Depending on other people

[cjsmith]

My shell account at my ISP is currently pretty much unusable because my homedir's disk is full. This happens every few months. They eventually get around to doing housecleaning, but until they do, I'm stuck. In particular: no personal mail. Grr! I hate depending on other people for stuff like this. It means that if someone else is slow or sloppy, I pay a price.

The only alternative to depending on others, though, eventually means mining some ore myself, purifying the copper and the silicon, creating a computer... you get the idea. Plus growing and weaving my own fibers for clothing... Somewhere, I have to find the right place to draw the line.

Speaking of where to draw that line, why is it far more common to create one's own food than to create one's own clothing? There's a huge support infrastructure for that: competing megagrocery chains, Williams-Sonoma, whole industries devoted to making special sauces for the "cook" to heat up and pour... the list goes on. The support infrastructure for sewing, while still biggish, is far smaller. The prevalence of that choice is pretty ingrained in some ways. But cooking for oneself every day takes more time than maintaining a home-sewn wardrobe would take. Food that isn't right is usually merely annoying, just like clothing that isn't right -- except clothing that isn't right annoys for a longer time. Why pick cooking over sewing? Did all that structure grow out of those infrequent cases where food that isn't right can cause serious illness? (All that and we haven't eliminated those cases, either!)

Speaking of sewing, I really need to get my sewing machine overhauled. Depending on other people again... and yes, the fact I have procrastinated this errand has a lot to do with the fact that I don't know whom to trust with the work! :-)

Hey. How come LJ has a mood selection for "exanimate" (WTF?) but not one for something so prosaic as "whiny"? (Or is what I need now the also-nonexistent "rambling"?)

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Interesting question. Without pondering it too much, I imagine that sewing has gone out of fashion a bit because it's cheaper and more convenient to buy ready-made clothing. While eating out is becoming more convenient, it's still cheaper to prepare one's own food, and it is ingrained in us as a community activity rather than a solo one.

I do both, but it's been a long time since I broke out the sewing machine. I certainly remember much more support for the activity 25 years ago than there is now. Must ponder some more.

Having spent most of yesterday at the Gourmet Products Show, this got my attention :). The support infrastructure for preparing meals at home isn't only huge, it's *growing*.

[deyo.livejournal.com]

You can create an entire formal ensemble in Burma, for 10 cents plus materials, and ship it to America.

If you ship a salmon bisque from Burma, the results are often disappointing. ;)

[gs.livejournal.com]

Alvin Toffler wrote about industry moving from the mass-produced to the customized (probably in "The Third Wave"), but I haven't seen this happen in clothing other than iron-on t-shirt transfers. Economies of scale still seems to be a powerful factor. FatBrain used to publish books on demand for you, but they've been eaten by B&N. I'd love to be able to order a dozen shirts, in the style and fabric I chose, rather than have to settle for what somebody else thinks is the current fashion.

You don't happen to have a phone number or URL for those folk in Burma, do you? I'm not partial to salmon bisque anyway.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've hoped his predictions would come true, but sadly it may be quite a while. Bummer!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Without pondering it too much, I imagine that sewing has gone out of fashion a bit because it's cheaper and more convenient to buy ready-made clothing. While eating out is becoming more convenient, it's still cheaper to prepare one's own food, and it is ingrained in us as a community activity rather than a solo one.

True. I guess I was looking farther back. Mass-produced clothing is cheap because the industry developed for it. Why? I guess one ultimate cause would be that food spoils quickly, so true mass-production is inherently more difficult for food than for clothing.

Cool. I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't thought about your response. :-)

Oddly enough, clothing production was a community activity not too long ago... before sewing machines made it possible to do a lot of work quickly solo? Hmm. One appliance gets invented, and look at the social changes!

[sewing:] I certainly remember much more support for the activity 25 years ago than there is now.

Me too, and I mourn the loss. I like sewing. (Plus, mass-produced clothes SUCK! Even I, a hobbyist at the "dabbler" level, know how to make 'em better than THAT!)

Having spent most of yesterday at the Gourmet Products Show, this got my attention :). The support infrastructure for preparing meals at home isn't only huge, it's *growing*.

