Before Dave and I married we wrote letters to each other because we simply could not afford to make long distance phone calls to each other every day. We would talk on the phone once a week... taking turns to make the calls so that we didn't run up the long distance phone bills for our parents (yes, we both still lived at home before marriage).
The art of writing letters is lost skill... Ok, maybe not totally lost. Not long ago we received a letter from a friend that we had not heard from for over a year. She shared about their travels and a recent visit to the Creation Museum in Kentucky (this is the museum that has Noah's Ark) and updated us on their children's and grand-children's activities and such.
I also thought of the letters from the former German Prisoners of War that were sent to my Grandparents from 1946 to 1949 that I mentioned in my Grandmother's Flower Garden post.
It made me realize just how bad I am about letter writing. When the conveniences of life, like the phone, social media and email, distract us and snatch away some simple things in life. I am certainly not denouncing technology because I am a user of all these things and they have allowed me to reconnect with some friends from my childhood as well as make new friends (like YOU!). I enjoy the interaction and little snapshots of life that I get through brief "conversations" and comments.
BUT... I have decided that when we go out on our camping excursions I will be taking along a pad of paper to send hand-written letters to a few people that don't frequent social media and technology.
I just LOVE getting notes and letters from friends... so why wouldn't they LOVE it just as much???
I will personalize it even further by sending one of my "hand-sewn hello" cards... Have you seen them? I started making them last year and they feature some of the local landmarks.
<< These feature Fisher's Peak, but I have Stonewall, CO and the Spanish peaks as well. (below)
(I need to refine the Spanish Peaks cards, as I am not completely happy with the look... even though I took the outlines directly from a photograph.)
When I started making them last year I was thinking I would contact some of the local museums and gift shops to have them sell them. I have been lazy about doing that.
Why?
Because, I am actually afraid that there would be great interest in them and I would then have to mass-produce them to the best of my ability and grow tired of making them. (I can only do about five at a time because they are cut with an exacto knife and my fingers get sore and tired.) Is that weird??? Fear of success?
Hmmm... I will need to jump over this hurdle and see what I can do. I guess the first step is to make an appointment with a few local shops and see if there is an interest in them. The other thing is to simply state that there is a limited supply available.
When was the last time you received a hand-written letter?
When was the last time you SENT a "thinking of you" note?
Leave a comment... it is almost as good as receiving a hand-written note in the mailbox! 😉
Quilt Happy!
Melva
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
WOW at Esther's Quilt Blog
Magic Crafts at Ulrikes Smaating
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Quilt Happy!
Melva
Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series
Linking with:
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Main Crush Monday at Cookin’ Up Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting
Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy
WOW at Esther's Quilt Blog
Magic Crafts at Ulrikes Smaating
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Such clever notecards! I understand your reluctance to mass-produce them. Would you consider making prints of them instead? You could make the prints available in packs, and perhaps sign the originals and sell them individually.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten two handwritten letters recently--thanks for the reminder to write back, and thanks for linking up to What I Made Monday!
I write very few letters these days but I do try and write thank you notes and my husband is very diligent in writing and sending postcards to family and friends when we go away on holiday. Receiving a letter is a real treat these days :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't often send handwritten, but I do type them. I have the mother of one of my friends to whom I send handwritten cards every couple of months, though. =) I did love letters, but I tend to save the e-mails of friends for a long time, too. Some go back to the beginning of g-mail. Before that, I used Eudora and had a pile saved there from the beginnings of the internet. =) I think that's the thing we miss with letters - going back and re-reading notes. I'll still keep technology, because I've made friends all over the world in the years we've had the internet and blogging. And we do sometimes exchange letters!
ReplyDeleteYour Hello cards are awesome! I understand your hesitation with contacting the shops. I've never been a fan of "production sewing" and wouldn't want to use my (limited) sewing time for that kind of work. Handwritten notes and letters? Umm... It's been QUITE a while!
ReplyDeleteI love sewing on paper and try to make hand-sewn cards en masse so I have them when I need them. Yours are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some great points about written communication. I have some treasured letters that my grandfather (whom I never met) and my great-grandmother wrote to my uncle. Having these little bits of these letter writers -- their thoughts, their handwriting -- is so meaningful to me. I don't think my progeny will be printing out my emails for posterity!
Oh my, once in awhile I send and receive handwritten notes. I made a birthday card this morning and sent it off. But what I'd REALLY like to read are those letters you mentioned from former German Prisoners of War to your grandparents!! Assuming they are in english... Wouldn't there be a book idea in that set of letters???
ReplyDeleteI can understand the fear of success. I recently realized that fear of success was paralyzing me to forward movement as well.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered a cutting decide if some sort? The cameo silhouette or cricut or something similar? It would allow you to carve the shapes in moments with out hurting your hands. They would be a technology learning curve if course but...
Handmade cards and handwritten letters are always nice. Fear of success, realised or not is reasonably common. Perhaps if you did get too much interest, you could use the proceeds to get a cutter like Heather suggests, I love mine for all my appliqués.
ReplyDeleteYour note cards will sell easily of course. They are wonderful! Can't remember the last time I sent or received a note. Makes me realize how busy I've been of late. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDelete