Washington Post article about the New Domesticity

[Deleted07]

OMG I just found this link for subversive cross stich: http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/stitchy01.htm

That is hilarious stuff :D

[smores]

I self taught myself a lot of the stuff. I started sewing by doing Halloween costumes so I knew they only had to last for one night and it would probably be dark when my friends and I were wearing them. My grandma did teach me some quilting but just making lots of baby quilts helped me get better at that. She did teach me cross stitch and needle point which are pretty easy to pick up on your own.

I've never been able to teach myself knitting or crochet I can so the basic stitches but can't turn them into anything besides a scarf.

I'm a lot like you, in that I kind of just figured it out along the way. Youtube can be your best friend for some of these things for sure, that's especially how I learned knitting.

[ADoyle90815]

I'm also one who sews, does embroidery including cross stitching and knitting, and one thing I made for my niece was a cross stitch alphabet blanket that was started before she was born so it became one of her christening gifts. I also bake and love to try new things to cook, and at the cookie exchange and caroling party I went to on Sunday, there were several men there who made cookies. There is one hobby I do that I know fundies hate is home brewing.

[emmiedahl]

I can cross stitch, embroider, sew, knit (with marginal results, so mostly scarves and dish clothes), crochet, bake... I also know how to clone a human gene and isolate it. I have lots of weird talents. :) A real Proverbs 31 woman.

[kb2]

I haven't cross-stitched since elementary school, but now that I know about subversive cross-stitching I want to take it up again.

FJ: inadvertently resulting in a loss of both money and time...

[dawbs]

The writer of this article missed something very important. Many women of her mother and grandmother's generation "shucked off" (her words) these activities because they saw the injustices that were put upon women of previous generations. Women were expected to do these things. I love to cook, bake, garden and sew. But if I were expected to do those things, or have them dictated by a man, I would not enjoy it.

This is key.

I do a lot of crafty things to a small extent. I often did small sewing jobs when in college, for friends (I also always purchased moving services with home-made-cookies). The first time one of my male friends said/implied that I could sew the patch on his TaeKwonDo uniform because I was female, he was done getting sewing from me and had to figure out a different way to get the sewing done.

(although I will say that it takes a lot of work to make crafting frugal. I spent an absurd amount of money on ingredients for baked goods for Christmas, I spent more making ornaments than I would have buying them, I can buy clothes for my kid cheaper than I can make them--I spent roughly the same to make my first outfit for her from a pattern [her Halloween costume] that I would have spent to get a decent store-made-version of the same thing)

[Soldier of the One]

Very good and important point: the gender essentialism.

As much fun as these crafts can be (and I also think they have value beyond their mere entertainment value), the article does issue a warning of inadvertently resurrecting gender essentialism. Will one or two generations down the line expect us women to take up these crafts again because of the expectations we ourselves created?

Basically, I think it's good to get the men on board. A real Proverbs 31 man is a manbroiderer!

[MissNomer]

Very good and important point: the gender essentialism.

As much fun as these crafts can be (and I also think they have value beyond their mere entertainment value), the article does issue a warning of inadvertently resurrecting gender essentialism. Will one or two generations down the line expect us women to take up these crafts again because of the expectations we ourselves created?

Basically, I think it's good to get the men on board. A real Proverbs 31 man is a manbroiderer!

I agree! And there are definitely men who are into all these domestic crafts too. My boyfriend is actually more domestic than me in many ways. He does virtually all the cooking, including making lots of things from scratch. He would love to have a garden and raise chickens if we weren't living in a small apartment with no yard! I sew and knit, but hate cooking with a passion.

[Cannelle]

I'm an evil liberal feminist stay-at-home mom and part-time student. I cook dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT (hear that, fundies? SUCK IT), I do the dishes, I clean, I sew a little (mending, pajama pants, ebil Halloween costumes), I bake, I knit, I crochet, I've made my own jam, and I homeschooled up until this year. And I'm pro-choice. :dance: :twisted:

[lilwriter85]

The thing is, I actually know a lot of men who also do this type of thing. That would sure make fundie heads spin, but it's actually very practical. I've known a lot of older men who served in the military before women were allowed in. One man that I work with sews dresses for his granddaughter. He said that if a button came off or your socks got holes in the middle of nowhere, you couldn't wait until your tour was over to have a woman fix it for you.

