i promise i haven't forsaken Spider Hag Gang (4 life), just dealing with some irl shit at the moment :cri: i had to commit the ultimate sin of logging out
good news though, my friend serendipitously sent me a meme of Marx using a spinning wheel so we'll have a perfect image for the spinning thread! also, do you know who we need to talk to for proposing our mega? would that be the c/diy mods?
i'll have to respond more in depth later, but i agree that c/diy is the place to do it. would also love to encourage others to share, i have a feeling we have some super creative people lurking on this site
yeah i've wondered about those mysterious extra upvotes! lol hope the feds are enjoying our deep wool discussions :fedposting:
i'm really glad you suggested doing a more focused mega, i was starting to think that there's no way to do the entire field of fiber arts justice in a single thread. spinning would be a great choice! there's also some great Industrial Revolution/early capitalism history we can throw in there about the evolution from home spinning to cottage industry spinning to mechanized factory spinning
i like thinking about that stuff too, although yeah, not really practical or ultimately even desirable -- i am too soft and lazy to truly live off the land :blob-no-thoughts: but it's still nice to bring little bits of that life into my modern existence and make things i use! like i've made some of my own tools and knives and stuff and not to use a Girl Boss word lol but it's really empowering
spoiler
WE'RE PUTTING THE THREAD IN MEGATHREAD BITCHES :meow-knit:
dyeing it with plants you grew or foraged :sicko-spin:
then embroidering it with thread you also spun and dyed :sicko-speeeeen:
spicy yarn! i bet it looks great though. can't wait to hear about the avocado experiment, that sounds really cool. grinding the bugs was gross and a little stinky. but a hag's gotta hag, yknow? lol. if you can find a copy, there's a great old book (more of a booklet) called Dye Plants and Dyeing: A Handbook produced by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the 60s or 70s. it's got recipes and mordants for any color you want to make out of plants, plus history, dye plants around the world, and so many tips.
a big YES OMG to recruiting more spider hags. i'm probably too busy to handle a megathread in the next couple days, but i can start gathering info and links. should we dm to coordinate?
and imagine having to spin all your thread for sewing on spindles! do you remember the title of that book? lol not that i have time to read it but i would love to add it to the ever growing stack :very-smart:
omg have you done any hand dyeing?? i did some wool yarn a couple years ago. i used real cochineal, grinding up the bugs and all. was going for bright red but it came out a bit more raspberry, still extremely pretty and dimensional. i'd love to do some more but i'm trying to keep my craft obsessions (and supplies) growing at a reasonable pace :ohnoes:
this is making me think, maybe we could host a megathread in c/diy some time. do a bit of history about fiber arts, links for beginners, that kind of thing. SPIDER GANG TAKEOVER
i did a couple small practice things, granny squares etc with my homespun. but this hooded scarf takes like 800 yards so i bought some (of course) sparkly stuff. really puts it into perspective what a labor of love it would be to spin enough yarn to knit an entire sweater, but maybe some day! our commune is worth it :meow-hug: everyone is going to have the warmest socks
omg these patterns are gorgeous, what a vibe. have you made anything of hers?
It’s so nice having a leftist fiber arts person to talk to
We are the weirdos arachno-communists, mister :sicko-fem: 🕷️
lol i love how we're posting into the void of this expired megathread :specter: i keep thinking about posting some projects but i try to limit my irl/online crossovers for opsec and mental health reasons.
absolutely in awe that you make your own cardigans and SOCKS holy smokes. being able to make clothes is such a dream, and i fucking love sweaters so i guess that's what i'm most looking forward to. i'm so glad we connected and talked, you already inspired me to get started on my first crochet scarf!
yes yes, i see the beautiful bean think emoji in my mind, it's transcendent :angel-biblical-shh:
you were knitting in middle school?? based. if you end up having time/energy to do a wip post i will be there with upbears and hag comments. also, death to racist boomer knitting groups :knifecat:
favorite thing i've made fiber arts wise is a skein of sparkly, fluffy white and silver yarn. it is like if a crisp snowbank glittering in the full moon was a yarn. i'm a sucker for sparkly shit. how about you?
well, a family of craft dabblers, anyway. i'm on my own for most of it too. sometimes it makes me sad to think how much knowledge about making stuff has been lost over the last few generations. at least we've got youtube how-to videos, right?
omg that's so gnarly about the sliced leg, imagine getting cut on filthy garbage :kombucha-disgust: i don't habitually dumpster dive, but i happened to see a construction dumpster in a fancy neighborhood where they were renovating a house and it was full of random boards so...hey, free boards!
:meow-bounce: super pumped for your spooooOOoooky Halloween quilt! i looked up a video on English paper piecing, what a neat method. can't wait to see it if you're comfortable posting it here whenever it's done or there's progress you want to share. making your own wardrobe...that's the dream! my stepmom sewed clothes when i was a kid so i learned some basics, but i've never successfully like, followed a pattern or done a real project.
thanks for the knitting/crochet advice! i actually just started experimenting with crochet like, last week, and it's really fun so far. i lose count of the stitches constantly (thanks ADHD :ooooooooooooooh: ) but it will probably get easier. now to look up continental knitting...
and yeah, the loom is wood. dumpster dived some scraps and pretty much just followed this method. it's a lot of measuring and hammering in tiny nails, but nothing too intimidating if you're interested in trying continuous strand weaving without a huge money commitment.
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