There's been some talk on the Knitlist about generational stuff, namely, are there certain recent generations where the moms didn't pass craft-skills on to the daughters (I'm going with the female gender here, because I know in the past 100 years up until recently, a man knitting or sewing was uncommon).

I don't know. My mom was a Depression baby and a WWII child. She grew up in a "make it, make it do, or do without" family (more ingenuity than money) so she knew all that stuff. And when I was a kid, I wanted to be *just* *like* *her* so I insisted on her teaching me it all - crochet, knitting, embroidery, sewing, cooking, gardening...Also, "The Waltons" and "Little House on the Prairie" were popular tv shows in my household growing up, so I got another dose of the "making stuff or knowing how to do stuff is good" ethos.

I still admit I harbor dreams of going "off the grid" and living off the land as much as possible, though I know in reality I'd come running back to consumer society as soon as the toilet paper ran out. Still, it's a nice dream.