coffee and crafts

sewing, knitting etc., photos from geocaching adventures and random stuff

[history-of-fashion]

1884 Reception dress (by unknown maker, American)

silk brocade and satin weave, trimmed with chenille fringe

(Rhode Island School of Design Museum)

[vinceaddams]

I spent way too long on this

[systlin]

I honestly always find the term ‘spinster’ as referring to an elderly, never-married woman as funny because you know what?

Wool was a huge industry in Europe in the middle ages. It was hugely in demand, particularly broadcloth, and was a valuable trade good. A great deal of wool was owned by monasteries and landed gentry who owned the land. 

And, well, the only way to spin wool into yarn to make broadcloth was by hand. 

This was viewed as a feminine occupation, and below the dignity of the monks and male gentry that largely ran the trade. 

So what did they do?

They hired women to spin it. And, turns out, this was a stable job that paid very well. Well enough that it was one of the few viable economic options considered ‘respectable’ outside of marriage for a woman. A spinster could earn quite a tidy salary for her art, and maintain full control over her own money, no husband required. 

So, naturally, women who had little interest in marriage or men? Grabbed this opportunity with both hands and ran with it. Of course, most people didn’t get this, because All Women Want Is Husbands, Right?

So when people say ‘spinster’ as in ‘spinster aunt’, they are TRYING to conjure up an image of a little old lady who is lonely and bitter. 

But what I HEAR are the smiles and laughter of a million women as they earned their own money in their own homes and controlled their own fortunes and lived life on their own terms, and damn what society expected of them. 

[janglingargot]

Just wanted to add that the suffix -ster was originally specifically feminine, a means of denoting a lady known by her profession. Spinster = female spinner, baxter = female baker, webster = female weaver (webber), brewster = female brewer. If one of the ladies named Alys in your village was known for selling her excellent weaving, you might call her Alys Webster (to differentiate her from, say, Alys Littel who was rather short, and Alys Bywater who lived near the pond).

This fascinates me for many reasons, but especially in the case of modern families with last names like Baxter or Webster or Brewster. What formidable and well-known ancestresses managed to pass on those very gendered names to all their descendants, when last names were changing from personal “nicknames” into indicators of lineage among the middle and lower classes? There’s a forgotten story of a fascinating woman behind every one of those family lines.

[wasureneba]

Resource for the history of the -ster suffix here.

[tmbgareok]

So, I know that Robin has done a lot of the fiber work and design for the band. Does she do other fiber work? Favorite medium? Bonus points if she's willing to answer this one herself 😍 (just an RG fan over here...)

From RG: Well, I’m about to buy my third spinning wheel (in as many decades). This one will be highly portable so I can spin in the park. While I used to build props and costumes back in my younger days, now the stuff I make is mainly for me and my fam/friends. I spin lace weight and knit socks and stuff. And dye. I like a LOT of color under my fingers. Spinning is where I love, though, since you don’t have to worry about fit. You just spin until the basket is empty!

[coffeeandcafts]

Made a thing

Fortuny inspired, recycled sari, hand pleated which took literal weeks of work, and hand sewn which took mere hours. Progress pics below

[toverijenspokerij]

Since I am not paying over 15 euro's for a diz (an object, usually wooden with several holes in it) so I can pull wool into a roving, I saw someone on Instagram use a hag stone in water to wet their fingers when spinning flax into linnen.

And it made me look at a hag stone with new eyes. Hag Stones are the sea's perfect gifts to pull wool through! Granted the hole in the stone needs to be smooth, so be somewhat critical of the stone you want to use. And just try and experiment.

And- bonus -if someone bothers you again during spinning you now álways have a few hag stones to make sure they won't do it away.

[cannibal-rainbow]

“they” (1 word) is shorter than “he or she” (3 words)

“they” is more inclusive than “he/she”

“themself” flows more naturally than “him or herself”

“they” is less clunky than “(s)he”

it’s time to replace the awkward “she or he”

[edgar-allen-potpourri]

“hey can you go ask they what does they want for dinner, and when is they coming over to watch movies with they?”

