18 September 2011

I Heart Crafts!-52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

Week 38.  Hobbies.  Did you have any hobbies as a child?  Which ones?
POT HOLDER weaving LOOM & loops colored FABRIC kid NEWOn Sale -- 1 pack of Pom Pom Makers (4 sizes in one pack)
Handcrafted by me, probably in the late 1960's


Don't you just love it when you discover that your mother saved something that you made as a child?  The pot holder pictured above was one that I made as a child.  I remember receiving a kit with a metal loom, hook tool, and cotton loops.  You stretched the loops over the metal frame and then using the hook tool you weave the loops going the opposite direction.  When I first started making pot holders, the loops were cotton, as the one above is.  Later, the loops were a synthetic fabric, maybe nylon or polyester.  I remember going through a few bags of loops.  I liked to color coordinate the pot holders as opposed to making them multi-colored. 

I have always been drawn to any type of crafting.  In addition to making pot holders, I remember having a pom pom kit (see picture above).  You wound yarn around plastic molds, tied the center, cut the yarn.  There were different sizes of pom poms you could make.  I must have had pom poms on every thing I owned.  I dabbled in hook rug making too.

As I matured (no comments here, please)  I graduated to macrame, making Christmas candy cane and wreath ornaments.  I still hang those on my tree now.  Christmas crafts were always a favorite of mine. 

I taught myself how to crochet in college.  I am left handed and could never find anyone to teach me how to crochet left handed, so I did it myself.  The first thing I made was a brown and tan afghan.  I never could figure out how to knit though. 

Another favorite craft of mine was cross-stitching.  I loved to cross stitch.  I use the past tense because I have arthritis in my right thumb and cross-stitching now is not an easy thing to do.  I have made baby gifts, Christmas gifts, bridal shower gifts and many projects which I kept for myself.  I have cross stitched pictures, Christmas ornaments, and pillows.  I haven't given up on cross stitching completely.  I started a lovely Christmas manger scene on linen and I plan to keep working on it.  It is the most difficult project I have attempted.  Ibuprofen is my new friend when I cross-stitch.

When I was deciding on a college major, I thought about what I enjoyed doing.  I came up with cooking, sewing, working with children and crafts!  Voila!  A home economics teacher I became.  Blending my hobbies with my career was great.  Even though I am no longer teaching I still enjoy crafting-when my thumb cooperates!  What crafts do you enjoy? 






3 comments:

  1. I remember making those pot holders too. I never made pom poms but at some point I started making doll house dolls. I also made a large loom out of curtain stretchers when I was in high school and made myself a poncho. I ended a fine arts degree with a concentration in drawing and printmaking.

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  2. I used to make those potholders too!I had forgotten all about them.

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  3. Kristin, sounds like you had a creative and fun degree.

    Michelle, glad I could help you remember.

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