Lately I’ve been seriously entertaining the idea of persuing my PhD in either cultural anthropology/sociology/cultural studies.

I want to have the chance to research the issues surrounding craft, domesticity and modernity from a historical perspective in order to figure out what is happening in the present.

Because on the one hand, it seems like it’s just about the teeny tiny world of craft and the current resurgence, but when you look at the other, there’s a whole wealth of history holding up the present pillar. Crafts have been something that humans have always done, given a bit of free time and spare materials.

Sometimes I worry that women my grandmother’s age view this current re-interest in crafts as just a trend based on irony. Lately I’ve become sick of irony, and how irony has become the cornerstone of our wardrobes, leisure time and vocabulary. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to actually meet people who are real. And who have genuine interest in things, and genuine passion for it.

There is nothing I love more than when I am crafting in public and someone my grandmother’s age comes over and tells me stories about how she (or he!) used to knit/crochet/embroider. I want them to teach me all the skills they have learned before the current upswing where every town had numerous knitting circles. I am craving learning those skills that are passed down from generation to generation not passed down via printed pages on a book.

In researching knitting for various projects over the past few years, that’s what I have come to be most endeared by. The lack of pretension, the eagerness to share and communicate and the pure love of the craft. And no, I don’t think that irony is something just in the world of craft, in the past few years it’s inundated more than a few facets in my life.

I just want to return to the real.

Oh, and speaking of the ‘real,’ there’s nothing better at making you feel more connected locally if you volunteer! So go see who needs your help in your area, thanks to volunteermatch.org!