Continuing Textile Traditions: Encouraging Children through Literature
March 20, 2025
We in WARP talk a lot about the importance of passing artisan traditions on from one generation to the next, and at the same time the difficulty of doing so in this new social-media infused world. Our speakers today have read and told stories to children that aim to help bridge the gap, each from a very different perspective: Linda Temple will be discussing her collection of textile-centered children’s books, including Marilyn Anderson’s coloring book to remind Mayan children of their own traditional arts and crafts which seem to be threatened with extinction; Ginny Merritt writes children’s stories that are aimed at Christian audiences that include important context, such as a family growing flax and weaving linen cloth 3600 years ago; and Elizabeth Seward has spent her professional life teaching knitting and other fiber arts through stories and here talks about the immense benefits for the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children. If you have not given much thought to the importance of children’s literature before, come and see it in a way that just might give you new ideas for how you can help the passing on of those valuable traditions.
Please note that if you would like to attend but are unavailable at the time listed, register anyway and you will receive a link to the recording as soon as it is available.
Panelists:
Linda Temple is a long-time hobby spinner and weaver. She has spent many hours in elementary school classrooms teaching handspinning, handweaving, and sharing textile folk stories with children of all ages. The children were curious about the history of handspinning, they enjoyed listening or reading textile stories, and were surprised at the many textile terms that have become a part of our language (warp, weft, loom, shed, heddle, and shuttle). They were also interested in the folklore of spinning and weaving, (Mother Goose is often seen at a spinning wheel, Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on the spindle). Linda treasures the many children’s books about textiles she has gathered over the years, and is happy to talk about them.
Ginny Merritt lives in an old house with a big garden in Clyde, NY, a little town on the Erie Canal between Rochester and Syracuse. She lives with her husband, Ray, a kind, careful craftsman and retired pastor. Their dog, Tobias, keeps them walking; the frogs in their pond keep them laughing; and their aged cat, Ranger, kept them wondering how the feline brain works until he moved on to the next of his nine lives. Ginny has published four books: A Ram for Isaac, The Window in the Wall, Ed’s Christmas Miracle, and Mending the Tailor.
Elizabeth Seward has been teaching traditional fiber arts (principally knitting) to all ages, mostly in Waldorf-oriented settings, for around 45 years. She holds a doctorate in the Foundations of Education, and a Master’s in Education and Spirituality. Elizabeth authored Teaching Through Stories: Jane and Jeremy Learn to Knit to share an easy, effective, and enjoyable way to teach knitting (and other fiber crafts) through stories, available as an e-book: Teaching Through Stories by Elizabeth Seward | The FriesenPress Bookstore. At the onset of the pandemic, she founded and continues to direct the 100% online Waldorf Handwork Educators programs (www.WaldorfHandwork.org ), an affordable and accessible way to train teachers around the world to bring basic fiber arts skills to children everywhere, as well as offer basic skills classes to adults.
