Coffee-jar cover that I hand-sewed from someone’s discarded koozie that was still new. (Hey, it’s a beach town and a tourist town so it’s also a thrift upcycle scavenger’s town lol.)
The custom cover on my enamelled metal cup is similarly hand-sewn and has a crocheted bottom.
I’m making this post not to brag about my very modest accomplishments but rather, as a demonstration of how sewing is constantly in demand if we step out of relentless consumerism. Same with carpentry and a bunch of other basic skills.
(Very important! Note, my posts are never meant to shame anybody who needs to buy stuff and doesn’t have time to make stuff. We live in a rushed treadmill world. And those of us who are capable of stepping back or walking out of it even partially are responsible for helping those who are more stuck. We need to share our time, talents, money, encouragement etc.)
A big thing I’m trying to say here is that sewing and needlework have become “crafty recreation hobbies.” Granted, they are very fun crafty hobbies. But a lot of ladies of a certain age who just love to crochet and knit and sew, run out of recipients for the items that they lovingly make.
Whereas in a less consumer – centered time, Sewing etc. was mandatory and constantly there were things that needed to be sewed and mended. I always have a bit of a mending pile of dish towels that need hemming, old towels that needs cutting up, Clothing and household items that need to be patched etc. In addition I always have a mental pile of a wish list of things I plan to get around to making.
In this mode, I rarely run out of recipients for my handiwork, because I’m busy making stuff that my household needs! Of course this does not preclude sharing with one’s friends and neighbors as well. I sometimes do give away my handstitched bags and other creations. I gave one to a tourist in need a few weeks ago, and one to an unhoused neighbor awhile back. And one to the lady I buy my organic produce from. To serve as a prop to encourage their customers to get in the habit of reusable bags.
Interestingly, the mending pile doesn’t have to be a treadmill. If the “sewing head of household” Has some autonomy, as many of us have these days, we get to decide how to chip away at the pile and only our inner stern critic is our enemy.
Why is all of the above, why does it matter? Well, making and bending things by hand is intrinsically fulfilling those of us who are inclined in that direction. Same as carpentry is fulfilling for people who are drawn to build things. And mechanics is fulfilling for people who love to repair equipment and machinery. These are all wonderful fulfilling activities, and in a society where more of us refuse to be only consumers, and insist on stepping up to our natural human state of being makers and producers, these activities become daily vital Lifesprings of the household.
Hope this makes sense, I have had a lot of thoughts lately so I’ve gotten a little bit less picky and less edity in my communication.
I don’t want to be a little old lady who needs to make things so badly that the stuff I make ends up being a huge volume piled up in someone’s closet. For somebody else to have to declutter, and then it goes to landfill. Actually it’s been some years since I had that worry, but I did used to worry that my innate drive to make things would just end up producing piles of junk and trash. Now everything I make is essential because it’s driven by my actual personal needs and household needs!
And honestly not all of us need intricate work to keep us entertained. Some of us are content to spend hours just plain old thread and needle making plain old seams. The mental benefits are the same! And even better if you have a little crafting circle who sit and chat. It’s been a while since I’ve had that — and may never again unless people are willing to meet outdoors a bit more — but I still immensely enjoy sitting and stitching and tuning into the quiet and calm channel of the universe.