The North American Tradition of Quilting

Yesterday Link did quilts to represent North America in one of his classes.  It got me thinking a lot about quilting and the tradition it's become in the United States.  Much like other handcrafts, it's been long forgotten by most.  often times it's not quilts you see on beds, but big downy comforters and other blankets obviously mass-marketed in some factory.  Quilts aren't as popular as they once were.

In a way, I can kind of understand the push away from quilting and other handcrafts.  It's easier to go buy a blanket for a bed than to make one.  Fabric is expensive.  Then there's all the time required and learning the necessary skills, skills that many people don't learn in their youth anymore.  The same goes for knitting socks and sweaters.  It's not surprising the trend has gone over to cheaper to produce factory goods for convenience.  It's freed up the average mom a good deal of time in her day to do other things, like cooking, cleaning, and selling on eBay.  Then there's all the working moms and single moms that really don't have the time for leisure activities like knitting, sewing, and quilting.

I know it's easy to blame modern production facilities for the loss of valuable handcrafted goods in this country, but it's more than just that.  Let's face it, how many people really want to sit there for hours piecing together a quilt?  How many people want to be bothered making clothing for their kids when they outgrow them so fast?  How many people really want to knit a constant supply of socks when they know that they'll just have to replace them when feet grow or holes are worn in?  That's not even mentioning how hard it is to keep up with things like sweaters.  Handcrafting goods for a family is a lot of constant work.  Then there's staying on top of fashion trends on top of it all.  Gone are the days when kids aren't judged for wearing their older brother or sister's hand-me-downs.  While at one point that was normal, kids get harassed if it's too clear that their fashion choices are out of date, or that Mommy makes their clothes.  In some communities it's not so bad, but in others it's a real big deal, so I get it.  Handcrafting is no longer necessary, nor is it really practical or fashionable in most cases, or hasn't been.  It's a leisure activity for those who have the time and money to engage in it.

So where does that leave quilting in our modern day?  For a very long time I thought it was a very forgotten thing.  I know my mom got into a quilting craze in the 80s, but I don't know whatever happened to it.  I just remember seeing pieces of green fabrics that would make some kind of star pattern when put together.  However, I haven't known too many people that quilt.  From everything I've heard it was a skill that was fairly limited to wealthy older women who had nothing better to do with their time than make quilts.  It's got a huge reputation as a granny craft by those who aren't involved with the craft.

I have to admit, I've been drawn to quilting for a while.  I've really been too embarrassed to admit it around most of the people I know.  Most of them seem to think quilts are pretty ugly, and in some senses, I'm inclined to agree.  I've always thought quilts were particularly hideous, using garish patterned materials that clashed with each other.  However, it's because of that rather hideous, often clashing nature that they are beautiful.  Sure, a modern eye for fashion and trends say that those quilts clash, aren't fashionable in any way, and have no place in a modern home.  The modern trend towards simplicity or something exotic and imported pulls attention away from something that is so inherently American.  However, those often clashing colors and patterns have their own distinct beauty.  Part of it's the geometry of it all, pieces fit together just so.  Part of it is the bold departure from the modern in piecing together colors and textures that don't "work" in a modern vocabulary.  Mostly it's just the beauty of a traditional craft being used for a traditional reason.  However, most of the friends I've had really don't understand that.

Plus, there's the huge waste of time and resources that can go into quilting.  It's not exactly a cheap hobby, much like my other favored hobby of knitting.  It's incredibly time consuming, which is a huge drawback to many I know.  They'd rather spend their time sitting in front of a computer looking at YouTube videos or chatting with friends than they would engaging in something as detailed as quilting.  Besides, there's also the image that quilting (much like knitting and crocheting until recently) is for grannies, and I'm not even close to being a granny.  In a way, I have to agree.  Quilting would take a good deal of time away from my other hobbies.  It would certainly take away from my knitting time, and I'd really like to get back into embroidery. What can I say?  I'm a woman with a love of hobbies!  Quilting is definitely an expensive one from everything I've heard, even if you make all your own patterns, fabric isn't exactly cheap anymore.  I've looked into it for my grand ideas of making clothing for my own kids.  I don't even know half of what you need to quilt, but I know it takes more than some fabric, some batting, a needle, and thread.  I can definitely see where my friends are coming from on that end of things.

