NationStates Jolt Archive

I just came back from a monumental shopping trip to an arts and crafts (http://www.deserres.ca/) store in my area...picking up entirely too many (okay, never too many) craft supplies. I mostly got crafts to work on with the girls, during my four months of summer (woohoo for taking the summer off!), but I also picked up thousands of seed beads for a long overdue project. My girls have decided they want to dance, fancy shawl style (I was hoping for jingle dress dancing, because those dresses are easier to make...), like this (http://www.kumeyaay.info/pow_wow/powwow_images/Woman_Dancer.jpg), or these (http://www.theawakening.ca/dancers/womfancyshawl.jpg). I'm going to work on the girdles moccasins this summer, and hopefully at least get most of that done. The shawl will be a joint effort with my mom, and will be embroidered, not beaded. I doubt I'll get the whole thing done but they might have enough to feel good about competing at some powwows this year:)

What kind of crafts are you into? If you have pictures of said crafts, all the better....

Well, I don't know if it really counts, but I'm a tinkerer. I find overcomplicated ways to build things I don't really need, and then stop when I see prices, or decide that I may actually make use of it and build the things. (A good example is a smoke grenade igniter/thrower (for paintball) that I'm waiting on building. Prices are too expensive here in Germany (and I don't want to get on a plane with what I'd have to refer to as a 'grenade thrower' in my luggage), but I may get around to it once I'm back home.)

As far as more 'traditional' crafts go, a little bit of woodworking here and there. I once disassembled a computer monitor in order to paint the casing black, simply because black matches the rest of my computer setup. I'd like to learn how to paint cars, but it's kind of an expensive craft to mess up with. Someday I might try it out, but at the moment I keep away. (Hey, maybe someday I'll even have the patience to do it properly, since I know for a fact that if I were to try it now I'd find most of the work too tedious.)

I assemble/paint/convert models for Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K.

That's about it for now alothough I've dabbled in those wood cut pictures that resemble stained glass.

I craft (+1 +1) arrows in ADOM. Not what you're talking about?


I used to craft apple people, but ever since I learned ants loved them, I stopped (I HATE ants!)

Something else I like to do, and haven't for a while, is buy sari fabric, like this (http://www.madrasi.info/tissue-silk.jpg), or this (http://images.exoticindiaart.com/saris/burgundy_baluchari_sari_depicting_an_indian_wedding_yf34.jpg), and either stretch it over a canvas frame, or mount it and frame it. I like either three panels together, or different panels throughout the house. I gave away the ones I've done before, including one where I used scraps of sari fabric to create a lake scene. *loooooves sari fabric*

i totally made a star and crescent to put on top of my winter festival tree. does that count? i used hot glue and paint and everything.

i totally made a star and crescent to put on top of my winter festival tree. does that count? i used hot glue and paint and everything.

Hahahaha, yes yes it counts :D

Stamping, scrapbooking, cardmaking... paper crafts. Expensive paper crafts, really, but I love them.

I once made a stuffed duck in Home Economics class. It fell apart. :(

I make blu-tack animals when I should be working if that counts

I actually got someone else doing it who had (try and believe this) never thought about doing it :eek:

Stamping, scrapbooking, cardmaking... paper crafts. Expensive paper crafts, really, but I love them.

I looooooove paper. This store has a whole wall full of amazing paper, handmade, amazingly textured...I had to walk away before I spent hundreds of dollars. I need a plan first. I don't care for cards and such...I like to frame things :D I am trying to figure out what I want to do with the paper first, aside from carress it and covet it.

I assemble/paint/convert models for Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K.

That's about it for now alothough I've dabbled in those wood cut pictures that resemble stained glass.

Tremble with fear little Bretonnian, for Karl Franz and the Empire will pwn you

This is one of their Warrior priests:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3pOljQqvX8

Lets see one of your girly Knights match the warrior priest

I assemble/paint/convert models for Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K.

This.



I often wonder how I get laid with these kinds of hobbies.

