I've written about how I am addicted to English Paper Piecing. Along with actually making things, I love to read about how to make new things, the history behind it, and now especially with blogs, I love reading about other peoples experiences with creating the things that I am learning about making myself. While I was reading about English Paper Piecing (EPP), I started reading about how people love to hand sew pieces instead of using the paper templates that are required when you use EPP. I was interested in hand sewing as a portable project prior to learning about EPP, but then I thought EPP was an easy, more accurate (at least for me) way to piecing things together.
Now that I see how much people like hand piecing, I am interested in trying it again. I have, once again, done a ton of research about how to actually do it. I think it will be a great way to sit with my husband and watch TV, sit outside with the kids while they play (I had actually bought a smaller sewing machine so that I could sew outside, but that would only be at out our house not at places like the park or when my daughter is at speech therapy), and [what I feel is even more important] a connection with the past.
I love the idea of having a connection to the past. Of course, sewing machine have been a part of sewing and quilting for a while now, but hand sewing is a connection to the past when there wasn't electricity, an actual sewing machine, or even the finances to buy a sewing machine. It is a connection to the past when people created quilts, not for their beauty, but for the warmth and comfort that a quilt can bring.
I love learning about the history of handcrafts. I've been thinking about what I ultimately want to do with my life, career wise, and when I think about what I am passionate about I come up with a couple of different things. I actually do like being a social worker, but what I love about being a social worker is partly the mental health piece, but ultimately I love the getting to know someone while doing their social history. I love being creative and crafting and learning about crafting. I have been trying to figure out how to combine my love of crafting, creating, and social work as a career. One thing I came up with was going back to school for art therapy. I then thought about maybe becoming an art teacher and using my social work as a secondary piece to my career. Then, one day while I was driving, I thought about how awesome it would be to be able to interview crafters and then either report on it in person, or even better write an article about it. The only problem is, I don't know that there is a calling for something like this.
How awesome would it be to actually interview someone about a handcraft that they love. I would get a chance to do the interview piece that I love about social work, learn more about a craft and how/why someone loves their craft, maybe even learn a new craft myself, and then pass than knowledge on to others more likely in writing (since I enjoy writing more than being in front of a group of people). Maybe I could do it as a small educational piece too. I could teach others about the history of a craft and why it is so attractive to some people.
I think I will continue to learn about different craft and their history. I like a lot of the modern crafts or the modern spin on things, but ultimately I love the traditional crafts. I wish I could better put in words why I love the traditional crafts, but I guess it is just the history behind them. I'm not sure that this will ever be a career, but I would love to make it more than just a passing hobby.
Amy
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