Posted by Astrid on 2008-04-05 05:43:19
Post Subject:
What is your craft of choice? (sewing, knitting, etc)
Mainly crochet, then knitting and a bit of sewing. When necessary I DIY around the house, paint jobs etc.
Why do you make your own clothes/jewelry/knit/craft?
Grew up with crafty parents. Just don't know any better then try to make your own things before you buy. It's in my nature.
What age did you start doing your craft? What age are you now?
Started around 6-7, now 45.
How do you afford to do this type of thing? Is this your main source of income? Do you have another job?
I'm a working girl. Crafting is mainly a hobby, but one that I try to make some extra money with. Materials are all reused (often curb found). Haven't spent any money on it in years.
Approximately how many hours a week do you spend crafting/knitting/sewing/making stuff?
About 14? Well, at least I think.
Do you prefer to buy handmade stuff (clothes, bags, etc)? why? No, I try to make my own first. What I can't make I try to find for free in the trash or I buy second/hand. Maybe I would buy hand made if I could afford it.
Do you have a crafting/sewing/knitting (whatever your craft is) group you meet with? How often? Why do you like it?
No, I like to work on my own.
Do you sell the things you make? Where do you sell them?
I sell on craft fairs (not often) and online (Etsy).
Where do you go online to discuss/learn/share your craftiness? How do these sites inspire you in ways that real life conversations don’t?
I visit a lot of those sites. Getcrafty, Craftster, HGTV and some local Dutch ones. I don't know a lot of crafters in real life, I\m a bit of a 'Einzelganger', so these sites are great to look at what other people make, get opinions about my designs and business advice.
What other crafty things do you do?
As said above, a bit of DIY around the house. And oh yes, almost forgot I fix old bicycles. (make one working one out of several crappy ones)
Is there a subversive element to crafting/knitting/sewing? A punk rock element? DIY smugness?
I used to be a punky in the eighties, but considered my craft as my 'soft side', not really a part of my punkiness. Though I did make a lot of black sweaters.
Right now it has more to do with environmentalism and anti-consumerism for me, as I refuse to buy new shiny materials and rescue stuff instead (thrown away knitwear to unravel) from the landfill.
What are your thoughts on this DIY/handmade phenomena? How do you think it relates to capitalism? Is it a need to “nest”?
Crafting has been big since the seventies or even sixties and for me it has never been gone. I think it's through the internet, more people communicating around it and more possibilities to sell stuff that it just looks bigger. Because isn't it weird that all large stores in Holland have stopped selling yarn and other supplies? They had loads in the eighties and even their own pattern books. Now I read that in the US Wall-mart is going that direction too...
Posted by quornflour on 2005-02-15 12:07:23
Post Subject:
check out 'the point' it is an album from the seventies with a cross stitch cover (though printed for production)
otherwisei think cross stitching would be cool.... very time consuming ifyou have never done it... but cool for sure!
you could pick up a kit so that you could have instructions...
i am rambling... good luck!
Posted by Liberty Gooler on 2005-01-06 18:44:30
Post Subject:
I don't know where you would get the tatting needles but as far as info I would recommended old craft books. I have a needlework book from the seventies that is WAY better than anything I've come across now. They usually cover needle crafts that not many people do, like blackwork, which is the next needle craft I want to get into. If you can't find any info maybe I can check my needlework book and photocopy some pages for you.
As for finding the needles, have you tried to use Google's shopping service Froogle? Its a link on the main Google page. I've never used it to shop online but I do find it helpful for pricing things and seeing who is selling what.
The only person I know who tatted was my late grandma. She taught herself when she was eighty plus after doing years of crochet. I don't know if she specifically used tatting needles but instead she subbed in really small metal crochet hooks.
Posted by elixirbeth on 2005-08-26 17:24:13
Post Subject:
i think goldfrapp's first album, "felt mountain" was brilliant. its mind blowingly gorgeous. like, transport you to another time or place gorgeous.
as for stuff out this year, i think Bonnie "Prince" Billy's newest album "Superwolf" is fantastic. its not as depressing as his other stuff.
along that singer/songwriter vien, Cass Mccomb's newest album "PREfection" is my absolute favorite of 2005. if youve ever been into morrissey or the smiths, pick up this CD. he's not ripping off their sound, just kind of picking up where they left off. so so so SO perfect.
people seem to be really into the new Spoon album... but to tell you the truth, i dont dig it as much as their older "Girls Can Tell". their sound is very indie rock, nothing too nuanced.
im a big Black Rebel Motorcycle Club fan... i know i know... its very mainstream and very poppy. BUT i love that they make good old fashioned ROCK AND ROLL. they are a total throw back to the seventies, with their lastest album, "Howl" having almost a southern twang. its super sexy and gritty. mmm.
Posted by auclaire on 2005-06-18 07:00:00
Post Subject: Obscure Scent Question...
