Monday, April 7, 2008
The Hanks Question of the Week
I was having an interesting conversation with a couple of customers the other night, and that conversation leads us to the Question of the Week. What do you think is the cause of this resurgence in fiber crafts? Do you have a definite opinion of "it is this reason for all people" or do you think that different people are drawn to it for different reasons? Discuss!
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6 comments:
I think different people came to it for different reasons. In my case, when I was a kid my babysitter taught me how to tie friendship bracelets with embroidery floss, which led to playing with cross-stitch, which eventually led me to beg my mom to teach me to crochet, which eventually let me to learn to knit from a friend and the internets. Now, I'm trying to learn to quilt and get better with sewing. My mom has always been crafty, and I sort of learned it from her through osmosis.
" i need to make" is hard wired into all of us monkeys. now a days it's been enhanced by the luxury of " i want to make"
i want to make lace that floats in the slightest breeze and i can.
ain't life wonderful?
marie
In general terms, I think some of it has to do with the value that is placed on handmade items in today's society. Figure in the strong arts influences and you've got a boom in the crafty. For knitting/crocheting, I think much of it has to do with the portability of the items in progress. Folks don't generally sit back and relax enough. They prefer to stay busy and not "waste time". Not all folks, surely, but enough.
I got into knitting for none of those reasons, lol! My mother and her sisters have always been crafty sorts. My brothers have artistic leanings. I had none of that. When I saw someone knitting, I figured THAT was something I could do. Something that would be appreciated in my family. Which it is, thankfully!
Now, though, I keep knitting because it is my way of passing time. Sure, I have things I love to make. (SOCKS!) But I generally only knit at work while I am waiting for something to do. *shrugs* What else ya gonna do in doctor's offices? :D
I think all of these things are true! I can say that I personally felt a bit of peer pressure to knit. Not like, 'Oh Sharon. You'll just never be cool until you start knitting.' But more like, 'Wow. Lorena is making these cool things, *and* she has something to do besides eat pizza while watching Homicide. Maybe I'll give that a shot someday!' And I did, and it stuck. So if I taught two friends, and they taught two friends, and so on, and so on, then a trend has been created.
I've tried various crafty things before, but I learned to crochet because I was looking for a social outlet when I was new in town. Crocheting (and then knitting) is the only crafty hobby I've had that has stuck, I think because it meets both social and creative needs. I think people are finding they get a lot of satisfaction from this combination.
Fidgeting. I think folks fidget more because they have less physically demanding jobs. Knitting, those other fiber gigs, all socially acceptable fidgeting
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