However, yesterday I realized I just might want to get into it.  The wonderful mom teaching Link's global arts class brought two quilts she'd made.  They were beautiful.  It made me realize that I'd really like to make quilts for each of my kids, even if they were never finished until they moved out of the house.  I know my great-grandmother used to quilt, and my mom tried her hand at it, so it would be like preserving a traditional family craft, like knitting.  It would also be a unique gift I could give my children, especially for cool nights.  There's nothing more wonderful than climbing between your sheets with a nice, warm afghan with a quilt laid on top.  That's enough to keep you warm and cozy all night, even in a house as cool and drafty as our own.  Quilts and afghans are much better than store-bough comforters, not just in warmth, but in durability and quality too!  It would be a wonderful gift I could give to my children.

The whole thing struck me as something I should really set my mind to when we got to the art project of the day.  The class (funny enough, a class full of boys!) made quilts by gluing fabric onto cardboard.  Watching the pieces of fabric come together was wonderful.  Just seeing the eye for patterns, colors, and designs these kids had was wonderful!  Link enjoyed it so much that he said he wants to make a "real quilt blanket" some day.  Well, that settles it.  I'm going to have to learn to quilt!  How can I ever help him with his goal to make his own quilt if I never learn to do it myself?  It's the only logical solution.

Maybe this will be the start to inspiring a whole new generation.  True, it seems to only be the homeschool set that gets this wonderful introduction to a rich world of arts and culture, but that's a start.  How many of these kids will go on to inspire others?  To show others that knitting, quilting, and so much more are more than just "granny crafts".  Further, it's a return to rich, heritage crafts that have become a part of our nation's history.  It would be a shame to have these wonderful crafts lost to time because people would rather hop on their computer for social networking sites and empty games than create these beautiful works of art that are not just stunning, but practical and useful too.

Theme for the Year, Useful Gifts

It's that Christmas time of year again.  Everyone is out shopping.  In our family we don't really do much of a gift exchange with the adults.  I usually exchange gifts with my partner, but that's about it.  However, kids are a very different story.

This year we've decided to go for a break from traditional.  I was originally going to hand-make all of my gifts this year, but that ambitious goal turned out to be too ambitious for me.  I figured that would cut down on consumerism, but the truth is I'll still end up buying things to make the present.  It's not like I have a sheep to sheer, then wash the fleece, card it, spin it, knit with the yarn, and some time in the process, dye it with home-made dyes that I grow at my own home.  The consumer process does happen in there, and while home-made gifts are typically the best, I honestly think there should be a some value placed on time.  Right now, it's something I just don't have enough of.

That being said, I wanted our Christmas present theme to be useful items.  Now, I know I'm going to be expecting some toys for family.  No matter what you say, nor how much you beg people not to, there are always going to be people who insist on giving toys to kids.  I've decided I'm not going to fight it.  More importantly, it's good for kids to receive toys for holidays and birthdays.  How else will they end up with new toys as they outgrow the old?

Every year my aunt has always been fantastic with flooding our house with useful things.  She sends us crayons, markers, and pencils.  There's been drawing paper, workbooks, and coloring books.  There's been crafts to decorate with and lots of other stuff to inspire creativity.  She sends books, which are always good to have.  There's so much variety, but I noticed that most of it has been useful, at least for the older two, even with a good number of toys sprinkled throughout.

Because of my aunt's inspiration and looking at my children's insane number of toys, I decided this year it's time for something different.  Last year Santa was a huge hit for bringing games to the whole family.  This year he's planning the same.  They encourage family time, togetherness, and fun.  However, this year our family is focusing on things that can inspire outside interests, and we're going to carry that through birthdays and everything.  It means knowing a lot more about my kids than what a kid of their gender and age would like.  However, it's totally worth it.  This is what makes gifts that wow.

Taking my daughter as an example, we can see what appeals to her quite easily.  Archery would be a good direction to choose.  She loves it.  She's been begging me for her own bow and arrows ever since she shot her first arrow.  She's all about art, always wanting to draw, paint, color, or otherwise create masterpieces.  I want to pick something that will appeal to those interests of hers.

