Multi-Tasking Crafters

I am almost ashamed to say I do handcrafts. I do so little compared to what women did in the early part of the last century. That sounds really ancient. But I was born in 1939, and remember all the things that were around me, handmade by my mother and other relatives and family friends. Most of those ladies did not do just one craft. I merely crochet. Mostly.

My mother could take one of Dad’s old coats, rip the seams, and re-make it into a jacket for my younger brother. She could make a huge lacey tablecloth, afghans, and even ornate decorations for high-heel pumps that everyone wore in the 1940s. She could knit like a machine. She embroidered. She set stones in rhinestone jewelry for food money. And she did it all with flair and skill.

I have a friend who has worked quite a while at Michaels, demonstrating their products. She has learned each craft along the way. She crochets wonderfully. She does everything wonderfully. She beads. She made me beaded eyeglass holders that hand around my neck.

I’d better stop. I am making myself feel inadequate. Still, it was because I saw all of this around me, when I was growing up, that I learned the few things I do today. Even if I cannot do all that she did, my mother’s legacy was passed down to me to some extent. And because of what I see Cindy do, I get courage to occasionally try other crafts. Thanks, ladies!