleasure and sadness.
The land needs some serious work. There are heavy ruts in the ground from where some vehicle rolled through. The butterfly garden is overgrown with weeds. The north-east corner has a raspberry bush that is struggling to hold on under the suffocation of overgrowth. The mesquite tree has nearly been cleared free of the weeds that are surrounding it and the holly by it's base can begin to grow freely. The crab apple tree is flourishing. The vegetable garden is overrun by mature asparagus, wild sunflowers, and dandelions. The seeds blew through the air like flecks of snow. The baby tree growing at the stump of the old peach tree is nearly buried with weeds and overgrowth. The wildflower garden is beautiful, but is starting to become not much more than grass. We have a lot of work to do if we wish to make this land happy again, but we can do it. We may not get to all the planting we would like this year, but the land will be ready. We'll be prepared.
Strangely, the overgrowth and abundance has not only been with weeds. Everything is growing with an incredible vibrancy. Trees that were dying have started to return, though some did choose to give up their lives rather than continue on. The plum tree, which rarely bore fruit, is now full of little green plums. The ground beneath it is coated with those that have fallen. It feels like the land is truly alive, not just living enough to get by, but growing bountifully. A little bit of love seems to go a very long way, even with the neglect this land has suffered with lack of maintenance.
It won't be long before this land is transformed. Perhaps those who have seen it before won't even recognize it by the time we're through. It will be vibrant and bright. Now I just need to get the motivation to get out there and do it!
My inspiration was to take photos of our land. At first it was to document a "before and after" portrait of our yard, perhaps with little photos of all the progress as we went. A part of me knew that, just like with children, this yard would change so much, and I wanted to remember where it had all started. I wanted to have record of what we've done, all our hard work. I wanted to be able to look back and appreciate everything we had worked so hard to achieve. In some places there is massive overgrowth. In others there is fresh death of pulled weeds and recently cut grass. It was a mixture of pleasure and sadness.
The land needs some serious work. There are heavy ruts in the ground from where some vehicle rolled through. The butterfly garden is overgrown with weeds. The north-east corner has a raspberry bush that is struggling to hold on under the suffocation of overgrowth. The mesquite tree has nearly been cleared free of the weeds that are surrounding it and the holly by it's base can begin to grow freely. The crab apple tree is flourishing. The vegetable garden is overrun by mature asparagus, wild sunflowers, and dandelions. The seeds blew through the air like flecks of snow. The baby tree growing at the stump of the old peach tree is nearly buried with weeds and overgrowth. The wildflower garden is beautiful, but is starting to become not much more than grass. We have a lot of work to do if we wish to make this land happy again, but we can do it. We may not get to all the planting we would like this year, but the land will be ready. We'll be prepared.
Strangely, the overgrowth and abundance has not only been with weeds. Everything is growing with an incredible vibrancy. Trees that were dying have started to return, though some did choose to give up their lives rather than continue on. The plum tree, which rarely bore fruit, is now full of little green plums. The ground beneath it is coated with those that have fallen. It feels like the land is truly alive, not just living enough to get by, but growing bountifully. A little bit of love seems to go a very long way, even with the neglect this land has suffered with lack of maintenance.
It won't be long before this land is transformed. Perhaps those who have seen it before won't even recognize it by the time we're through. It will be vibrant and bright. Now I just need to get the motivation to get out there and do it!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Taming the Jungle
Yesterday we finally got something done for the land. The large bed of weeds that had overgrown between the mesquite tree and the crab apple tree has finally been cut back. The small holy bushes can finally be seen. We found ivy climbing and suffocating some of the weeds. We're doing what we can to cut back the small forest of weeds and maintain our land. There's still a long way to go, but progress is being made towards a healthier environment for our local plant life.
A part of me wishes we didn't have to weed our garden spaces. It's not that I'm lazy and don't like the work of maintaining our land. In truth, I was somewhat ambivalent about it when I worked for the landscaping company years back, but I think that was a combination of the summer heat and not feeling inspired to maintain another person's land. However, it's a very different story. I love the land we live on, and I love the act of maintaining it. I just wish we didn't have to uproot the plants that willingly chose this land as their home. It seems somehow unfair to me. Nature allowed these plants to take root and flourish, so who am I to say that they aren't welcome? And for what? Because they're not pretty enough? Because they're in the way of what I want to grow? Because they're unpleasant, often spiny or causing some sort of skin reaction? I wish that the yard could flourish just the way it wanted to, without our influence, to grow wild as nature intended it to be.
In the realm of productive gardens, that's just not the way things work. We need to cultivate certain plants for a variety of reasons. In the case of food bearing plants, we hope to support our small household with those plants. When it comes to flowers and other elements of beauty or shade, they have their own practicality. Sunflowers and other plants provide seeds, vital to feeding the local birds and squirrels. Trees provide shade, offering a pleasant and needed escape from the summer's brutal heat. Even mowing the lawn helps reduce the ticks and snakes that could be potentially harmful to our family, both human and animal. I suppose these things aren't necessary for life, but they do improve the quality of the land around us.