I myself don't do any, and I'm not sure if it counts, but one of my friends used to do Taxidermy. As a hobby. Which was kinda creepy.:eek:

i thought this was going to be about being devious, which i am. crafty... hmmm... i used to be, or at least i had the vague notions of craft projects that i collected scraps for. i had a huge bag full of cardboard, bubble wrap, lolly sticks, buttons, tubes, etc. never actually had the attention span to see anything beyond the design stage sadly.

This.

I often wonder how I get laid with these kinds of hobbies.


I know some guys who are married and are hardcore into this
even some of the wives are into it just as much

Warhammer is alright, its the freaks who get into D&D, Card games, and Lord of the Rings games, who have no-sex issues

Hey, hey! Don't diss D&D!

I looooooove paper. This store has a whole wall full of amazing paper, handmade, amazingly textured...I had to walk away before I spent hundreds of dollars. I need a plan first. I don't care for cards and such...I like to frame things :D I am trying to figure out what I want to do with the paper first, aside from carress it and covet it.

Hahaha, I have the same problem. I buy paper just to look at it, and then I'm like, "no, it's too pretty to use! Then I'll have no more!"

Sigh. Oh, the woes of a crafter. I need more money to support this hobby.

PS, with the framing... I get the feeling you're into bigger things, but I've seen framed scrapbook pages or collages that are absolutely gorgeous.

Oh, that's the other thing I'm into... mixed-media collages (both flat and 3D), incorporated either scrapbook/journaling style, or as a means of decorated boxes/etc. That one tends to get a little messier. :p

I made soap last month. And I extracted the glycerin Fight Club style. ;)

I severely lack follow-through, so I mostly want to do stuff and even buy supplies but never get around to it.
I can't draw or sew or anything "real" so I have to fake it. I mainly do decoupage stuff ever so often. I used to make jewelry but not anymore.

So yeah. Not much in the way of actual output or talent but I loooooooooooooooove craft stores. And I totally share the fascination with beautiful paper. A friend gave me some large sheets of awesomely patterned and coloured different papers for christmas - best gift ever, even if I totally find them too pretty to even cut up and do something with them...

I used to crochet afghans. Now I'm more into knitting; I'm on a dishcloth run right now, though I've done a couple baby afghans. I'm really slow because I knit English, not continental, but it's still fun.

Warhammer is alright, its the freaks who get into D&D, Card games, and Lord of the Rings games, who have no-sex issues

I think my D&D-playing boyfriend would call shenanigans on that post. ;)

I like making candles. I like working with beads. I made a cool collar once for a fetish ball. I forget the name of that clay you bake in a regular oven but that is fun to work with... I made a couple of really cool incense holders. I think making candles has been the funnest so far.

I like making candles. I like working with beads. I made a cool collar once for a fetish ball. I forget the name of that clay you bake in a regular oven but that is fun to work with... I made a couple of really cool incense holders. I think making candles has been the funnest so far.

I used to make candles a lot in girl guides. If you're ever at a beach with kids, dig a little hole in the sand, line the walls with shells, tie the wick around a rock and drop into the bottom, with the other end tied around a stick supported over the hole... and then pour the wax in! The candle will be covered in a thin layer of sand and shells when it's done. I don't remember how well it burns, but it sure looks pretty. It's a nice keepsake from a summer vacation.

Edit: or, or! We made those thin candles that hang in pairs over the branches of Christmas trees... the ones where you dip either end of a long wick in melted wax, let the layer dry, and then dip again. And we made scented candles with wax and essential oils, and then coloured then with melted crayons.

Yeah, I know, really not fancy at all, but I was ten. :p

I used to make candles a lot in girl guides. If you're ever at a beach with kids, dig a little hole in the sand, line the walls with shells, tie the wick around a rock and drop into the bottom, with the other end tied around a stick supported over the hole... and then pour the wax in! The candle will be covered in a thin layer of sand and shells when it's done. I don't remember how well it burns, but it sure looks pretty. It's a nice keepsake from a summer vacation.

Edit: or, or! We made those thin candles that hang in pairs over the branches of Christmas trees... the ones where you dip either end of a long wick in melted wax, let the layer dry, and then dip again. And we made scented candles with wax and essential oils, and then coloured then with melted crayons.

