Flint Knits

Heyyy, I made a cape for my dog!

Puppy Cape! Constructed on the fly, with undyed muslin and a fabric marker.

Crush joined about 6,000 other demonstrators (mostly human, some dogs) at the Rally for Working Families at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

Her sign (”Snyder is a wiener”) refers to Michigan’s new governor, Rick Snyder, who, well, is a wiener. And also to her status as a wienerdog (GET IT? Wiener! Hooray, political punning!)

Related: One hundred years ago today, in New York City, a fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 146 workers, mostly women aged 16-24.

One year ago this month in Gazipur, Bangladesh, a fire at a factory that produces knitwear for H&M killed 21 workers and injured 50 more.

Today, garment and textile workers continue to be some of the most vulnerable, super-exploited women in the world.

As U.S. and state policymakers like Snyder bust unions, empower corporations, and continue to chip away at workers’ rights, historians Nan Enstad and Joshua Freeman, and journalist Jeff Weinstein all explain how looking back at the Triangle Shirtwaist fire can help us understand our current political climate. Specifically, understanding the history of the fire gives us insight into the stakes of this ongoing debate about what Enstad calls “the relationship between the power of the corporation and the safety, welfare and dignity of people.”

Some anti-sweatshop “craftivists” believe that making one’s own clothing in this context is a political act, a material (no pun intended) disengagement from and protest against the global garment industry. In the future, we’re definitely going to have some discussion here about this idea, and also about the politics and economics of “ethical consumption” when it comes to yarn, fiber, and textiles.

For now, I’d just like to propose that, if we want yarn and clothing and textiles that are not made in deadly, near-slavery sweatshop conditions, it’s not enough to “vote with our dollars,” or to buy the right stuff from the right stores, or even to not buy anything at all. We also need to come at it from the other side, not as consumers, but as direct, outspoken advocates for workers’ rights and fair, safe, just labor practices.

Links:

• Nan Enstad, “The Triangle Fire and its Lessons“
• Joshua Freeman, “Remembering the Triangle Fire“
• Jeff Weinstein, “The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: The Ways That Tragedy Counts“
• Cornell University Triangle Factory Fire web site (amazing, comprehensive resource)
• New York University’s Grey Art Gallery, “Commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire” exhibit
• Watch online - PBS American Experience episode, “Triangle Fire“

First, thanks so much for all the smart, thoughtful responses to my last post. In addition to the great comments, I’ve gotten a flurry of lovely emails from LYS owners and employees, and from more experienced designers who were generous enough to share their wisdom. And they’ve all reaffirmed for me that we need to continue to have some serious conversations about copyright, licensing, and use.

In crafty news, my dear friend Michael turned 30 in February, and I went to Minneapolis for the party (a riot grrrl-themed queer dance party, which, yes please — I broke out my homemade L7 shirt for the occasion).

Michael has been a really excellent friend for a lot of years, and was an excellent roommate for some of them, too. We’ve been through some Real Shit together. So, in honor of his awesomeness, I made my first Real Quilt for the occasion.

I bought a pattern, but was itching to get started before it arrived. So, foolishly, I looked at a finished quilt and figured out what kinds of squares it used, then made those kinds of squares. NOTE TO SELF: NEXT TIME, WAIT FOR THE PATTERN — it has much quicker, smarter, more efficient instructions for how to cut and piece this thing.

After I pieced the top together, I took an embarrassingly long time to just sit back and admire it, and force others to admire it (friends, visitors, the mail carrier). I used a lot of different fabrics, including manymany scraps from my stash, and some excellent jelly rolls I bought from Starlit Nest. But most of the squares include Heather Ross Mendocino fabrics that I’ve collected here and there, which feature sea creatures, merpeople, and fish. AND THEY ARE SO FREAKING CUTE.

merpeople!

fishies! and squiddies!

polka dots!

I’d planned to quilt the thing with plain straight lines, as I had done with the few teensy quilt-like things I’d made before. But someone I live with (who’s never sewn a stitch in his life) suggested that I quilt it in a wave pattern, and I couldn’t get that idea out of my head.

So I did a bit of reading about free motion machine quilting, hit up my more experienced quilter friends for advice, made up some little quilt sandwiches, and practiced for about 30 minutes before I started in on the quilt itself.

