Crafty heritage?

[mirz]

Also posted at Glitter and getcrafty.

I'm working on my thesis, and from time to time I have questions about things. Now I would like to ask about your crafty heritage. Please bear with me.

Traditions:

• Have your parents, grandparents etc. shared spiritual heritage with you?

(Taught you basic things like mending clothes, washing different kind of laundry, wisdom you need the most in your life. What kind of things have you been learning?)

• Have they taught you some special crafty skills?
• Have you on your behalf taught someone else, like your child, friend etc.?
• Does your family have traditions when talking about crafts?
• Does your family and friend have tendency to get together?

(If so, to do what?)
[/list]

Please feel free to discuss about this thing.

I have lately talked about this heritage thing with my mother, and we are now going to transfer some wisdom from mother to daughter. Our society doesn't necessarily need me to know how to make apple jam, but this is one of those things my mother is going to teach me.

I feel that it is very important to learn things from your parents and grandparents etc. It bonds generations and family. Of course I have learned things before, but know I really know what I am learning. I'm not only improving my kitchen etc. skills, I'm part of long line.

My family doesn't have tendency of getting together, unless it's someone birthday or something like that. We don't have shared "making food" moments or anything like that. It would be nice though. Our specialities definitely are in kitchen, and probably I have unnoticeably been part of those special moments when something important was shared.

But enough about me, what about your heritage?

[Shawnkyr]

My grandmother did teach me very basic crochet and knit stitches when I was about 10 (we didn't live close to each other, so I was on my own after one afternoon's worth of instruction).  I crocheted off and on (mostly off) for the next several years.  A few years ago, I got a book and taught myself a lot more about crochet and knitting, and now I go to a local Stitch N' Bitch.  Interestingly, the grandmother who taught me did not start crocheting until she was in her 60s.
I do have crochet hooks and small pieces of work done by one of my great-grandmothers, and I do feel that I am part of a continuing tradition.  My family doesn't get together much, and in any case I am the only one out of both my generation and the generation before mine who learned to knit and/or crochet (I also sew a bit and tat a very little), and since my grandmother doesn't crochet anymore, I'm the only one in the whole family that does now.  This means, of course, that the task of making all the baby blankets falls to me. 

[tisramay]

I am new to Craftster and have been taking it all in the past few days.  Bear with my lack of posting finesse, I haven't yet figured out how to quote you and then reply.  So, here are your questions with my responses in italics.  I hope my rambling is of help.  Your topic is very interesting and I'll be interested to read other responses.

Have your parents, grandparents etc. shared spiritual heritage with you?
(Taught you basic things like mending clothes, washing different kind of laundry, wisdom you need the most in your life. What kind of things have you been learning?)

I have a very small and very spread out family.  Growing up, it was just my parents and my brother with one set of grandparents oceans away in England (we were in Southern California).  Some of the natural sharing and teaching, I believe, is more rampant in larger families.  I have a friend who grew up in a huge Mennonite family where quilting, canning, farming etc. were not only taught but were a way of life and at activities of family gatherings.  All of that said, I had my mother and father teaching me manners, right from wrong, and a general "spiritual sense".  As an adult, I am a Christian and I realize that their vague God talk was at least prepping my mind and heart for something more structured down the road.  As far as teaching life skills, my mother was unfortuately a "mother hen" who did nearly everything.  I really didn't know how to cook, clean, or do laundry without supervision until moving out.

Have they taught you some special crafty skills?

