My son says, "Mom, why do you want to have a sewing blog? That's so lame! Blogs should be about Politics!"
I said, "How can I keep politics out of it? Every act is a political act. By sewing my own clothes, quilts, gifts; that's a political act."
And I got to thinking how true that is. It's easy to buy anything we want here; only money and what I like to think of as my superior taste keeps me from buying many things I choose to make instead: cookies, cakes, pillowcases, shirts, baby quilts, flower beds. It's not wrong to buy those things. I don't look down on people who don't make their own [well maybe I do in the case of cookies and cakes, pillowcases and baby quilts]. By making our own anything instead of buying a mass manufactured version, we are making a political statement. So this is my political blog; this is my manifesto. If it is an item I can make myself and make it better, cooler and I know how, I probably will.
And I will Tell All. I have never approved of those cooks who would give you their famous recipe and leave some vital ingredient out so that your version would never be as good as theirs.
Things that are better made at home:
Cake [grocery store cake is nasty] Bakery cakes are too fancy. Homemade cake [and I do not meanmade straight from a box] is wonderful. I especially like it warm...but I digress.
Cookies - there is no dessert better on earth than milk and warm cookies. My favorite moment in Stranger than Fiction was when Maggie Gyllenhahl's baker made cookies for Will Ferrell's character and he admitted that his mother had never made cookies. We all knew in an instant what an impoverished childhood he had had. No homemade cookies!
Pillowcases. You can make them less skimpy when you make them yourself, so it isn't so difficult to cram the pillows in. Also you can make them prettier. Plus they make great gifts and are the easiest thing you can make next to an apron.
Soup. Real Soup does not come out of a can.
Pillows. I make these all the time. It's fast, it's fun, and easy and cheap - my favorite combination.
That's my political statement. Gentle Reader, you now know what kind of radical you are dealing with. What kind of things do you always make yourself?
2 comments:
DD made a Dora the Explorer pillowcase, as her first sewing project. She took it to camp with her this year. She's 17. It was the talk of the camp -- they all loved how individual it was. :-)
And tell you son there's enough blogs about politics. At least sewing releases endorphins.
My youngest brother wanted a sewing lesson when he was about 9, and he chose a pillowcase as his project. Thank you for reminding me of that nice memory!
I make everything in the kitchen from scratch, with the occasional exception of using canned beans (in otherwise scratch recipes) to save time. I just don't understand cake mixes--making your cake from scratch takes maybe 45 seconds longer than the mix! Dang it, now I want cake!
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