Which came first? :)

[darski]

Which.. are you from a long line of crafters or are you the first in your family?

 

I have been wondering about the backgrounds that people bring to this world of crochet. I came from a long line of needlwomen and have always had the inspiration and instruction available to me. Others mention the same thing.

 

But, some here say that they are the first or only in their familes that do knitting or crochet (etc)

 

I just thought it would be interesting to see how many come from tradition and how many are the innovators in their spheres...

[KnicKnac]

I know I come from a LONG line of sewers. My mom, from what I understand because she stopped before I was born, was the premier SEQUIN queen of the town! She would put sequins on EVERYTHING!

[darski]

I know I come from a LONG line of sewers. My mom, from what I understand because she stopped before I was born, was the premier SEQUIN queen of the town! She would put sequins on EVERYTHING!

 

a woman after my own heart

[Tampa Doll]

Well, I can only go back as far as my Grandmother on my Mom's side, but they were knitting, crocheting, quilting, embrodry and such.

Hey, my Mom took Home Economics as her major in High School. She is the one who taught me to knit and tried to teach me to crochet. Crochet never took when she was teaching. Go figure.

She could sew a suit with lining and whip up a delicious meal along with knitting and crocheting beautiful things.

[Happy SAHM]

My mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother all crocheted and one taught the other but that stopped with my mother she never taught me:( so when I "grew up" I taught myself:hook but I do have some things that my great grandmother crocheted that have been passed down to me. And I love them and will cherish them always:yes.

[Debbi-a1]

My mom crocheted, her mom didn't but she said that her mom did crochet (my great grandma). My mom is the one who taught me. Of course on my moms side is the creativity, I think. My mom painted (oils), sewed, and other crafts, her mom wrote, my grandfather could draw and sculpt.

Debbi

[Yaviiniia Loenla Enath]

Well, my mom crochets, and she taught me the basics, but I don't know about anybody else. My sister knits, and crochets some.

[Daisy]

My grandmother crocheted, my mom crocheted and tried to teach me, but I never got past the chain, so I had to teach myself.

[Burgandy]

I didn't know my mom knew how to crochet and knit until I walked in from the craft store with needles and hooks. I got out my " I can't believe I'm crocheting" book and she started to laugh. Turns out she remembered from her elementary school days in Germany.

[Laura A.]

I seem to be the first one in my family for as far back as anyone can remember. I crochet and knit and always wanted to learn these 2 crafts since I was young but there was no one to teach me so I wound up not learning till I was about 30 and I have since wished that I could have learned as a child because I think those who do are so much more talented in their respective craft. At a young age we don't have that self criticism and the learning comes easier.

I walked into our then local yarn shop and was instantly transformed into another world. Only fellow crafters can understand my last statement. I asked the lady if lessons were available and my heart soared when she answered, "yes". I've been at it ever since and all anyone in my family can say is, "oh, I don't know how you have the patience for that".

Cheers, Laura

[appy_lover]

My paternal Grandmother taught me to sew and crochet. I learned to sew on her treadle sewing maching.

 

Her mother lived in Seattle, I remember visiting her when I was younger it was so cool. Her apt was covered in teddy bears and crocheted stuff. She suplimented her Soc security by crocheting baby layettes and sewing teddy bears that she sold in the shops of Seattle. I have a wonderful brown bear that she gave me. She also said it helped keep her arthritis from getting worse.

 

When my youngest brother and sister were born I wrote to her and asked if she had patterns, and she mailed me a box of baby yarn and patterns from her stash. It was the start of my own stash. I still have a lot of that yarn, and I hope to use it for my own babies someday.

 

My mom also sews, crochets, and knits. I never could learn to knit until my sister taught herself to knit with some help from Mom and some old 4-H books. Then she taught me some and I got a book of my own. I am still learning.

 

I am the only one who had gone crochet crazy though.

[darski]

I just love hearing these stories of the generations passing down the skills and talents.

[Kimberly]

I'm another from a long line, although my Grandmother no longer does anything, and my Mother, who knows how to crochet and knit, rarely if ever picks up her needles and I don't think she even owns any hooks these days unless shes pilfered one from my US stash.

My Dad says (inbetween mocking me about being a 'little old lady') that my talent comes from his Great-Grandmother who he remembers as sitting and making wonderful doilies, and his Grandmother who was a quilter. I have one of my Great-Grandmothers quilts (actually the first she ever made, which was for my Dad) and I would have loved to have some of Great-Great-Grandma's dolies and thread work but alas, my Father says that my Grandmother disposed of all of them when she and Grandpa were getting their divorce back in the 70s.....dang it!

