Crafty Girl
When I say, “Crafty Girl” what do you think? I see a woman. In a cape. Brandishing a needle and thread. Running to save the world from destruction. “Crafty Girl” just sounds like the most bad-ass domestigay super-hero there is, right? Well, that’s what D from Texas embroidered on a tote and tea towel for her crafty-girl friend for the holidays. Check out how awesome these are!
And then, D also submitted this non-crafty girl memorabilia that has two too cute monkeys on it! 
Adorable, right? I think we should start an entire day of “crafty-girl” stuff on domestigay, don’t you? Crafty-girl Wednesdays, perhaps in which I can feature a cute craft or a girl craft like this! It’s pretty bad-ass. Now, let’s hang out and eat bananas like these monkeys for the rest of the day!
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Are you stalkin’ me? Good. I heard that the minute you know you are over is when people quit stalking you! Go ahead, follow me on Twitter (@domestigay), on Facebook (facebook.com/domestigay), and on Instagram (domestigay). I don’t mind! In fact, submit stuff to me on these sites so I can keep domestigay goin’ with featured posts like this one!
Happy New Year…er… Happy New Day!
Well, hello there. Where have you been?
Here?
You’ve been here, waiting for me to post?
Well, I haven’t been here posting. I’ve been on adventures that have taken me from the mitten state (Michigan) to West Virginia to Texas and I’ve finally arrived back at Domestigay headquarters. I’m so sorry, that you’ve been waiting for a post for me for so long. To make it up, I have tons of great posts coming with free stuff for you for that special love day that’s coming up! So, grab a latte and let’s catch up.
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I finished my first semester in graduate school! Yay! But I couldn’t survive without stitching. So, late one night in my office I procrastinated by stitching. Looking around I realized there was nothing to stitch! *collective gasp* Using some ingenuity and creativity, I give you book-stitching (something I want to do for real now).
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Now, remember how I said only one person was getting an embroidered gift this year (cause that’s all I could reasonably do), well here it is! My friend M is Russian and has two Russian tattoos (one says feminist in Russian, the other are nesting dolls). So, now she an embroidered tote of her tattoos! (you can get the pattern from Sublime Stitching here)
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And that brings us to the great state of Texas! J and I went to Texas. For New Year’s Eve we went to a B-Movie Ball. It was awful. The party was not happening—that is, not until we showed up! Check out our costumes. Can you guess who we went as? (PS: Is that glitter on my pencil mustache or are you just gay to see me?)
I did some stitching on the plane to and from Texas (but it must remain a secret)! I joined the stitching mile-high club!
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I am dedicated, now, to organizing my embroidery supplies, too! I made this cotton/linen bag to tote all my embroidery supplies around with me (see photograph above about not having stitching nearby at office).
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Oh, geesh, look at the time. I sure did talk about myself a lot! I’m sorry, mom, I know it is not polite to talk about myself so much. Now, moving on… give me someone else to talk about! Please send your craft/art projects to domestigay@gmail.com or find me on Twitter (@domestigay) or on Facebook (facebook.com/domestigay) or on Instagram (domestigay). I’m becoming an Instagram-addict. It’s true! Tomorrow I am absolutely talkin’ about someone else—D from Texas (who was in West Virginia while I was in Texas!) sent in a stitched up tote she made for her friend for the holiday! Stay tuned!
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Coming soon to domestigay:
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Valentine’s you won’t be embarrassed to give (cause they’re gay)
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I resurrect underwear stitching
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More beefcakes!
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Musing on jealousies—complete with stitching.
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How I am organizing my floss
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AND SO MUCH MORE! STAY TUNED (I promise to write this more)
Have Yourself a Domestigay Christmas
I hope that on this holiday, you and yours have a Merry Domestigay Christmas! I am grateful to you for all of your continued support and readership. Enjoy this virtual e-card made just for you!
Now, go eat lots of delicious food and enjoy the extra stitching time!
*As always, you can click on the image to make it bigger and more readable!*
The Complete Cocktails
I finished (some time ago) the last of the cocktail napkins. Today, I got them photographed and ready to unveil the whole set.
The last one that I had to stitch up was a delicious strawberry daiquiri (that at first I thought could be a watermelon daiquiri). See?
Strawberry - not Watermelon
Now, I have a complete set of alcoholic cocktail napkins. I have at least one drink that will appeal to you should you want/need a cocktail napkin when visiting.
Cocktail napkin?
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It is MOvember!
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It is MOvember 4th and the moustache is coming along! I think I could pass as French, or an artist. Not a French artist though. Have you taken a look at my video on YouTube? Have you shared my video on YouTube? Have you donated to my stashe and MOvember? NO?!?!