[edrec]

“Hey, can you go ask them what they want for dinner, and when they’re coming over to watch movies?”

Step one is learning how to talk like a human person.

[anghraine]

Friendly reminder:

“I shouldn’t like to punish anyone, even if they’d done me wrong.” —George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860)

“A person can’t help their birth.” —William Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848)

“But to expose the former faults of any person, without knowing what their present feelings were, seemed unjustifiable.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

“Every Fool can do as they’re bid.” —Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation (1738)

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” —King James Bible, Matthew 18:35 (transl. 1611)

“God send every one their heart’s desire!” —William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (~1600)

“Now this king did keepe a great house, that euerie body might come and take their meat freely.” —Sir Philip Sidney, the Arcadia (1580)

“If … a psalme scape any person, or a lesson, or els yt they omyt one verse or twayne…” —William Bonde, The Pylgrimage of Perfection (1526)

“And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame, / They wol come up and offre a Goddés name” —Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner’s Tale (~1380)

“þan hastely hiȝed eche wiȝt on hors & on fote, / huntyng wiȝt houndes alle heie wodes, / til þei neyȝþed so neiȝh to nymphe þe soþe [Then hastily hied each person on horse and on foot / hunting with hounds all the high woods / ‘til they came so near, to tell the truth]” —William and the Werwolf (transl. ~1350-1375)

“Bath ware made sun and mon, / Aiþer wit þer ouen light [Both were made sun and moon / Either with their own light]” —Cursor Mundi (~1325)

[advanced-procrastination]

We’ve been using they/them/their pronouns to indicate a person with unspecified gender for a long ass fucking time. The only reason it’s become a big issue lately is because it can be used as a semi-respectful term for trans and non-binary folks and we can’t have that can we

These fucks are literally trying to change our language to hurt trans/nb folks, and claiming that’s just the way its always been

[polyhorde]

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Singular “they” predates

Singular “you”

[doomedvoyages]

I think everyone should make dumb ugly zines and bad music and write shitty books with weird premises and publish them for pay what you will online. I think people should write plays that are only ever intended to be performed with their friends in their living rooms. I think people who like ttrpgs should explore bizarre itch.io games and new systems that have no affiliation whatsoever with any major publishing house. If youre lucky enough to have a cool local community radio station nearby you should listen to that and what people close to you have to say and what they're creating that has no focus on being nationally appealing. I just think creation should be more joyful and local both in a geographic sense and a personal and social sense and unconcerned with whether or not it will be commercially viable or slick or even good beyond your own pride in it. And I think it's good to seek out art that exists for its own sake or to appeal to the community it was created within

[ghstbrd]

Another plagiarism PSA for the photography community (my original post on this is here): more plagiarized photography from @sweetgrass-soul.

This post:

features the plagiarized photography of Alissa Allen and Friederike Wilke:

And this post:

is the plagiarized work of Tessie Roberts Nicholson:

She confirms the photos are stolen:

Only the original photographers can report stolen content on Tumblr, but the photography community should be aware of this serial plagiarist.

[mountain-spirits-deactivated202]

Hi there, your yarn looks lovely! Do you mind sharing which mushrooms and lichens you use to make dye baths for certain colors?

Thank you so much 🤍

Sure thing! Keep in mind that a lot of colors will depend on tannin levels, what you’re using as a mordant, if you’re using any modifiers, the pH balance of the dye bath, the life stage of the flora/fungi/lichen, the type of fiber you’re using, etc.