Ooo, another proximate cause: the meme that anyone with the right level of discerning taste and ten minutes of practice can produce "gourmet" meals. We don't have that meme for sewing. I'm a clothing snob: is what I sew therefore as good as what a professional (designer, seamstress, tailor) could make, with her lifetime of experience? Not!

That show sounds really fun, btw. I hope you weren't TOO sleep-deprived!

Re:

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, clothing production was a community activity not too long ago... before sewing machines made it possible to do a lot of work quickly solo? Hmm. One appliance gets invented, and look at the social changes!

True. After I wrote my response, it occured to me that women often sat in circles and spun wool, wove cloth. Sewing and mending was part of the evening social time. When my grandmother sat down, she'd pick up a bit of tatting or darning or knitting.

Me too, and I mourn the loss. I like sewing. (Plus, mass-produced clothes SUCK! Even I, a hobbyist at the "dabbler" level, know how to make 'em better than THAT!)

I made beautiful clothes when I was in high school, and college, and before I had children. I loved the creative aspect of it as much as I took pride in a well-finished seam. But it really does seem to be dying out. I've seen 2 large fabric stores near me close in the last few years.

Ooo, another proximate cause: the meme that anyone with the right level of discerning taste and ten minutes of practice can produce "gourmet" meals.

Like anything else worth doing well, it takes a level of basic knowledge and some knowledge of food chemistry. It's hard to follow the recipe for Eggs Benedict if you can't manage to poach an egg.

But there *are* the means of making a "gourmet" meal from packages and jars and the frozen food section. I can't think of something comparable in the clothesmaking venue. The closest thing I've ever seen is precut material.

What all that rambling means is that I agree with you:). And I agree, there *should* be an icon for "rambling".

That show sounds really fun, btw. I hope you weren't TOO sleep-deprived!

Oh, it was! And I made up for most of the sleep-deprivation already. Thanks!

[gs.livejournal.com]

mass-produced clothes SUCK! Even I, a hobbyist at the "dabbler" level, know how to make 'em better than THAT!

I feel the same way. About clothes and furniture. I've got most of the tools, a bit of the skill, but none of the time to make my own furniture.

A couple of years ago, I became really interested in making my own shirts. I like the way double stitching looks, but it took me awhile to research the right tool for it. I thought a special machine was required, but I found a really good book on shirtmaking, and it recommended a felling foot or a rolled hem foot, so I got a few of each (in various sizes). Kathy and I played with them a bit to try and get the hang of them, but we haven't had the time to dedicate towards improving our skill to the point where we could successfully make a shirt (that I would want to wear in public). When I was growing up, my Mom liked to sew. He taught me a bit, but mostly I would design things, then she would make them for me. I specifically remember a "cowboy shirt" that I wore in junior high, that I was especially proud of. She also helped me make a winter coat (from a kit) that I wore in high school. I wore it up until a couple years ago. In fact, it's probably still in my closet...

Kathy had a dress that was just perfect for her, but we have never found one in stores again. I'd love to have reasonably close copies in a variety of patterns for her.

Most fabric stores in the valley seem kind of lame. The most interesting stores are the quilting stores. The array of patterns and colors is dazzling. In the city, Britex is mind boggling. If you haven't been there, it's definitely worth a trip. (Let's see, I probably have a jpeg on my laptop around here somewhere...)

Time. I need more time.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

When you retire you'll have fun using those skills.

I think it would be most excellent to know how to make furniture. My woodworking knowledge is minuscule, and my woodworking skill is nil.

Agreed about most fabric stores, and about Britex. The quilting stores, unfortunately, mostly sell only cotton flat weave. I wouldn't make a T-shirt out of that, or a ballgown, or lingerie. But the colors and patterns are wonderful!

[gs.livejournal.com]

I can see your problem with flat weave cotton for making t-shirts, ballgowns, or lingerrrrrr...ooooooooooooooo...mmmmmmmm

I'm sorry, what were we talking about?

Uh, right. Flat weave cotton. It would work fine for the shirts I want to make (or have made for me).

I guess we need better fabric suppliers.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Have you ever seen duct tape formalwear?