I hope someone can help me out here...though I think I'm grasping at straws...
In the seventies and eighties, Clairol manufactured "Herbal Essences" shampoo...it was an extremely green colour in a clear bottle, with a stylized picture of a lady shoulders deep in a pond.
They stopped manufacturing it for awhile, and when Herbal Essences came back, they released several different scents...but not the original.
My mom loved that shampoo, and I would love to replicate the scent in a lotion for her...but I have no idea where to start. It was a very green scent...I don't know how else to explain it. The closest product I've found is "FA Bubble Bath" in the green bottle.
My question? Does anyone remember that scent, and more importantly, know of an essential oils blend that comes close? Any, and I mean any leads will be followed up gratefully!
Posted by lizzymahoney on 2006-03-27 20:23:41
Post Subject:
Crafting in the forties was done out of necessity. In part because of WWII, but also because that's what people did. There were a lot of middleclass women who quilted from old clothes, or made new childrens clothes out of colorful feedsacks, or made paper valentines and christmas cards because that's all they could get. You didn't have the malls or evening shopping hours and entertainment so you stayed home and tatted or crocheted or baked. My dad's mother would cut down worn sheets into pillowcases, then into handkerchiefs, then rags.
In the fifties, the impetus was to get women out of the workplace and back into the homes so that all the men coming back from WWII would be able to find jobs that the women had been doing just fine up until then. Think Rosie the Riveter. Women had learned to enjoy earning money and making decisions but now it was a man's world again. So women took up more bizarre crafting in the fifties. This is just my view. I was born in '57. They still had the reuse/recycle wartime mentality, so if you look at craft books from back then there were a lot of things made out of tin cans and used magazines. One of my aunts made a fully upholstered with piping and padding ottoman or footstool out of juice cans fastened into a flower shape. Geez I wish i had that still. My mother's youngest sister had dotted swiss on her wedding gown, so she could cut it off and make a baby bassinet skirt from it. one thing that entranced me was cutting up tin cans to make "flowers" or decorative but razor sharp dust collectors. this is also when tires were inverted to make planters everywhere.
Sixties continued that bizarre slant, with macaroni encrusted boxes sprayed with gold paint, and cutting wine bottles into wind chimes or drinking glasses. sand candles and other candle making, the beginnings of tie-dyeing. Everything could be macramed.
i think I was the only person in the world who embroidered in the seventies. just kidding, but not. I knew no one who wasn't more than twice my age who embroidered then. lots of cross stitch, but not fine embroidery oh, rug hooking was popular.
Eighties were sort of anti-craft. I did a lot of the stuff I still do, but it just wasn't seen around. I worked on my natural materials as art phase. Lots of wreaths, topiary, bonsai, and continued using shells as jewelry as much as i ever did. My friends who crafted did things like make Care Bear or Cabbage Patch type dolls, or floral arranging for weddings. that sort of thing. I saw lots of pottery and ceramics back then. i knew more people who were taking up calligraphy and watercolors then.
The present, because of my age and cousins and coworkers all at the end of the Baby Boom, is full of people who want to remember how they did that thing they did in third grade, whether it was making a pinata or macrame guitar strap or doing bead weaving. No one ever wanted to learn how to braid palm sunday palm into fancy things back when i learned. But now, everyone remembers that a few people did that, and it looked cool.
Now people don't think I am weird because I made my own earrings or brooch or because I use a shell for a paperweight or a soapdish.
Posted by Astrid on 2007-04-17 02:38:15
Post Subject:
Have you thought about macrame? I've been thinking about picking that up lately after finding an old book at my mums. I made a macrame belt when I was about 12, it's really not difficult, and I wore it like forever. Now I wish I still had it so I could show you a picture. Macrame was totally hot in the Seventies and seems to be completely forgotten these days. Maybe we should do something about that.
Posted by elizabethgrace on 2007-01-01 04:04:56
Post Subject:
I vaguely knew what it was at age 5, and by age eight I asked my mom what sex was, and she stuttered and the next day gave me a book about "Your Body and Changes," which was published in the seventies.
It was informative and told me all I cared to know, after a while my mom loosened up and was able to answer any questions I had.
Never turn away any questions, answer as simply and honestly as you can, try not to go into much detail, tell the basics and let them figure out the rest. Or toss a book at them.
Posted by hellparadiso on 2006-03-09 13:55:44
Post Subject:
I don't know if you'd be able to find one of these (check garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets...) but we have this old Royal vacuum, probably from the seventies, that is the BEST VACUUM EVER.
We used to have a Rainbow Machine (one of those ones that spits the dust into a basin of water) but it doesn't work as well, plus it's a HUGE hassle to set up, and then you have to go dump the nasty water somewhere. But we both love our Royal. Even my husband is okay with vacuuming now.
Posted by sara struever on 2006-03-05 21:41:04
Post Subject: Books Books Books!
