I See My Grandmother's Hands in Mine

My first impulse is to say I am inspired by my beautiful child, Rowan. But that is not entirely true. I am compelled by my child. I am inspired by my grandmother.

I remember as a child that spending time with Grandma meant making something with our hands. She taught me to knit. We collected the elderberries from the bush to make the pie. We collected acorns to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece. We wove an octopus around a ball of tissue for a head, and braided his legs.

When I hold my young daughter's hands to guide the glue, or clap my hands for the pine cone masterpiece we have made I see my grandmother's hands in mine.

The memories I cherish, the toys I pass on to my daughter, and the skills in my hands, latent but now stretching to creative life... all are inspired by those hands which once held mine, as now I hold Rowan's.

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Handmade items are rooted. They have a history and they collect stories. All of the items we make are rooted in these values and we strive to encourage wonder and simple living.

Lori C., beneaththerowantree.com
Ontario, Canada
Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:04 pm

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Continually reinventing yourself.

I am inspired continuosly. This causes much confusion in the direction I should take.

There is always a new idea a new craft project and the like.

Boredom is a concept not known by me.

My latest are patterns which I hope will inspire others to create their own. Limited only by their imagination.

So go imagine, be inspire, and create, and must of all continually reinvent your craft.

Warm And Fuzzy Baby, SAHM, www.WarmAndFuzzyBaby.Etsy.Com
U.S.A.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 10:26 pm

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Handmade is so much more!

When you buy handmade it is so much more than just getting a product. Handmade items offer that unique character that can only come by being individually hand crafted. Whether creating or purchasing, these kinds of items offer imagination, inspiration and a sense of true contribution. As a mother, I love being able to offer my children the gift of hand made items both that I have made or that I have purchased from another artisan. The instant pride and care it encourages, knowing that the gift was made especially for them, is priceless in itself! As a hand-crafter, the opportunity to share my love of creating one of a kind gifts with another offers an inspiration that never gets old!
Passing on a love and a legacy of Handmade.

Kristy (ZooMama), Creative Seamstress, www.zooniquebaby.com/
Tennessee
Friday, February 26, 2010 2:39 pm

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Making connections between generations

My daughters, mother, and grandmothers inspire me to buy and make handmade. As a child, I have many memories of my grandmother Sarah's knitting bag. It was always in the same place, right next to her chair in the living room. Her house was filled with afghans she had knit and quilts she had sewn by hand.

My grandmother Rita loved to crochet, sew, and craft. She and my grandfather made Christmas ornaments to sell at their church fair and my grandmother crocheted afghans. I can still see them working at the kitchen table surrounded by all of the ornaments they had made. My own Christmas tree is filled with their ornaments.

I had forgotten about the clothing both of my grandmothers had made for my beloved Cabbage Patch dolls over 20 years ago until my mother brought them out for my girls to play with and I saw the outfits they had sewn and knit for my “babies.” Those little outfits are something I can cherish and are a way for my girls to connect with my grandmothers, whom they were unable to meet.

I make things by hand so that hopefully a little part of me will live on for my family members to cherish. I buy handmade because I value the work of other women and men, I value each item's uniqueness, and I value the piece of each person that becomes a part of their craft and brings that craft alive.

Angela, 32, WAHM, Pumpkin Pie Baby, hyenacart.com/pumpkinpiebaby
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 11:51 pm

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The Leading Thread

My introduction to the wonder of handmade was thru my love of yarn. I. Love. Yarn. I'm pretty sure I need a support group for it, but the closest I could get was a couple of stitch n'bitches at a local yarn shop, and a spinning class.
There was something about being handed a big pile of in-the-grease roving, going thru the process of washing that, spinning it and ending up with this beautiful skein of yarn in my hands that connected me instantly to something much deeper and primitive and primal. I haven't put my spinning wheel down since.
My yarn addiction was furthered after finding sites like Etsy and Hyena Cart and the colors of yarn that you would never find in JoAnn. I was hooked. It subsequently inspired me to start dyeing my own yarn and rovings.
Along the way I picked up a sub-addiction. Sock knitting. Everyone on my Christmas list is getting custom made hand knit socks. I've been hoarding sock yarn like it's going out of style.
Handmade inspires me because it dares you to take something ordinary and make it truly unique, truly rare. And never is a a handmade item created without a tiny spark of the creator's soul in it.

Krystl Zirkler, 27, Full Time Yarn Ho and Child Wrangler Extrordinaire, www.flickr.com/photos/mariposafibres
Gilbert, AZ
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 12:40 pm

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