My older son is really into art and music.  He likes to sing and make music on anything he can make noise on.  He loves to draw and paint too.  I want to encourage him in those fields because he needs to have interest in something other than toys.  He's got to start developing his own tastes.  He also loves science, but finding science stuff for his age isn't something I'm particularly good at.

The littlest one is really only into making messes right now, so it's hard to pick things he'd like.  He's good with coloring and seems to like the idea of painting.  Anything he can squish in his fingers is also good, so soft clays may not be a bad choice either.

I'm starting to realize that my kids have very limited interests.  They haven't experienced life as much as I might wish.  They don't really have much of an idea of what they might like to be when they grow up because they haven't experienced enough to know.  My daughter wants to be an artist and my older son wants to be a rock star, but how do they know for sure?  They haven't really had a chance to dabble in other areas of life.  Maybe my older son will always want to be a rock star, or a musician of some kind.  Maybe my daughter will always want to be an artist, but at least I hope I can open up some other options for them so they know for sure.  More importantly, if they do decide to keep those career choices, at the least maybe they'll know what direction within those careers.  Maybe my daughter will decide she wants to be a painter, an illustrator, or a potter.  Perhaps my son will want to grow up to be a classical guitarist or a musician with the orchestra.  We won't know until they get there.  All I can do is take this time to give them as many opportunities to explore as possible, and Christmas is just as good of a chance as anything else.

I feel pretty good about this Christmas.  I feel like I'm finally doing something better than just getting toys and leaving it at that.  I'm hoping that they find it as wonderful of a Christmas as I'm planning it to be.  After all, if I can't get away from consumerism, I might as well use the holiday season as a time to help my kids advance their own goals or find new areas of exploration in life.  There are plenty of people to make sure they have toys.  I know them better than anyone else, so it really should be my job to pick out the things that will inspire them this year.

Arts and Crafts: Sticker Mosaics

Once again we're back to the arts and crafts.  Yesterday's project was something fun, something that was really picked up with my middle child in mind.  Being that he's almost four, it's hard to figure out what kinds of crafts will be fun for him, but not so incredibly messy that I'll have a headache from all the clean up.  Thankfully, the craft store came in handy, and not even something planned, just something my daughter and I happened to stumble upon.

My son had his first real craft project of his own.  It was a sticker mosaic kit for kids just his age.  Each of the mosaic cards had pictures of animals.  I let him pick out his first one and we were off.  These kits are fairly simple.  They have foam stickers in different colors and shapes.  All my son had to do was match up the shape and color outline and place the right sticker on it.  It seems easy enough, right?  But it came with it's own moments of frustration until he got it.  My son's got this great habit of saying "I can't know it" when you ask him something he doesn't feel like telling you.  It meant the early on portion was a little frustrating.

Soon enough he got it and we were off.  He was telling me all the colors and all the shapes like a pro!  Of course, with only three shapes (circle, square, and triangle) it wasn't too much of a challenge, but with all the shapes and colors combined with the ability to put the shape in the right orientation on the right spot, he had a lot going on.  It took him a while to do the first one, but for a kid his age, he virtually sped through it!  It seemed like we were done in no time!  Of course, I know my daughter would have gotten through it faster, but he did pretty good for his age!

Much to my surprise, he turned out to have much more patience than I expected!  As soon as he was done with the first one (he chose the bird), he wanted to jump right in and do the second!  Who am I to resist a kid who's on a roll?  Of course, we got right to it!

Now, I have to admit, jumping right into another one was a bad idea.  Even though he's almost four, he doesn't have infinite patience.  He tends to get bored and a little chaotic.  He doesn't pay the most attention to what he's doing.  As a result, I got a bit frustrated by the time we were a third of the way through and I voted we take a break.  Besides, it was after dinner and getting late.  I figured there was every chance he wasn't going to finish it, but he was rather insistent.  He wanted to do it!  He went and played again and then came back refreshed!  I was a little afraid he'd want to finish them all in one night!  Of course, by the time he was done he needed to get ready for bed, so I managed to luck out on that one.  He had to wait and finish them another day!  Hopefully he'll give it a couple days before he picks it up again because I don't want to run out of things to do!  Those craft kits aren't super expensive, but they can add up quickly when you're blowing through them so fast!  Maybe tomorrow we'll be on to some play-doh or something.

