Relocation + Renovation

It's official. With Wordpress as my high-level assistant, I've moved to my own domain:

FemiKnitMafia.com

I'm closing the comments here, so please swing by the new house and say hello. With 6 weeks of nearly no blogging, I have lots to update. Fun times.

Moving...

I'm moving the blog to Wordpress. Why, you ask? I'm annoyed with the limited design options in Blogger, and I've heard that the blog has ridiculously huge type when opened in Explorer. But I don't have enough design knowledge to manually fix these things, and that lack of design knowledge keeps me from moving to my own domain. Alas, Wordpress is the next best option.

I sincerely hope that you'll come along for ride. When I started the blog, I didn't really care about readers. It was purely brain-dump. But now that I have a couple peeps, I can't imagine doing this without y'all.

Stay tuned for the new link...

Forged in the Heat of Battle

I feel like such a baby for lamenting my tasks during the surro-c-section recovery period, because that's the least of my problems right now. It's like the universe gave me a big ol' smack in the head for being a whiner. And now I shall whine again. Skip directly to the photos if you're interested in the knitting.

- Teaching two classes is killer. The online class, in particular, is killing me.
- Wifey has been in and out of the hospital 3 times with post-partum preeclempsia.
- MafiaMom just got out of major surgery, and I'm trying to find a way to visit/care for her.
- The perfect next job popped up and I applied. Now I'm in the process of interviewing (a.k.a. shopping for professional drag, de-politicizing my resume, and filing my nails).

I don't have time to pay bills, clean the house, return phone calls, or snuggle with my Little Man. Literally, I work all day, grade papers on the train, read Little Man a couple stories before he goes to bed, and sit in front of the computer until I fall asleep (sometimes with it on my lap). Rinse and repeat. Weekends, you ask? That's when I clean the house a little, spend time with Little Man, and then slog through hours of writing PowerPoints and answering emails and grading papers. Wifey suggested that perhaps I shouldn't teach two classes again -- "pshaw, as if! after all this work I've put into it? the next one should be a walk in the park." This is clearly a sign of madness.

Jenny Hat is done, but might need a rip. If I don't move at all, it fits well.


If I move, I become a dick head.



The Monkey socks are nearly done





and I love the Socks that Rock (color: Watermelon Tourmaline, gifted by the ever-incredible Frickmeister), but the socks are a little tight and the color is frickin' awesome, but not entirely Mafia-esk, so I'm thinking about adding to Frick's Pay It Forward sensibility and giving them away. No official word on that yet, but I'm thinking about it.

I'm seriously neglecting my Arwen; I'd love to cast on some green socks with two beautiful gifted-with-love skeins waiting in the stash; and I signed up to participate in a quilt block for charity project, which thankfully starts in May.

Damnit, I just want an entire day alone in a shiny clean house with nothing to do but listen to music and knit. Is that too much to ask?
April can't arrive fast enough.
April.
April.
April.
April.

Gross

In total violation of my bloggie break and the spirit of Favorite Things Monday, I'm writing today to bitch/vent/fume. Expect cursing. Consider yourself warned.

What the fuck is this?

-originally spotted at the CRAFT blog

Why is an Asian woman dressed like a little girl?
Why is she pulling up her skirt for the camera?
Why is she dressed like a little girl and pulling up her skirt?
Why is she looking in the other direction? Is she being coy? Or is she uncomfortable?
What's with the sock monkey? Is it simply to further enhance the little girl imagery?
What is she planning to do with her sock monkey? Hump it?
What's with the corn field? Is she rushing off to the corn field to have an illicit affair with a sock monkey? Is this a solo excursion (i.e. she's in control of pre-pubescent sexuality?) Or was she brought to the corn field by someone who needed a private place to take pictures of this hyper-sexualized child-like stance?

Why are we, in the craft world, accepting this shit?

Would you stand in the middle of a corn field, dressed like a little girl and pull up your skirt while holding a sock monkey?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

It would feel really really fucked up, wouldn't it?

This photo could be worse, I suppose, if she had pony tails and a delicate floral print.

Still -- this photo is taking Cute-itis, which is nearly always associated with Japanese crafting culture, to a whole new level. It's cute + sexist + cultural misappropriation + exoticizing + sexualizing childhood, all wrapped up in a funky mod package with an objectification bow.

