"Get Excited and Make Things"

My daughter received an autographed book for Christmas with the inscription,

"Get excited and make things." Wow! What motivating words! And this, from the pen of a sci-fi author - not a craft book as you might have expected.

These four simple words remind us to play, create, learn ...and use our creative talents. It's great to let loose and be creative.

Spinning and weaving (knitting, much more recently) have always been vital to mankind's survival. In fact, the development of clothing is linked with the increased survival rates of infants. It's scary to think that the knowledge and practice of these skills has been farmed out to developing countries and that we are losing our understanding of these skills.

Although spinning, weaving and clothing construction skills have been around for millenia, children (and others) need to ask the question, "How do you make a shirt?" It used to be that everyone knew how it was done because they saw the work done every day.

The making of cloth was one way that the New World achieved independence from the British. Gandhi's goal of having everyone spin for an hour a day was conceived to regain independence for India ...and make for a more peaceful world.

Creativity is important. That and learning more ways to create.

I plan to "Get excited and make things" in 2010! I hope that you do, too.

Original image Matt Jones, CC licensed by-nc-sa

Matt Jones not Matt Janes :)