So yesterday our mission was to cut back that grove of weeds. Wild bushes, milkweed, and spiny dandelion all had taken root. We pulled them out and cut them back, though we didn't dig up the roots as I suppose we should some day go back to do. I know ignoring the roots only invites them to return. We will get to that when the time is right, but for now our mission was to cut back all the unwanted growth to try and make way for that which we wanted to survive.
It felt good to work with the earth again. I wasn't exactly digging my hands into the soil, nor was I able to bury my feet into the soft soil. To be honest, the crumbling mulch bed beneath it all would have likely felt quite unpleasant under my feet. Even without those happy feelings, I was able to feel like I was taking my part to care for the earth again. As I cut further and further in I felt like an adventurer looking for a new discovery. First I found the base of the mesquite tree. Next I came across the holy bushes. We even found what looks like a baby holy bush growing in the field of all that chaos. Next I started to dig out the ivy. There were two caterpillars hidden in all of that mess. One was a large, fuzzy yellow one. The other was about half the size, but the same fuzzy yellow, like a little brother. They were both relocated to the crab apple tree where they should have plenty to eat so they may grow. Perhaps the butterfly garden would have been smarter, but we didn't think of that.
On a sad note, there seems to be a lot of death around. There's a dead tree in the back lot. There's a tree that seems to be dead in the front lot. The base of a dead cactus marks the entry way to the drive. There's a stump of a dead peach tree on the side of the house. Even the mesquite tree seems to be ready to release it's hold on life to be put to some other purpose. However, even with so much death, there is life. The cactus has regrown with a new vibrance, both from babies dropped off from the original plant, and sprouting up from the dead roots. The peach tree seems to have growth around it's base as well. Though the mesquite tree was dying, a plentiful number of weeds grew in the soft shade it provides. From death there seems to be new beginnings, which gives me hope that this land will soon blossom into something vibrant and plentiful.
As I stood in that patch of weeds, debating which direction to cut away next, having visions of the wild and vibrant possibilities that section of land held, I felt connected again. I felt like I was taking action to improve the land around me, not only in appearance, but on many other levels as well. The land is destined to be beautiful with both garden harvest and vibrant flowers. The soil will be improved as we compost what we can to give back vital nutrients to the earth. The plants will do their part to cleanse the air making oxygen that is so vital to our bodies survival. The air will smell fresh, sweet, and fragrant from the bounty of flowers. Our carbon footprint will be altered by our reduced need for groceries from outside the home. In general, we will be living more at peace with the land. Everything will come to balance. I think I'm finally finding happiness in this land. There is no longer any doubt. I am where I belong.
A part of me wishes we didn't have to weed our garden spaces. It's not that I'm lazy and don't like the work of maintaining our land. In truth, I was somewhat ambivalent about it when I worked for the landscaping company years back, but I think that was a combination of the summer heat and not feeling inspired to maintain another person's land. However, it's a very different story. I love the land we live on, and I love the act of maintaining it. I just wish we didn't have to uproot the plants that willingly chose this land as their home. It seems somehow unfair to me. Nature allowed these plants to take root and flourish, so who am I to say that they aren't welcome? And for what? Because they're not pretty enough? Because they're in the way of what I want to grow? Because they're unpleasant, often spiny or causing some sort of skin reaction? I wish that the yard could flourish just the way it wanted to, without our influence, to grow wild as nature intended it to be.
In the realm of productive gardens, that's just not the way things work. We need to cultivate certain plants for a variety of reasons. In the case of food bearing plants, we hope to support our small household with those plants. When it comes to flowers and other elements of beauty or shade, they have their own practicality. Sunflowers and other plants provide seeds, vital to feeding the local birds and squirrels. Trees provide shade, offering a pleasant and needed escape from the summer's brutal heat. Even mowing the lawn helps reduce the ticks and snakes that could be potentially harmful to our family, both human and animal. I suppose these things aren't necessary for life, but they do improve the quality of the land around us.
So yesterday our mission was to cut back that grove of weeds. Wild bushes, milkweed, and spiny dandelion all had taken root. We pulled them out and cut them back, though we didn't dig up the roots as I suppose we should some day go back to do. I know ignoring the roots only invites them to return. We will get to that when the time is right, but for now our mission was to cut back all the unwanted growth to try and make way for that which we wanted to survive.
It felt good to work with the earth again. I wasn't exactly digging my hands into the soil, nor was I able to bury my feet into the soft soil. To be honest, the crumbling mulch bed beneath it all would have likely felt quite unpleasant under my feet. Even without those happy feelings, I was able to feel like I was taking my part to care for the earth again. As I cut further and further in I felt like an adventurer looking for a new discovery. First I found the base of the mesquite tree. Next I came across the holy bushes. We even found what looks like a baby holy bush growing in the field of all that chaos. Next I started to dig out the ivy. There were two caterpillars hidden in all of that mess. One was a large, fuzzy yellow one. The other was about half the size, but the same fuzzy yellow, like a little brother. They were both relocated to the crab apple tree where they should have plenty to eat so they may grow. Perhaps the butterfly garden would have been smarter, but we didn't think of that.