Here’s a starter list with a range of colors produced:

Lichens

Punctelia rudecta —> vivid violet to dusty pink

Evernia punastri —> deep plum to beige-y pink

Lobaria pulmonaria —> warm, rusty brown tones

Parmellia saxatilis —> rich auburn to mahogany

Peltigera polydactyla —> soft baby pink

Cetraria juniperina —> sunny yellow to pale green

Ramalina scopulorum —> mustardy brown to rust

Xanthoria parietina —> this one is a bit of a trickster as it originally yields bright purples + rosy pinks but it isn’t lightfast and will fade to a powder blue (which is terribly beautiful in and of itself but can be frustrating if that’s not the color you set out to get)

*As a disclaimer—lichen dyes require fermentation that typically take weeks, so you’ll want to research and plan in advance for those. Also be mindful when foraging; lichen takes years to mature so over-harvesting can have devastating ecological effects.

Mushrooms:

Cortinarius semisanguineas —> the stems will lend pale yellow + orange hues; the caps make red/pinks

Phaeolus schweinitzii —> this is known as the dyer’s polypore for a reason! it creates a variety of colors ranging from bright yellows to rich oranges to warm & deep chocolate browns, and even forest green.

Tapinella atrotomentosa —> cool tones—blacks, charcoals, dark greys, grey-blues, and grey-purples.

Hydnellum aurantiacum —> i’ve gotten unmistakably brilliant teal, an array of true blue tones, and really muted grey-greens. *shrug* no idea what’s up w that

Sarcodon squamoses —> stunning (!!) blue-greens

Hypomyces lactifluorum —> AKA the lobster mushroom. this is one of my favorites to forage for bc the white belly is delicious and the red skin (which harbors the pigment) can be peeled off before eating. we love a multifunctional queen!! her dye yields gorgeous cream, peach, and coral tones.

[vincentbriggs]

I'm disguised as a dead leaf.

[mooncustafer]

The first time I looked at this I just thought “photo of fallen leaves,” and scrolled past, so congratulations, your camouflage works.

[vinceaddams]

Hooray, my disguise works! Not quite as well as some kinds of leaf shaped insects though, since the rest of my body doesn't look like a leaf.

[slavicafire]

thoughts on like. Polish gender neutral pronouns? I’m increasingly hearing that there’s no way to de-gender a gendered language at all which i totally get but also what do non-binary people do

it's not really possible to de-gender a gendered language, yeah - a table, for example, has to be masculine in Polish, and it'd be rather counterproductive to try and deny that or change that.

but it's not counterproductive to look for a way to talk about and to someone - or about yourself - without gendering the person. is it a bit wonky in a language as strict as Polish? perhaps. will it take a long time to get widely accepted, and especially as correct Polish? of course.

but from neutrative forms, plurals, to dukaisms - the nonbinary (and not only) community in Poland has found many ways of self identification through language. and while it might sound strange at first, they work - and they can continue to do so with just a bit of effort on our end.

I would recommend the website zaimki.pl run by the “Neutral Language Council” collective - and their various language versions - and especially the bit about Polish language in English.

language is an ever-growing collective user-run project - it is human-made and human-used, and it will always keep evolving. that's what it's for!

[slavicafire]

also, their website is a great resource you can share with your non Polish speaking LGBT+ friends - it explains the issues in our language quite well. it also has sibling-sites offering the examination of pronouns in other languages such as Spanish or French. 

and they’ve been used in a segment in our wonderful TVP - in a mocking way, of course - so go give them extra love.

[vincentbriggs]

Finally got the higher resolution versions of the individual drawings from the frog toile edited and added to Redbubble! (The other colour variations of the frog toile fabric aren't available yet, but the samples have shipped and I'll post about them as soon as they arrive.)

Frog mother reads to eggs

Frog in a suit pointing at a snail

Frog boyfriends drink wine

Frog wives and their son play music

Frog plays piano surrounded by tadpoles

Frog riding an axolotl

[queer-luxray]

i’m

HERE

and i’m

QUEER

and

IT’S MUCH EASIER TO SAY I’M QUEER THAN TO LIST OUT MY ENTIRE FUCKING IDENTITY

[vincentbriggs]

Voting is open for the amphibian themed spoonflower contest! From today (November 4th, 2021) until Tuesday (November 9th, 2021). They put all the designs on one page and you just scroll through and vote for however many you want.

