Basic skills - would you admit to lacking?

I can do loud whistles, fix my car and I can sew very well
but I cannot follow a knitting pattern really or crochet

I can't even do an ordinary whistle, let alone one of those piercing 2finger ones. Neither can I ride a bike despite trying many times. My fear of heights clicks in when I try to ride a horse,
However, a young friend needed to sew up the hem of her daughter's school dress, and didn't know how to do it. I did it for her and she was impressed. I had been the dunce of the needlework class too. To go back to the original post, I can also sew on buttons properly, darn and embroider. Many years ago I struggled to change an old style light bulb and the 16 year old baby sitter had to do it. I have never forgotten the look of disbelief on her face.

People like to help & it forms wider networks & friendships.

Galaxy ; do not want to be rude but you are just a bit patronizing to what skills a woman should have. I would be ashamed to admit that I could not even put together a meal
or want to step into my kitchen even if I was Loraine Kelly. Just because she presents the morning show she could still cook something.
I think teaching children to do some basic needlework is important and so is sewing on buttons etc, My grand-daughter was not getting taught needlework as a lesson but there was an after school group that ran a sewing class and she thoroughly enjoyed it, sadly when Covid struck the school it all stopped, and grand-daughter was really unhappy.
I taught her some basic needlework myself at home which she enjoyed.
I do agree with you that I.T skills are important also budgeting first aid and information about tax are equally important.
I am hopeless with smart phones and had to be given lessons by two young grand-daughters who could use them as if there were no problems.

I can cook, sew, hang wallpaper, put flat pack furniture together etc. Always watched my parents who did mist things themselves. I've just got divorced and have found that I am more than csoable of going most things. That said I have decided after years of doing most of the work round our marital home that I will pay for someone else to do the Jobs I don't want to do. So I have had all downstairs (so far painted), I have a regular window cleaner and my bins washed and disinfected twice a month (hated that job). Any heavy work in the garden has been done by a gardener and am getting someone in to tile the kitchen splashbacks. I don't do anything on my car there's a garage and car wash that. Having done the lions share during the last 40 years I am now picking the jobs I want to do and thank my parents and my school for showing me how to do most of the practical jobs.

I'm obviously no typist though ?

I never learned to drive - found it stressful

I never learned to play a musical instrument or read music

I know how to text but find it clumsy and slow compared to typing

Never interested in sport or running around like a manwoman

Never learned to look after babies or change a nappy - never wanted any

I know what I am good at and its not any of these things.

I can do most useful practical things eg. sew, knit, crochet, embroider, make curtains, paint & wallpaper (better than my husband), fix a dripping tap, unblock the sink and loo, change a tyre, wire a plug, drive, ride a horse, draw and paint, cut the grass, prune the plants, use all our power tools (even my husband's scroll saw), upholster a sofa and trim and groom the dog!

If I want to know how to do something get a book from the library or Google it.

I can't swim, ride a bike, play an instrument, or cook - I'm just not interested in cooking which makes me resent the time it spent doing it.

Think it's about time schools introduced basic living skills. Asking for someone to sew on buttons, the person is so lazy not to even look on the Internet for hints. Beyond belief. Bet they didn't even have a needle or thread.

I cant swim either and am not interested in cooking although I can put together a basic meal for myself. Just not interested in anything which smacks of "housework". Useless at looking after sick people and I dont suffer fools gladly.

I am good at decoratng, basic DIY like putting up shelves, painting, wallpapering, interior design, knitting, sewing, crochet and embroidery. I can fill up forms (especially benefit forms as I know how to manipulate the wording) reading, writing, public speaking and running a business. Spent my working life dealing with customers and clients in various forms but use various techniques to manage them.

I am grateful for the basic sewing skills I was taught at school, but I have no talent for anything practical or creative. I usually sew on name tapes for my grandchildren. But was not asked this year. My daughter actually sent me a photo of two she had done!
I have no real interest in learning new skills, and nowadays my back and shoulders and poor grip prevent me doing things like decorating.

Is it possible that the person that asked for the volunteers has severe arthritis and is physically unable to sew on a button? I've never been good at sewing but I could sew on a button once upon a time, but I couldn't now due to arthritis.

I have an O Level in Needlework. We all had to take an Art/Practical subject and as I couldn’t draw for toffee and wasn’t that interested in cookery, that was my choice. It has actually been useful, because I can wield a needle for almost anything, having reupholstered a chair and in the past made loose covers for a three piece suite and also curtains. I also mended my son’s sofa on a visit to his home in the US!