Well first you should watch and share this video. Then, you should go to http://mobro.co/jvanfosson and donate!
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My video is almost up to 400 views! (396 at this writing!) Thank you to everyone who shared this video and have already showed your support by donating to my face. I am so grateful for all you do!
Related articles
- Cock-Tail Napkin #5 (domestigay.net)
- I Need a Drink (domestigay.net)
- Movember! (tins.rklau.com)
Happy Halloween, Domestigays!
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Happy Halloween!
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Hi, there! Today is Halloween! I hope that you have a fabulous, safe, and sane Halloween day! Now tell me, dear domestigay reader, what are you dressing up as this year? Send me pictures of your wonderful costumes and your celebrations!
Here at domestigay headquarters we are both tricking and treating! So we’ll start with the treat.
Now for the trick. If you turn out the lights, this piece glows in the dark! But it only says…
One cross stitch, two messages!
*note: because glow-in-the-dark thread does not photograph, I took this while it was a wip so you can “see” the trick!
Related articles
- The Eve of Halloween (proper) (domestigay.net)
The Eve of Halloween (proper)
What is the gayest holiday on the calendar? HALLOWEEN! Many people associate Halloween with gore, monsters, zombies, witches, ghouls, trick-or-treating, pumpkins, the Great Pumpkin, kids dressed as vegetables or princesses (okay, maybe I am the only one who has ever gone trick-or-treating as a pea in a pod, but I was like four). Gay Halloween, however, is not these things. Gay Halloween is bat shit insane. Drag queens become super drag queens. Sequence shops go from red to black in one week. Glitter hangs over gay bars like smog in the city. This. This is Gay Halloween.
But since moving and starting to get my Ph.D., I have missed Gay Halloween this year. It is also difficult to celebrate Gay Halloween when your partner lives eight driving hours away. We have yet to fully celebrate Halloween together. When we do, though, watch out. I have already made our costumes and they are under-wraps in my closet (unlike my sex-oo-al-itay). So, as the most fabulous-gay-friendly-happiest-most-wonderful-amazing holiday approaches, I plead to my domestigays to, please, be safe and sane.
And guess what! That ol’ bat glows in the dark!
Cock-Tail Napkin #5
This cocktail series is getting annoying, huh? There is only one napkin left after this one. Did I mention that I actually had a dream last night that I found more cocktail napkins ready to be stitched? That is how I know my domestigay cock-tail napkins are getting out of hand! So without further ado… The Big Gay Umbrella Drink!
The pattern for this napkin comes from Sublime Stitching’s Embroidered Effects.
Don’t forget to submit your domestigay projects to domestigay@gmail.com, on facebook, on twitter, by owl, by post, by pony express!
Cocktail Napkin #3: The Margarita
Hola! It’s time for another cocktail napkin to show up! This time it’s got a Mexican flavor. I sure do love going to Mexican restaurants for their delicious margaritas. Some like them frozen. Some like them on the rocks. I like margaritas cold and moving from the glass to my mouth.
For this I focused on greens and decided to use a split-stitch for the glass to mix it up. Now, the picture does not nearly capture the awesomeness of the metallic thread. What?! You don’t see any metallic thread? That’s cause my lil camera phone instagram camera-phone couldn’t capture the brilliant white metallic thread I used at the top to “salt” the glass. Margarita’s are great, but I sure do love the salt at the top. The pattern for this comes from Sublime Stitching. There’s a link to the post where I first discuss that book below.
It is officially the weekend! Now go get yourself a margarita!
Related articles
- Cocktail Napkin #2: Martini! (domestigay.net)
- I Need a Drink (domestigay.net)
- Best Margarita Recipe (mademan.com)
- The delicious, humble Margarita (sqwinkly.com)
- Taste Test: Low-Cal Skinnygirl Margarita (fitsugar.com)
Cocktail Napkin #2: Martini!
What is this? TWO domestigay posts in ONE day? How can it be? Procrastination is the key!
I love martinis. I almost had a martini last night called “Sexy Bartender,” but decided a gin and tonic was in order. Martinis are delicious. They can be even more delicious when consumed with a hand-stitched cocktail napkin. Check it out.
Can you tell I was stressed when I stitched the bottom half? Look at how small those stitches are compared to the rest! I used a split stitch for the olive. I don’t like the split stitch very much because it never looks how I think it should look in my head. This is much closer to how I think it should look though.
This pattern comes from the Sublime Stitching book. I tell ya, that Jenny Hart makes cool stuff.
Cheers!
Related articles
- I Need a Drink (domestigay.net)
- Dirty Martini Recipe (mademan.com)
Extreme Domestigay Makeover: Round One
I decided it was time to make domestigay gayer. This blog needed to be prettier. So, I made it prettier.