Yeah, I know, really not fancy at all, but I was ten. :p


Girl guides?

I don't have kids luckily so I can keep the candle I make with your method all for myself.

And are you kidding? coloring wax with crayons is the best and cheapest way to do it. Those blocks of dye they sell are way to expensive.

we used to make these punker candles that said 'fuck the police' on them or 'legalize it' and sold them at swap meets just to get out and have a little fun meeting people. we had people putting in orders for custom candles. those were the days.

I'm really arty and crafty. I paint, draw, re-do furniture, make clothes, make jewellery and all that kind of stuff.

Link is in my signature.

I´m not too crafty. I do like to draw, but that´s about it. My hands only let me do something good, and that play the piano.

I´ve tried taking up arts and crafts several times. I did this thing called quilling, when I was like 8-9 years old. Quilling consisted of making this really artsy paper flowers. Mine always looked like weeds.

I tried painting ceramic houses with my mother. For those you need to have a steel pulse for the details. Mine always turned out like cheap circus tents. I´ve tried doing it several times, the arts and crafts craze, only to see disastrous results in my creations. It´s like I´m Dr. Frankenstein or something.

I myself don't do any, and I'm not sure if it counts, but one of my friends used to do Taxidermy. As a hobby. Which was kinda creepy.:eek:

"A hobby should pass the time, not fill it."

I was thinking of a different meaning of "crafty" when I saw this thread title, which I'm not. But I've gotten back to making Ukrainian easter eggs (pusanki, I think they're called), but that's about it. I'm not a very artistic person.

I think my D&D-playing boyfriend would call shenanigans on that post. ;)

okay, so he was lucky enough to find a nerd-compatible girlfriend
hope you kiss the dice for luck, any good nerd-lover girl would:D

[it ****ing works too, nerds who get good-looking girlfriends to kiss their dice frigging roll higher]:headbang:

okay, so he was lucky enough to find a nerd-compatible girlfriend
hope you kiss the dice for luck, any good nerd-lover girl would:D

[it ****ing works too, nerds who get good-looking girlfriends to kiss their dice frigging roll higher]:headbang:

Haven't kissed his dice yet ... honestly hadn't thought of it. I must find a way to kiss his dice before he rolls now. Thanks!

I sew, knit, crochet, embroider, cross stitch, etc. I have crafting ADD (not to be confused with actual ADD)

Recently I have been interested in quilting.

I also paint and do beadwork, and sculpt and scrapbook and spend too much money at the craft store.

Quilting is my gig for the foreseeable future though, I am making quilts for both girls for Christmas........2 queen sized quilts are not easy to keep secret......and btw, it's so expensive! I am machine sewing the quilt top, then hand quilting each square.

I bead, I've made (and occasionally sold) jewelry, counted crossstitch, I make dressed-up bears, I draw...

I crochet. And sometimes sew beads onto the crochet. That's pretty much the extent of my craftyness. And, seed beads? You're a braver woman than I. Beads, especially the teeny seed beads, are evil.

*loooooves sari fabric*

You, too? I am a total sucker for the stuff, but I like to wear it as skirts. Yes, wearing sari fabric as a European-style skirt is out of period (for the SCA). Do I care? Fuck no! It's pretty!

I think my D&D-playing boyfriend would call shenanigans on that post. ;)

And my D&D playing husband. Hell, I play D&D.

Some of my most constuctive projects are also some of my most destructive projects. :)

And my D&D playing husband. Hell, I play D&D.

yes, hubby and I play too.

Yeah, I guess I'm crafty:

1) I knit. I have only one closet full of yarn, though, so I'm not really serious about it. My current project is a hapi-coat/kimono style jacket in multi-colored wool-silk blend yarn (Noro Silk Garden #228 for any knitters out there).

2) I crochet stuff for my house. I'm trying to design a wall hanging pattern to cover an ugly section of my bathroom wall, atm.