And I think the waves turned out okay!

Just add a handmade label (with a little embroidered lobster, obvs)

And it’s done! The whole thing is a good width for a full size bed, but a bit short. If I had it to do over, I’d add another row of squares along the top or bottom edge.

Aaaaand here’s the finished thing, awkwardly displayed on my crooked front porch.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

A few months ago, my friend Liz turned 26.

Like any good party, her birthday party had a theme: The 10th Anniversary of her Sweet Sixteen. This meant that the whole party was 1998-themed. Genius.

Liz is a rare gem. She’s smart, and sassy, and fucking hilarious, and a contains brilliant mix of cynicism and earnestness that makes her a total joy to hang out with. She’s a fabulous cook. She tells the truth. She enjoys life and makes fun of it at the same time. She’ll tease you ruthlessly, and defend you fiercely. She’s at once terrifically cranky and remarkably sensitive. She contains multitudes.

I couldn’t make it to Minneapolis to party like it was 1998, so I sent her a couple of mix tapes for the soiree, and this little handmade gift.

Lovely, isn’t it? Just a plain log cabin square that I made with scraps, and sewed into a pillow cover with some whimsical pom-pom trim.

But that? That’s just one side.
Like Liz, the pillow is complex and layered:

What?

Oh!

Why, yes!

Yes, that is the cast of Season One of TV’s “Dawson’s Creek,” which premiered on the WB in 1998.

Ironed onto some undyed cotton and sewn into another log cabin square. I think it’s pretty fucking badass. Definitely my favorite TV-themed craft since the X-Files Diorama.

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

NOTE: In honor of No Cussing Week, I thought I’d take a minute to discuss my own swears. I know I’ve dropped some F-bombs in the last few posts. I do it on purpose, for a couple of reasons: (1) I swear quite a lot in real life. I enjoy it. And (2) I want to chase away as quickly as possible any uptight know-it-alls with overdeveloped senses of entitlement who might later be caught off guard by a random swear and then be inclined to send me cranky condescending emails about my language. Those emails are stupid, and I’m tired of getting them. So, to paraphrase Liz, Happy No-Cussing Week, Motherfuckers!

Um. Could you do me a solid and go check out my dress in this contest? If I win, I get a free trip to New York, and a $1000 shopping spree. And my dress is pretty sweet, right? Plus, it’s handmade, which should definitely count for something.

If you go vote, leave a comment on this post saying you did. When the contest thingy is over in June, I’ll draw names and send a $20 WoolGirl gift certificate to some lucky voter. And if I win ? I’ll draw TWO names!

	Vote On My Photo! handmade dress. with bees on it. by flintknits

Thank you!!

ETA: So, apparently you have to “join” kaboodle.com in order to vote. If you’re not into that (I’m not), you can just give an address that you’ve got designated for spammy webcrap. Or, you can do what clever Nikki did: sign up, vote, and cancel your account. Thanks again, guys! xo

EATA: Kristi (who seems like a totally swell gal) admonishes that Kaboodle is in fact NOT spammy webcrap. So before you decide whether or not to ‘join,’ please take a moment to investigate Kaboodle and all it does or does not have to offer! I’m off to do that myself …

For Minty’s 30th birthday, back in November, I offered to make her a shirt. Since she’s a pretty conservative dresser, she requested something slightly outside her comfort zone.

At Superbuzzy, I found some beautiful Japanese cotton gauze in a bold-but-hopefully-not-flashy print, and got to work.

pattern: Simplicity 4077 (again)
fabric: Nani Iro, by Naomi Ito, “Fuccra Flowers” in steel blue

The biggest challenge was that the fabric is laid out like a painting, rather than an allover print. I mean, there is a repeated print, but it only repeats every 3 feet or some such thing. So cutting the fabric in a way that worked with the pattern was no easy feat (especially considering that I’d bought the bare minimum yardage).

Otherwise, this is much like other blouses I’ve made from the same pattern. Simple design, modern fit, button placket, etc.

I used the 3/4 sleeve version this time, with pleats and open cuffs …

… and placed the buttons in pairs down the front.
It fits perfectly, and Minty looks fab. Success!
Happy (belated) Birthday, hon!