I taught myself how to knit, and I do it because it's a mindless hobby I can do to occupy my hands while watching tv. But I also like the satisfaction of using something that I made myself. If I had more space, I'd love to get into woodworking. Furniture is just so expensive and I could use a bunch of bookcases. And even though knitting is "feminine" and woodworking is "masculine", I like them both for the exact same reason.

My uncle who served in the military during the 50's and 60's learned how to sew before he headed to combat in Vietnam. He mentioned the same thing about that having sewing is needed skill during tours. My father also served in Vietnam and he said he platoon mates who did sewing for the group.

After my uncle got out of the military, he still continued sewing and he used to fix his kids clothes and he used to make dress shirts.

[kayray]

I will readily admit I am not at all domestic.

It is not because I can't do things. It is because I prefer not to! I can sew, cook, bake, craft, to varying degrees...but there are many other things I would rather be doing. Things like cooking are shared between my husband and I, and I often admit to taking the simple and easy (but still healthy - no tater tot casserole!) route. It is a bit odd as my mother is much more into these things than I am (a lifelong quilter, baker, cook, excellent seamstress, etc - as well as a career woman) and though she taught me many things, it was just never my thing.

My husband is much more into domestic crafts than I am (he likes to sew (he has even made me a dress or two, as well as sewed an entire Arabian-themed tent for our sheesha parties! He too first got started in sewing in the military as others have pointed out), create/craft things, garden (he does that part near exclusively, I just do the eating from it!), etc). I freely admit he also does a little more of the housecleaning than I do (or, at least, he does it better than I do!). I am artistic though, and will help with the painting or something of things my husband creates.

One of the things I do NOT like about Christmas season is all the potlucks and "expectations" of domesticity. I am a lazy Christmas-er!

My husband still likes to tease me for not even having an ironing board when we met (I just decided it was not worth it to move it since I never really used it - the sad thing is I am in a professional job where some ironing of work clothes is required!).

[Jezebel]

I had a professer in college who required as part of my ADHD accommodations for me to have knitting or embroidery with me as she noted that I paid MUCH better attention when my hands were occupied.

Kudos to your professor!

I picked up crocheting for a similar reason. In lecture classes, I could at least take a shit-ton of handwritten notes, which helped me focus. But at conferences, public lectures, or any other venue with no desks where it was difficult to write comfortably, crochet served the same purpose.

I've occasionally encountered people who thought it was rude to bring my "craft projects" to academic lectures, but when I explained why they usually got it.

[Black Aliss]

I would like to know more about the feminine hygiene kits project. That sounds like something I would like to do.

This site has a list of organizations that accept and distribute donations of reusable hygiene kits http://www.donatepads.org/ The woman who was organizing this locally had to put her project on hold due to family emergencie so I need to check out some of these sites myself.

The typical kit contains one or two pad holders with a waterproof layer and "wings" that snap around the underwear crotch, and several absorbent pads the size and shape ofa pantiliner (For these I cut up old towels and flannel sheets and sew a layer or two of each between a cotton print shell). I like to throw in a zippered case with a moisture-proof compartment, and a dry side for spares. But it doesn't have to be that complicated. Just the pads, with a waterproof backing are good too.

I've noticed just this year that with growing awareness of girls' lack of access to pads, a few NGOs have started collectives in Uganda and Kenya where local women sew and market reusable pads. So for anyone who isn't handy with a sewing machine, your dollars will help just as much.

http://www.huruinternational.org/why-huru/

http://afripads.com/

[ZTwist]

Let's see, I have a regular 40 hour a week job. But I have two spinning wheels (I can only use one at a time, natch) and spun dozens of balls of yarn this year. I counted today and I crocheted something like 25 neckwarmers or scarves to give people for Christmas. People loved that I thought of them in this way.

