Different crafting in different areas?

Tweet

I live in Florida. I enjoy cross stitching, and knitting. I used to live in the Midwest (Missouri). My question is: Is it my imagination or do certain crafts seem to take up in different areas? I have watched Michaels and Hobby Lobby size down tremendously on these particular crafts. We also have a small Joann's which would almost remind you of the old time Ben Franklin Store. When I lived in Tampa area of Florida we got a new Joann's and we had a wonderful area of needlepoint, and cross stitch available. You could buy aida cloth in bulk, rather than buying a piece at a time. I notice up in the New England states of the U.S. there seems to be more crafting in needlework than down here in Florida. If you are working on larger pieces of Cross stitch, such as Golden Kite, Mystic Stitch or Heaven and Earth Designs, then you have to have material basically ordered online and shipped to you thus costing more than when we could walk in and purchase it bulk for correct sizing. Hardly any of the prepackaged cross stitch material allows for some of the larger stitching projects. In Knitting I notice that companies change their colors rapidly. So if you find something and purchase it and go back a few months later you will not find the same color..as time moves on even if you wanted to do another item in the same color for a friend. I busy myself here in PCB,Fl stitching and knitting. I go to Paneras once a week for a bagel or pastry and sip tea on off hours of Paneras just to be out of the house. Many people have walked up to me and stated they have not seen anyone else cross stitch. One man even walked up and asked me if I was from Holland because his wife cross stitched LOL. Anyway is cross stitching which has been so dominant through our history going by the wayside? Are there many young people out there that sincerely crafts anymore? I grew up watching my mother craft and allowing me to do some crafting when I was smaller. When my children were growing up I ran a ceramic business which they loved making their own special pieces, and they latchhooked rugs, and even learned to needlepoint on a colored canvas background. All five of my children grew up with crafting and even now implement crafts into their lives. All this said, I sure wish more people were willing to craft just a little, there are so many wonderful organizations out there that would be greatful for a knitted square, or even a cross stitched square that would be turned into a blanket for either a lapghan for people in wheelchairs, or a cross stitched blanket for a small child that is homeless or in a hospital or even taken away from their parents. I would love to see this age old crafting brought back to our hands and hearts again. When I see people angry at dr offices for having to wait if they only had something to do would take their minds off of watching the clock. I knit and when I get in the private office the girls are always wanting to see what I am working on. I sure hate to see our beloved crafts go by way of generation loss. It is a privilege to me to be able to cross stitch and learn the history of how it got started. I am very greatful for having been taught by my friend 10 years ago. My same friend sat on the phone teaching me not only cross stitching but taught me to Knit sitting on the phone. So do you think crafting is just scrapbooking and jewelry making? Would love to hear from crafters in all parts of the US and world. I value comments even across the ocean I deffinately know Knitting is done all over Canada, and UK is known for their cross stitching.