My mother dabbled in everything and had an extremely artsy personality.  She painted, made pottery, did jewelry making, knitting, sewing, leather tooling and some other random crafts.  Being around that type of atmosphere, I tried it all too, although mostly for fun and without formal instruction.  I was shown how to sew at a young age in a more formal sit-down manner, though I wasn't extremely interested then.  My grandmother taught me knitting basics and my mother encouraged those skills upon our return from England, but I never successfully made anything.  Mom died 4 years ago from breast cancer, so I am extremely thankful for the creative "seeds" she planted (and I treasure her battered cookbooks, recipe cards, and many of the porcelain bowls she made).  Though I may not have been overly receptive growing up, creativity now flows through my veins and I am an "art dabbler" too.  Much of the desire to make/create erupted upon getting married and having children.  Maybe for cost cutting reasons (sewing?) or maybe because now that I stay-at-home with the kids I enjoy the mental excercise of designing/creating/making and it is something I can involve them in.  I think my mother would be proud (I wish she could see it all).  These past four years I have become a furious sewer, done murals, I am actually a good cook, I have experiemented with watercolor and linocut, and am partially through with my first knitted sweater.  One might wonder whether her absence has fueled my desire to do all of these things.

Have you on your behalf taught someone else, like your child, friend etc.?

Some friends and I have a women's night a few times a month where we eat and create.  I have taught a few friends how to sew or read a pattern.  One woman brought her daughter and I taught her to make a pillow.  My children are still quite young (4, 1.5, and "in the oven"), but I will surely teach them as they grow older.

Does your family have traditions when talking about crafts?

Now that my immediate family is all men, the craft conversations are few and far between.  Okay, mostly they consist of me sharing what *I* have done and my dad telling me how proud he is of me.  But when I have the chance to get to England, my grandmother and I hit it off like crazy and share all sorts of things like this.  In March, when I visited her last, I made sure that she gave me a tutorial on how to make her famous marzipan covered Christmas cake...we wrote out all the instructions and my husband took some video footage.  I'll never forget it.  And while my own family is lacking a bit, I have embraced the wonderful family of my husband.  My mother-in-law is a tremendous cook and we call each other often to share tips/techniques.  His two sisters are budding crafters, we share mostly home decorating ideas.

Does your family and friend have tendency to get together?
(If so, to do what?)

No family in town, but plenty of friends that we share meals with, go picnicing with, watch movies with, and play board games with.  My girlfriends and I tend to do the crafty things together on our girl nights when husbands stay at home with the kids or during the day while the kids all play together.

[amyjustamy]

Have your parents, grandparents etc. shared spiritual heritage with you?
(Taught you basic things like mending clothes, washing different kind of laundry, wisdom you need the most in your life. What kind of things have you been learning?)

My grandmother -- an actual artist, not just a crafty lady who made the standard baby booties and homemade pickles-- taught me a few crochet stitches and a bit about sewing, but more importantly she taught me that the world is colourful, textured and beautiful, and that it is a joy to try to recapture some of that in things we create.

Have they taught you some special crafty skills?

She taught me not only to see things as they are, but also in terms of colour and texture and design.  That is, she wouldn't see a floral pattern as just a floral pattern, but as a series of colors and textures interacting to create a feeling.

Have you on your behalf taught someone else, like your child, friend etc.?

I  have a four year old, and yes, she crafts, or tries to.  More glue gets on the dog than on the paper, usually, but I guess thats the only way she can get the glitter to stick to the dog.  I have taught friends some basic crochet, but mainly I use my craftiness to make someone's day better-- little surprise gifts and such.

Does your family have traditions when talking about crafts?

Everyone(my  grandmother, mother and sister, etc) gets excited when there is something new and nifty created.  Even my husband gets into it, and wants to know how it's made, how long it took, and of course how much it cost.  Nothing better than making something great/ recycling something with only a few bucks!



Does your family and friend have tendency to get together?
(If so, to do what?)

Family gets together over holidays sometimes.  We aren't geographically close (for example, I'm in the southeast US, my family is in Canada, and the extended family is in Europe) but we contact each other a lot... and yes, a lot of it is craft related.  I have been known to call my grandmother at 39 cents a minute just to ask her how exactly one makes a picot edging, and what color would look the best with the fabric I'm using.

The crafts we make tend to go with tradiations-- for example, every year the Christmas tree gets trimmed with the ornaments that my sister and I made throughout the years, and we always end up doing "Remember when?".  Crafts sort of connect us to our pasts, being beautiful in appearance and in sentiment all at once.