Yesterday, as I was doing my odds and ends type chores and settling back into my routine while Hubs was at work, I spent a great deal of time in the silence. Just thinking. I've just become aware of the terms cottage core and granny core in the past few months. I am not really up to date on many things, but these two sort of humored me. A lot!
I guess I have been on the "cutting edge" for a really long time and simply didn't know it. My social media is filled with people wanting to hone their granny skills. Wanting to remember and relearn the things that have intentionally been forgotten. I always just assumed I was born in the wrong era or that I am simply just plain strange. I have fought hard my whole life to keep the skills that others are chasing. Who knew? I mean does that mean my eccentricities are back in style? Does it mean that polyester and leisure suits aren't far behind? Goodness I hope not! I am praying that the desire to return to reality is just that a return.
I am finding it a touch easier to access so many of the things that I never left.
Modest clothing, and cotton, linen and wool fabrics are just a start. I mean they are still crazy cost prohibitive, but lets be real do we really want or need disposable fast fashion and all the stuff that fills our closets and homes? I have clothing I bought when my son was born. He will soon be 35, I still wear my favorite sweater a couple times a month. When I bought that beautiful cotton sweater I almost died at the price, I still remember the slight knot in my throat as I paid $35 dollars for it. Can you imagine the cost today? Yet here I am still wearing it, it's been mended a few times, I've had to sharpening my skill sets to learn how to mend knitwear so that it is invisible (mostly - I wasn't that good at it in the early days), but I think $1 a year is a fair investment at this point in time.
 |
| Meet Gertrude my 1950 301a |
I smile at the questions posed on many of the sewing groups I follow. People longing to know the best machine they can buy for the craft that they are wanting to pursue. I feel a profound sadness, in that I used to be one of the people longing for all the technology and doodads on my machines. Feeling it would somehow make the things I created better, fancier. It didn't. The machines I used the most are older than my sweet Hubs, and he is almost 74. I create quilts, home goods, doll clothing, bedding, bags, etc on machines that I can personally disassemble, repair, and rebuild. There are no fancy stitches, they are not computerized. They stitch. Oh I still have my fancy machine - although it is now almost 25 years old, it's tucked away under my sewing table, I rarely pull it out anymore. In fact, I am probably only holding on to it for nostalgia's sake, I saved a long while to purchase that machine for myself and it was the fanciest and best I had ever owned.
 |
| My sweet 221 also 1950 - meet Mildred |
I now own a total of 19 machines and only two of them are under 50 years old. Crazy isn't it. If you are looking to hone your granny core or cottage core skill sets, I strongly recommend buying one of the classics. The ones that have stood the test of time and still make a strong beautiful stitch. If you need help finding one or fixing it, let me know. I love to share that kind of knowledge. I do believe that I will start getting a few of them ready for new homes this year. Trial and error has taught me which ones I am extremely partial to and which ones I feel comfortable loving and passing off to someone else to cherish. I am also considering offering sewing classes on my beautiful classic collection.
 |
| one I may part with after I service it |
Who knew so many people were missing out on the joy of creating the items for their homes. Removing home ec (which by the way I despised) was a huge disservice to our younger generations. The inability to create for, provide for, and sustain your own home and family has created a void. So many people have lost their independence in a basic way, they are easier to control, manipulate and in my opinion steal from.
The things we spend our hard earned dollars on are not often in our best interests. They are in the best interests of the people benefitting off of our labor and our dollars. But I digress.
I am loving watching the return to actual cooking. There was a time that going out to dinner was a treat. Something that felt like a reward, a pure joy. Now it is all bland, finding amazing doesn't happen often and then dealing with the after effects of a meal that you have no idea what was actually in it... mind blowing.
Hubs and I spent a good part of last year educating ourselves on what is actually in our food. We both were starting to have some health problems that we wanted to nip in the bud, so to speak. It takes us hours to grocery shop now, as we read all of the labels, searching for real food. Each time I am thankful that I have learned how to grow and preserve our own food.
I am thankful that I am at home and able to make a home for us. I found a recipe that I wanted to try yesterday, it was a Curry Lentil Stew. Hubs was definitely not sure about it. Struggled to wrap his head around those flavors together. I made it any how. I mean worse case scenario was we went to the cantry and picked a different meal. It was wonderful. I even decided to try my hand at a high protein naan to dip. I felt my naan needed a bit more work, but Hubs felt it was delicious. Either he was telling a tale to boost my spirits or I am being a bit too judgmental in my expectations. I feel the truth is somewhere in the middle.
The entire meal was made from whole, natural ingredients. There were no chemicals, no words that you need a dictionary to look them up. Just food. The way it was always intended to be. The thing is these things take time and energy. Unfortunately, for most of us, when working a 40+ hour work week, that precious commodity doesn't exist.
I don't need to learn a great many of the skills that I see all these different groups setting intentions to learn this year. I have spent a lifetime holding on to the threads and honing my skills. But there are many things that others have perfected that I am still pulling back on. That I have tried, failed and moved on from. Some of that failure was linked to the season of my life that I was in, working to much to focus, struggling to keep all the different balls in my world up in the air. In this season, I am finding myself willing to try again.
In my past I used to make a lot of my clothing, heck I have sewn wedding dresses, bridesmaids dress and even a flamenco gown. I do have the basic skill set and knowledge. It just became easier to lean into fast fashion. Yup, guilty as charged. But in my desire to eliminate man made plastic based fabrics from my life, I am on the verge of starting to sew clothing again. To help stop the waste that we have contributed to.
And sour dough will likely be a thing this year, as I work to eliminate the unhealthy big AG stuff they are trying to pass off as food. I usually end up starving the poor thing. I am also going to work on expanding my knowledge of food preservation to include fermentation. As I am relearning is vital importance to our gut health. And eventually, I will start grinding my own grains, because the stuff they are doing to our flour is obscene.
I was a trail blazer without ever realizing it. I wasn't odd or trapped in the wrong era. I was always supposed to remember and strive to continue so that I could help share it with others. And here's the thing, I have always loved sharing my knowledge and helping others develop the skills to sustain them. There was simply a time when few were interested.
 |
| They are simply not impressed at all |
Please to tell me... are you expanding any of those skill sets that have been gathering dust on the shelves of your mind? Anyone a master carver? Basket weaver? Fabric weaver? We might need to collaborate. I long to learn new skills, I also long to share the ones I have.
Well... almost med time for Beau, which means it is also time for me to start my day, so much I want to do and accomplish...
much love,
b
Good one as always. 381+
ReplyDelete