Friday Five: Stitching and Bitching

Here are another five of my latest cross-stitch creations. The first two patterns and explanations are taken from Really Cross Stitch; for when You Just Want to Stab Something a Lot by Rayna Fahey.

No borders unless they're pretty and floral

"This pattern is dedicated to people fleeing persecution who, despite all obstacles still strive to create a clean, tidy, safe space for their loved ones to rest before facing another day.

The women who sew together rags for their wee ones 'cause they know how important it is for a two-year-old to have a cuddly friend. The women who dress in black and march for peace amid gunfire and tear gas. All the while carrying giant handbags with keys and snacks and hankies for small runny noses."

C'mon gang: Be excellent to each other

"Stop for a moment and imagine what the world would be like if everyone did one simple act of kindness for a stranger, every single day.

"Old ladies would get safely across roads, lost wallets would be returned to their owners, wars would stop breaking out all over the place. the possibilities are truly endless. Pay it forward people, I think we're onto something here!

"Fucking kindness. It just works every time."

The remaining images are little kits by Thomas Joseph that I picked up back in the UK, where we like cheap gags and sheep. Well, wouldn't ewe?

Friday Five: Cross-Stitch on a Theme

Sometimes everything gets 'a bit much' and, in these times, I have found that working designs from Really Cross Stitch: For when You Just Want To Stab Something a Lot helps. Of course, I am not advocating violence, but I am hoping for progress, and there is a theme in my latest five patterns about who or what I would like to change. As previously, all the words are from Rayna Fahey, and all the complete lack of ironing is my own.

"Politicians and toddlers have a lot in common. They are both prone to tantrums and act unreasonably, especially when they don't get their own way. Every now and then - just like a toddler - you have to give them a good talking-to!"

"Contending for the misogynist comment of the millennium, a presidential candidate's suggestion that he was at liberty to grab female genitalia due to his privilege was dismissed as 'locker room talk'. Whilst this overheard vulgarity wasn't enough to kill an election campaign, it certainly put feminists on a war footing well before Trump took office.

This pattern attests to the fact that kitty has claws. The only pricks we will tolerate come from our cross stitch needle."

"Now it's really not nice to attack someone you don't like politically based on their appearance. But this time the temptation was too strong.

"For someone who is world-record-breakingly quick to insult someone, Trump's skin does appear to be diaphanously thin when it comes to people discussing the size of his hands. But in the scale of things, this is the guy that reinstated the Global Gag Rule and wants to ban the world's 1.6 billion Muslim people from America. So there's plenty of actual policy to organise around while you're doing this cross stitch."

"Cunts are deep, warm, and delightful; indeed the place from which the majority of us astoundingly enter this fragile world. Yet no single word creates as much division and carries as much power as this little number.

"One thing activists are super-good at is dissecting the meaning of language, until letters break down into pixels. Give us another decade and everyone will know that vagina is 16th century slang for a place to keep your sword. Ouch."

"Language can be used to persuade, amuse, insult, and mobilise action. Few formats can accomplish these goals as ably or succinctly as the protest sign.

"Of course, sometimes the words just won't come. Or there are too many of them to fit on one sign. Or you're just so tired of being angry and upset that you just want to go UGH; which is fine. 'Just, Ugh' conveys all the despair, rage and hopelessness in just seven easy letters, and of course, can be used for virtually any occasion as it works for anything. Plus, it's nice and easy to stitch."

Friday Five: Cross Stitch Designs

To help with general mental health and well-being, I am still doing cross-stitches; here are another five of my latest cross-stitch creations. The first three patterns and explanations are taken from Really Cross Stitch; for when You Just Want to Stab Something a Lot by Rayna Fahey.

Poverty, war, climate change, corruption, slavery, refugees, indigenous rights, education, housing, health care, child care, food prices, domestic violence, prison reform, gun control, equal pay, trade agreements, tax reform, chemical warfare, land mines, pollution, drilling, fracking, mass control of the population through the media; I could go on FOREVER.

It'd be a lot quicker and more concise just to stitch this pattern. But don't temper your rage. As Gloria Steinem once said, "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."

"We will be the thorn in your side. The glass in your bread. The pain in your ass." - Anti Racist Action

The needle in your eye...