3) I spin. Fiber. On a drop spindle. To make yarn. For knitting. Working on yak fur, atm. :D Last Saturday, I went to a sheep shearing festival in Waltham, Mass., and got my spinning addiction kicked back into gear by a colonial re-enactor demonstrating the great wheel -- my favorite kind of spinning wheel. How I covet one.
drop spindle (Turkish): http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/sc_images/products/831_image.jpg
great wheel: http://www.spwhsl.com/iss_57/Nelson1.jpg

4) I make jewelry - semi-precious stones and beadwork.

6) I do suminagashi paper marbling.
http://www.anti-theory.com/texts/taz/pics/suminagashi.jpg
http://aikosart.com/g-patterns/507-suminagashi.jpg

7) I do collage and make handbound books, but they are part of my professional fine art work, so I don't count them as hobby crafts. I'm trying to get into building dollhouses, also as artworks.

Obviously, I don't do all of these regulary. I do the fine art stuff regularly becuase it's what I do, and I do the knit/crochet/spinning stuff regularly because I can do it while watching tv or hanging out with my mom (a queen knitter).

PS: I learned how to run a hand printing press and how to blacksmith while working at a museum once. I'd really like to get back into those some day, but they are very equipment and ventilation dependent.

What kind of crafts are you into? If you have pictures of said crafts, all the better....

Painting of Minatures
some drawing
some AV work
some writing

and while I do have pics and stuff...

well...

maybe one day...

Sneaky? I can be. Artsy? No.

I just came back from a monumental shopping trip to an arts and crafts (http://www.deserres.ca/) store in my area...picking up entirely too many (okay, never too many) craft supplies. I mostly got crafts to work on with the girls, during my four months of summer (woohoo for taking the summer off!), but I also picked up thousands of seed beads for a long overdue project. My girls have decided they want to dance, fancy shawl style (I was hoping for jingle dress dancing, because those dresses are easier to make...), like this (http://www.kumeyaay.info/pow_wow/powwow_images/Woman_Dancer.jpg), or these (http://www.theawakening.ca/dancers/womfancyshawl.jpg). I'm going to work on the girdles moccasins this summer, and hopefully at least get most of that done. The shawl will be a joint effort with my mom, and will be embroidered, not beaded. I doubt I'll get the whole thing done but they might have enough to feel good about competing at some powwows this year:)

What kind of crafts are you into? If you have pictures of said crafts, all the better....
As much as I love watching others make such crafts, I am absolutely abysmal at them myself, so I usually never bother with them.

I'm a handspinner, knitter, crocheter and, hopefully someday, a weaver. I also embroider, especially counted cross-stitch (I draw my own designs). I do some beadwork (my beading loom got lost in a move, so I'll have to buy or make a new one) and I'm learning quilting.

I like doing things with my hands and I think that as our culture becomes more technological and high stress, the more we're going to find people learning old ways of doing things just to get back to their roots and to relieve stress.

What kind of crafts are you into? If you have pictures of said crafts, all the better....I've carved my own chess set once, but it is rather crude. Other than that, I made my own Diplomacy board, only it's magnetic so I can hang it onto my wall:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/Board.png

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/Pieces.png

Other than that, I was working on a Bourgeois Capitalist Deluxe Edition of Diplomacy. I bought 1/72 scale models of WWI (or similar) infantry for the 7 countries (Austria-Hungary, England, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Russia), painted them, and stuck three onto a piece of plastic to make the Army pieces. I never found suitably sized and priced ships for the Navy pieces, though, so the project's been stuck in development hell. (Unfortunately, I have no good pictures of the pieces either.)

I also made a Global Diplomacy variant with some of my dad's old "make your own wargame" materials, and while I have no pictures, I do have some 3D images that are based off the pieces:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/ChinaUSARussia.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/Support.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/GlobalDiplomacy.jpg

I can't honestly say I am crafty. I can fix just about anything that ever worked, and I like to put a stylish finish on present-wrappings or cards. But I don't do it just to make a beautiful thing, it's just a finish on something that was done well. And that is usually for money, to boot.

I'm a bit puzzled by the distinction between fine art, and craft-work. Is it craft when it's a "woman's medium"?

