The 'Why?' of this Renaissance
The latest statistics from the pundits are telling us there is a real renaissance underway with regards to crafts in general. My observations, of course, are mainly along the lines of knitting and spinning (crochet too!).
I enjoy exposure to new blogs from the "Blogs I Read" sidebars of bloggers. True I have only a few listed on my own sidebar but that has more to do with the fact that I think those blogs have their own special merits and I feel others may be edified by reading them too. Let me assure you that my Firefox Bookmark section is another story! The blogs I read just for fun, the blogs that are posted to only rarely, the blogs that I learn from - both "to do's" and "don't do's", the blogs I bookmarked because I couldn't believe they said that and what could they possibly say next????
To connect these two trains of thought, the junction is spinning as a natural evolution for passionate knitters. The progression goes something like this; I love to knit/weave/crochet - I tried knitting my own thing/pattern/dyed yarn - I decided to try making my own yarn. Now I will not say that everyone follows this progression nor has everyone who tried spinning stuck with it. Sometimes (much of the time, I think) it is only a phase in the fiber exploration process. This is a good thing, of course. The more knitters explore different facets of their craft the more discerning they become with the materials they use, the projects they make and so on. This always has a positive effect on such an end-user-driven craft. Since I am such an expansionist with the idea of personal development how could I think otherwise?
But let me take this much farther. I think we need to probe the heart of this renaissance. My generation, the one before me, the one after me - we are all the product of a well-oiled education system, a system run by and for career academics. Academia and the college/university education were held up as the highest ideals for career choices. It was drilled into us that anyone not going on to post-secondary education was obviously not very ambitious and not on the road to success, so much so that for nearly 30 years now trades of all descriptions have suffered labor shortages. What I see happening is that the products of this mentality are now well established in their office-oriented careers but are finding a hollow spot in their lives. The generation who grew up believing that milk comes from cartons in the store has discovered the deep satisfaction of creating things with their own hands. Quilting, knitting, spinning, weaving, painting, woodworking and more - all those things they were told 'enslaved primitive people' now fill their leisure moments with surprising contentment. It seems that somehow academia failed to inform them that people, because of their rational capacity are fundamentally creative and that art in it's many varied forms elevates the spirit regardless of competency. (case in point, yours truly!). It is "work" that does not carry the burden of stress the way computers, paperwork and deadlines do. The directness, intimacy and simplicity of crafting engender a peaceful space for thought relief, an opportunity for the brain to breathe clean air, so to speak.
Getting back to blogs, I admit I was a little surprised to see Brooklyn Tweed is spinning with a hand spindle. He showcased pics of his glossy new aquisition - a fabulous new spinning wheel - no text - sort of a naked expose where the pictures really were worth a thousand words! It started me thinking about the evolution of knitters into spinners and how it's really a backwards sort of evolution, since in the real scheme of history spinning preceeded everything! Could it be that our evolution into an elevated civilization is a charade and that the human heart has much more fundamental underpinings? As much as we seem to love our high tech gadgets and designer duds there is a very deep part of us that wants to be that designer or that geek who actually had the idea and put the parts into place. It seems that no matter how uncomplicated the creation, we cannot deny that within ourselves is that insatiable drive to use our hands to create. The peace and satisfaction we find in doing so is the undeniable proof!
I had to add a splash of color as a finale! These are the 100% alpaca skeins for my next sweater! Feel free to leave a comment or email me! Cheers!
I enjoy exposure to new blogs from the "Blogs I Read" sidebars of bloggers. True I have only a few listed on my own sidebar but that has more to do with the fact that I think those blogs have their own special merits and I feel others may be edified by reading them too. Let me assure you that my Firefox Bookmark section is another story! The blogs I read just for fun, the blogs that are posted to only rarely, the blogs that I learn from - both "to do's" and "don't do's", the blogs I bookmarked because I couldn't believe they said that and what could they possibly say next????
To connect these two trains of thought, the junction is spinning as a natural evolution for passionate knitters. The progression goes something like this; I love to knit/weave/crochet - I tried knitting my own thing/pattern/dyed yarn - I decided to try making my own yarn. Now I will not say that everyone follows this progression nor has everyone who tried spinning stuck with it. Sometimes (much of the time, I think) it is only a phase in the fiber exploration process. This is a good thing, of course. The more knitters explore different facets of their craft the more discerning they become with the materials they use, the projects they make and so on. This always has a positive effect on such an end-user-driven craft. Since I am such an expansionist with the idea of personal development how could I think otherwise?
But let me take this much farther. I think we need to probe the heart of this renaissance. My generation, the one before me, the one after me - we are all the product of a well-oiled education system, a system run by and for career academics. Academia and the college/university education were held up as the highest ideals for career choices. It was drilled into us that anyone not going on to post-secondary education was obviously not very ambitious and not on the road to success, so much so that for nearly 30 years now trades of all descriptions have suffered labor shortages. What I see happening is that the products of this mentality are now well established in their office-oriented careers but are finding a hollow spot in their lives. The generation who grew up believing that milk comes from cartons in the store has discovered the deep satisfaction of creating things with their own hands. Quilting, knitting, spinning, weaving, painting, woodworking and more - all those things they were told 'enslaved primitive people' now fill their leisure moments with surprising contentment. It seems that somehow academia failed to inform them that people, because of their rational capacity are fundamentally creative and that art in it's many varied forms elevates the spirit regardless of competency. (case in point, yours truly!). It is "work" that does not carry the burden of stress the way computers, paperwork and deadlines do. The directness, intimacy and simplicity of crafting engender a peaceful space for thought relief, an opportunity for the brain to breathe clean air, so to speak.
Getting back to blogs, I admit I was a little surprised to see Brooklyn Tweed is spinning with a hand spindle. He showcased pics of his glossy new aquisition - a fabulous new spinning wheel - no text - sort of a naked expose where the pictures really were worth a thousand words! It started me thinking about the evolution of knitters into spinners and how it's really a backwards sort of evolution, since in the real scheme of history spinning preceeded everything! Could it be that our evolution into an elevated civilization is a charade and that the human heart has much more fundamental underpinings? As much as we seem to love our high tech gadgets and designer duds there is a very deep part of us that wants to be that designer or that geek who actually had the idea and put the parts into place. It seems that no matter how uncomplicated the creation, we cannot deny that within ourselves is that insatiable drive to use our hands to create. The peace and satisfaction we find in doing so is the undeniable proof!
I had to add a splash of color as a finale! These are the 100% alpaca skeins for my next sweater! Feel free to leave a comment or email me! Cheers!
How lucky you are to have a wheel with such a unique look and history to it! Good luck getting used to it, I'm sure once you get to know it you will learn how to spin with it and make wonderful, wonderful yarns!
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I am SO looking forward to working with this wheel. It's simple and straightforward, like me, I guess (a little on the ancient side too?). LOL! Thanks for stopping by! :o)
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