Last time I checked, there were a grand total of zero feminists advocating for the rounding up of men and stuffing them into gas chambers. There are, however, thousands of white supremacists organising around the world for the elimination of interesting people. Standing up against fascism is really important (see: the twentieth century). They're not normally a smart bunch so it's not actually that hard.

Lobbyists spend literally billions of dollars a year to keep the world's politicians on the side of greed. Every time we optimistically sign a petition, there's ten of these bastards lined up to open up nee loopholes.

But these times are indeed a'changing. We are taking back our democracy and turning the tables on lobbyocracy.

"It took this horrific moment of darkness to wake us the fuck up. It seems as though we had all slipped into a false sense of comfort, that justice would prevaila dnt at good would win in the end. Well, good did not win this election. But good will win in the end." - Madonna, Washington Women's March

I made this for a friend for her birthday. We watched The Handmaid's Tale and avidly discussed each episode after it had aired. This particular design was inspired by one of those church signs outside the Gosford Anglican Church equating repressive legislation with the fictional regime of Gilead in Margaret Atwood's tale of dystopian society. And also, by the fact, that according to the TV series it spawned, 'Muffins mean yes".

Liverpool FC: six-time champions of Europe. YNWA. Enough said.

Friday Five: Even Crosser Stitch

Here are another five of my latest cross-stitch creations. The first four patterns and explanations are taken from Really Cross Stitch; for when You Just Want to Stab Something a Lot by Rayna Fahey.

'Aside from tractors, colour photography and whiskey, Ireland's greatest contribution to the world has to be Father Ted. Set on a fictional remote island, the television series revolves around three priests banished for previous misdemeanours. One episode stood out from the rest, when the local cinema screens a 'blasphemous' film. Father Ted leads the defence of community values.

'Down With This Sort Of Thing' was Father Ted's placard, and has become an old faithful on the Irish protest circuit. It can be used for any occasion, to be sure, to be sure.'

'The thing about snowflakes is, get enough of them in one place, add a bit of fury, and you've got yourself a blizzard. Blizzards may begin with a flutter but once they get going they have the power to bring cities to a standstill.

When the best response the entitled can come up with is to compare you to a benign and natural phenomenon, it's a pretty good sign you're winning the argument. And that their binary macho principles are ridiculous.'

'Indigenous peoples worldwide are the first to pay the price for climate change, yet contribute the least to its causes. Luckily for the future of our lovely planet, indigenous peoples are also the first to stand up and defend this beautiful place we call Earth. 

The battle lines of the war against climate change are being defended daily as people take direct action to save forests, rivers and oceans. From Standing Rock to the Galilee Basin, from the tar sands to the trade summits; the fight to stop climate change is shaping up to be the most creative and effective movement in our history.'

"To the wrongs that need resistance,to the right that needs assistance, to the future in the distance, give yourselves." - Carrie Chapman Catt (Suffragette)

For over 150 years women have led movements for one basic idea: participation in democracy is a right that belongs to everyone. While the debate's nuances have evolved, the idea remains strong. Of course the opposition to the movement is also ongoing. The anti-suffragettes of the 19th century had an appalling sense of humour and their cartoons are always good for a laugh. But the laughter turns bitter when we think about the relentless attacks on women we still face.

These just happen to be a couple of creative efforts I made and gave to a friend. The book, Mornington Crescent (AUD25 + p&p) is my own labour of love. The cross-stitch is a reference to spoon theory, and how, when the emotional drawer is empty, one can just feel like stabbing something a lot. It's also a warning. All cross-stitch is, in its way; it's quietly subversive, rebellious way.

Friday Five: Still Cross

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have found that cross-stitch is wonderful therapy. It helps me to relax; I get to stab things without hurting anyone; I am able to express my sentiments in a non-violent manner; and I end up with a product that I can give as a gift. Here are my latest creations. All the patterns and explanations are taken from Really Cross Stitch; for when You Just Want to Stab Something a Lot by Rayna Fahey.

Five More Cross Stitches:

'"She was warned. She was given an explanation." Such chilling words when you consider their intent: to silence a woman's political voice.

Fortunately it takes a lot more than that pitiful attempt at bullying to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose refusal to stay silent energised a movement. 

These three words have become a rallying cry for women fighting to be heard in male-dominated spaces. The knack for persistence is a requirement for any activist, just like cross stitch. So consider this pattern part of your revolutionary routine.'