Yeah, I guess I'm crafty:

1) I knit. I have only one closet full of yarn, though, so I'm not really serious about it. My current project is a hapi-coat/kimono style jacket in multi-colored wool-silk blend yarn (Noro Silk Garden #228 for any knitters out there).

2) I crochet stuff for my house. I'm trying to design a wall hanging pattern to cover an ugly section of my bathroom wall, atm.

3) I spin. Fiber. On a drop spindle. To make yarn. For knitting. Working on yak fur, atm. :D Last Saturday, I went to a sheep shearing festival in Waltham, Mass., and got my spinning addiction kicked back into gear by a colonial re-enactor demonstrating the great wheel -- my favorite kind of spinning wheel. How I covet one.
drop spindle (Turkish): http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/sc_images/products/831_image.jpg
great wheel: http://www.spwhsl.com/iss_57/Nelson1.jpg

4) I make jewelry - semi-precious stones and beadwork.

6) I do suminagashi paper marbling.
http://www.anti-theory.com/texts/taz/pics/suminagashi.jpg
http://aikosart.com/g-patterns/507-suminagashi.jpg

7) I do collage and make handbound books, but they are part of my professional fine art work, so I don't count them as hobby crafts. I'm trying to get into building dollhouses, also as artworks.

Obviously, I don't do all of these regulary. I do the fine art stuff regularly becuase it's what I do, and I do the knit/crochet/spinning stuff regularly because I can do it while watching tv or hanging out with my mom (a queen knitter).

PS: I learned how to run a hand printing press and how to blacksmith while working at a museum once. I'd really like to get back into those some day, but they are very equipment and ventilation dependent.

I'm in the middle of knitting and crocheting one of these (http://www.yarncollection.com/zoomimages.aspx?sku=202142) for my niece for her birthday next month. She hopefully will like it.

I'm addicted to that TV show "Knit and Crochet today" if you go to their website they have free patterns for all kinds of stuff. I only have 1 40 gallon tub of yarn so......I guess I'm probably a beginner (ha!) I do buy as I go though.......I only really hoard fabric, don't even ask how many boxes of it I've packed this week (we're moving)

I can't honestly say I am crafty. I can fix just about anything that ever worked, and I like to put a stylish finish on present-wrappings or cards. But I don't do it just to make a beautiful thing, it's just a finish on something that was done well. And that is usually for money, to boot.

I'm a bit puzzled by the distinction between fine art, and craft-work. Is it craft when it's a "woman's medium"?

No, that's not the distinction, smart-ass. (Muravyets = female artist, btw).

There are several distinctions in consideration:

1) Focus: Craft is technically focused more on technique and execution while art is focused more on concept and style. Thus, there is the craft element of fine art painting -- pigment mixing, paint and surface conditioning, brush techniques, etc, etc. And then there is the art element -- the thing that makes the difference between a da Vinci and a Caravaggio, between a Rothko and a Wyeth. It's why everything Marcel Duchamps made is art, even though some of his work is very highly crafted while other works have no craft in them at all.

2) Purpose: If the work is designed primarily to be functional and/or decorative, without any reference to social content/message or artistic theory, then it is considered craft. If the work is designed primarily to express a message and or an artistic theory, regardless of the level of craft with which it is created, then it is considered fine art. (Note: The designation of "fine" art is meant to set apart "commercial" art; it is not a comparison against craft.)

3) And then there is the additional distinction that I implied between professional and hobby. Both art and craft can be done as either profession or hobby, but I made that distinction because some of the crafts I practice I do only as a hobby, for fun, so I don't try to make them serve an artistic purpose. But the crafts that I do use for my art -- collage and bookbinding -- no longer serve the purpose of craft, but rather serve the purpose of art, and I do not develop them the same way I would if they were practiced as craft.

For instance, bookbinding is a varied, complex, and demanding craft. If I were interested in practicing bookbinding for craft purposes, I would work hard to get much better at it than I am. But my artistic style does not need or want a high level of formal craftsmanship in the books I make, so I can get away with much less crafted, more improvised work than I could with a serious craft practice.

