Sep 042012
Are you from a crafting family?
I am. My parents were from the “make do and mend” generation. My mother especially enjoyed sewing clothes but, as she pointed out, even in the 1950s and 60s sewing was still a requirement for most things.
My father had some formal schooling but he trained as a cobbler as a young boy. He sold his shoe repair business to work a factory but he still enjoyed working with his hands, especially on model trains.
Mom taught me the basics of crocheting and knitting. She taught my sisters too.
The 1980s weren’t kind.
Did any family member teach you to craft?
7 Responses to “The Family that Knits Together…”
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My grandmother taught me all the needlecrafts (crochet, knitting, sewing, and embroidery) but really only the crochet stuck. She actually went to a special trade school/vocational program during the Depression for needlecrafts, so she was truly a pro. My mom inherited the sewing gene from her, and is a very amazing seamstress. She’s going to teach me to sew clothes, which has always scared me to death, even though I’ve made quilts.
My grandmother tried to teach me when I was eight to knit, starting off with the purl stitch. It didn’t go well. When I picked up my needles again as an adult, she remains one of my knitting inspirations.
One of my grandmothers was a knitter/crocheter, and my other grandma is a crocheter and seamstress, but neither of them taught me(I had to learn on my own), since knitting and crocheting are still considered a feminine activity around here…
My mother is self-proclaimed not crafty, can’t sew except to hem pants, claims she’s not creative, blah blah. But when she was a stay at home mom, she took up underwater basket weaving, which most people only know as a punchline. It was awesome, but after our house filled up with baskets she stopped. I was probably only 7, but she helped me make a small basket once.
I’d like to teach her to knit if she was interested!
That’s me in the photo rocking my Molly Ringwald/Princess Diana do because I was punky, yet sophisticated. This photo is pre-Vanessa since the chair isn’t slipcovered in clear plastic. The call to the plastic slipcover upholsterer came after the call to the obstetrician. I knit then like I do now, rows and rows of nothing!
my family members didn’t teach me how to craft, but they certainly came out of the woodwork when they discovered my new interest in knitting at 13.
my grandmother enjoys crochet and cross stitch, and a few aunts and mothers in laws had their own knitting or spinning interests too. i always wonder what surprises are in store for friends who ask me to teach them to knit, maybe a family member of theirs would be happy to find something like that out about them as well!
Love how your ohana crafts.
My mum’s tried to teach me how to sew, but I wouldn’t remember how to since my office’s the room I avoid organizing at the moment and the ol’ Singer table is filled with crap.
I learned knitting at a LYS to keep me sane from the koala baby I had to carry around all the time.