Anti Book
The awesome crew at Anti Craft have finally sold out and published their book. Well, apparently they published it last year but I only just heard about it.
“You are about to embark on a wondrous journey, full of flowers, and light, and—wait, wrong book. This book is about the darker side of craft….If you are familiar with our website, this will be like an old friend, except it won’t call you at three in the morning asking for bail money.”
Yeah it’s sinister, but super sexy at the same time.
Check it out on Amazon and you can check out the cover and some of the pages on the inside. While I’m not really a knitter, which is the focus, I still really like the look of this book. The design is very well done and I adore the lack of flowers and cute crap. I would buy it on that basis alone.
What I really like about this book is that it has stuff that’s not crafting in it. It’s also got recipes and rants. It appeals more to people like me who believe that crafting idn’t something you do, it’s a way of life, no matter what sort of person you are.
Whipup has published a review of the book which is worth a read, especially since she get to actually see the book (unfair advantage).
But I will say that if you’re into craft and you’re into things a bit bent, this book is for you. But you have to wait until after Buy Nothing Craft Month to get it ok?
I sublimate my rage… revisited
In january i finished a cross stitch based on a qoute I found at bitterstitch.com, but never felt completely happy with it. Now I’ve finished a new version of the same quote, and I like it so much better! I love the colour combination and this version feels much more balanced than the first one.
The finished size is about 35 x 40 cm and both the font and the edging comes from Antique pattern library.
Big poo, small poo
I loved Kakariki’s post about the knitted poo a while ago, and immediately knew that it would be perfect for one of my friends. She has this amazing bizarre sense of humor and is one of very, very few I know who would use the phrase “my prettiest vomit” as if it’s a perfectly everyday thing to say. (The vomit was blueberry pie in snow, imagine the colour combinations…)
So she got these for her birthday this weekend:
She got one big poo, and one small. The big poo is filled with wheat grains, so if it gets a few minutes in the microwave it’ll be all nice and warm. The small one is stuffed with lavender, perfect for the linen cupboard!
And they’re both so easy to make, basically made of cylinders, with just a little shaping in the ends to get that special poo-feeling.
Free Tibet Xstitch Competition
Hope you’ve all been as inspired as I am with all the Free Tibet action going on around the world. I was stoked to read today that Wangari Maathai, a Green Party woman who was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize has pulled out of the rally on humanitarian grounds.
Not all of us live on the relay route so we can’t all be involved in the symbolic actions to halt the flame. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our own thing. So I was pondering about what cross stitch I could do and I though ‘why not get lots of people to do some?’
SO!
I’m laying down the challenge to all members of the Radical Cross Stitch Posse to design and stitch your own Free Tibet cross stitch.
AND!
There’ll be prizes! First prize is a Radical Cross Stitch kit of your choice (there’ll be more to choose from soon). Other prizes will be available too as I work them out. And every entrant will get a copy of Hoop-La Issue 2 (on it’s way!) sent to them. Plus all of the finished stitches will be proudly displayed on the Radical Cross Stitch site.
I’ll be stitching a design too (when I figure out what it is…) and will post progress reports. Obviously I’m not eligible for prizes 
Inspired? If you need some ideas to kick start your creative brain, try reading the DiY page for tips
The deadline is the end of June. To enter simply add your finished pic to the Radical Cross Stitch Posse group on Facebook, publish photos on your website linking back to this site, or email pics straight to me. The rules are very loose. You can make whatever you want, as long as it has some cross stitch in it. And you absolutely get bonus points for public art.
Get stitching!
I’m dedicating this competition to the memory of Gaye Dyson who is the most inspiring crafty activist I have ever know. Gaye taught me how to screen print and taught me what living was all about. The Free Tibet campaign was a central campaign in Gaye’s life and I reckon she would’ve been the first to enter!
xox
Come to the Dark Side
I’m never one to be ashamed of a bit of geek pride and I am screaming from the rooftops how much I love this dude.
