For Kristen Clay, homemaking is at the heart of everything she does. Whether she’s creating designs for vintage clothing or nurturing her four young children, she believes she can benefit lives for generations to come through what she does now as a mother.
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clay learned her first crochet stitch at 6 years old.
“I was surrounded with crochet from my earliest years and would ask my mom for help if I couldn’t figure out a stitch or a pattern element,“ Mrs. Clay, 32, told The Epoch Times. ”I learned a few basic stitches young, but picked it up seriously as a young teen after reading through some of my mom’s old crochet magazines.”
At 19, Mrs. Clay sold her first crochet pattern to a craft magazine. She says from then on she was “really bitten by the bug” and has designed her own patterns ever since.
As a young adult, her family moved across the country from Pennsylvania to rural Idaho, and it was there that she found her husband, Dustin Clay. Since getting married and having children, Mrs. Clay has continued her work as a professional crochet designer.
‘The Glory and Joy of Womanhood’
Sharing what originally made her interested in vintage clothing, Mrs. Clay said that she began to “specifically notice and appreciate the vast creativity and feminine details” of the vintage styles as a young adult. From that point, she became completely enamored with the style and essence of vintage clothing.
“We started going to antique malls, and I couldn’t resist some of the gorgeous things I found there—especially accessories like hats and gloves. I figured life was too short to not wear such pretty things just because it was no longer a trend,” Mrs. Clay said.
As she creates her own vintage clothing, Mrs. Clay says she wants her clothing to highlight “the glory and joy of womanhood, expressed through modesty, creativity, and femininity.”
Mrs. Clay believes a traditional homemaker should cultivate diligence, self-control, obedience, patience, humility, and gratitude and not avoid hard things or not fritter away “the most valuable commodity of time.”
Contentment is the key, she said, adding that it is essential to learn to enjoy “God’s way of doing things—the mess and difficulties that come hand-in-hand with the joys of fruitfulness—and dignify every moment of the mundane.”
The Modern Convenience Paradox
Although trying to live traditionally in modern times comes with challenges, Mrs. Clay believes that it’s not all bad.“In a lot of ways, modern conveniences actually make it easier to live traditionally, as long as I use them as tools and not allow them to master me,” she said.
Speaking of what can be found on the internet, Mrs. Clay says there is a wealth of knowledge and helpful support online if one can manage to “stay out of the weeds,” acknowledging that wisdom has to be applied with the ease of modern convenience.
“It can be easy to spend time just researching and never creating, or filling the mind with filth or just foolishness that weighs you down. It’s so important to put down the device and also live in the moment,” she said.
Balancing Work and Life as a Mother
Living in the moment, for Mrs. Clay, has everything to do with her family. She loves to incorporate her children—two daughters and two sons—in what she is creating and designing, though it requires some juggling.“I had to learn to not just be consumed by creative fire when an idea strikes, but chip away in small portions of time on several things at once without either losing my motivation or getting distracted,” said the mom, who also loves baking, sewing, and quilting.
While she gets work done on designing and crocheting, she often has a toddler on her lap or playing near her. Mrs. Clay says that teaching her children to be occupied with their hands helps her be with them and get a lot of work done at the same time. That is the crux of traditional living for Mrs. Clay.
“Both my girls love to ‘help’ pin pattern pieces to the fabric when I am cutting out a dress, or use dull scissors to snip up fabric scraps from the trash and pretend they are being tailors,” she said.
The Impact of a Homemaker
Mrs. Clay takes to heart the words of writer C.S. Lewis: “A housewife’s work … is surely, in reality, the most important work in the world … [this] job is the one for which all others exist.”She said: “As go the homes, so goes civilization. Talk about an irreplaceable job that makes an enormous impact for generations—this is it!”
Mrs. Clay credits her upbringing for equipping her with a firm moral foundation that has enabled her to lead a more purposeful life.
“My parents raised me to think for myself, value history, love and seek after what is actually worthwhile in life, and not care if we are different,” she said. “Mainstream peer pressure and fashion trends have literally never affected me. Also, my mother and both grandmothers gave me a huge jump-start in learning the love of being home-centered, as well as basic domestic skills like sewing, bread making, big family dinners, hospitality, and home decorating.”
Here are some more photos of Mrs. Clay’s creative works:
