Re: Bi-Centennial

In article , MakeDoMom writes

I started making soap in Y2K, but only because my sister gave me a book about it for Christmas.

My mom and I had Colonial ladies costumes made. I cannot remember why - we weren't going to be in a parade or anything! We ended up in Scotland - my cousin got married on July 10. So we never wore our costumes! Just as well - they would have been hot as blazes!

My DH collected a bunch of Bicentennial souvenirs, and still has them. He wasn't my DH then - we were both 13!

I did the raising goats and chicken, and back to the land thing. I wasnt very good at it, in other words, I could not have survived by my own hand but I did enjoy what I learned to do. It wasnt the Bicentenial that started it tho. This back to the land movement had its roots in the hippy days. Communes, breaking away from the *establishment*, it was all what sparked this new interest in old ways. That was part of what inspired me to make quilts, it did seem to be one area I where doing it right or wrong wouldnt mean the difference between eatting and starving! Diana

I was interested in it then, but I didn't do anything about it until later. I was busy sewing baby/girls' clothes, as well as my own and didn't know where to find information about quilting in my small town. In the early 80's my aunt sent me my first quilting book (a Michael James book -- not for the average beginner!). It took me until 1985 and a Georgia Bonesteel series on PBS for me to scrunch up my courage and begin quilting; that's when I learned that you didn't really *have* to have a large quilting frame in order to quilt! I've been at it ever since....

I started in '73 when a magazine (Family Circle?) featured a quilt-as-you go pattern I thought I might actually be able to quilt. No 100% cottons, quilt stores or even magazines then. I never did finish that quilt, though I "made it" about three times.

I confess I was intrigued by the back-to-the-land movement, prior to the bicentennial--remember The Last Whole Earth Catalog?, and spent a truly catastrophic year on a little farm in N. Central Texas in the 70s.

Jeeze, John, you had to remind us, didn't you?

Are you sure you're not thinking of the Centennial?

Oh my, does that bring back memories.. The last Whole Earth Catalog, did anyone but me read the story on the left hand side of the left hand pages? What were their names, Estelle and.... .. hmmm... What a great resource that was, before we had the net. I had a copy until a few years ago.. I wonder where it went off to...hmmmm.. Diana

I keep hearing the same thing---crediting the BiCentennial with the renewed interest in quilting. I disagree. I think the rotary cutter and timesaving methods are what has brought most people into quilting. I had pieced a little before 1980 but once I tried a rotary cutter I was hooked.

I still have the orig>Who started quilting because of the Bi-Centennial and all the surrounding

Tagging along here.

I was introduced to quilting in 1977. We made a quilt as a class in Home Ec out of our project scraps. The teacher taught us a block pattern and for each block we made we got to put our names in a hat. After it was tied and bound (backing flipped to front and slip stitched in place) we had a drawing.

I do remember health food stores popping up and the neighbor lady making homemade yogurt. Some of our neighbors had goats and chickens. My mom took a class and declaired her family would never eat store bought bread again. Thankfully, that didn't last long as her sandwich bread was horrible! Lots of canning too....we ate many jars of canned green pears

- dunno why the ladies put food coloring in but it was odd looking. Tasted good though. We also started going berry picking every summer and making jam, pancake syrup and also freezing some. Mom also got into drying fruits, and fruit leathers and made homemade jerky (wonderful) and salami (not wonderful). I suppose those sorts of things count as "back to nature".

I agree that the interest in quilting pre-dates the rotary cutter. That came along because there was a market for such a thing, not the other way around.

How lucky we are to have such great tools and such an amazing array of fabrics to choose from now. I remember going to the store and there being one lonely row of calicoes in icky colors and that was it for 100% cotton. Now, it's hard to choose there are so many. And new fabrics, books and gadgets are appearing all the time. Lucky Us!

marcella

I was way too young to quilt then. P.S. Where do you live?

quilt-as-you

Far enough away to avoid being chased by an angry Ruth! Oh, wait. No, got one of those here, too. :-)

Howdy! oooooooooo! You are feeling frisky, aren't you? Passing the pain along to the rest of us with that pun!

and I always thought you were Ruthless! Di

I guess I am! And just a few days ago I protested the Red Queens pun. I suppose I should flog myself? LOL Diana