This means that if you subscribe to the blog via an rss feed or e-mail, you should actually visit the site!
This is the first step of many in which I hope to create a coherent domestigay look. I wanted something that would remind my lovely readers of a late 1950s or early 1960s house. Think Bewitched. Think Laverne and Shirley. And if you are one of the few people who read this blog that are not familiar with such shows, think Mad Men. So drawing on inspiration from Anne Taintor, advertisements, and cartoons, the designer created this magnificence.
Natalie from Moxie Tonic designed this banner and the button below for me. She is a miracle worker. She took my mind, read it, and then designed this awesomeness. Natalie also designs amazingly beautiful social networking icons, custom signatures, and other blogging essentials. She also has an amazing website (linked above) in which she gives super secret information about Etsy success. I highly recommend working with her if you own a blog and want some custom designs. You can purchase her products at her Etsy store.
This is only the first step for domestigay. I am now looking for amazing backgrounds, new layouts, inspirational logos, blog-business cards, and more! If you have any suggestions, I’m more than happy to take them!
What domestigay projects are you working on this weekend?
Take That, Hitler!
Remember how I said domestigay was also political in the beginning?
No?
Well, I did. See here.
I haven’t done much politics. Politics are scary. Politics are stressful. I love them and will now embrace my domestigay political side.
Something amazing has surfaced. Have you heard about it? I’ve seen it all over the internet. It is the story of a man from Britain in a World War II concentration camp. So what? I would ask my students. He is a man who cross stitched. But not just any cross stitch—subversive cross stitch. Now we all know, how much I love and adore subversive cross stitch, but this is the pinnacle of subversiveness.
Major Alexis Casdgli, according to The Guardian, was given a piece of canvas. Using the threads of a pullover that had seen better days he began to stitch a basic cross stitch sampler. Nothing too subversive about that. But wait, oh loyal domestigay reader! The clever chap inserted Morse Code in the sampler that, when decoded, says, “God Save the King” and, my personal favorite, “Fuck Hitler.”
This is subversive cross stitch at its finest. This piece, along with a piece from Casdgli’s son (Captain Anthony Casdgli) will be on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Mr. X Stitch saw this piece and has a wonderful picture of the subversive stitch over on his blog. It is quite amazing. Especially when you think of the limited resources. The Guardian wonderfully quotes the son saying, “He would say after the war that the Red Cross saved his life but his embroidery saved his sanity.” Agreed.
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Which brings me to my current work-in-progress (WIP). Can you guess what it is? It is domestigay-good. I promise!
Related articles
- Subversive Cross-Stitch by a Prisoner of War (neatorama.com)
- Encrypted WW2 Cross Stitch (craftzine.com)
Pin-Up Grrls
My best friend had a birthday. It was in March. Whenever my friends have birthdays I wish them a happy birthday. I give them a card. I give them presents, three months later. I give them more presents three months after that. I finally finished these pin-up grrl tea towels. Take a look.
Sorry about the quality of this one.
I think Bettie Page would be proud, don’t you? The patterns for these are from Sublime Stitching. These specific ones are based off of the pin-ups originally designed by Gil Elvgren. I think all pin-up grrls are already domestigators. They subvert what is domestic through their sexuality. This is something that I think gay people inherently do because they reject the heteronormative model of sexuality. Drag queens are very much like pin-up girls because the perform a sexuality that is used to subvert the erotic male gaze. I am going to start doing my knitting, stitching, ironing, cleaning, quilting, crocheting, and all other domestigay activities while wearing very sexy and revealing clothes—or just nude. No, not nude. But maybe shirtless. We have a lot to learn from our good friend Betty.
Oh, Snap! It’s okay to be square
I found a new tool. It’s a bit square, but it is okay to be square. Sometimes thinking inside the box is okay. Last week I received a 6×6 Q-Snap frame. I ordered it from the wonderful Sublime Stitching.
Prior to this I used a circular hoop for all my needlepoint needs. After an afternoon with the Q-Snap frame, I will never go back. So what’s it all about?
Initially I thought it would be bulky and heavy, but it is not. It is a simple pipe (pvc pipe to be exact) that you put your fabric on and then use included, grooved, half-pipes to “snap” your fabric into place.
The Q-Snap is lightweight. The Q-Snap does not crease your fabric. The Q-Snap does allow you to EASILY retighten your fabric if it feels loose. All you have to do is turn the half pipe outwards and your fabric tightens. I love it so much that I ordered a bigger size which I hope will be here this week. Q-Snap was originally created for quilters (and those ones are much bigger). These smaller sizes, though, are perfect for embroidery and cross stitch. Unlike a hoop, too, the Q-Snap holds your fabric evenly, something very important in embroidery. I also noticed in the projects that I used with them that my stitches were much more even and defined. In fact I could never get the stem stitch to look like anything other than a series of knots but it actually turned out quite well with the Q-Snap.