[smokeyp81]

My mother knit, my mother's mother knitted also. My father's mother was a crocheter. My sister crochets. I crochet and knit. I don't know any farther back than that. Funny thing about this is that I didn't learn to knit or crochet from any of them. I am a lefty, and a friend of my mother's taught me how to crochet. I took a class to learn how to knit.

[dulcet_ambrosia]

My mom used to crochet and knit when she was in high school, but doesn't now. When I was in high school she passed down her books and WIP's she had stored away. I finished them, and they are my most treasured blankets (my daughter uses them now).

 

I'm the only one in my family who crafts, though. For some reason my mom gave it up after she taught me how (when I was about six), and my sister never picked it up.

 

I think I've found a different sort of family here, though.

[laurastar0962]

both my mother and grandmother were very talanted at crochet, I love to crochet, but i just dont have the talant that they did

[Adreeyen]

I't's a long line on my mom's side with the exception being my grandmother. Also, neither of my sister's has really any interest at all in needlework of any sort.

[carovan]

My mom taught me to knit and crochet when I was a child. I gave it up for sewing and cross stitch, gave both of those up when I took to the road and just last year took up crochet again.

My mom continued to knit and crochet until very recently when her arthritis in her elbows made it too painful to go on. She just gave me all her hooks and needles and old Workbasket magazines plus a few other publications and patterns.

Out of eight children, I seem to be the only one who crochets or knits. I'm sure that my grandparents did a lot of their own work as they grew up in the Netherlands and resources were in short supply.

[newthingcrochet]

My older sister taught me to crochet, and I know my grandma did since I got some thread from her but I never saw anything she did. My mom and my grandma both sewed a lot so I count that. I'm pretty sure my greatgrandma did that sort of stuff too.

[HomekeepingGran]

Although she can't anymore, Mother used to sew beautifully. My grandmother sewed some, but had a hard time reading patterns, preferring to just figure it out herself. My great-grandmother (going straight back the genealogical line here) could look at you and draft a dress pattern to fit you — something I wish I could do. Mother knitted. Some distant aunts crocheted and tatted. One very special aunt used to knit. Oddly my other grandmother did pretty much nothing with fiber crafts, but she was the one who taught me some basic embroidery stitches. Apparently she learned some as a girl but didn't keep it up at all.

 

Among our descendants our oldest daughter sews and loves to design quilt patterns. She is teaching her two oldest daughters (6 and 4) to sew by hand and says the 4 year old already shows signs of talent this way. Our daughter also crochets a little and can knit a little bit.

[LaurieE]

I marked "Well there were others" only because the craft bug skipped a generation -- my grandmother. My great-grandmother taught my mother who taught me. I taught my daughters.

[missamorphosis]

My dad's mother was a crocheter, but she died the year I was born, so I never got to meet her. I seem to have inherited her creative genes though. My mom used to be crafty but says she "doesn't have the time" anymore, and I have an aunt who sews; other than that, I'm probably the most crafty/creative and the only crocheter in the family.

[Kelle]

I think my grandmas used to knit and crochet, but we weren't really close growing up. I learned to crochet from my best friend in elementary school . My mum says she can crochet but not very well. My Dad said he learned to knit when he was a boy but I didn't know that until I taught myselft to knit the Christmas before last... my sisters don't do anything fibre-related, but they both are crafty in their own ways (stamping, photography, etc..) ...so I'd say I'm the first in my immediate circle to really take this "seriously"

 

~k

[LizaKaye]

My mother sewed beautifully, her finished products could rival any stores best clothing lines. However, she never had any interest in crochet or knitting.

I tried to learn to sew from her, but she was so meticulous, I just didn't want to take all that time.

My paternal grandmother crocheted and made beautiful things that I always admired - but never had an opportunity to learn while I was growing up. Her daughters crocheted and knitted-but they all lived in so far away, it was never possible to get together for any length of time.

So eventually I bought a book-after I was married - and taught myself and I've been at it ever since.

My grandmother is long gone, and my aunt has recently offered me her crocheting supplies, needless to say, I jumped at the chance just to have something she'd used all those years ago.

Someday when there are grandchildren, I hope they have just a tiny interest and will be able to remember me crocheting them pretty things when I'm long gone.

[orangetulipgarden]

My aunt taught me to crochet. I recently found out that my grandmother used to crochet when she was young in Poland, so I guess it goes back at least to her. I'm not sure about her mother. Now that the question's been asked, I've got to find out!