4) Finally, to that niggling notion of "woman's medium" (you may have been joking, but you'd be horrified to know how many people seriously think crafts are just something women do to waste time), I'd remind you that metalsmithing, printmaking, woodworking, ceramics, glasswork, etc, are all crafts, and no one raises an eyebrow at men doing them (being a woman doing blacksmithing raised a lot of surprised comment and got me a lot of male attention). Men enjoy working with textiles and paper, too, by the way.

Tremble with fear little Bretonnian, for Karl Franz and the Empire will pwn you

This is one of their Warrior priests:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3pOljQqvX8

Lets see one of your girly Knights match the warrior priest

Is that a challenge? Do you live near Baltimore? We'll see what those Imperial zealots will do when they face the might of Bretonnian Steel...

I'll edit this post with a pic of one of my units of knights shortly...

This.



I often wonder how I get laid with these kinds of hobbies.

I don't think the hobby itself will get you laid, but if you find a gamer gal who's into it, it is an excellent conversation starter.

No, that's not the distinction, smart-ass. (Muravyets = female artist, btw).

There are several distinctions in consideration:

1) Focus: Craft is technically focused more on technique and execution while art is focused more on concept and style. Thus, there is the craft element of fine art painting -- pigment mixing, paint and surface conditioning, brush techniques, etc, etc. And then there is the art element -- the thing that makes the difference between a da Vinci and a Caravaggio, between a Rothko and a Wyeth. It's why everything Marcel Duchamps made is art, even though some of his work is very highly crafted while other works have no craft in them at all.

2) Purpose: If the work is designed primarily to be functional and/or decorative, without any reference to social content/message or artistic theory, then it is considered craft. If the work is designed primarily to express a message and or an artistic theory, regardless of the level of craft with which it is created, then it is considered fine art. (Note: The designation of "fine" art is meant to set apart "commercial" art; it is not a comparison against craft.)

3) And then there is the additional distinction that I implied between professional and hobby. Both art and craft can be done as either profession or hobby, but I made that distinction because some of the crafts I practice I do only as a hobby, for fun, so I don't try to make them serve an artistic purpose. But the crafts that I do use for my art -- collage and bookbinding -- no longer serve the purpose of craft, but rather serve the purpose of art, and I do not develop them the same way I would if they were practiced as craft.

For instance, bookbinding is a varied, complex, and demanding craft. If I were interested in practicing bookbinding for craft purposes, I would work hard to get much better at it than I am. But my artistic style does not need or want a high level of formal craftsmanship in the books I make, so I can get away with much less crafted, more improvised work than I could with a serious craft practice.

4) Finally, to that niggling notion of "woman's medium" (you may have been joking, but you'd be horrified to know how many people seriously think crafts are just something women do to waste time), I'd remind you that metalsmithing, printmaking, woodworking, ceramics, glasswork, etc, are all crafts, and no one raises an eyebrow at men doing them (being a woman doing blacksmithing raised a lot of surprised comment and got me a lot of male attention). Men enjoy working with textiles and paper, too, by the way.

I consider myself a fiber artist, though I don't do it for money. I spin yarn, making it slubby or fine depending on some notion I have of effect and I combine fine and slubby yarns in a knitted or crocheted item for effect. I want the item to useful as well, though. Scarves and shawls I consider to be wearable art. Quilting and embroidery I regard in the same way - quilts are art that I sleep under: embroidery - especially since I make my own designs - I consider to be artistic expression in a league with painting.

I consider myself a fiber artist, though I don't do it for money. I spin yarn, making it slubby or fine depending on some notion I have of effect and I combine fine and slubby yarns in a knitted or crocheted item for effect. I want the item to useful as well, though. Scarves and shawls I consider to be wearable art. Quilting and embroidery I regard in the same way - quilts are art that I sleep under: embroidery - especially since I make my own designs - I consider to be artistic expression in a league with painting.
I would not disagree with you in any way at all.

I'm a bit puzzled by the distinction between fine art, and craft-work. Is it craft when it's a "woman's medium"?

The distinction is much the same as between artist and artisan.