GaGaJo re car tyres and their pressure.
I had exactly the same problem until yesterday! Used to rely on the tyre pressure being OK until the next service, but with Lockdown the time between services has lengthened as I haven't used the car much and the tyres were beginning to look a little flat. I'd sussed out a DIY machine at the petrol station, and spent time planning in my head how I would cope with the fact that it costs £1 per 5 minutes and worked out that I needed to remove the little caps and put them somewhere safe before putting any money in, then try and attach the machine to each tyre in the time, but was worried that I might not be able to park to allow access to all 4 tyres from one position. Another couple of £s wouldn't have been the end of the world but I also worried that there might be someone else waiting to use the machine and I would be annoyingly slow!
However a friend showed me her solution, which is a portable tyre inflator from Halfords. I bought it yesterday, and admittedly spent the afternoon perusing the ( quite simple ) instructions over and over until I more or less grasped what I was supposed to do. You get power from the car cigarette lighter, attach the machine to each tyre in turn and get a reading, then inflate until the required pressure is reached. Eureka! Done!

Several 'I couldn't get the hang of crochet' posts.
Bella Coco on YouTube is wonderful (There are left-handed YouTube videos too)
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bella+coco+crochet+for+beginners

Blondiescot

GagaJo

Car engines / tyres leave me cold. I used to be able to use an oil dipstick, but my current car is too complicated for me.

It would be really useful to be able to use the oil dipstick, measure the tyre pressure and put air in.

To be perfectly honest, with today's cars, there's actually very little that a 'home' mechanic can do anyway. So many electronic components now, which require specialised diagnostic equipment. My husband and I used to compete in car rallies, and I took a few car maintenance courses, so I could change most parts, including an engine if required. I could still do basic things like changing a tyre (which I personally think should be part of the driving test anyway), checking oil, water levels etc, but much of the more complicated stuff is way beyond me. Even my husband, who used to do all the maintenance himself, won't touch a lot of it now.

I don’t think that changing a wheel should be part of the driving test. It’s ok for those who are interested in the mechanics of cars etc. I’m a practical person but have never changed a wheel and doubt I could do it now I’m in my 70s with a bad back etc. My son has dyspraxia and has no practical skills whatsoever which is very frustrating for him as he tries very hard without success. A car mechanic once told me that if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing and haven’t got the right skills it’s down right dangerous to change a wheel and it’s far safer to get professional roadside assistance for the job.

I can sew on a button, shorten and hem skirts and trousers. I can knit and crochet although my knitting is extremely slow going
I can cook anything you present me with, gut fish and prepare game. I draw the line at plucking pheasants though, it's easier to skin them.
My Dad taught me all about car engines and how to change a wheel. Car engines are so full of electrical and computerised parts these days that I wouldn't try to fix any of them.

I can't do home decorating ☹️, or gardening. My baking leaves a lot to be desired.

I was one of 4 girls and my dad taught me all the things he would have taught a son, how to drill, decorating, basic car stuff (beyond me, never got the hang of it} even taught me how to wire in an extra light rose or electric socket, besides many other useful things. Mum taught me to cook, sew, knit and make clothes. All handy stuff that came in useful when I became a single parent with a house to run and maintain.

Esspee

Callistemon

the M should have helped too LauraNorder
But why are they in the same slot?

P and R have their own slots.

Give me a gear stick any day!

What's a gearstick?

I may think about making it redundant

I taught my son sewing and he does it all in his house, taking up hems, replacing zips, buttons etc.

I always sewed on the name tapes for DD but am now redundant. Apparently you can stamp the names into clothes now with a special stamp. Hurrah! ?

Whether we admit to not knowing how to do something that others consider elementary depends, for me at least, on whether it was or wasn't something I was expected to learn as a child.

Apart from a good all-round school education, my grandmothers, a great-aunt and the Brownies taught me skills such as sewing on buttons, press studs, hooks and eyes, hemming and making button holes. My mother taught me to cook and bake. I would very much dislike admitting that any of these things was beyond me.

No-one ever suggested I learnt to use a hammer, screw-driver or a saw, so anything involving those tools I quite happily admit I cannot do.

I dislike gardening so am happy to admit I know little about it

I can paint and hang wallpaper, although DH does it better than I, so usually I persuade him to do it, and do the preperation and clearing up.

My DD SIL & GS parked in my drive last Sunday cos I live very close to the beach.
Most surprising was my DD carrying my GS's school shoes, passed over to me for polishing. Now that is laziness! Yep of course I did
them but will buy them black polish to do the shoes themselves ?

I cannot wallpaper or sew or knit but when some drunk driver hit my garden wall I bought some mortar from B & Q and fixed the wall. Did the same thing with the garden posts that another drunk person knocked off. I live near a pub so it's an occupational hazard. I am good at gardening, and musical instruments. I can sing but since my grandmother was a professional singer I suppose it's genetic.

I just can't swim, I sink!!
Have tried three times over my lifetime to learn, but I have given up now.