I’ve learned a lot of textile arts to a “basic mastery” degree and moved on - wasn’t a waste, because I now better understand and appreciate things I see in museums and old churches, and a lot about the economics of pre-industrial/early industrial Europe, especially women’s work. For example, learning how to make bobbin lace, hanging around the old ladies whose mothers actually still got paid (pennies) as girls to make lace at home, making a few Christmas ornaments and visiting a bobbin lace museum [0]. Now when I see elaborate old lace around an altar cloth… Someone put hundreds of hours into that! And probably just got enough money to keep eating! Certainly not enough to actually wear lace like that!

[0] general museum info: https://www.museen-abenberg.de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-315... awkward gallery of amazing artifacts: https://www.museen-abenberg.de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-312...