Have been reading through this thread--really strikes a chord. I sewed before I quilted and with 3 boys I have patched a lot of jeans in my day. They still ask me to "fix" things, even though they're in their 20s and 30s. Other than my boys and a handful of sewing friends, most women I know or work with are clueless about home mending--don't think they are even aware of the concept.
There is a fascinating book (actually a Rutgers University PhD history department dissertation) by Sarah Gordon on women and sewing entitled "Sew It Yourself--Home Sewing, Gender, & Culture 1890-1930. Embedded in the online.pdf are oral interviews with a number of women sewers who recall their own sewing experiences in their youth or their mother's or grandmother's. You can find it here:
http://www.gutenberg-e.org/gordon/acknowledge.html
At 5 chapters it's on the long side, but I think many of the responders to MaryMild's thread would enjoy it.
I, too, would love to know the quilt pattern in your avatar! Enjoy what's left of this Sunday afternoon.