I share your pain, Pauline. But look at it this way - maybe you could buy some of those things and then they would be cherished again. I have found beautiful doilies in antique shops and they're obviously handmade by some long-stilled hook. I'm not the intended recipient but that doesn't stop me from loving them and admiring the tiny stitches and the persistence it took to finish it. And marveling at how you can't even find the woven-in ends not matter how you look. Sometimes I just wash and press and then put them in the linen closet. Sometimes I put them on a table or mount and frame them. And sometimes I have to leave them in the store or at the rummage sale or on eBay for someone else to discover.

Regardless of why the item is being sold, you and I, and probably everyone else on this site, appreciate the effort that went into making it. As for the magazine articles; bah, propaganda! They just want to sell magazines and are playing to your emotions. Besides, whenever did you believe everything you read?

:) Joy

http://yoursandi.blogspot.com

Hello, I am new to this forum. Your questions and comments convinced me to go ahead and join in the discussion.

My experience with crochet has taught me that the people that cherished my work the most did so because of who made it for them and why. I always told them (truthfully) that I put my love and affection for them in every stitch. That is where the priceless heirloom factored in (I believe).

Ebay is an online flea market after all and many people expect to get something of value for very little money. It's the people that sell on Ebay that get to know each other and the struggles of making a profit that will bid the highest on items. It is a community and it can be as close as you allow it to be. Anybody can buy on Ebay, but it takes a special sort to stick it out and extend the hand of friendship and trust that will get you through the worst of times.

I have to smile even as I grumble over the ignorance of the value of crocheted items. Ignorance begets poverty. I like this group because we are all in the know about how valuable our work is or soon will be. We share ideas and tips and even patterns with like-minded people in exchange for the friendship and acknowledgement that we find here. And if we aren't already selling our work, our ideas, and our patterns, we know that we can and we know the value of it all. We chose to rise above the ignorance inside of us and have fun and (yes!) make money.

Don't worry about it, you are a-okay in my book and I appreciated your willingness to speak the truth.

Bravo!

A while back I found a granny square blanket in the most clashing colors of pink and red and although the color scheme was not up my alley I had to buy it because they were selling it for a DOLLAR! And I thought the same thing " How much time, love and effort went into this and here it sits in a bin full of junk" okay maybe it can't compare to the antique heirloom doilies but still...to sell it for a dollar!

So I totally agree that we as lovers of crochet need to not only invest in making but also preserving the art and the artifacts!
Onward march...to all the ebays, junk stores and estate sales this is after all a "crochet revolution"!

ella

I've donated my body to motherhood

http://yoursandi.blogspot.com

I have thought about what would happen if the world suddenly was without power, the internet, and all the other things that so many people depend on.

I know what I would do, I'd continue to crochet and I'd be nice and warm while I worked away knowing that the value of my work just increased ten fold.

I think people get rid of crochet items because they think it doesn't fit their style or something. I love to crochet and I make things that I think are hip or pretty or timeless, but I realize not everyone would think so.

I have an elderly relative who crochets and she makes things that are just not attractive to most people in the family. For me, it's hard to get rid of things like that, no matter how ugly I think they are, because I know she spent a lot of time on it. So it just goes in a box and when she's gone I'll take it out and be reminded of her and how much she liked crocheting.

http://yoursandi.blogspot.com

I like that. I am the lucky recipient of someone's craft supplies now that she is gone. Her relatives loved her and held onto her supplies for years. But when they discovered that mice were getting into them, they wanted to give them to someone that would 1)know what to do with all of it, and 2)appreciate it all as much as the woman that owned it before.

Looking at all the items in the box and touching all the little unfinished projects, I felt like I knew this woman, and I wished that I had of met her before she was gone. We would have had so many things to talk about. I hope one day someone will feel like the lucky recipient of all my things I leave behind.

I often wonder how old the art of crochet is. I often think being such a simple skill to pick up, that early peoples must have been making blankets by crochet sooner than by knit.

http://treblecrochet.blujay.com True, most people don't treasure "heirlooms". Still, I pour my heart into the things I make, and I don't concern myself anymore with the item's future emotional or financial value. Some will appreciate your work and some will not...I know my daughter, at 6, does not fully appreciate the time it takes to make her doll a new dress...but someday, when she is older, she will look back and think...wow, my mom really must have loved me to spend all of her free time making me unique things! Memories are heirlooms, too...

It's definitely an interesting subject. and i guess maybe since i crochet i'll be more sentimental about it. my mom crocheted a baby blanket for each one of her kids (i've got 2 older sisters and a younger brother). out of all the blankets mine was the most complicated (odd coincidence). i know that i'll keep that blanket forever. My mom has had such a huge impact on my life that i simply couldn't get rid of it. i don't want to. and my sisters feel the same way. even though they're off living their own lives. they still have their baby blankets from mom.

so i don't know. i guess it depends on who made it for the person, as well as how much the recipient values the crocheter.

it's very sad to see such beautiful items sold so cheap. i guess you can say "welcome to society." in America today, lots of people don't value old things. and why? because "society" and the people in marketing want them to buy new things. everyone's trying to keep up with the Joneses. and the Joneses always have the latest and greatest things.

A guy, a hook, and some yarn.

Back in the 80's when the Cabbage Patch dolls first came out they were super expensive and very hard to find. I wanted one for Christmas in the worst way. So, being the resourceful woman that she is, my mother found a Cabbage Patch pattern and made me my first Cabbage Patch doll. I can't believe how well done it is. I will absolutely pass that doll on to my daughters/granddaughters (or sons/grandsons if they express an interest). I didn't fully understand the significance of the gift as a child, but I now realize how much of her time and energy went into that gift. I would never give it away to someone who couldn't appreciate its value. Maybe, as Crafty Boy says, it's because I value the woman who made me the doll.

Whatever the reason, some of us do still appreciate the significance of hand made items. And I agree with the idea that "Memories are heirlooms too." Toymaker, I'm sure when she's grown up your daughter will marvel over all of the little things, like making doll dresses, you've done to make her childhood a little bit more beautiful. And I'm sure she will value the memories long after she's given away her dolls.

On a slightly different note, I think we have to ask ourselves why we gift so many of our projects. Is it to make someone else feel loved, or is it to gain love in return? Can you single handedly create an heirloom or does it require the involvement of more than one generation? And what exactly makes items worth passing from generation to generation in the first place?

I guess it all depends on our own personal philosophies of crochet. :)

"Seven days without crochet makes one weak"
http://yoursandi.blogspot.com

I think that appreciation for anything is a sign of maturity. I know when I was young I certainly had a lack of appreciation.

There is nothing like experience to teach you the value of anything and everything.

http://treblecrochet.blujay.com
http://yarngirlscreativecrochet.blogspot.com
I have really gotten into crocehting for charity lately. I am not sure the recipients will think of the pieces as heirlooms, but I think the pieces will be appreciated. And, they will never know who the mystery person is that crocheted them that lovely hat, blanket, etc. It is personally fulfilling...