MC Storm Troopa hails from the mighty crafty town of Hamiltron (naturally) and is absolutely brilliant, or should I say, fully sick mate!
I never would have thought that I’d find myself groovin out to a track called Empire Pride.
It’s nerdcore to the baddest and not only is it clever but it’s all extremely well produced. You could very easily drop any of these tracks into a party and noone would really notice. Mind you your friends might look at you funny if you played the You and Me Padme track…
Check out his Myspace and Virb and there’s tons of tracks on his Facebook page. Check out the very cleverly titled EP. The downloads are free due to some copyright thing. But if you like it you might like to find a way of flicking him some coin.
Swinny Market
Thanks to the lovely Ms Cate there was a bit of a Craft Cartel appearance at Swinburn Prahran campus today. They were having a youth week celebration with an amazing souvlaki cook up, some hilarious sexual health awareness street theatre, some healthy food promotion, and our wee stalls.
I had a great time meeting students and talking to them about radical craft. And it’s been my first market in a little while so it was wonderful to get out there and deal with my withdrawals.
And I unveiled a new product!
I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of having my gran over to stay from Aotearoa for the last few weeks and we’ve been having all sorts of intergenerational crafty fun. And as we played with new skills and design ideas we ended up collaborating on a new product.
Presenting the Plug Rug!
These handmade crocheted key ring tampon cozies are made from lovely soft second hand wool and are a perfect way to disguise your emergency stash
They fit all sizes brilliantly. This is a pic with a regular size
And this is them on today’s stall!
As a special introduction offer, I’m gonna have them on sale for one week only in my Etsy store for $4. Then they’ll be back to the $5 price. So if you like them grab one soon!
It was lovely to show them off today and people really liked them which made Gran and I very happy!
I also managed to interview Cate today about the Buy Nothing Craft Month. So check out the next podcast next week!
Now, I know that it’s a bit contradictory of me to advocate buying nothing as well as announcing a new product, but hey, I’m a bit broke. As a way of dealing with my hypocrisy I will make the sale price available to anyone who participates in the BNCM on their website at the end of the month. I hope that makes sense.
Hey! Get stitching!
Lady Power!
Some of you may have missed the fact that there’s a Radical Cross Stitch Posse group on Facebook (join it!) and we’ve been seeing some pretty cool pictures on there recently. But this one just leapt out and went ‘how cool am I!!!!!!’ so I had to share it with you all.
I asked the lovely Miss Darvas for a backgrounder on it so here’s the story:
SO HAPPY TO FIND A RADICAL/ALTERNATIVE CROSS STITCH COMMUNITY!!! i’d almost given up on x stitch sites & magazines because i was sick of the flowery/sentimental verse/cottage type things. i know that kinda thing is popular with a lot of crafty people, but…yeah…not for me : /
anyhow, i typed OFFENSIVE CROSS STITCH in google. didn’t know what other term to use, but if i found ONE website or ONE picture of a x stitch with the word FUCK on it or something on a controversial/political theme then i’d feel less alone, haha!
yay, so google found me your site & the link to your FB group & i thought YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
i stitched LADY LOVE YOUR CUNT in support of the whole RECLAIMING CUNT issue – taking back the word “cunt” as a positive woman-friendly term to be used as another word for vagina (as was its origin), & not regarded as the most offensive word in the English language to describe something nasty & vile.
i stitched the slogan in pink & decorated the border with hearts & it looks pretty & inoffensive. my use of the word CUNT wasn’t intended to be shocking & if anyone sees the x stitch & asks wtf *that’s* all about, then it’s good to be able to explain the what “reclaiming cunt” *is* all about & then listening to their views on the subject. i hope that a cross stitch using LADY LOVE YOUR CUNT would be quite a conversation piece in a positive sense – exchanging thoughts & listening to other peoples opinions.
if i’d had more time, or if i decide to re-do that x stitch again, i’d like to include a lotus flower, or something like that representing a vagina.
