For the Love of Research and Women

This is a tremendous and long article, published in the Stanford Report today, about Clelia Mosher, a researcher who studied menstruation, women's health, and Victorian women's attitudes about sex. What a delightful find.

‘The skirt, as modified by the vagaries of fashion, has a direct bearing on the health, development and efficiency of the woman. In 1893-96 I made a series of observations on the clothing of ninety-eight young women. The average width of skirt was then 13.5 feet. The weight of the skirt alone was often as much as the entire weight of the clothing worn by the modern girl.’
–Clelia Mosher, Strength of Women (c. 1920)

'She cut an odd figure on campus, Griego says, in her habitual "mannish suit." In her writings, Mosher railed against fashion: Sewing dainty clothing wasted women's study time; a young girl "making tatting to decorate her clothes or knitting or embroidering while her brother is playing ball" would grow feeble and sedentary.'

Project Linus and Blankets of Gratitude

A friend reminded me of Project Linus, a great organization (Thanks, Ka Yun!) which I've not thought about in a long time. When I'm done with Graham's blanket (my new nephew), I'll make one for them. Time to check out my local chapter, too.

This memory also puts me in mind of a program that VA hospitals have, called "Soldiers' Angels" -- very similar, where lap robes are made for hospitalized vets, to bring something home made to those sterile hospital beds and wheelchairs. Read more below. Both of these are good projects for folks who want to knit small items -- I, for one, knit in the car to keep my anxiety down. Perfect to knit and focus on caring for others -- both anxiety relief practices.

The Project Linus Mission

Project Linus is comprised of hundreds of local chapters and thousands of volunteers across the United States. Each volunteer and local chapter all work together to help us achieve our mission statement, which states:

First, it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

Second, it is our mission to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested

individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.

Together we have distributed over three million blankets to children in need since our inception in 1995.

Blankets of Gratitude

This winter, thousands of veterans will spend time in a VA hospital or facility, away from the warmth of home, family and friends.

We want them to know that they are remembered, that we are thinking of them, and that we are grateful for their past service. Since we can't visit them all in person, our goal is to wrap 25,000 of these Veterans in lap robes, representative of our support and appreciation, called "Blankets of Gratitude." The lap robes will be a physical reminder that they are not alone. When a veteran receives a Blanket of Gratitude, he or she will know that somebody remembered them, that somebody labored over a handmade robe with thoughts of them and hopes or prayers for their health and comfort.

A Radical Homemaker

What a great label for the kind of feminist I am -- although I'm not sure I'm up for chicken coops, they're lovely and all, but I don't think our yard is big enough for the smell, and I'm sure our cats would love the chickens way too much. But what a wonderful sounding book. Here's an article all about the concept, 'The Femivore’s Dilemma.'

The book, Radical Homemakers, by Shannon Hayes, describes the new woman, a femivore. "Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and personal fulfillment that drove women into the work force in the first place. Given how conscious (not to say obsessive) everyone has become about the source of their food — who these days can’t wax poetic about compost? — it also confers instant legitimacy. Rather than embodying the limits of one movement, femivores expand those of another: feeding their families clean, flavorful food; reducing their carbon footprints; producing sustainably instead of consuming rampantly. What could be more vital, more gratifying, more morally defensible?"

Perhaps that goes too far for me, but I do currently have a knitting project, a crocheting project, I made by hand the gift I took to a baby shower yesterday, the nasturtium seeds are sprouting, and my son refused to toss a banana peel into a trash bin in SF this afternoon, lamenting that I wouldn't let him bring it home in the car to put in our compost. Who knows where we all will land, but I like that it's somehow correct to be domestic again.