The Question of Macrame

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paradox3 said:
Painting is good for the finished product quandary. You can easily store artwork in a portfolio and just frame selected pieces.
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And if you get good enough, you might sell a few. Grandad did, though I think he mostly just charged the cost of the frame. I think some of his work did end up in galleries after his death, or so I have heard. Our house is decorated with oils by him as well as one by a mouth-painter he coached.

As for the original subject, I know macrame from seeing it only. Never known anyone who actually made it.
 
@paradox3 - just wanted to say how I appreciate your threads that create 'trips down memory lane' in the midst of winter (well, anytime really!) I've certainly had some fun "OMG I haven't thought of that in decades" moments.

We really were on a transitional edge of practice in OT school - crafts still being taught, but their clinical use was waning - and now they seem to have completely vanished from OT practice. Wonder if use of therapeutic activity might cycle back again in another 40 or 50 years? LOL Let's see - what did we learn in that realm of applied therapeutic activity & observation - loom weaving (tabletop & floor looms - so tedious!), 'wrought iron' work, pottery (all types of construction including working on a wheels), macrame, seagrass stool/chair weaving, carpentry - what am I missing? In my early years of clinical work I also learned string art & leather work - both were used a lot in my acute inpatient psychiatry unit.
 
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paradox3 said:
Yes the twists are done by doing half a square knot. As the cord twists around, your right hand cord becomes your left. And vice versa
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I guess once a braid is ended and not just left open it is a type of knot?
 
My intro to macrame was actually 'fancy knotwork' that we used to make our lanyards at Sea Rangers (older girl guides). Also splicing and specialty knots used on sailboats. When a grandboy joined Scouts I amused him by teaching him how to make a Turk's Head to use as a woggle to hold his neckerchief. I also made plant hangars but didn't do the wall decor.
 
Carolla said:
@paradox3 - just wanted to say how I appreciate your threads that create 'trips down memory lane' in the midst of winter (well, anytime really!) I've certainly had some fun "OMG I haven't thought of that in decades" moments.

We really were on a transitional edge of practice in OT school - crafts still being taught, but their clinical use was waning - and now they seem to have completely vanished from OT practice. Wonder if use of therapeutic activity might cycle back again in another 40 or 50 years? LOL Let's see - what did we learn in that realm of applied therapeutic activity & observation - loom weaving (tabletop & floor looms - so tedious!), 'wrought iron' work, pottery (all types of construction including working on a wheels), macrame, seagrass stool/chair weaving, carpentry - what am I missing? In my early years of clinical work I also learned string art & leather work - both were used a lot in my acute inpatient psychiatry unit.
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Your post brings back a few memories. There was also lino block printing but nothing else comes to mind.
 
paradox3 said:
Not really sure what you are asking. The spiral in the photo was made using half square knots. No braiding involved. This probably makes no sense if you don't know how to do the square knot.
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Moreso just thinking allowed what makes a brand a braid and a knot a knot.

For what my sister did it may have been something like what you've saying. I judt recall it looking like some type of braid but could have been something like this.
I wonder if she stuck the somewhere at her new place? Will keep it in mind and take a look again if she has them.

She changes things up way more than I do! Even houses!
 
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About those crafts we learned in OT school. As @Carolla mentioned we were at a transitional time. These things were still being taught to us but we saw very little of them in our clinical placements.

Crafts persisted the longest in mental health practice. We were still using crafts in the mid 90's in one of my jobs.

But the crafts themselves were much simpler. I remember easy leather projects such as key tags and cute little coasters we made with mosaic tiles. Most of the items were like things you might pick up at a bazaar.

Macrame was the only craft I learned in OT school that was useful to me. And that was for personal use LoL

So funny to see it back after all these years.
 
paradox3 said:
About those crafts we learned in OT school. As @Carolla mentioned we were at a transitional time. These things were still being taught to us but we saw very little of them in our clinical placements.

Crafts persisted the longest in mental health practice. We were still using crafts in the mid 90's in one of my jobs.

But the crafts themselves were much simpler. I remember easy leather projects such as key tags and cute little coasters we made with mosaic tiles. Most of the items were like things you might pick up at a bazaar.

Macrame was the only craft I learned in OT school that was useful to me. And that was for personal use LoL

So funny to see it back after all these years.
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I used to volunteer as an assistant to the Activities Director of a nursing home, helping out with the crafts. I was just recalling some of the projects of that era (early '80's). Remember spice ropes? (A macrame cord with little calico bags of spice and cinnamon sticks attached)? Corn husk dolls? Pickled bums? Kitchen witches?
 
ninj said:
I used to volunteer as an assistant to the Activities Director of a nursing home, helping out with the crafts. I was just recalling some of the projects of that era (early '80's). Remember spice ropes? (A macrame cord with little calico bags of spice and cinnamon sticks attached)? Corn husk dolls? Pickled bums? Kitchen witches?
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Yes I do remember all those things from the 80's. We did the spice ropes but we just braided the yarn.

We made dream catchers too without giving appropriation a thought.
 
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There was a prof at OT school (initials TC @Carolla) who talked about the disappearance of crafts from OT practice. She cautioned us that if we gave up crafts, another professional group would pick them up.

Ta da!

Recreation Therapists!

I never worked with them in mental health but they have a role there. I was more familiar with them on the Continuing Care and Rehab Units.
 
@paradox3 - Later in my career, I discovered the work of Claudia Allen. She developed an amazing scale to grade functional cognitive impairment, based on detailed, skilled, standardized observation of people doing various craft and ADL activities. It was the process, not the finished object that was the focus for the assessment - but that was hard for some to appreciate with all its cognitive complexities. It was fascinating, and became extremely useful. It was a slog to bring it forward into OT practice due to its use of activity and skilled OT observation which had really ceased to be taught in OT school at the time, but eventually most OTs in my hospital embraced it, and it became a cruicial piece of information that was sought when planning discharge.
 
@Carolla I have heard of Claudia Allen but that is all.

In one of my jobs the OT role included administering the CCT which was incredibly tedious and time consuming. Its days are likely gone by now.

We also used the MMSE.
It seems to still be in use along with the MOCA.
 
paradox3 said:
@Carolla I have heard of Claudia Allen but that is all.

In one of my jobs the OT role included administering the CCT which was incredibly tedious and time consuming. Its days are likely gone by now.

We also used the MMSE.
It seems to still be in use along with the MOCA.
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AAAAAAAAGH! Another profession rife with weird acronyms! :ROFLMAO:

Of course, maybe they are all like that now. I've been a librarian and an IT professional and, yeah, some conversations almost need a translator for outsiders.
 
Oh, yes, I think I've heard of MoCA. Person, woman, man, camera, TV.

(Oops, sorry. nothing to do with macrame, just excited because I found something in there I've heard of....)
 
I have one of those plant hanger things I bought at Value Village - was going for shabby chic/ boho lol. I had it up in my last place but I haven’t put it up here. The thread is about skills though - no I don’t have macrame skills lol. I have an eye for decorating well with other peoples’ discarded cheap and free junk/ treasures I find though lol.
 
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