Here’s to the day when we see adverts for menstrual cups that say LADY LOVE YOUR CUNT!!!
And of course here at Radical Cross Stitch we say ‘hear, hear!’ ‘Cause of course we do love the word cunt. It’s a delightful word and not in the least bit offensive. If you’re sitting at home going ‘huh?’ then read this book. And don’t be surprised if you start making xstitches like this too!
xox
Buy Nothing Craft Month
The always delightful Ms Cate from Polka Dot Rabbit has HAD IT! with the consumerist hoo-ha that comes with the craft world. And has declared a bold new initiative for us all to join in. And I for one, am certainly aboard.
Here at Radical Cross Stitch, and certainly on the last Craft Cartel Podcast, we like to talk about the politics of buying handmade stuff. There is certainly economic, environmental and social benefits to buying handmade goods as opposed to stuff mass-produced in sweatshops and the like.
But once we understand these issues, we have to stop and look a little bit closer at handmade stuff. As Cate says:
where the products used to make the crafts come from. For example, is it any better to buy something handmade if it is made from fabric woven in third world conditions? And where do our needles, thread, quick unpicks etc come from? Sweat shops or legitimate fair trade factories? And further to that matter, how many crafters are crafting in effectively third world conditions? Cutting out fabric on the living room floor, hunched over a desk or kitchen table (anyone heard of an ergonomic sewing machine?). And how much is that labour valued?
I’ve written before about crafters valuing our time better. But I do think we need to think a lot more carefully about where we source our materials. Is it a bit too righteous of us to criticise people for buying things from Kmart when all our supplies come from Spotlight? Is it mildly hypocritical to mock people who buy stuff for the sake of buying stuff when our craft rooms resemble some kind of lost civilisation?
So in an effort to declutter, downsize, upskill our crafty lives, Cate has suggested a Buy Nothing Craft Month
I have decided to take ONE MONTH from the start of next week (that’s Monday April 7th) to see how I manage crafting without buying anything. No buying more fabric ‘just in case’ or another quick underpick because I can’t be bothered looking for the three I already own. No more spending money to make money. No more buying things I don’t really need and the expense of things I already have. But I don’t want this to be an excuse to do nothing. I intend to be as productive as always in the next month. Maybe more so.
I’m definitely on board and I’m making a special page on this site for anyone else who wants to join in to sign up so we can check out everyone’s progress. I’ll update this post when it’s ready but in the meantime, comment below with your name and website. And please put something on your own site so we can spread the word.
For the future.
xox
Bookmark Pattern
For those of you that saw my feminist bookmark and thought ‘goodness, I wish I could have one like that!’, you’re in luck!
I have just put the pattern up on etsy for sale as a pdf file. I’ll be putting it together as a kit soon too.
This bookmark has been especially designed for those of us who believe the gender revolution should be a beautiful revolution.
As feminists it is important that we remember the handmade histories of our mothers and grandmothers. This pattern is perfect for conscious raising stitch and bitch meetings. Or, just kicking back on a rainy Sunday afternoon listening to your favourite feminist radio show.
Ageing Disgracefully
Check out this amazing short vid featuring the infamous Screaming Lulu
An offbeat look at the pressures and expectations for women growing old in our society. Rather than accepting that our faces show character from the lives we have lived and should therefore be celebrated, there is developing need to stretch and paralyze our faces in an attempt to constantly appear 10 years younger.
This film documents my mother’s reaction to these perceptions and expectations. I filmed her talking about how women that don’t appear to follow these rules become invisible in the media (except for specialist marketing such as stairlifts or life insurance). She believes there are few role models or older women to identify with for normal women in their 50′s and above.
Hell hath no fury like a Jewish Mother with a sewing machine!
I think this is brilliantly cool to see craft used as a response to the ridiculous media perceptions of ageing. I agree with her comments entirely! But I won’t spoil it, watch it for yourself.
And I also reckon it’s wonderful that her child has made this film. Absolutely brilliant tribute.
Props Helen