Still a Revolution, Still Dancing!
One of the things I love the most about this site is when I get links from other people who have used the patterns on the DiY Page. But this one has excited me more than most!
Some of you may recognise this as the same pattern I used to stitch the Red Emma banner I submitted to the Extreme Craft Exhibition in Lithuania last year. Unfortunately that piece got lost in the post on the way home (thanks postal workers strike – hope one of you found it and it’s on the wall in a union office somewhere!). So it’s really cool to see another one made! And the best bit is that this one is actually finished. I ran out of time to finish my one and didn’t do the shoulders so great to see the whole thing!
Katie Blair is the ace creator of this. It was made for a friend? So hopefully the recipient is super excited to get such an awesome present.
On another Emma topic and a sad note. My wee pussy cat, Emma, had a bit of a run in with the road on Sunday night and is now sleeping peacefully in the bottom of our garden. I wanted to share this picture with you
sniff.
More Free Tibet XStitch love
I haven’t had time to visit Craftster in a while but this morning Johanna sent me an email going ‘seen this?’
Holy freaking wow!
It’s by craftster user cface23. She had this to say:
I made 2 separate cross stitching patterns, one for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan flag, and I made up the dove and text by taking inspiration from the internet (google image search anyone?). Then, I combined all of the patterns using my creativity and math skills. Unfortunately, my ambition got the best of me, and I was unable to finish my cross stitch before the contest deadline- finishing 2.5 weeks too late, just in time for the 2008 Olympics. But not I have this wonderful cross stitch to show off and share with you.
This is an amazing piece and has come out really well. I especially like the use of backstitch around the glasses on the Dalai Lama and the dove, makes it look quite striking. A wee bit late for the comp, but I reckon a winner anyway.
Awesome!!!
Pro choice stitching
With a capital CHOICE!
This is the latest cross stitch from Rachel and it’s certainly created a wee stir. Which is good to see! I think my favourite comment from the long discussion on her post would be this one:
I’m anti-abortion…
but until all the more than half million or whatever kids in foster care are love, cherished and adopted…
and until BOYS (cause real men don’t force themselves on a woman) stop forcing themselves on women…
and until parents start treating all the children they already have as the precious beings they are…
and until the children with the raging hormones learn to manage their feelings…
I will remain PRO-CHOICE!
Amen sister!
And this is all very appropriate timing for us in Melbourne as the decriminalisation bill is almost at it’s third reading. Those of you who care about this might want to drop a line to your local representative and give them your view. Some people think this law change is going to increase the abortion rates, where the reality is that the law change is just going to make the law fit in with current reality. Which means better regulations to better protect women’s reproductive health. That can’t be a bad thing.
Hey and speaking of woman-inspired cross stitch, Cat’s got ANOTHER pattern out! Grab it here.
Anyone else out there got any prochoice crafts to share?
Counting down til Suffrage Day
Anyone who’s been within air shot of me recently would have heard me going on about Suffragettes. I’ve been doing a ton of research into the Suffrage Movement in the context of creative resistance. And I’ve been reminding myself how militant the movement was. And it makes me wonder what fabulous ideas we’re missing out on hearing due to the fear based panic our world seems to be operating on. If the suffragettes were doing their campaign today, the majority of them would be locked up indefinitely as terrorists because they dared to question the state and how the state defines participation in democracy.
You wouldn’t think that exercising your opinion is a crime these days. But try telling that to the 400-odd people, including journalists, that got locked up during the Republican Convention. It is unbelievable that in the supposed land of the free, the government would spend US$50 Million on policing to prevent people from getting out and voicing their opinion. Most of the people arrested were on pre-emptive charges. So they hadn’t even committed a crime, the police just thought they might. And many people were arrested just for attending a concert. Brilliant. In the real world, we call that fascism.
So in the spirit of free speech and celebrating true heroes, let’s all take some time to remember all the freedom fighters in our history that dedicated their lives to ridding the world of injustice. And those who put their bodies on the line to demand equal rights and liberation for all on this lovely planet that we share.
Cat has taken a lead with the awesome pattern of American Suffragette Lucretia Mott at the top of this post. You can download the pattern here. Thanks Cat, legendary!
And if you’re in London, go see this.
Housework Before Needlework? Yeah Right!
This has to be the motto of embroiderers and cross stitchers the world over. And in our latest Radical Cross Stitch collaboration you can make this yourself with the latest ePattern designed by TiGER c/o SEWiCiDE and available exclusively in the Radical Rags Etsy Store!
This is a great pattern for anyone new to cross stitch as it isn’t too complicated, but still looks really good. And as always the pattern comes with full instructions and some radical cross stitch inspiration.
Hey and while you’re checking out the TiGER c/o SEWiCiDE site, don’t miss the giveaway!
Melbourne Revolutionary Craft Circle Action!
A few days ago members of the Melbourne Revolutionary Craft Circle went out armed with bags of finger knitted wool, seeds, painted banners, ribbons, thermoses, cups, cameras, chocolate and some sneaky hip flasks to engage in some creative resistance against the rampant speculation which is wreaking havoc in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray.
Concerned that there are increasing numbers of young people with nowhere to live while there is a ton of land lying around unused while the owners reap huge rewards as the property market delivers the rewards that are always guaranteed when a resource is scarce. And we were asking ourselves when the politicians are gonna realise that something needs to change when land values always go up at a higher rate than wage increases? There is a big connection between land speculation and the 27000 people who sleep it rough every night in Australia.