So if you embroider (or want to learn because it is SO simple!), give the Q-Snap a chance. You can get the Q-Snap from Sublime Stitching here. (NOTE: This is not an advertisement for Sublime Stitching. Any recommendations off here come because they are domestigay approved and not because they are paid advertisements. I benefit in no way for recommending any products).
If you’ve used a Q-Snap before, what do you think about it? Are you willing to try the Q-Snap?
Don’t forget to keep submitting your domestigay projects! Need a refresher on how to do that? See this post or the contact page!
UPDATED: A Domestigay Birthday Brunch
Many gays have been great domestigators before domestigay even existed. One of those people is Peter. He is a multi-talented domestigator who does everything from cross-stitching to elaborate model building. He is also an amazing cook. Today is Peter’s birthday and to celebrate he made a domestigayed brunch.
Peter explains in his e-mail that this is one of his favorite birthday (or anytime) brunches. Eggs Benedict, potatoes O’Brien, extra dry Korbel champagne, and raspberries! Oh my! Everyone knows that brunch is considered the gayest meal of the day, and why shouldn’t it be? It is the most fabulous meal of the day, too! What other meal allows you to consume alcohol before church has let out after a night of drinking without any judgement? Also, check out the gorgeous table setting and the peek of flowers coming in the corner of the picture. Serious domestigating happening there!
Luckily for Peter, he has a dishwasher to do the cleaning so he can enjoy his brunch, take a nap, and prepare for a magical birthday dinner this evening. Let’s all wish this domestigay brother a very…
Happy Domestigay Birthday, Peter!
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UPDATE
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Peter sent an update of his special birthday dinner that he made. And let me tell you it looks domestigay delicious!
This amazingly good-lookin’ meal includes: Filet de Australian Boeuf on a toasted round, sauteed portobelo mushrooms and onions with sherry, organic artichoke with hollandaise sauce (recycled from the brunch), and sliced tomato and avocado salad with blue cheese vinaigrette dressing. My domestigay mouth is watering just thinking/looking/writing about this meal. Yum. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! There’s more! For dessert Peter had raspberries and vanilla bean ice cream with decaf coffee.
Peter writes, “I enjoyed myself, even though eating solo. Those of us with summer birthdays have a different attitude. When we were growing up, school was out so classmates couldn’t be invited for a party. I remember being put in a car and going to Florida or California for vacation. I thought I was more special. After all, who would rather go on a vacation as opposed to having a bunch of juveniles over (even baring gifts) and playing pin the tail on the donkey?”
I agree Mr. Peter. I have a summer birthday and it is awesome. I loved not having to go to school on my birthday while my peers did. In fact, that may be the reason that I ended up going down the educational tract and becoming a professional student. I never have to go to work on my birthday! It seems like Peter was a very busy domestigator on his birthday. I hope it was a great birthday, Peter, and vacation is in your near future!
Related articles
- Share Your Domestigayting Projects (domestigay.net)
Homo Sweet Homo (Pt. 2)
Welcome to Domestigay headquarters. Shall I buzz you in?
C’mon in!
Want to see where the bakin’ happens? Look to your right.
Note the trash can has since been replaced with an under-the-cabinet can, but Keri remains.
Take a look at the dining area! I strongly believe that every dining table should have fresh flowers on it. These are some neon chrysanthemums.
Why, yes, I really do like nautical things and Moby-Dick. In fact, that ship there has whalebone for sails. That art is an original piece of artwork from the 2009 Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh, PA. Here is where the magic really happens, though.
And here are two of my favorite possessions in my apartment. I know they are dorky and not domestic.
That would be a 1930s typewriter and a facsimile reproduction of the 1828 edition of America’s first dictionary. I like words. My best friend bought this dictionary for me as a housewarming gift. A gay word nerd couldn’t ask for more. This bookcase (which is double-sided) serves as a room divider. Let’s see the living room. 
This is my new couch, but it isn’t a 1930s couch.
Well, that’s all for now. The bedroom is slowly coming along. The bathroom just didn’t get photographed. Although in a future post I hope to show you the real use of a linen closet for a bookworm.
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In other news, I have been waiting to post this because boyfriend left this morning. I was attempting to squeeze every last minute I could in with him before he had to return to his home seven and a half hours away. Many tears were (and still are being) shed, but it is another chapter. Not better, not worse, but different.
Thanks for stopping by!
Domestigay 