So my daughter wouldn't get left out, I got her one as well, though I'm not so much of a fan of the ones for older kids.  I'd rather get the stuff to make a real mosaic.  Even so, she found the one she considered perfect, a sticker mosaic of a mermaid.  If you feel you may die of shock at the price on Amazon, they were actually much cheaper at the craft store, less than half the price.  The ones they have for the older kids use numbers matched to an image of the stickers on the box.  It's actually a pretty good set-up, so it wasn't too bad.  Most importantly, my daughter loved doing it.  She sat and worked on it with my partner, which she liked even better because he's not often able to be involved in our homeschooling efforts.  She's really big on having everyone involved when we're doing homeschooling, whether it's family, friends, house-mates, guests, or even a friend crashing on our couch for a few days.  It doesn't matter who they are, if they're a part of her life and happen to be around when we're working on something she wants them to be involved.  She particularly likes sitting down and coloring in her coloring book with my partner.  While I was pregnant with the littlest, she and my partner colored pictures for me from her book that they put up on either side of the bed, talk about one loved mama!

Once all the mosaics were finished they each got to put them up in the house.  Since all the kits come with little stick-on hangers, we were able to put them up with no more than a tack.  Originally the plan was that they were going to put them up in their rooms, but that plan went out the window when my son finished his and the baby was sleeping in his room.  He was very determined that his mosaic would go up right away, just like his sister's.  He was so determined that when he finished the bird he found just the right place for it, in our living room next to the door.

I have to admit, I felt a little bad when my daughter saw us hanging up my older son's mosaic.  She poked her head out of her room, where here mosaic was put up prominently in the entry way.  She then asked, "Is his mosaic in the living room and mine's not because his is more awesome than mine?"  We explained to her the situation and why we couldn't put her brother's in his room and she seemed pretty satisfied.  She was extra proud of herself when my partner told her that her brother has a whole bunch of them to put around all over, but she's only got one, which makes it extra special.  Hers was also glittery and has a whole lot more stickers, which makes it extra awesome.  On top of that, it's in just the right spot that everyone who comes in the room can see it just as they walk in.  What better way could she have to show off to all of her friends?  Honestly, what I didn't tell her was that I loved where hers is hanging because I think the beautiful girlish style to it is a perfect accent to her room and maybe we need to think about getting her some more really feminine stuff for her room.  We're not going to paint or anything, so we might as well give her a really pretty decorations in her room to make it feminine in there.  She's growing up fast too, so letting her have a little bit of style to her room, some of her own artwork, and maybe a nice lamp or something will help her room have less of a barren look and prevent it from looking too much like a little kid's room.    As much as I don't want to embrace the idea of her growing up, it's nice to see her growing up and developing her own sense of style.

I have to say, looking at the pictures it almost looks like no one has any fun during craft time at our house!  You always see pictures of families smiling and laughing while doing crafts together.  I've come to realize that's not true, but I understand why they like to portray it that way.  I can't imagine pictures of kids and adults paying rapt attention to what they're doing inspires people to buy their products, even though it's definitely incentive for me!  Something about seeing kids sitting quietly and concentrating seems like an inspiration in itself!  At least they're quiet, busy, and working their whole brain to come up with an end result!  I have to admit, I like seeing that look of attention and concentration on my kids' faces more than I like see them smile, not because I don't like seeing them happy.  I do!  I guess I just can't explain how much joy it brings me to see them doing something they can be so thoroughly involved in.  Their smiles are beautiful, but I find a whole different beauty in seeing them so focused and intent on what they're doing.


So, they now all have their mosaics up, decorating the home.  There's a mermaid in my daughter's room, a kitty in the kitchen, and a bird welcoming our guests to our living room.  It's nice to have their artwork displayed.  It's nice to be able to show off some of what they've done.  I never imagined enjoying that kind of art up on my walls, but here I am!  I can't wait to have more all over the house!  My son has three more mosaics to do.  Then we've got a set of magnets for them to paint.  Those will likely go up on the refrigerator.  The link isn't for the exact product, but we got a generic craft store brand  I got some stained glass window hanging projects for them to do and put up in the windows.  This isn't the same set, but they're the same kind of fill and bake kind of set, same brand too.  Ours are just singles as supposed to sets and were exceedingly cheap at the craft store.  We ended up picking up one of each.  It's going to be a challenge with an almost four-year-old in the mix, but I think we can handle it!  My windows need decorating!  I'm really looking forward to all the various arts and crafts projects I can get going around here.  There are so many options!  I think once we're a bit more settled and my daughter has some privacy in her room we might have to work on some things she can make to decorate her room!  I'm getting excited already!