I don't hear any Fundies talk about spinning their thread/yarn. Maybe they should learn, and then keep in mind that until the Industrial Revolution, the only way you got yarn or thread was to handspin it. Not only that, for most of human history, the spindle was the way wool/cotton/flax, etc., was spun. Spinning wheels were around *maybe* 400 years before being replaced.

There are still people who spindle spin as part of their way of life, such as the Navajo women who weave rugs and the Quechua/Aymara speaking women of the Andes. Me, I spin on a wheel because it's very soothing and I want to keep my hands busy.

I'd love to push a spindle or sit Doug the Tool down at a spinning wheel and say, "yep, let's go back to 1700. Here ya go. Time to make the yarn that makes your clothes."

Mirele, I just bought my first spinning wheel!! (notice i said first). Been spinning about six months.

I wondered if there were other spinners on FJ, figured such an awesome bunch would also be multi-talented.

[PennySycamore]

I love to cook and bake especially breads and pies. I picked up the knitting needles again this fall although I haven't gotten as far with my holiday projects as I'd hoped. (My dog doesn't like my knitting bag sitting on the sofa in HER spot.) I have never learned to crochet and my sewing skills are limited to mending. I do like to do needlepoint, but I haven't done it in years. I do wish I could sew better as it would be so cool to be able to make throw pillows or curtains. My taste doesn't run to the frilly, though. I like modern, functional design.

My dad could knit and his 84 year old sister still does. She also crochets and sews. They learned from their mom whose passion was quilting. She won many blue ribbons at the county fair for her quilts. The needle skills weren't confined to my dad's side of the family. My mom's youngest sister is a skilled seamstress. I recall that she made a suit for my uncle when she couldn't buy one off the rack for him. He's quite tall. She's also done crewel embroidery and refinished furniture. My mom could sew, but did not really enjoy it. She did, however, learn to spin and weave in college and she enjoyed that. She also started hooking a rug many years ago, but stopped when her mom developed a brain tumor. Her work was still on the rug frame in my parent's basement when we kids sorted through her things after she died in the spring. My sister got the unfinished rug and intends to finish it. My mom didn't can vegetables very often, but she did make jams, jellies and preserves. My dad enjoyed making hand-dipped candles and lye soap as well.

ilovetchotchkes, if you like to knit but it bothers your hands, you might want to try the new square needles. Some knitters find that they really reduce hand-strain. Two companies that make them are Kollage and Knitter's Pride with Knitter's Pride calling theirs "cubics". If you like to use circulars, then you'd want to make sure to get the "firm" cables in the Kollage needles. I hear the soft cables suck!

[thoughtful]

Let's see...

-I . . .

-Can can

lK0gYi1YEZ8

Sorry -- just couldn't help myself. :D

[Ingrid]

I'm a total newby, but had to chime in on this thread! :)

I'm an ebil feminist working mom who is into this sort of thing. I've been gardening and canning for several years now, and love it. I'm obsessed with homegrown tomatoes, and it's so yummy getting to have them all year round. I'm learning to knit, thanks to my sis, who is a pro knitter (actually made several knitted scarves as gifts this year). :dance: I would LOVE to learn how to embroider and quilt- I did a bit of it in my early twenties, but haven't picked it up in a long time.

As for the fine domestic art of cooking the family dinner, however- that's all on my husband. I like to cook, but not for my picky family. He's the pickiest of them all, so the kitchen is his territory, when it's not canning season.

[Witsec7]

For the first time in almost 30 years I'm taking some time off. During most of those years, I and my family and a few elders never had to buy seasonal veggies or fruit. There was a time I raised beef, and birds for food, goats for milk and cheese. I'm not a machine sewer, I did embroidery and hand quilting, arthritis and poor vision put and end to that. For 27 of those years I was single, raised LaSpawnetta and wore a suit for 40-50 hours a week. I'm a master chef, can, dry and preserve food. Its likely I'll put in a small garden for the new hovel. I no longer bake my daily bread, but still spin a mean pizza. And for 25 of those years I was wood only for heat, off the grid for a bit of it.