I hadn't posted closeup shots of all 6 scenes in my frog toile, so here they are!

I know early 18th century humans would have worn hats and caps, but I decided not to put any on the frogs because the tops of their heads are so small and flat and hairless that there's no good way for the hat to stay on, and it might narrow their field of vision.

[pterribledinosaurdrawings]

happy ace week, dinosaurs!

thank! happy ace week to you too! Here is a brontosaurace.

[changan-moon]

How to make a green pumpkin 紫砂壶 zishahu (Chinese boccaro teapot/ Yixing clay teapot)

cr: 利休手作

[candydoppelbox]

Ok I know this guy is like, a master craftsman, but i -lost it- when he added the tiny snail

[midnitewetdreamz]

me watching the level of detail get more intricate

[furiousgoldfish]

How to spot a smear campaign:

Victims’s “crimes” will be enlarged, and even if they’re small missteps, they will be treated as if only the worst person on the planet would do such a thing

Accusations against the victim will always be a reach, aka, they did ‘this little thing’ but it actually means they’re a racist/murderer/genocide supporter/fascist/have blood on their hands, even when the person’s actions never conformed to those crimes

All and any actions of the victims will be misenterpreted in the worst possible way, anything the person does will be taken as an offense and intentions will be read as hostile and manipulative, regardless of how clear they are

All victim’s actions will be taken out of context; ie, victim said something cruel to someone, but they take out the context of the victim being abused, threatened, tortured, forced into defense mode and finally attacking out of desperation to defend themselves and get free

The victim will commonly get provoked into giving a bad reaction, (anyone gets defensive if they’re accused of the crimes they never did, or simply triggering insults until they snap), and the reaction will become the new ‘proof’ that the victim is in fact, evil and guilty

A lot of pressure will be put on you to react ‘correctly’ to the smear campaign; if you don’t accept to demonize this person at once, you’re getting scrutinized, shamed for your lack of morality, told that you support all these horrid things and that you are just as despicable

You will notice a trend of people ganging together based on their demonization of the victim; they will set a standard where you’re accepted and welcome if only you also will demonize and hate this person, and if you don’t, you’re blocked, cast out, and accused of causing harm

It will feel very easy to accept to demonize this person, and going against it will feel risky, like going against the grain, doubting the word of the many and risking being demonized yourself.

The smear campaign continues all the way until the victim is chased out of the community and denied a voice, even if the victim commits no further crimes, awful things will be said about them, their past 'misdeeds’ continually brought up, until the victim is commonly believed to be worthless, and becomes completely isolated, scared of society and alone

There will be no limit to what is considered okay to do to the victim of a smear campaign; even if the victim is accused of minor bad behaviour, it will become okay to threaten, insult, shout slurs, trigger, provoke, humiliate, manipulate, and repeat any kind of abusive behaviour to the victim, all because 'they’re bad so they deserve it’.

People leading the smear campaign will switch between being 'extremely grossed out and enraged’ to showing absolute joy and satisfaction when they find a new reason to demonize and smear the victim. People truly horrified of someone’s actions do not get a leap of joy when a new disaster happens, they’re not beside themselves to abuse the perpetrator all over again.

It will never, ever be acceptable to show any mercy to the victim. Forgiveness is out of the question, trying to understand them is out of the question. Even reading or listening to what this person is saying will be banned and forbidden, unless it’s for humiliating purposes. They will be shown as absolutely irredeemable, and associating yourself with them as evil and unforgivable. You will be instructed to block or unfollow or report the person based on what you’re told, without any significant proof.

Do not fall for smear campaigns. If a large amount of people all agree that a person is the worst, but their story is exaggerated, out of context, sounds fictional, and doesn’t show any proof, and the people switch from being enraged to eager, doubt it. Participating in a smear campaign will help the abusers isolate and abuse someone, and you do not want to be a part of it. They will also smear anyone who stands up to their abuse, so you’re helping the abusers to create a place where pointing out abuse gets you cast out of the community.