On a sad note, there seems to be a lot of death around. There's a dead tree in the back lot. There's a tree that seems to be dead in the front lot. The base of a dead cactus marks the entry way to the drive. There's a stump of a dead peach tree on the side of the house. Even the mesquite tree seems to be ready to release it's hold on life to be put to some other purpose. However, even with so much death, there is life. The cactus has regrown with a new vibrance, both from babies dropped off from the original plant, and sprouting up from the dead roots. The peach tree seems to have growth around it's base as well. Though the mesquite tree was dying, a plentiful number of weeds grew in the soft shade it provides. From death there seems to be new beginnings, which gives me hope that this land will soon blossom into something vibrant and plentiful.
As I stood in that patch of weeds, debating which direction to cut away next, having visions of the wild and vibrant possibilities that section of land held, I felt connected again. I felt like I was taking action to improve the land around me, not only in appearance, but on many other levels as well. The land is destined to be beautiful with both garden harvest and vibrant flowers. The soil will be improved as we compost what we can to give back vital nutrients to the earth. The plants will do their part to cleanse the air making oxygen that is so vital to our bodies survival. The air will smell fresh, sweet, and fragrant from the bounty of flowers. Our carbon footprint will be altered by our reduced need for groceries from outside the home. In general, we will be living more at peace with the land. Everything will come to balance. I think I'm finally finding happiness in this land. There is no longer any doubt. I am where I belong.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Importance of Handcrafting
In this modern frenzy of mass-production, the idea of handcrafting has been long forgotten. Why would you make something when you can buy it for so much cheaper? Time is money, and all this time spent making things is money that could have gone to something else. Free time is somehow so much better spent playing video games and the like. Isn't that what the marvels of modern society is about? Having all this free time to be idol?
Often times people forget how much better hand made goods are. There's the obvious factor of creating heirloom goods to pass down through the family, true, but there's so much more than that. Hand made goods are of such a higher quality. They last longer and have a more personal touch. Yes, it may cost more for the supplies, but don't people always say that you get what you pay for? Then let's look at the time of entertainment and work in making it, and knowing that the product you end up with is a unique handcrafted item. Better still, it can look any way you want it, using fabrics, patterns, and colors that you wouldn't normally buy pre-made on the market.
Handcrafting in this day and age has economic benefits too. By staying busier, there's less idol time for boredom eating, video gaming, and everything else. Because it takes time, there's less idol time to require entertainment. As a result, time is more productively used, meaning less time has to be spent on diversions. Since the diversions yield useful things, it means less money needs to be spent on useful things. All in all, the money paid out does countless times more work than your average store-bought item. There's the standard buyer's high that most people get when they by something new. Then there's the joy of making something and seeing it finished. Finally, there's the enjoyment of the finished product.
I think, perhaps the charm of handcrafted items has been forgotten. Too many people think of it as something for old women at craft fairs. They look upon hand-made items as things for the poor. Their viewed as having a homey quality, sure, but not seen as anything beautiful and creative as once they were. There was a point when home made was better than store bought. Now we seem to see it the other way around. It's kind of tragic and sad.
We really need to get back to the idea of handcrafting, for all it can do for ourselves and our families. In these hard times, we've got to take every kind of positive pass time we can get. If nothing else, it will teach future generations to once more honor the idea of hard work, and to enjoy the benefits of something made with love.
Often times people forget how much better hand made goods are. There's the obvious factor of creating heirloom goods to pass down through the family, true, but there's so much more than that. Hand made goods are of such a higher quality. They last longer and have a more personal touch. Yes, it may cost more for the supplies, but don't people always say that you get what you pay for? Then let's look at the time of entertainment and work in making it, and knowing that the product you end up with is a unique handcrafted item. Better still, it can look any way you want it, using fabrics, patterns, and colors that you wouldn't normally buy pre-made on the market.
Handcrafting in this day and age has economic benefits too. By staying busier, there's less idol time for boredom eating, video gaming, and everything else. Because it takes time, there's less idol time to require entertainment. As a result, time is more productively used, meaning less time has to be spent on diversions. Since the diversions yield useful things, it means less money needs to be spent on useful things. All in all, the money paid out does countless times more work than your average store-bought item. There's the standard buyer's high that most people get when they by something new. Then there's the joy of making something and seeing it finished. Finally, there's the enjoyment of the finished product.
I think, perhaps the charm of handcrafted items has been forgotten. Too many people think of it as something for old women at craft fairs. They look upon hand-made items as things for the poor. Their viewed as having a homey quality, sure, but not seen as anything beautiful and creative as once they were. There was a point when home made was better than store bought. Now we seem to see it the other way around. It's kind of tragic and sad.
We really need to get back to the idea of handcrafting, for all it can do for ourselves and our families. In these hard times, we've got to take every kind of positive pass time we can get. If nothing else, it will teach future generations to once more honor the idea of hard work, and to enjoy the benefits of something made with love.
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