I've been thinking about people and the things they craft by hand a lot lately. Just today, for instance, my son's girlfriend brought over a loaf of sourdough bread - shaped like a pumpkin - that she baked herself. One of our daughters brought a mocha cheesecake she made. Another son baked our pumpkin pie. The floor in our family room was designed, installed and finished by my husband, who does hardwood floors for a living. I plan to hand stitch some felt ornaments as Christmas gifts this year (I did it last year also). Just some examples. I think it's a beautiful thing when someone puts so much of themselves into something, that they took the time and effort to create something, whether by necessity or simple a desire to make something beautiful.
Hi Melisa, thank you so much for sharing. These are all such special examples. Next to nothing beats the handmade, and it's the best resistance we have to the emptiness & negativity brought into the world by poor-quality, profit-hungry, machine-made junk!
Yes, nothing beats the human touch - and I do notice a difference between something one of a kind, made with quality materials and craftsmanship - versus mass-produced stuff.
Thank you Melisa for engaging, I love connecting with people who values these topics. I think so many of use feel that difference between the one-of-a-kind and the machine-made, but might not always reflect like you and I on the broader ramifications of habitually buying the machine-made. Sure, sometimes it's necessary if it's the only thing that's accessible and/or affordable, but for whatever we can't make ourselves, many quality items can be found secondhand these days for reasonable prices, and I think the effort is worth put into searching for them. Not to mention that they tend to last much longer, too!
Thank you for sharing this. As always, you craft such beautiful words, which themselves carry the same significance of the items you list in this piece. Not at all cheap, but a treasure, very human, and enriching.
I’m still here! I made it private and paused posting during Lent to help me slow things down. I believe you should be able to see it as a subscriber; here is my most recent post:
I’m sorry to hear that, I assumed Substack had figured how to make it private, but still visible to subscribers. Please let me know if it doesn’t work on your laptop, whenever you do end up checking there. Thank you!
Thank you for letting me know! I wish it were visible to subscribers, not just accessible by link. I’ll be keeping it that way for a few weeks, but it’s helpful to know the effect of Substack settings. (Still learning the place!)
So beautifully written. You have put into words something I have been feeling strongly as of late. I’ve not grown up in a ‘crafty’ family, but I’m beginning to learn to knit and sew, so that I can start to create more beauty in our home, and pass these skills on to my daughter who is currently 4 months (and all the other children I plan to have!)
I've been thinking about people and the things they craft by hand a lot lately. Just today, for instance, my son's girlfriend brought over a loaf of sourdough bread - shaped like a pumpkin - that she baked herself. One of our daughters brought a mocha cheesecake she made. Another son baked our pumpkin pie. The floor in our family room was designed, installed and finished by my husband, who does hardwood floors for a living. I plan to hand stitch some felt ornaments as Christmas gifts this year (I did it last year also). Just some examples. I think it's a beautiful thing when someone puts so much of themselves into something, that they took the time and effort to create something, whether by necessity or simple a desire to make something beautiful.
Hi Melisa, thank you so much for sharing. These are all such special examples. Next to nothing beats the handmade, and it's the best resistance we have to the emptiness & negativity brought into the world by poor-quality, profit-hungry, machine-made junk!
Yes, nothing beats the human touch - and I do notice a difference between something one of a kind, made with quality materials and craftsmanship - versus mass-produced stuff.
Thank you Melisa for engaging, I love connecting with people who values these topics. I think so many of use feel that difference between the one-of-a-kind and the machine-made, but might not always reflect like you and I on the broader ramifications of habitually buying the machine-made. Sure, sometimes it's necessary if it's the only thing that's accessible and/or affordable, but for whatever we can't make ourselves, many quality items can be found secondhand these days for reasonable prices, and I think the effort is worth put into searching for them. Not to mention that they tend to last much longer, too!
us* :)
Thank you for sharing this. As always, you craft such beautiful words, which themselves carry the same significance of the items you list in this piece. Not at all cheap, but a treasure, very human, and enriching.
Thank you Leah your always thoughtful and sincere engagement really touches me. I very much treasure your comments.
You have such a gift!
Leah I have noticed that you no longer share your writing on your Substack, have you moved elsewhere? x
I’m still here! I made it private and paused posting during Lent to help me slow things down. I believe you should be able to see it as a subscriber; here is my most recent post:
https://womeninwisdom.substack.com/p/ash-wednesday-is-for-children-too?r=4bk5jy
That's strange! I'm definitely subscribed but I can no longer see the post listings, at least not on my phone. I'll try on my laptop
I’m sorry to hear that, I assumed Substack had figured how to make it private, but still visible to subscribers. Please let me know if it doesn’t work on your laptop, whenever you do end up checking there. Thank you!
I have just checked and it's the same! Your publication is not coming up for some reason. However the link you sent me above works.
Thank you for letting me know! I wish it were visible to subscribers, not just accessible by link. I’ll be keeping it that way for a few weeks, but it’s helpful to know the effect of Substack settings. (Still learning the place!)
So beautifully written. You have put into words something I have been feeling strongly as of late. I’ve not grown up in a ‘crafty’ family, but I’m beginning to learn to knit and sew, so that I can start to create more beauty in our home, and pass these skills on to my daughter who is currently 4 months (and all the other children I plan to have!)
Thank you so much Jordan, I love this! Having children is such a great impetus to get crafty and self-sufficient with things :)