Haven't kissed his dice yet ... honestly hadn't thought of it. I must find a way to kiss his dice before he rolls now. Thanks!

just remember to hire bodyguards to protect you from the mob of angry guys who lose because of your lucky dice-kissing

Nerds can take losing very personally

Is that a challenge? Do you live near Baltimore? We'll see what those Imperial zealots will do when they face the might of Bretonnian Steel...

I don't think the hobby itself will get you laid, but if you find a gamer gal who's into it, it is an excellent conversation starter.

always look out for who you can bring in to the hobby as well, I managed to get a friend of mine off his computer game addiction and into Necromunda

always look out for who you can bring in to the hobby as well, I managed to get a friend of mine off his computer game addiction and into Necromunda

Absolutely. I got my wife, 2 sons and 2 buddies into it.

Heck, as many people as I've gotten into Warhammer, Games Workshop ought to supply me with all my armies for free...

Rather than edit the old post, here's a unit of Bretonnian Knights of the Realm I did:
http://www.ldsknights.org/images/IMG_1671s.JPG

Re the "woman's medium" thing, there is this: my ex, after overhearing me talking to and working with my daughters and with friends who quilt, crochet and make dolls and jewellery, commented that he envied us our connection through such skills.

He felt that women had been gathering to do these things far back into the past, and would continue doing them long into the future. We do it together across the generations, each teaching others, old learning from as well as teaching young. He had an idea of us all being able to plug into a sort of uber-women's consciousness for which men don't have an equivalent.

(This may have something to do with the fact that whenever he tried to get the kids into handyman projects the objects fell apart and everyone ended up slightly injured in some way, but I put the idea out there for reactions. Are there similarly widespread and group-workable "male" crafts? Many of the ones I could think of, such as thatching, have been overtaken by technology.)

Are there similarly widespread and group-workable "male" crafts? Many of the ones I could think of, such as thatching, have been overtaken by technology.)

car mechanics? pinewood derby? I seriously have no idea. My husband was one of 19 grandchildren, only boy, learned knitting, crochet, etc. I have no idea why there is a stigma about it, his friends make fun of him... it's stupid really. I think they are jealous.

Re the "woman's medium" thing, there is this: my ex, after overhearing me talking to and working with my daughters and with friends who quilt, crochet and make dolls and jewellery, commented that he envied us our connection through such skills.

He felt that women had been gathering to do these things far back into the past, and would continue doing them long into the future. We do it together across the generations, each teaching others, old learning from as well as teaching young. He had an idea of us all being able to plug into a sort of uber-women's consciousness for which men don't have an equivalent.

(This may have something to do with the fact that whenever he tried to get the kids into handyman projects the objects fell apart and everyone ended up slightly injured in some way, but I put the idea out there for reactions. Are there similarly widespread and group-workable "male" crafts? Many of the ones I could think of, such as thatching, have been overtaken by technology.)
Some men I know talk about golf as if there's some kind of craft to it. And they certainly have been using it as an excuse to get together for a very long time. So maybe golf is their version of...what is it he imagined again? Some kind of Feminine Hive Mind or Mind Link that we all plug into, sewing our brains together like quilt patches, or some such nonsense?

EDIT: Btw, I get together with a knitting group once a week. It's usually all women, though anyone can walk in and join. But as far as I can tell, calling it a "knitting group" is really just a euphemism. What it actually is, is a drinking club for knitters, and what brings us together every Wednesday is the martini menu at the bar we meet at. Yeah, the vodka and gin make it a lot easier to plug into the Link. ;)

Some men I know talk about golf as if there's some kind of craft to it. And they certainly have been using it as an excuse to get together for a very long time. So maybe golf is their version of...what is it he imagined again? Some kind of Feminine Hive Mind or Mind Link that we all plug into, sewing our brains together like quilt patches, or some such nonsense?

oh! oh! *raises hand* baseball!

oh! oh! *raises hand* baseball!

Good one! I'm starting to guess that what brings men together is things having to do with balls. ;)

I like to craft all sort of things I'm not necessarily good at crafting, but I also like making my own medieval stuff for medieval activities. Like costumes, I'm really not bad at making those, and it's always fun (I always got the bestest costume!:D).