I am NOT thinking about duct tape lingerie... NOT NOT NOT... oh, the possibilities!

Anyhow, yeah, definitely need better fabric suppliers.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

why is it far more common to create one's own food than to create one's own clothing?

Hmmm... in this culture, I believe it has to do with what skills are handed-down between generations. Food preparation happens far more often than clothes-making, so (for example) parents are more likely to train their kids to cook simple meals before they teach them skills (such as sewing, or auto repair) that are used less often.

A better comparison would be between knowing how to cook simple meals, vs. knowing how to do ones' own laundry (clothing-wise, it occurs much more often than making new clothes). I think most people would know how to do both activities by the time they are, say, 20.

Personal data point: I was the oldest of three kids, and starting at 14 my mom went back to work and I became responsible for watching my younger sibs as well as making dinner for the whole family (on most weeknights). But I never needed to learn to sew, so never was taught, so consequently I walk around nowadays in business meetings with missing shirt buttons... I have bought new off-the-rack shirts rather than attempt to sew on two kissing buttons, but I'm conversely a pretty good cook.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

My own personal data point: The first thing I was taught was laundry. The washing machine and the dryer were both sturdy enough to climb on so I could reach the knobs. I have no memories of a time when I didn't know how to do laundry.

Then I was taught sewing, before cooking, possibly because I could reach the sewing machine earlier than I could reach the stove... it was that early. I could make straight seams on the machine at a very young age. I have no idea why I never sewed my thumb into anything. Well, I didn't until I was a lot older, at least. :-)

Later, when I and eventually my siblings too were old enough to learn to cook, my mother realized that this meant she didn't have to do it any more. I cooked regularly (when it was my turn, that is) for a family of five for more than a decade. I now feel that I have "paid my dues" in terms of cooking and cleaning. I will no longer cook, I will no longer do any dishes but my own, and I purchase for potlucks. I am done.

Doesn't help that most of my extended family expects the woman to cook while the man watches football. I got a little rebel streak in me, ya think? :-)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

sturdy enough to climb on so I could reach the knobs

I tried this at an early age, but my mother shooed me away rather than capitalize on my interest to teach me. Gender-linked socialization strikes again...

Another side issue... as far as kids' experimentation goes, parents often seem more willing to allow children to "waste" flour than "waste" cloth.

most of my extended family expects the woman to cook while the man watches football

(grin) so, Raiders or 49ers? At my house, I'm more likely to be in the kitchen playing with things on a Sunday afternoon, while Pat is elsewhere explaining zone vs. man-to-man coverages to David or James...

I got a little rebel streak in me, ya think? :-)


Yep, one of your more-attractive features, per se (even though you aren't a Southerner ;-)...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I tried this at an early age, but my mother shooed me away rather than capitalize on my interest to teach me. Gender-linked socialization strikes again...

Or simply the fact that my mother was immensely practical. She jumped at the chance to avoid doing it all herself! :-)

Too bad I don't like sports either. Otherwise I could've made quite the little feminist issue out of the whole thing. Instead, I just don't visit those people any more. Easiest all round.

(even though you aren't a Southerner ;-)

Well, maybe I can compensate with a few things. :-)

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

If we move to Egypt, I want a flax farm in the Nile floodplain, so I can weave my own linen. :) :) :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, my! Can I come visit you? Pretty please?

I have been to Egypt exactly once. I don't know how I'd handle living there as an adult woman. I don't know how YOU handle the uncertainty of all this!!

Re:

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

I dunno either! :) But what are you going to do, give up? There's still dirty laundry to wash and dinner to cook, kids to care for, and my own stories to write. I try to focus on that. And since my mind keeps wandering to all the "what ifs", I've been TRYING to look at the positive, exciting parts of each future possibility, because that keeps me up late at night a lot LESS than when I start to worry about the difficult parts, the stressful parts, and the big NOT KNOWING part!! So I daydream, about things like having a flax farm on the Nile, and go wash the laundry!

(And then I come and rant to all y'all when I can't take the uncertainty any longer!!!!)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Daydream about someone teaching you how to make papyrus, too! (well, I'd daydream that!)

Re:

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah! That's a cool one!!