Zeitgeist

Have you noticed how fashionable 'traditional crafts' are at the moment? At the beginning of the last recession, one of the only businesses with an increase in turnover was sewing machine manufacturers! So whether people are making for themselves or looking for an outlet, this seems to be the upcoming thing. 'How-to's' abound. That is a lovely thing, people can find out methods & techniques that before would have taken years of research.
Lately, I think even the B.B.C were amazed at the success of a couple of their programs.
'Mastercrafts'.  Monty Don with his erudite and understanding view of craftspeople and their problems - he was in the business for a while - his light touch and instinctive empathy made this a stunning production.
Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands  & Peter Gill, on 'Tales from the Green Valley', 'Victorian Farm' (and the upcoming 'Edwardian Farm'), have gone from strength to strength. Having known Ruth for a while, we were not exactly surprised at the plaudits the programs have received, but the number of them.

So is it their passion for the subject that makes them so inspirational to others? When Gini & I went to school we had teachers that had, after their names, more letters than the Royal Mail can deliver in week. - (but that's another blog)! The point is that most could not teach. We just wonder what we'd be, if all our teachers had been 'inspiring'?
Even a picture can inspire. Gini has been wanting to make the dress on the left since the publication of the book "Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail"- Lucy Johnston  in 2005 - Five years later and that's been done - but there's plenty more pictures out there!