Before the age of television, computers and video games,
people had to find a way to spend their free time without such
entertainment. Even in the age of radio
only, a person’s hands were free to work at something. Of course, one could read, but suppose a
woman wanted to fill her evenings in some quiet activity other than that. Women in the pre-electronic era busied their
hands with knitting, crocheting, tatting, and quilting. Eventually they actually had a tangible
product…something to show for even their “down time.”
Today we have many modern conveniences to give us more free
time. Automatic washers, dryers,
dishwashing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens and other marvels reduce
the time spent in tedious drudgery. But,
we have less to show for our free time.
No product results from an evening of television watching or web-surfing
or online gaming or X-boxing. These
activities so absorb our focus that we don’t even think of them as wasted hours
with no tangible outcome.
I have been thinking about this recently, because we are cleaning
out my in-laws home. In a box under a bed
upstairs, we found four hand-pieced quilt tops.
My mother-in-law did not do this type of work, so we are fairly certain
that they came from her mother. It is
mind-boggling to look at all of the tiny handmade stitches that went into their
construction. Various family members
have expressed interest in these works of an ancestor’s hands.
So, I am wondering, what will members of the present
generation have to pass on to their descendants?
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