'stitch and be enriched'
Monday, June 25, 2012
STITCH AND BE ENRICHED
I had lots of fun at our stitch and bitch - or as we renamed it ...
'stitch and be enriched'
I cut up the June issue of Marie Claire to decorate an old beanie.
I thought my beanie was inventive but not as inventive as some of the beanie at the Tali Gallery beanie exhibition.
Yet another month of recycling fun with my Maire Claire
AM
'stitch and be enriched'
Saturday, June 9, 2012
YARN BOMBING
9th June is International Yarn Bombing Day!
Yes that’s right; you’ve seen it before, its yarn bombing,
or gorilla knitting, or knitted graffiti or whatever else the locals in your
city call it. ‘It’ now has an international day. The creators of the book Yarn Bombing are to thank for this day of exciting yarn domination.
Unsure where, when and who actually started yarn bombing,
but all claims are made by women. (Safe
to say it was a stitch and bitch gone wild) the phenomenon took off around the
world.
Beautiful, not just in ascetics, but because the crochet
isn’t permanent, it’s easily removable, so it’s not really vandalism but
unfortunately still illegal.
So happy International Yarn Bombing Day Ladies
AM
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
TRAVELLING BEANIE SHOW
“The
festival’s aims have always been to develop Aboriginal women’s textiles,
promote women’s culture and the beanie, as a regional art form, as well as
promote handmade textile arts.”
Today
both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of all ages participate in the
workshops, competitions and exhibitions that are part of the Beanie Festival.
Coming
to Sydney as part of the travelling beanie show, opening June 22nd at
Tali Gallery, Rozelle, Alice Springs Beanie Festivals’ finest beanies will be
on display. All proceeds of the exhibitions will go to the Indigenous Literacy
Foundation.
Tali Gallery facebook event
www.dneese.blogspot.com.au
www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au
AM
STITCH AND BITCH
Imagine women sitting around on a Saturday night, during the 15th and 16th century, by candle light, with their sisters and girlfriends, kitting. Crazy fun times!
Then there were the women of the 1930-40’s ‘knitting for their country’. Little booklets entitled ‘Make Do and Mend’ were distributed to homes in the UK, encouraging women to pull apart old woollen clothes to re-knit garments for men away at war... And they sure did.
"Many of our male comrades recognise this wealth of knowledge that we women have. Our women have known how to struggle for our culture. It's women who preserve the art of weaving; we are the weavers. Our knowledge concerning weaving, our art is very advanced. That's why many people everywhere consider the Guatemalan woman to be an artist. And weaving is an art."
- Rigoberta Menchú
Help Us Grow is a non for profit organisation that connects Australia to Uganda helping to create sustainable difference. HUG has an ongoing craft project called The Suubi Craft Ladies, HUG supplies materials and workshops, teaching and sharing skills in beading and weaving, skills the women of Uganda can use to help support their community and families.
We are far from the days of crocheting by candle light with nothing better to do, but still women (and men) are crocheting today. We can't forget the good old ‘stitch and bitch’ social knitting groups, essentially getting together to stitch and chat, are still very much alive. There are plenty of official ‘stitch and bitch’ groups around Australia and the world. Find your nearest stitch and bitch group on this website. Its a great way to connect with the women in your community.
Australian - Stitch and Bitch
'The Suubi Craft Ladies' - Help Us Grow
AM
Then there were the women of the 1930-40’s ‘knitting for their country’. Little booklets entitled ‘Make Do and Mend’ were distributed to homes in the UK, encouraging women to pull apart old woollen clothes to re-knit garments for men away at war... And they sure did.
In the highlands of Guatemala women have practiced backstrap loom weaving for hundreds of years, even after its banning during civil war, women held onto their weaving culture, and have continued with their tradition to this day.
"Many of our male comrades recognise this wealth of knowledge that we women have. Our women have known how to struggle for our culture. It's women who preserve the art of weaving; we are the weavers. Our knowledge concerning weaving, our art is very advanced. That's why many people everywhere consider the Guatemalan woman to be an artist. And weaving is an art."- Rigoberta Menchú
Help Us Grow is a non for profit organisation that connects Australia to Uganda helping to create sustainable difference. HUG has an ongoing craft project called The Suubi Craft Ladies, HUG supplies materials and workshops, teaching and sharing skills in beading and weaving, skills the women of Uganda can use to help support their community and families.
We are far from the days of crocheting by candle light with nothing better to do, but still women (and men) are crocheting today. We can't forget the good old ‘stitch and bitch’ social knitting groups, essentially getting together to stitch and chat, are still very much alive. There are plenty of official ‘stitch and bitch’ groups around Australia and the world. Find your nearest stitch and bitch group on this website. Its a great way to connect with the women in your community.
Australian - Stitch and Bitch
AM
JUNE...
There was
nothing about June’s issue that particularly interested me (plenty of content
so this is strictly due to personal opinion). However an article about ‘Laura’
trying to find a new BFF and the insight into a debutante ball for the daughters
of the rich and famous, made me question if time has changed what women do when
together. So many different women,
different cultures, different interests around the world, we gravitate to like
minded people, with who we chose to spend our spare time.
One thing women have
always done together is knit, crochet, weave, make art and make craft.
Obviously in recent times these have become more of a hobby and less of a basic
human need. 'Crafts' are see as
a female pastime and I'm proud of that. Getting together and making useable goods is an ancient part of female culture, and this June it will be celebrated!
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