Arts and Crafts: Plastic Loom

When I was little I had one of those plastic weaving looms.  I loved that thing.  I remember it came with conveniently bright neon loops to make things with called Hot Loops, perfectly adapted for the 80s when I got it.  I made more things than I could count with that silly little loom!

My daughter has had one for a while now, but she never wanted to use it.  I told her how it worked and she always said, "That's a lot of work.  Let's do it after I play some more."  She was just never interested.  I have to admit, several times I thought about giving it away.  I was getting pretty sick of toting it around with me everywhere.  It was one more piece of clutter that would never get used.  However, I hung on to it, figuring if my daughter was never interested, perhaps one of the boys would some day think it's fun.

While I was digging through one of our boxes trying to unpack and organize, I found the box for the loom.  Irritated that I didn't have any loops for it, I tossed it aside.  Later I found a bag of the loops and went digging around for the loom.  I was about to give up when I saw the box with the loom sitting tossed off in the corner.  I pulled it out and called my daughter.  We'd give it another try.  What's the worst that could happen?  The loom gets tossed in a box again and forgotten for a while?

My daughter put the first row of loops on without a problem.  It went together quickly and she was quite happy with the way it had looked.  She was working in a pattern because she thought it would be fun.  She chose the colors she liked best with the full intention of making the whole thing in some elaborate pattern.  I had never been able to get her to so much as sit down before, so I was thrilled that we could sit down and work on a craft for once!

After she got the first direction of loops on came the challenging part.  The loops we had were really tight, so she had a hard time weaving them through then getting them on.  As she got further along, the loops she put on first started to pop off and she got quite frustrated.  I eventually had to finish it up for her because it was driving her too crazy.  However, next time we're going to work from both ends towards the middle and I think that will be much easier.  I had to weave the border on it because they were just too incredibly tight for her to work with.  I was having a hard time with them!

Somehow I remember when I was younger this whole thing was a lot easier.  Perhaps it's just the batch of loops we got that were really tight.  It's entirely possible that another batch would yield loops that stretched more and were easier to work with.  I just couldn't remember having quite so many challenges with making pot holders when I was a kid!

However, the box had some great ideas!  It shows the edges stitched together to make blankets and purses.  The ideas they suggested were really fantastic!  Of course, right now we need pot holders the most, and I don't think my daughter would have the patience to weave a purse right now.  Actually, she thought making a pot holder would be great.  She gave it to my partner because she didn't get him anything for Christmas and he had been complaining that we didn't have a pot holder earlier when he tried to pull a cookie sheet from the oven.  He ended up using a kitchen towel instead.  My daughter was so proud of herself and her creation.  She's asked me to get some more loops for her so she can make more pot holders!  "We need some more for the kitchen," she says, "and for the play kitchen too.  Maybe I can use them for blankets and rugs for my dolls too!"

It's taken her a while, but I'm so glad my daughter has finally decided that using her little loom is actually fun!  When they boys get older I may need to pick up another loom or two so that we've got enough for everyone to have their own.  I know I used mine until I was in high school when it soon was replaced with art and jewelry making.  I don't want there to be any fights over who gets to use the loom next!

This whole experience is one more that I find incredibly valuable.  Children need to experience the act of making something for themselves.  It's especially beneficial when something they make is something they can use in their own home.  It teaches children to view things differently in our take-and-toss culture.  It's a lot harder to give up on something you bought at a store than something you made yourself.  Where a store bought potholder might get tossed when it starts to look like it's seen better days, a handmade one will generally keep on being used as long as it still remains useful.  Better care is also often taken of handmade goods, since they hold some special value.  It also teaches children that if they want or need something, maybe they can save a bit of money and get some entertainment out of the deal by making it!

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.