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Book Ideas:  Endangered Arts & Professions  |
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KatTylee
True Blue Farmgirl
230 Posts
Katrina
Mitchell
Nebraska
USA
230 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 15 2012 : 07:10:40 AM
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Morning all,
I think several are right here in that most of these "lost arts" are just that, lost. It isn't that they don't exist it is just that people have a hard time finding them. My dad was a blacksmith/farrier, my brother is a buckaroo (cowboy that tries to do nothing except what he can do from on top of a horse) and shoes his own horses and a few for other folks. I spin, crochet, am teaching myself to knit, and I'm hoping to get one of my dad's anvils and some of the tools and go to blacksmithing as well. I enjoy welding but it has been a long time since I did any so I'm sure I'm not good at it. :) I think the key is getting to know your neighbors and community. I just moved from an area that was very focused on the recycling/upcycling/farmers market type things. It was great but there didn't seem to be a lot of the older arts there. Now I'm in a much smaller community but it seems to have more of the older arts but it is a more agricultural based community. I think people could probably make more money in the short term in my former community doing the farmer's market and all but I think my new community will probably sustain the older trades for longer. Just an opinion. Don't know if it really works that way or not. It would make an interesting socialogical study...
~"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
— Oscar Wilde~
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Nov 17 2012 : 09:32:57 AM
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Brenda, you can also use butcher paper or freezer paper. It is easy to find AT&T the grocery store. It has a waxy side. Iron the fabric on a lower setting to that and trim to paper size. The biggest issue is that most color inks in printers are not color fast. So you either have to smoke the fabric in a special solution, or have a printer with the proper inks.
Spoon flower is cool but their fabrics are I think around $18.00 a yard. And that's even for your own designs. There is fabric you can buy that is already treated but it is also very expensive. It is over $3.00 a sheet for 8.5" x11".
Farmgirl number 3738
My blogs:
www.curiousorangecat.com
Handmade stuff http://www.etsy.com/shop/CuriousOrangeCat?ref=ss_profile
Fabric website: www.bunnyroseco.etsy.com
Not all who wander are lost.../
Plan to improvise
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
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harvesttender
True Blue Farmgirl
56 Posts
56 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2014 : 2:25:05 PM
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I am loving this chat. Did anyone mention rug braiding? That's my thing! As much as possible, I hunt for and rescue 100% wool - from rummage sales, Salvation Army. Goodwill - anywhere that I can find a tag on something that identifies it as 100% wool. This is fast becoming the harder part, as garments are more likely to be only part wool. New wool is still for sale, but prices in my area run about $20/yd. now. I love to recycle and repurpose. And my family's toes love warm woolen rugs!
Harvesttender
www.etsy.com/shop/woolenbrae
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sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
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Autumn
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Holly
Ontario
Canada
44 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2014 : 05:05:25 AM
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I was just skimming through this thread and noticed a lot of people complaining about the lack of seamstresses. Up here in Ontario we have no shortage of them, they're employed in the Bridal shops and there's a handful of alteration shops and freelance seamstresses. I did consider the job myself but after having heard about the trials and tribulations of being a seamstress, as well as the less than mediocre sewing program offered at the local college, I decided against it. I wouldn't want a job that I can't get sufficient training in. I also heard it's a lot of hard work for very little pay. I read about this one seamstress who complained that her clients would often scoff at her estimates and try to underpay her for wedding alterations. People just don't understand the value of the work and how much goes into it. It's not easy.
*AUTUMN* |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7110 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7110 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2014 : 09:38:30 AM
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My mother tatted, but growing up I wasn't interested in learning. I keep her shuttle and a sample of her work on my dresser.
Hugs, Sara
Walk in Peace.
Live with Joy. |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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Kangaroo Kate
True Blue Farmgirl
253 Posts
Teresa
Red Oak
Texas
USA
253 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2015 : 1:20:19 PM
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This was a good topic. we comment all the time of how much things have changed I homeschooled my son who is now 23 and he is realizing why I had the standards I did and appreciates it now hardly any of his friends had "parents" kids left pretty much on their own. Some boys were over one day to play video games and were stunned at me making from scratch chocolate chip cookies for them! They only got those homemade. One 18 year old almost cried when I made him a birthday cake his mom never bothered. they are not getting the old values and appreciate some of the old trades I heard one kid a time back surprised milk came from a cow... literally.. people actually milk them? I think it is important ladies like us keep alive some of the old traditions. I have always gravitated to the "old ways" guess you could say. was a good life going with grandparents to strawberry patch to pick berries, going with granny to fight thorns and ticks for black berries, then helping to make pies and jellies.. from scratch. the professions that have been mentioned I do see many of them fading. sewing machine repair is one here the fella who would work on the old metal head singers is gone now and no one took over his talent. idea is.. just go buy a new one. well I like my old one. times have changed as someone said but I hope those of us on here can keep alive as much as we can. I cant sell some of the things I used to cant compete with china but I do think there is more of a trend going back somewhat to quality handmade items not just cheap. which is a issue here in Texas with all the illegals. I for one am willing to pay more for something with quality made from someone keeping their trade alive and well.
Dance Like No One Is
Watching. |
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ComeOnSammy
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Samantha
Shelton
WA
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 12:24:12 AM
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This might have already been stated, but carpentry is the first thing that came to mind. Housing/homelessness wouldn't be such and issue I think if we still knew how (and were legally ABLE) to build our own dwellings.
On the upside, my husband is a mechanic (learned from his dad since he was a child) and even though he struggled in school, he can basically fix anything with a motor. |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 8:51:31 PM
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Maybe what we all are striving for is hands-on practical information for living, as addressed in Mary Jane's first book. Much of those skills don't just come naturally but are taught. Farmgirls can teach each other. That is what generations do. I love sharing my skills.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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Christy925
True Blue Farmgirl
476 Posts
Christy
Midland
Michigan
USA
476 Posts |
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Book Ideas: Endangered Arts & Professions |
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Endangered Arts & Professions
