In spite of being dysfunctional, the women in my family were pretty traditional in their skills. Possibly because my grandmother grew up on a farm with 12 brothers and sisters, so you couldn’t help but know how to get the job done. She also had a bachelors in home-ec, uncommon for a young lady in the first few years of the 20th century.
Besides being a darn good cook, she cranked out some terrific doll clothes for us. My mother also made quite a few of our clothes, although this may have had more to do with my father being a poor graduate student at Princeton than any other reason. When our kids were little, I made my own share of children’s clothes. Boredom and a small paycheck are great incentives.
My sewing days pretty much ended once I began working. That, plus any teenager willing to wear home-produced clothes is an aberration of nature. I did my share of quilting, but then a home only needs so many quilts.
I dug out my iron today for the first time in – literally – about a year and a half. I’d bought a shirt that of course lost its body once washed and I thought I’d at least start out with it unwrinkled. Which set me thinking.
How many people nowadays know how to iron a shirt? You know, start with the back, do the collar next, then the sleeves, and finally the front. Or at least that’s my routine.
How many have ever made their own pie crust? Or even a pie, for that matter?
How many people can cut up a chicken, or hem something?
When we’re all tossed back to pre-industrial days by Putin, some of these skills might come in handy.
Yes, we grannies will be a hot item ...then. We know stuff!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if its just the circles I move in, as s nonprofit professional and biz owner and artist, but I don't think I know anyone who can't do these things. They might not want to, but they can. Many national origins too, NJ being like that. Interesting to see other comments on this interesting question.
ReplyDeleteRight? I'm curious what people will have to say about this.
DeleteDone all those things, and some continue to do. The ironing though, no. I started with the collar, but the reason is lost in time. Pie crust...no, I left that up to my sister, who used ice water and lard, and I couldn't begin to match it. Cutting a chicken is easy, with a cleaver, sharp, and another sharp knife. I also made my own pasta, pesto, and filleted salmon and trout. It's not a lost art, my daughters can do it also.
ReplyDeleteI can cut up a chicken like nobody's business (I don't remember seeing chicken parts when I was first married. Or maybe they were pricey.) but I bow to your filleting talents.
DeleteInteresting topic. I used to sew a lot! I haven’t touched my sewing machine in years and years. I can iron, but everything I own doesn’t really require ironing anymore. Pie crust? Yes. Cut up a chicken? Yes, but haven’t done it in years. I still do a lot of canning and gardening. - Jenn
ReplyDeleteI can do those things - but rarely do these days. I iron shirts in a different order too. Collar, sleeves, back, front.
ReplyDeleteYes, I may know how, I rarely do them now either.
DeleteI was the oldest daughter of depression era parents. They taught us their skills. I did most of the ironing and ironed for my neighbor for 10 cents each. We had a large garden for eating and canning. I began babysitting at age 12. Mom collected those wages at the back door and returned a dollar for the week's allowance. When I went to college she returned all the money to me, plus interest. It was substantial, for the time.
ReplyDeleteSmart mama!
DeleteMy mother and mother-in-law were both sewers, with MIL having her own business and making even wedding gowns. I'm not as good as they were, but I did make baby and toddler clothes and make a few things for myself. I haven't ironed in years, but remember I always did collars first on shirts, then the right front, back, left front, hanging each section over the board as I finished it, then sleeves last. I can still hem and sew on buttons if I have to, make my own pie crust and pizza dough. Chickens get cut up with kitchen scissors that are never used for anything else. If I have to separate the joints, I'll hack at them with a big cleaver such as the Asians use.
ReplyDeleteAs a mere male, I plead incompetence.
ReplyDeleteIf I can hammer a nail and mow the lawn, you should be able to sew on a button. :0)
DeleteI used to iron my shirts, but when I moved to New York I began having them professionally pressed and I haven't looked back. Most of my clothes now are casual enough that pressing isn't required.
ReplyDeleteI could bake and cut up a chicken, though perhaps the cutting would not be to home ec standards. I've never made a pie crust or (I don't think?) a pie. I once hand-sewed a shirt but I was working from a pattern I cut myself and it came out...shall we say...wonky. (That was while I was in the Peace Corps.)
Then again, if Putin tosses us back in time, I won't be worrying about ironing!
I'm very impressed, Steve. And I freely admit now to buying pie crust and chicken parts, if clothing looks like it's going to need ironing I don't buy it, and my interest in sewing a garment sailed away years ago.
DeleteWhat we should each be working on is the basic tenets of electricity creation.
Now I sound like someone with a year of food stored in the basement.
I think about that myself. I can sew, know how to grow food although I don't so much, my sister makes soap. I have canned before but I prefer to freeze. When I was younger I decided to be prepared for when things go south and bought the first two Foxfire books and then lost interest so whatever is in those two books, I'll have that at hand.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were first married, money was tight. Mom mailed me remnants from textile mills in the south and I made pants to wear to work, with zippers. I iron shirts collar, right front, back, left front, sleeves. I have made pies, but they were not great. Cut up a chicken once, never again. Hemming is still a skill I possess, as well as fixing holes in jeans. We don't buy stuff that needs to be ironed. Interesting comments, thanks for asking.
ReplyDelete