cross stitch and needle point

[firebreather]

ok I figured I would just own up to how I have spent my afternoon...........

My daughter (8 yr old) came to see me today and she wanted to do some cross stitching from a kit that I got her for christmas. So out it came and we all sat around the table sewing away nattering.......sooner than we expected it was time for her to go home......Lo and behold we had passed away nearly 5 hours sewing and making bookmarks. Now as before today I have never done any needle work I found this to be really relaxing and very very addictive. I even carried on after coming home I found it that relaxing.

I will post up some of my humble workings when I get some that I am happy with. As Lin and I have been chatting ( she has taught me the different stitches) I remembered a post Toddy had posted about various traditional skills that we all practice and how most of them are traditionally "womens work".
So now I am looking around and wondering what other gems the women folk have been hiding away from us blokes ?

Greg

 

[harryhaller]

Well firebreather, I wouldn't say they were exactly hiding them - more true is that we ignored them. Us boys learnt knitting at primary school - though that was soon replaced by metal and woodwork in secondary school

Anyway here are some guys who discovered womanly secrets

http://home.arcor.de/bedankbar/index-eng.htm

http://www.petercollingwood.co.uk/

..and I'm sure Toddy can give you quite a few more sites where guys have discovered and mastered needle and weaving skills.

 

[Mesquite]

When I was young my mum made sure I could do all the 'woman' things including knitting, sewing, baking. She didn't believe in her sons coming home with stuff that needed repairing or washing... she'd just say you know where the sewing box/washing machine is

Never done cross-stich but I've done embrodiery and I've got a tapestry tucked away that I've got to finish that my mum left me.

 

[Toddy]

Peter Collingwood was a genuniely decent man and he had such a wealth of knowledge
I taught a young man his first steps in spinning and weaving and his work is superlative, he's now at college doing a textiles degree Lot of menfolk quietly active

Ever worn hand knitted socks ? Pure wool that you spun yourself ? Most comfortable feet you will ever have and that's something coming from me who's not that fond of knitting.

Make a bush shirt for yourself, it's easy, and hand sewing is relaxing and satisfying too And it's not the same hard work that leather sewing can be either. Sewing has been a constant in my life since I was three years old, I have thimbles from the tiniest sizes right through until the ones I use now........usually in every bag I have and certainly in every room

Warmest gloves or mitts you'll wear are felted ones.......another mostly forgotten domestic craft. Makes really, really good wind and waterproof but still breathable hats too.

All practical skills that produce the best of kit for the outdoors in our climate.

My 'not feeling well, don't want to think but want to make something" fallback are knitted squares; I was taught to knit these before I went to school, and I still have a bag that gets pulled out when I'm out of sorts. The wool and squares in it eventually make the warmest, most comfortable blankets. The kind you look for when it's perishing cold or you just want to coorie down.

If you found sewing to your liking why not make things you'll use ? For twenty pounds you could buy two and a half metres of high quality pure wool in a good muted green and that would be enough to make a bushshirt, a hat and a set of mitts, probably a scarf too
Or you could just buy old blankets and dye them to do the same.

I like making things it's my relaxation, and I thoroughly enjoy seeing what other folks make

First artefacts beyond fossils of humanity ?.......fire and tools and now we're finding evidence for cordages.....kind of says it all really

atb,
M

 

[SimonM]

Just put a button my bushy trousers - all man me! (in fact too much man judging by how far the button flew!)

Simon

 

[Toddy]

Buttons and buttonholes can be shifted.........usually you can get about 4cms extra without 'destroying' the waistband of your trousers


cheers,
Toddy

 

[Wayland]

I sew all the time.

Usually it's leather work which somehow doesn't have the "women's work" stigma attached but the last thing I sewed was my wind shirt.

If you can't get the stuff you want then why not make it?

 

[firebreather]

Cheers for the replies guys. I will be having a go at loads of stuff now.

Up to now I have just said to Lin ....".can you make me ( insert item)" and she has said "yes" and gone off and made it. To be honest I am spoiled with her skills ( qualified seamstress and tailor) and they have made me lazy. ........NOW I will be tapping her as the font of knowledge that she is. A few mins showing me stuff before and I am hooked. The tents we make are all sewn by her with the poles and things sorted by myself. In the past Lin has made me tents, ventile jackets, hats, Kilt jackets, suits, bags.....the list is endless. All I have to do pick her brains with out pestering and I am onto a winner.

The links are great with some stunning stuff.

Greg

 

[Cobweb]

Naalbinding, Tabletweaving, Basketry, Sprang, Beadmaking, Needlemaking, Herbal Remedies, Straw plating, Corn Dollies, Clothes Making, Embroidery, Crotchet, Knitting and so on and so forth
All considered girly, but essential.