'Sometimes the state of the world really is quite rage-inducing, and five minutes watching the news can leave you feeling very stabby indeed. 

Channel your rage into this project! There have been countless studies expounding the mental health benefits of craft. Something about the gentle repetitive nature of creating with your hands calms and balances the mind. One thing's for sure, by the time you've stabbed your needle through these 750 stitches you're bound to feel much better. There's a reason it's not called "happy stitch".'

'"I am not as nasty as racism, fraud, conflict of interest, homophobia, sexual assault, transphobia, white supremacy, misogyny, ignorance, white privilege..." Nina Donovan

Funny how men in power really don't like it when people have political opinions that challenge their domination over the world. Of course if those people happen to be women, or even worse *gasp* women with political power, the dudebros get real upset real quick and the name-calling begins. Yes, we are here to destroy the joint. Calling us names just fuels our fire."

'Compassioning: verb; the act of choosing not to be an asshole to your fellow humans.

Call me a Buddhist if you must, but is there any evidence anywhere that building walls makes people safer? If they work so well, why do people make such a big deal of tearing them down?

Here's an idea, how about we introduce a new measure for governments: the National Index of Compassionate Elected Representatives. Let's rank all politicians and see who truly tops the NICER list.'

'If you think telling your kids there's no Santa is hard, try telling them there's no North Pole.

There are some corporate spin doctors who really have a lot to answer for. Honestly, imagine having the job where you have to come up with ways to spin total climate destruction and obliteration of life as we know it. Somehow they've even managed to propagate the idea that climate change is something "invented" by political activists to, I don't know, make the world a better place or something... Next time you're up against some skeptic, remember:

What do we want? Evidence-based science!
When do we want it? After peer-based review!'

Friday Five: Really Cross Stitch

When I was in America, I found a fabulous book called Really Cross Stitch; for when You Just Want to Stab Something a Lot by Rayna Fahey. It contains patterns for subversive cross-stitch; traditionally a conservative domestic pastime for women, which is fueled with channeled rage. Inspired by the banners and signs at recent marches around the world, Really Cross Stitch takes all that anger, outrage and protest and puts it inside a pretty, decorative border.

I have been making the samplers and giving them as gifts as to friends and family. Fahey also writes short explanations, which enhance the art and complement the craft.

5 Samples of Really Cross Stitch:

"For far too long girls have carried this slur as an insult. Our fight has always been one for survival and some of the world's greatest heroes have been girls who've fought back against their oppressors. Here's looking at you Malala Yousafzai! Girls and women are reclaiming this slur with gusto."

"Those who hark back to 'simpler times' seem to conveniently forget that said times were a pretty shitty place for women and minorities. It was common policy for women to be paid less than men FOR THE SAME JOB. Around the world women weren't allowed to make contracts, sell property without male permission, or refuse sex from their husband. For women of colour, the situation was worse. Identify as LGBTIQA+? Forget it. A whole generation of women were sedated thanks to medical 'advances' and doctors 'treated' dissent with Valium. Don't even get me started on abortion... If someone tries to tell you life was better back then, just give them a hand-powered washing machine."

"Never has such an oxymoronic statement ever passed the lips of a political spin doctor. First there was Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's famous call for 'Continuity and Change', now it's almost certain the writers from Veep have snuck in and taken over the autocue. Thankfully, scientists also have some pretty good senses of humour and are countering the muddying of the public debate by coming up with some real fact-based solutions to our global problems. Time for some red hats that say 'Make Earth Cool Again'." 

"The twentieth century should have been a giant lesson in how not to engage in global domination. Unfortunately our world leaders aren't very good at taking heed of historians. It would appear we're not too great at the job of electing world leaders either... Anyone would think there's some kind of ruling elite with vested interest in maintaining a global military industrial complex or something. As the old saying goes, 'Bombing for peace is like f*#^%ing for virginity'."

"The thing about bigotry is that it leads to a blindness. The more you base your beliefs on false ideals of power and control, the less you understand what's really going on around you. Makes things easier for the resistance, because flying under the radar is always possible when you know where the shadow zone is. Craft has played a superb role in human history. Dismissed as women's work, political messages have been hidden in handmade objects since at least the time of abolition. Maps hidden in quilts, stories of disappearances disguised in arpilleras, morse code stitched into samplers, the simple needle and thread has changed the course of history."