This is really interesting to me. Very insightful. I didnt know how to sew when I was a young mom. I could cook, but the rest of the domestic arts took considerable studying to learn. I had a very good mentor in a Mormon neighbor and my first writing gig was for a magazine called Welcome Home. Its now defunct. But they were my mentors-- my neighbor just a few years older than me (but well schooled by a church that values and supports domestic arts) and the women at Welcome Home. And books. I checked ALL of them out of the library to figure this whole thing out. I made lots of mistakes. I invented lots of household systems that didnt even work for one day.And about 20 years into the learning process, I started blogging about it. I have one of those lifestyle blogs with cooking and sewing in it, the ones millennials dismiss or poke fun at. Ive seen the millennial moms disparage my blog (which essentially is my life on a screen--lots of fun to be the butt of the joke). Ive thought it a confusing generational divide. I honestly didnt and dont understand the snarky, edgy humor. Why be mean? Not all millennial moms are rejecting the domestic arts. Theyre not all making fun of those of us who learned to sew and who love to make home peaceful and comfortable. Only some are. And this piece might explain why. Its a shame, really, because there are women who have been there before, who have had to learn it all just the way these women would have to learn it if they decided it was what they wanted to do. And the women who have learned it arent haters, theyre willing mentors, eager to share. Heres the caveat: theres no digital record of the previous generations learning process. Our 20s (maybe even our 30s) pre-date the internet. Theres no digital record of our struggle because hiding in the bathroom with Facebook wasnt an option for us. There was no Facebook. Were happy to share what we learned. Millennials mostly dismiss us because were not funny and we dont really love it if our kids (yes, we still have kids at home) are trashing the house while were on Facebook. Weve worked too hard for too long to create home to laugh while its being gutted. So, if theres a millennial mom who wants to learn to sew for her daughter, heres my first tip: buy a pattern from Oliver + S. Every single one of them is a sewing lesson. Check out Deborah Moebes book Stitch-by-Stitch or a similar beginning sewing book. Take an online sewing class--theyre really effective teachers. With just two of those three options, you can sew a dress your daughter can wear happily. And if you can find a neighbor whose mission in life is to equip young women to be happy make a home, count your blessings. If you cant, the computer is full of them.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 11:04:23 +0000
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