Ever since I entered the cyber crafty world, I've been uncomfortable with the obsession with "cute." Stuffies abound. I cringe when I see grown women across the craftosphere obsessing about all things "cute" but I tell myself "it's not my cup of tea" and try not to be judgmental of other makers. Stuffed cats and dogs and dolls = yuck; a stuffed praying mantis = irony = cool. In other words, No Tea Cozies Without Irony.

However, this cover of N.E.E.T. Magazine is really gross. And I'm pissed. For better or worse (worse, I'd argue), crafting is primarily a female pursuit. Craft blogs are primarily written by women. Women are the target audience for magazines like Craft and N.E.E.T. In fact, N.E.E.T. is part of Bust's Girl Wide Web.

With an attitude that is fierce, funny and proud to be female, BUST provides an uncensored view on the female experience. BUST tells the truth about women's lives and presents a female perspective on pop culture. BUSTing stereotypes about women since 1993.

source: About BUST

We're the target audience for N.E.E.T. -- smart, creative, unique, diverse, savvy women. This imagery doesn't speak to me, and if you agree, join me in correcting the misconceptions of the folks at N.E.E.T. by emailing them at:

thefashionmagazine AT gmail DOT com

No Baby Daddy & Bloggie Break

Thank you SO much for all the wonderful Surro-Wifey and Daddies love.

It was nothing short of magical to participate in this surrogacy. All the cranky-Wifey moments were completely erased as I watched the Dads bond with their new baby girl. Unbelievable. Truly incredible.

That said, the best story about the unique experience of a lesbian couple doing a surrogacy for two gay dads in Massachusetts (got all that?) is that I was required to sign an affadavit of non-paternity. Yes. Really. Because B-Dad is the bio-Dad, and despite the fact that they used an egg donor, Wifey is still considered the "mother" until non-bio S-Dad completes his co-parent adoption. Have I lost you yet? The birth certificate administrator at the hospital was twisted into a pretzel trying to force the computer to accept her data entry. Apparently a male husband is the presumed father of a baby born to his female wife while they're married. Sure. Fair enough. But ... if he's not the baby daddy, he fills out an affidavit stating that yes, they're married, and no, he's not the father. Because Wifey is legally married in Massachusetts, the computer lists her as such. So when the birth certificiate lady tried to enter B-Dad and Wifey as "father" and "mother," the computer spit it back, requiring that I, as Wifey's spouse, sign off my paternity rights. Enter the Mafia, an Affadavit of Non-Paternity, a Bic pen, and loud peals of laughter. This was certainly the most ridiculous thing I have ever signed. Let it be known: I am not now, nor will I ever be H-Baby's Daddy. Signed: The Mafia, with love.


With Wifey recovering from the c-section (read: no housework, driving, child care, or lifting anything over 10 pounds for two weeks, and no work for an additional 4 weeks) and with the Mafia teaching TWO classes at a local university (in addition to my full-time gig at MIT), it's time for a big bloggie break. At worst, it'll be a 6 week break, but realistically, I won't last that long. I'll miss everyone. Be back soon. Smooch!

Two Healthy Girls!

More details when I've had time to sleep. In the meantime, the baby's on the outside, weighing in a 9lbs. 4oz. Wifey is happy and healthy, despite 14 hours of vbac labor and then a c-section. See aforementioned size of baby, note that most of the 9lbs resides in the baby's noggin, and remind baby that a sideways & twisted exit is ill-advised. Baby's off-center cone noggin with deep circular dent near the soft spot tells the whole story. Most importantly:

Baby is healthy, beautiful and calm.
Daddies are absolutely thrilled.

Another successful surrogacy that will never make headlines.

If Little Man ruled the world

Little Man: Mama, you go to the doctor and push the baby out?
Wifey: Yeah, I'd love to.
Little Man: And after that, you get a sticker? Would you like Thomas? ..... Or Sesame Street? ..... Or ABCs? You like Sesame Street sticker, right Mama? But only after nap, Mama. Push the baby out after you nap and then you get a sticker, ok? You hear me?

- in the kitchen of Ms. 1890, 2/13/07, 6:30pm