Conversation # 1 & #2
seem to be little comic book experiements, initiated by James Kochalka. #1 is with Craig Thompson, #2 is with Jeffery Brown. Both very philosophical, worth checking out especially if you are a comic fan- neat use of the medium. I'm sure others will appear.
East is East by TC Boyle
I fell in love with TC Boyle's short stories and this is the first novel of his that I've read. I am always impressed by his ability to capture these unique and yet also mundane characters. This book's central character is a selfish, manipulative, and yet somehow still endearing and above all human young writer woman. Worth reading.
Drop City by TC Boyle
This one is really good too. Everyone in this book is just trying to get away from it all- up in the wilds of Alaska. But of course you can never really get away from the ever-present dramas of life . . .
Carnet de Voyage by Craig Thompson
Worth reading, but not as good as his books- I am a huge fan of Goodbye Chunky Rice- so all you folks that had this or Blankets on your list last week, check out Goodbye Chunky Rice. It was his first book, and is more a fable than a real life narrative like the other two. But maybe I am just partial to fables and fairy tales.
Magic for Beginners Short Stories by Kelly Link
Great. All vaguely bizzare.
The Complete Stories of Truman Capote
Here They Come by Yannick Murphy
I really enjoyed this book. Not a read it all at once type book. Centers on a young girl and her family- very poor- in new york city in the seventies. Left a sad taste in my mouth, not because the whole book was sad but the last few pages had a sad moment that stayed with me. It's McSweeney's book of the month (I just joined the club).
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
This was really great. The clerk at one of my favorite bookstores recommended it (Blue Hill Books in Maine). Part novel/family stories and part crime/mystery novel. well-planned out and very clever (but not too clever).
Posted by KaraBeara on 2008-03-13 04:03:58
Post Subject:
I can''t say I am against any \"commercialism\" of crafting or the DIY movement. I love the fact that crafting is everywhere. As someone who has always loved to make things, I think it''s great that there is so much variety in stores, both locally and online. I remember when I was a little girl and liked to bead, there was limited variety of everything. Now anything you want to make you can find--if not in your store nearby, definitely somewhere online (even if you have to get it shipped from Japan!). I like that crafts are back in fashion. Sure, it stinks that some people/companies rock DIY although they totally are not (do I date myself by calling them poseurs??) ;)
I think there are major benefits of having crafts and handmade goods be recognized as real art, a real product that can rival any old mass produced piece of crap. This is a major shift in thinking about crafts in general. It was not all that long ago, like 1950s, when crafting was seen exclusively as a hobby and ladies sold their bazaar items for \"pin money.\"
As for kits being offered (like they are some evil of commercialism), I don''t think that''s anything new on the market. Crafts became really big in the seventies too (when crafting boomed as a hobby--think macramé and seed art--and less of necessity of family living, like making your own clothes as in earlier generations), and there was certainly lots of advertisements for making your own handbag, slippers, etc. Recently, I''ve purchased a lot of old crafting/sewing magazines on Ebay and it''s really interesting to see the difference in the years and how crafts evolve depending on what''s going on in society. I really think the market leans towards what people are interested in or are doing at the time.
Personally, I think all the press and publicity for DIY is great, especially for people who run Etsy stores and may not get their goods noticed otherwise. In order for it to really succeed, Etsy needs to appeal to a much larger audience, not just crafters, but regular consumers who don''t have the time or talent to craft but have the money to spend. I think an important process occurs when consumers realize that they can actually know/communicate with the person who made the item they buy. While this was nothing back in the day (ie, when traveling far was impossible and the only way to get certain goods was to buy them from the butcher, etc.), this is something great for our generation--a group which has grown accustomed to knowing there is a world of people out there beyond their own backyard but getting along just fine by not having to interact with them at all. I think if anything, it''ll help consumers realize that a more meaningful connection can be had in their purchases. However, like someone else said, if you are just buying stuff (handmade or not) to fill your empty life, that''s a whole other story!
When Toyota released their promotion of crafting your own ride, I was really, really excited! I never thought, oh no, this is big business stepping in, taking over (and subsequently ruining the craft industry). I thought wow, how COOL! Finally a contest for somebody like ME :) While I agree it is important as \"real\" crafters to be aware (and consequently wary of) mass commercialism, I don''t think one Toyota contest or an expanded aisle at Walmarts is enough to make me worry...not yet anyways!
Posted by Marina-Trilobyte on 2005-06-12 11:30:52
Post Subject:
We own and we are paying about $1,300 a month for our mortgage on Cape Cod. Two bedrooms, one bath, very small single family house. It's part of a nice little subdivision that was built in the seventies and has a lot of established trees and quiet.
We have a relatively high mortage because it's a fifteen year mortgage. Most people nowadays are going for twenty or thirty year mortgages.
We could *probably* rent a comparable property for around $1,000+, but it wouldn't be in nearly as nice a neighborhood. And we wouldn't own it in another dozen years.