I found that after I'd learned how to make camp, tools and generally survive I became more interested in making useful thinks like baskets, cups, spoons, tongs, flint knapping, and so on... Now I'm interested in the ancient arts of Tablet Weaving and Naalbinding.

I still practise the other skills I have learned but I'm basically multi learning

Don't know if it's a female thing but I've noticed most blokes on here learn about a knife, then learn about the various grinds then get caught up in a debate about the best grind, then they go onto sharpening and then they spend most of their time talking about the best knife they have or want.

Women tend to find something that works well and stick with it, moving on to learning or pursuing something completely different.

It's a funny old world

I can see how this difference would have evolved through the years with the men mostly hunting and the women taking care of everything else. Women would need to learn lots of different skills so we developed the multi task mind set.

Not wrong, just different!

It's good to see that there are some Men who want to learn different skills
Welcome to the women's camp firebreather!

 

[harryhaller]

Another thing, though, is the shape and the size of the hands. I have large hands and the fingers don't taper. I haven't yet started with Naalbinding, but I fear the size of my thumb is going to be handicap when it comes to forming small loops.

 

[boisdevie]

I'm fully in touch with my female side. I cook, bake, sew, crosstitch, iron - everything. I don't give stuff for all this 'it's work for women' kind of poop.

 

[harryhaller]

I don't give stuff for all this 'it's work for women' kind of poop.

Us batchelors don't have that luxury or excuse.

 

[ladanddad]

I'm fully in touch with my female side. I cook, bake, sew, crosstitch, iron - everything. I don't give stuff for all this 'it's work for women' kind of poop.

I dont really see it as being in touch with my female side, when i was single there was no one else to do all these things for me so i had to learn or go without. as i see it its all about self reliance.

how many folks on here call the wife to make the tea or cook the meal when out in the woods assuming she is not out enjoying it all with you

in most so called primitave socities the gathering is womens work while the men hunt, probably not much chance for most of us to hunt, but how many of us have picked blackberries or mushrooms

do what you want so long as its legal and you enjoy it

how about a contest for the best cross stich possibles pouch

not sure if i mean that as a joke or a serious suggestion

 

[Bodge]

swmbo is making a rag rug as I type and i'm passing her the rag strips (does this count as a joint effort?)

First time she has done one but we have had a clearout of the kids clothes and the ones that are knackered have been cut into strips, the good stuff will go to the charity shop.

 

[firebreather]

I'm fully in touch with my female side. I cook, bake, sew, crosstitch, iron - everything. I don't give stuff for all this 'it's work for women' kind of poop.

Hi mate I believe that we may have crossed wires here. I didnt mean anything derogatory by my post quoting "womens work" far from it. I was poking fun at a traditionally viewed stance about certain tasks and skills. Maybe I should have used a few more smileys

I too have lived the single life for many a year and if I didnt do it it did not get done. I can cook, bake , iron etc etc and enjoy many of these skills.

The post was a tongue in cheek mention of a new skill I am trying to learn. When discussing it with Lin after my daughter had gone home, Toddy's very articulate posting about certain skill sets came to mind and it made me chuckle. It also prompted me to look around at other skills I have overlooked for whatever reason. In this case needle work.

Up to now I have been fortunate enough to be supported in my life by very capable and influential women such as my mother who is a fully qualified chef ( she was a better cook before she became qualified in my opinion) and Lin ( my partner) both can pretty much can turn their hands to anything. I have been shown the way growing up by my dad who took his share of the housework and to be honest I cannot really name any "womens work" in the same way I cannot name any "blokes work". Just skills that are traditionally undertaken by women while us blokes laze around fire gazing.

If my posting has been taken out of context then I can only apologise.

Cheers Greg

 

[firebreather]

how about a contest for the best cross stich possibles pouch

not sure if i mean that as a joke or a serious suggestion

I am up for that It will be while before I can make anything that would be worth while putting forward but I would love to see what others can do.

Greg

 

[Minotaur]

If you can't get the stuff you want then why not make it?

Too true. Well said.

I was taught it at home, and then in school.

Women tend to find something that works well and stick with it, moving on to learning or pursuing something completely different.

Have heard this the other way. The thing went that the reason most of the great chefs are men is, that a man solves a problem, and then moves on, but a woman always feels the need to fiddle.

I have never got the it is a woman's job thing. There are jobs I do not want to do, there are jobs I suck at, but I have yet to find a job I cannot do in some regard.

 

[xylaria]

Personally I can't think of anything duller than cross stitch. It was the embriodary I was taught in school, and I wish my school did woodwork and metal work instead.

Naalbinding is easier the bigger thumb you have, and like knitting it was used by fishermen to keep their hands moving when waiting underdeck for the catch to land. Hand spinning was always pretty much done by women, but quite a few fabric arts only really got strictly engendered by the victorians.