Article about needlework etc

Thank you, that was fun!

It was very interesting, I believe the trend ebbs and flows but think needlework will always be there in one form or another, why not, it's been there since before time.

I thought this passage was true too

The sculptor Kate Just first picked up a pair of knitting needles at

26 and from her first scarf she was hooked. "Children of today are raised in a consumer-focused environment and then as adults they can't sew or cook or make things," she says. "They feel a loss so they seek out those skills-based experiences to feel a sense of self-reliance and ability."

That's not to say all, but it is true of many.

Needlecrafters are old ladies!!! grannies!!!! Are any of the stitched nudes online?

> harrumph!!! Needlecrafters are old ladies!!! grannies!!!!>

Fun to read but I have to agree with Anne. I think some of the smartest, hippest and most innovative young people on the planet appear here.

Grannies, old ladies indeed *)^*(()!@@#@

> harrumph!!! Needlecrafters are old ladies!!! grannies!!!!>

My sentiments exactly, Anne.

Dianne

Where's Jim when you need him?

C

If you want stitched nudes, just ask our own Jim -- he has done some exquisitely beautiful nudes. As for the grannies -- I don't think you were posting last time we had this "set-to" about grannies and needlework. The person who wrote that article said something similar but mentioned grannies knitting doilies and swans -- it was highly insulting to say the least. IIRc, it was Trish who ended up taking a pic of her head swathed in just that -- a doily with a swan and a pineapple pinned to it :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I am here. Try

Jim.

"Karen C in California" wrote >

I think there are people in every generation who are raised to be self-sufficient, and those who aren't. I couldn't cook when I married the first time--but I could read, and if you can read, you can cook. 3 of my Dad's 4 sisters had no domestic skills either--never learned, because they were training to be teachers and nurses.

Dawne

When we see young (and not-so-young) mothers with a couple of children in tow who fill their supermarket trolley with ready-prepared food (burgers etc) and tinned produce Maureen often comments that with what they spent they could buy a couple of joints of meat and some fresh vegetables and, for the cost of an hour or two in preparation, give their family several decent, much healthier and tastier meals.

I reckon it skips generations. My grandmother was a sickly person who seemed to have the vapours most of the time. Hence, my Mum was brought up to do *everything* around the house. Then she, in her turn, brought us up to 'get out of my way' and give her space to do all the things that wanted doing. We never lifted a finger as kids! I remember Ugly and me begging to be allowed to wash the dishes because all our school friends did and we simply didn't know how! We asked to be given chores, but were told it was just quicker if Mum did the stuff and we kept out of the way. Sigh.

When I hit college, I had no idea how to wash my own clothes, iron or basically do anything for myself. I learned pretty quickly, though. As you say, Dawne, if you can read, you can do anything. My motto has always been 'give me an instruction manual and I can move the world!' LOL! Ugly and I both learned to cook after marriage and I must say, we're both pretty good at it. Ugly has a floor fetish (she sweeps compulsively) while mine is for a clean kitchen sink. Ugly's Big Learning Experience was the day she found out that you don't melt butter by putting it in a hot oven in a plastic cup. Mine was the time I discovered that you need to check inside the fresh chicken before cooking it. The plastic bag containing the giblets imparts a somewhat odious flavour to the meat when left in situ!

Then again, Mum hasn't got a creative bone in her body and it was my grandmother who taught me to knit, crochet and sew. Mum never picked up any of those skills (although she enjoys plain knitting now and then) and it's I who make things for her, not the other way around. Funny, that. Ugly takes directly after Mum in that she's not into making or decorating or embellishing things in any way at all. However, like Mum, she's a workaholic and is the most indefatigable person I know. Wish I had a bit of her indefatigue!

Dad, on the other hand, spent long hours teaching me stuff when I was little. He taught me all about carpentry and power tools and how to mend and build things. This came in *so* useful as I grew up and to this day, I thank Dad for giving me useful stuff like the correct way to handle a hammer and how to grind a good edge on a burred screwdriver.

It's funny how often I find myself telling young parents to *teach* their kids what they (themselves) know. Often, in the flurry of homemaking and coping with mortgages, we forget to give of ourselves in the ways that really stick.

YES! My two favourite soapboxes are macaroni cheese and pikelets ('pikelets' is Oz for small, single-bite pancakes).

My nieces will pay $$$ for vile, disgusting frozen macaroni cheese and/or preservative-laden boxed pikelet mix. They say 'I don't have the time to cook like you do, Aunt!'

Pppppbbbblllffftttt!

It takes twenty five minutes to heat the frozen gloop they call macca and cheese, while I can whip up a scrumptious batch from scratch in exactly ten! (NB. I cook my pasta in the microwave while the cheese sauce bubbles on the stovetop) Bit o' flour, butter, milk, cheese and bob'syeruncle!

Rather than pay three or four dollars for packaged pikelet gloop, it's just as simple to chuck a cup of flour, an egg, some sugar and some milk in a jug and mix! What's so hard about that???

The one that bugs me is to see that mother/father with a carton of potato salad, the price of ready-made salad is about 10lbs of spuds and a jar of mayo and whatever else one likes to add to it.

The latest "Oh no!" item in the freezer of our local shop is - I kid you not - "Aunt Bessie's frozen mashed potato". I must admit that "Aunt Bessie's frozen oven chips" are quite nice for an occasional treat but frozen mash, I ask you!

I have several friends who claim to "cook from scratch". This involves opening cans, jars and boxes of stuff. The packaged ingredients are added to a real chunk of meat so that makes it a bit better. I've often asked "Why not buy fresh veggies or gravy, etc. to cook with the meat"? The response is that it's quicker to use the stuff in a can.... We won't even talk about the way baking is done!!! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Thinking he was helping, my husband once bought frozen mashed - ick, yuck, disgusting.

And do you know there is frozen cooked rice out there? Or steamer bowls of it in the health food section? Takes what - 15 minutes to cook white rice. Ok the brown stuff does take longer, but still folks...it will take 15 minutes to nuke the rice

That's even less of a value than the pre-made potato salad.

My youngest sister never ever exhibited any interest in cooking. When she was single and living in the City (aka Manhattan), she'd stop at a pizzeria for a slice or some other place with take away food on her way home from work. Now living in NJ with her kids and husband, she buys a lot of chicken fingers (breaded sliced chicken) and similar ideas at Costco or her husband cooks.

Her rationale: she has better things to do than be in the kitchen.

Her better things mainly consist of shepherding the aforementioned kids to a thousand and one school, sports, and social activities.

They're getting a bit old for play dates ... when did going outside to play with kids in the neighborhood get replaced by 'if Joanie can play with Suzie on Tuesday, then Suzie can come over next Thursday.'

I wonder??? 10 lbs. of potatoes is probably about $4 to $5. I buy one at a time for baking so I'm not sure! A jar of mayonnaise here is around $3. Now how does one figure in the time it takes to peel all those potatoes, cook them, dry them and add all the ingredients necessary to give it a really good taste?

Given the fact that so many families are made up of people who work full time and don't get home until 6 or 7 p.m., how can you figure the real cost of 10 lbs. of potato salad?

I'm not advocating using prepared or fast food or saying that mothers must stay home and take care of home and hearth. That's a whole other discussion.

Just thinking about it.

Sounds like me and house work.... LOL

Well - I do do that

Don't get me started on that one. Sadly there is no one DD's age in the immediate neighborhood and the one girl that is close by and close to her age is home schooled and their family schedule makes mine look like a walk in the park. (piano, Bible Study and CCD, sports, dance times 4).