When I was in junior school I learned to knit, sew and do cross stitch. My hand sewing wasn't very good but I excelled at knitting and could knit an Aran jumper with the best of them. Then when my children were babies (in the 1970's) we had very little money so I used to knit baby clothes then jumpers for the kids and jumpers for us too, for that matter. I sewed a little (badly!), did a bit of cross stitch for a hobby and repaired socks to make the money stretch. As the years went by, handmade went out of favour. It was cheaper to buy knitted garments than to make your own so I stopped doing it and jumped on the bandwagon of shop bought mass- produced clothing. I really missed my hand knitting but the kids no longer wanted 'mummy made it' clothes. Only now that I am in my 6th decade has handmade made a big comeback. I have rediscovered my make-it-yourself Mojo! Hurray!
I make cards, have rediscovered the pleasure of knitting, have bought myself a cheap sewing machine and am trying so many techniques that it's exciting once again. Last night I watched a Kirsty Allsop programme for a Handmade Christmas and really felt in the true Christmas spirit. It's all about families, isn't it. I refuse to be sucked in by the commercialism. Yes, I enjoy the ads on TV, the food fest ads, the technology ads...but that's all I do...watch and enjoy. There is nothing I need. I refuse to be a 'Bah Humbug' kind of person though. Everyone wants their own kind of Christmas and good luck to them if they can afford to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on it. Notice I said " if they can afford to spend..." In my view it is pointless to spend so much that you are paying it back over the next 12 months. I only spend what I have saved and budgeted for and yet we still have a wonderful family Christmas. It can be done on a budget. I look to blogland for cooking inspiration, cheerful makes, patchwork tutorials and I have found it all :)
Did anyone else abandon handmade until recently? What do you like making best of all? I would love to know...
My Small Treasure for today is all the wonderful people who are happy to share their time, tips and inspiration with anyone who cares to look for it. Bless you all x
Advent Gift day # 19
1.5l of Comfort pure was on offer at £2 in Morrisons so I bought an extra bottle and gave it to DD to help out with her budget.
Thanks so much for popping in x
I would be hard pressed to decide what I liked making most, I usually have sewing and yarn on the go. If I had to pick one thing out of necessity it would be sewing, mainly because I can do that on a very tight budget. I picked up 3 wool skirts for £1 each today, I will get a cushion cover and a bag out of each and will have a button and a zip to use on something else, and there will be scrappy bits for small items.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very talented machinist, Pam, well done on the bargain skirts.
DeleteI used to knit for my children when they were little and like you, hand made went out of fashion then Grandchildren came along and a Daughter in law who loves hand knitted items for the little ones - I knitted an aran hoodie for my Grandson for last Christmas and he has finally grown into it - he wore it recently and my Daughter in law was asked by 2 different people where she'd brought it - she took pleasure in telling them that Nanny had knitted it for him. I would love to learn how to quilt properly.....perhaps I'll learn next year xx
ReplyDeleteI think hand knits are great. I'm sure your Grandson will get a lot of wear from his hoodie, Trudie. Like you I am a novice quilter and would love to become better at it! A new year resolution to learn, perhaps? :) xx
DeleteDecades ago when my children were small, I knitted six Aran sweaters in a year - adult and child sizes - which put me off knitting for the next quarter century. However, in recent years I've made jewellery, upcycled T shirts into knitted bathmats, made knitted and crochet throws, and made patchwork items mostly from old shirts. I'm also a keen photographer and make my own greetings cards from selected pix.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, jewellery making is something else I would like to try! My photography skills are very limited but I have toyed with the idea of making cards from nature shots too. Thanks so much for your comment, I will nip over and see if you have a blog :)
DeleteI too have re discovered making things , I have always used my cooking skills but like you i did sew years ago made a few dresses for my daughter , plain but practical but i did not have much patience with knitting , I still dont but am going to try crochet over the christmas holiday merry christmas and a happy new year xxx
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