I envy those of you who can knit/crochet and the like. I've tried it numerous times, and it's not hte relaxing beautiful hobby it looks like. It turns me into a raving lunatic. (I understand how I can drop stitches, but the fact that I can spontaneously generate additional ones from nowhere seems to be a small miracle of physics. I figure if my count is within a 3 stich margin or error, I'm doing well.

I sew...halloween costumes and window treatments only. My favorite crafty hobby is making stained glass (I like doing larger panels, which require more time than I have, more than the craft fair type ornaments -- I have two half cut panels around right now) and fused glass work. If I could learn sliversmithing, I could probably make some nice jewelry, but in the meantime I do very simple wirewrapping around my fused glass cabs. It's a less professional or artistic look, but can be funky, too. Someday, I'd like to learn to lampwork beads, but I want to learn to use the torch someplace other than in my (flammable) home.

I wish I was crafty. I've always wanted to do various crafts and arts, but meh, I am not wired that way, for some reason.

... Some kind of Feminine Hive Mind or Mind Link that we all plug into, sewing our brains together like quilt patches, or some such nonsense? <snip> What it actually is, is a drinking club for knitters ...

*envisages the universe as a Drunkard's Path quilt ...* :p

I don't think he had in mind any Secret Women's Business. Just that, because of what we were doing, we were part of a chain of people from the far distant past to the far distant future, all making useful things in much the same way because we'd had the skills passed on to us.

Intellectually he must know that these skills aren't gender-related, but in his practical experience, they're women's abilities.

As an aside, the kids tried to get him into Warhammer, but he just couldn't see the point. Maybe some folk are craft-blind the way some are tone-deaf.

I'm digging the crafts...I did some silk screening with the girls yesterday. Tres messy, tres fun. I've had opportunity lately to do quite a bit of face painting as there seem to be all these themed days at my daughters' school. Today the eldest is Humpty Dumpty. That was rather easy to do. I liked 'sea day'. I made her exposed skin a nice little canvas. She had seaweed growing everywhere :P

I've been beading like crazy...one downside to it is that I tend to get a crink in my neck with a lot of crafting, because you need to pay such fine attention to what you're doing. Yoga is the crafter's best friend. That and gin. Wooohoo, drunken crafting!

Today we're doing the second layer of silk screening. I want to do some woodcuts for applique, and maybe create some fabric patterns for mounting and framing. Whatever justifies my lavish purchases of late.

I love working with wood but due to the little space I have I couldn't do that for a long time around here.

Then building models of, or kit-bashing, ships, planes, space ships, buildings, tanks etc., scenery, and assembling and painting the odd tin soldier, both 3D and flat, smaller ones.

And does gardening count? I love working with earth and plants, too - planting and caring for what little green hell I can establish on my balcony.

Last but not least repairing stuff, or sometimes at least repairing it to pieces when I feel like being trapped in a bad reverse engineering skit. :D

Used to draw and paint a lot - but again, not the space nor the time to do it much. - But the ideas are in my head... :eek:

Wooohoo, drunken crafting!
That's lots of fun - unless working with scalpels, paper knifes, drills, or molten tin.

Then again, wasn't it said that you put a lot of blood into your work? Or was that sweat?!? Tears? :p

I'm digging the crafts...I did some silk screening with the girls yesterday. Tres messy, tres fun. I've had opportunity lately to do quite a bit of face painting as there seem to be all these themed days at my daughters' school. Today the eldest is Humpty Dumpty. That was rather easy to do. I liked 'sea day'. I made her exposed skin a nice little canvas. She had seaweed growing everywhere :P

One of the ladies in our SCA group has woad. Real, honest-to-gods woad. Mix it up with high-proof vodka, and you have face paint. Rubs off and runs really easy, though, and it tends to make me sick. So I prefer henna - it sticks around longer, anyway.

Dance practices for our local SCA group have lately turned into Stich'n'Bitch sessions. Everyone is working on something - I crochet, someone is usually embroidering or beading, one lady is hand stitching the buttonholes on her dress, and someone else does cording on a lucette. It' s fun, but sometimes turns our Dance Master a bit crabby.