So we decided that all the boring chainlink fences in our suburb keeping people off the land needed a bit of cheering up.
Firstly we decided that some of the properties that were for sale needed a bit of help. They’d all been sitting there empty for a long, long time. One had half a construction on it but was so weather damaged that it will probably need to be pulled down and started again. So to complement the For Sale signs, we added our own:
This one was pinched within 12 hours. We took that as an endorsement on our brilliant artistic skills. I don’t think it was the owner ’cause the ribbons were left on the fence.
These were handpainted on old curtain fabric samples scored from Freecycle. We just projected the text on the fabric and painted it in. I have the file if anyone really wants it get in touch.
Our major piece was another fence cross stitch intervention. The site we chose is a corner sites in between two new townhouses, across the road from a primary school and with a bus stop outside. An extremely desirable piece of land just sitting there.
Fuelled by hot chocolate and yummy samosas (not at the same time) we spent about 3 hours sorting out the fence
Naturally, a bunch of women weaving a fence at 11.30 on a Sunday night did attract the curiosity of the constabulary. They were quite genuinely puzzled when they asked us what we were up to. We just smiled sweetly and told them it was an art installation and that it was ok, it’s only wool. They just told us to have a good night and moved on.
We had another visitor too. Some young lad (whom I suspect, by the use of the word ‘choice’, may have been from Aotearoa) pulled over on the other side of the road, leapt out of his car and leaving his door open ran over to find out what we were up to. When we told him, he got very excited. I would’ve invited him to join us but I kept seeing cars nearly taking his car door off. So dude, if you happen to read this, get in touch and we’ll invite you along on the next adventure.
We also scattered some seeds on this block. It wasn’t the best place to grow veges, but if you go past this site a bit, keep your eye out for some flowers popping up soon.
So a fun (and cold) night was had by all. You can hear all about it on the latest episode of the Craft Cartel podcast with an EXCLUSIVE ALL ACCESS audio report of the night. We’ve also got a wee film of the night coming soon. I’ll update this post when that’s online. And I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to our awesome wee posse. It was such a great fun night, and I can’t wait for the next one.
Finally, while I’m on this topic… If you’re a film maker and want to tell a story about housing issues and go in the running to win $3000, check out the I Want To Live Here film comp!
‘Cause we got the alternative energy
For a nuclear free autonomy! (I’ve had that Combat Wombat track in my head the whole way through this project).
So a while back Katie Lee got in touch with me about this cross stitch pattern she’d designed and was planning on stitching more of to raise some cash for the Austin Yellow Bike Project. And I said ‘well hey! let’s make it into a pattern!
The Austin Yellow Bike Project is a community supported ALL-VOLUNTEER 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing human-powered transportation for the people of Austin, running a community bike shop, and educating kids and adults.
They are on a fundraising drive to set up their new headquarters. All profits from the sale of this pattern will go direct to AYBP.
So if you’re into doing anything you can to help get people out of cars and onto bikes, pop over to the Radical Rags etsy store and grab yours today!
Birthday gift for the Scumbrigade
I know I promised to update often, a promise that I haven’t really kept… But I blame the fact that it’s summer in Sweden and there’s a tropical heat wave hitting us right now. Too hot to think or manage the blogging…
But I should at least give you my latest creation, aka “the Valerie Solanas project”.
It is of course the first paragraph/sentence from solana’s SCUM manifesto, the raging text about all that’s wrong in society. You could discuss solana’s writing & thoughts for days if you wanted to – was she a complete lunatic who committed a violent crime (she shot andy warhol!) & promoted a hateful feminist philosophy? Or was she a brilliant writer/artist that got abused & mistreated by everyone & everything in her life? I’m too tired do get into that right now (maybe i’ll edit this later) but i think that, if you’re swedish, you should pick up a copy of Sara Stridsberg’s book Drömfakulteten. iI’s a beautiful odyssey into the mind of valerie, from the authors own fantasies & conception of her. Just read it.
As we come marching, marching
I’m pleased to present the first Radical Cross Stitch official collaboration!
This pattern was designed by me and has been stitched by the lovely Cross Stitch Ninja. And you wouldn’t believe how quickly she did it, I am so in awe!
This pattern has been a labour of love and is a tribute to some of the roots of creative resistance. The Bread and Roses poem and song was penned in 1911 and is most commonly associated with the women of the Lawrence Massachusetts textile strike of 1912.
This strike was a defining moment in Union history as it saw a very large working population of mostly women and immigrant workers organising themselves for better pay and conditions.
The pattern contains more about the story of the Lawrence Strike.
So if you want to get your own copy of the pattern, skip over to the Radical Rags etsy store and pick one up today! By buying one of these patterns you are supporting grassroots creative resistance for social and environmental change!
All I Want For Christmas
I’ve been gently hassling Zoe, who you may remember from the last episode of the Craft Cartel Podcast to send me some pictures of her cross stitch so I can share with you all. Zoe does such ace work and it deserves a big showing!
I understand this piece was done as a commission for a friend. And I reckon it’s gorgeous! All I want for christmas is a pillow case that says ‘all I want for christmas is an anarcho-feminist revolution’!
So I’ve persuaded Zoe to come aboard the RCS team so she can share some more of her work with us all. So keep an eye out for her first post 