I had forgotten abou the "Hope Chest". If you were to ask an average 20 year old if she knew what a hope chest was she would probably not have a clue. I love the idea of a hope chest and creating a quilt to put in it. I think that a hope chest and a quilt could be for any girl that is planning on having her own home. This is not to say that she must follow societies standards for girls, i.e. marriage and children, but instead create a hope chest for herself and her own aspirations for the future. I do not know how to quilt nor did my mother and when my Mama passed she took the knowledge of that craft with her. My mother does however crotchet and she has made a blanket for all of her children and most of her grandchildren. Some of her blankets are more than 30 years old and they are all works of art and to me they are priceless.
I also love the idea of using a quilt as currency what a wonderful concept, you can get a piece of someone's history in exchange for something that you may not need or be using. The barter system was commonly utilized as a way to access the products, tools, and food that you needed in order to survive, especially during hard times. Bartering had all but disapeared until the recent decline of our economical system and it has now made a comeback so maybe the craft of quilting in the family will also come back. Wouldn't it be great to pass on that history to our daughters and granddaughters?
Donna,
ReplyDeleteYou know, until I read your post, I had forgotten about crocheting. My mother doesn’t quilt but she has crocheted since before I was born. Her creations are all around our house, plus they have been given away to countless friends and family members over the years.
I think crocheting for her serves the same function for her as it did for nineteenth century women: a creative outlet, a stress reliever, and the production of items that are both personal and serve a needed purpose.
Hayley
I wonder why the practice of having a Hope Chest died out? Maybe it's because women now feel like there is no reason to have a Hope Chest when they can just go out now and instead of hoping work for what they want. I assume Hope Chests acted as reminders for goal oriented women. Everyone has things that they hope for. Maybe that's why Hope Chests ran their course. Also, I can't help but wonder why only women seemed to be the ones who had Hope Chests. Why didn't young men have them? Was it just assumed that men got everything they wanted and women's wants and needs and wishes would never be met but as a consolation prize here, you can have this nice chest where you can place all your hope? What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI miss a hope chest too. And like Thomas I wonder why men didn't have them. I'm guessing it has to do with power. As we start to think of things like quilts as currency - particularly social currency for women - we can see a hope chest as directly tied to a woman's worth, usually her dowry when she got married. She couldn't take loads of money with her, but a woman could bring with her things she had produced and skills she had to produce more. What do girls take with them now?
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