Originally Posted by StitchinJoy
Originally Posted by kd124
I used to carry a kit with me when I had the kids and when I worked. I think anymore a lot of people don't have a needle and thread--goes along with the disposable society I guess as well as lots of non-sewers.
You know, I can probably count on one hand how many days this year my hand did not touch a needle or pin. Sewing is practically like breathing for me. It's woven into the fabric of my life!
Reading all the posts in this thread is really eye opening. I didn't realize that sewing was such a rare skill and was not being done by most people. I know quilting is in a revival and millions of people in America quilt, maybe more than ever. I live within 15 miles of 7 different quilt shops.
But your point is well taken that not sewing is a way of life that goes with a disposable society. If a hem pulled out or a button pulled off, you take it to the cleaners? That would never occur to me!
I guess I was struck by this right now because I am reading the Passage by Justin Cronin. The book deals with the renewal of American society after a cataclysmic event.
People who survive have basic skills for living. They know what to eat -- how to get it and how to prepare it. They know how to cover themselves from the cold with clothing and bedding. They know how to make trees into heat.
My business is quilting and I hang out with a lot of quilters and gardeners, with husbands who fish and hunt. I guess that not knowing what to do with a needle would be both depressing and laughable to anyone who has ever visited us. Maybe sewing is a country and suburban thing, and not sewing is a city thing? I don't know. I'm just asking....
I think we live for the most part in a fast paced society who doesn't take the time to do anything as time consuming as quilting and sewing. We as quilters live in a needle zone but this conversation made me realize there are a lot of people who don't even know what a needle is! It was an eye opener that I hadn't thought about. I just assumed everyone had access to a needle and thread but they don't always.
My mom isn't a sewer but she always had a button tin that had needles and thread for hemming and fixing buttons. I guess this is an old fashioned idea to the newer generations to some degree. Those who don't have moms who sew don't have any connection to the idea of keeping a kit on hand.