Still Blue, Still Stocking: The Bluestocking remains open in 2021

[ErrolTheDragon]

I've nicked a title, opened the door, dusted off the bar.

Come in and drown your sorrows, celebrate or just hang out in good company.

Comfort food.

Thank you!

A wee dram, some of Grumpy’s excellent banana bread, and a quick snuzz under the patchwork quilt before the night shift need it please. [raises glass to autumncrocus]

Lovely patchwork quilt and crochet throw (purple, green white)
Out of drawer, ready to use. Cushions all plumped up.
Home made cider (tested, 6% abv)
And the remains of the banana bread all ready

Reading On the banks of Plum Creek to my youngest last night I thought of you lot. Laura had finished her nine patch quilt and was moving on to her bear track quilt which was apparently much harder and Ma made her do the seams over and over until they were perfect. They had some serious skills in those days! I wonder if we are making a mistake in the modern day not teaching our children crafts like sewing and woodwork. Being able to develop such skills and actually make something must have given the children of the past a real sense of accomplishment.

Well I’ll off to say good morning to the camel. Looks like it will be a fine day.

Morning all. Coffee’s on, and there is fresh grapefruit juice and some pastries.
It’s interesting on the skills daisies. I knit and sew, my daughter doesn’t, but she’s strong in areas that I never had the opportunity to learn such as coding and martial arts.
I shall be outside reading Helen Joyce. Do we have a patio here? I quite fancy some cold flagstones under my feet.

Just being out the cushions and you're good to go.

We've done our best to get some skills into our DC. They all know sewing basics, and can all cook. A couple of them are keen crafters (I got them started, Google did the rest). They also pick blackberries and sloes.

It's all getting a bit twee in here so have dumped a pile of dusty old books (by women of course) in the middle of the room, on the big table. I have also put a few old beermats down and put up some rather past their best t-towels behind the bar. I have also left the drink spills to become nicely sticky. Ahhh that's better.

Ooh sloe gin! Lovely! I’ll look forward to having one on the patio in the afternoon sunshine.

My daughters wish they could sew well enough to make their own clothes. My mother could but I never got beyond the basics as academic learning was perceived as the important thing and shop clothes were considered better and then in fact it ended up that shop clothes were also cheaper,

a bit like Welsh speakers in my family didn’t see the point in handing down the language after moving to England… some of us grew up to wish they had…

Dont forget to spit on the floor Highname - on second thoughts, maybe not, what with Covid and all.

I've had the deliveries for tomorrow night's paella.

I'm firing up the oven soon so it's the right temperature for tonight's pizzas.

I'm providing basic toppings - any pineapple or special ingredients will have to be supplied by those who would like them - just let me know.

molly don't want to put everyone off, just hoping the Bluestocking can live up to its name, read rather than knead

Which one?

I am loving these dusty old books written by women highame.

I have been looking for a copy of “pornography - men possessing women” by Andrea Dworkin for absolutely ages so it is great to see one here oh and look you weren’t joking about old! Christine de Pisan “City of Ladies”! And “A Vilification of the Rights of Women” by Wollstonecraft! Perfect! I will turn my phone off and have a read.

How it will end SpringCrocus.

Sorry Embarrassing I shan't do it again.

My DD sometimes does little cross-stitch kits, and I'm sure she can figure out how to sew on a button if needbe. It's not rocket science.

She's also done a bit of woodwork, as she had to make things on wheels as the 'bodies' of a couple of robots. Coding, of course, and electronics. She was rather surprised when she came to do a robotics project on her uni course that she was the only competent solderer in her team of six or so.... I guess we got her a sewing kit and soldering iron at about the same age, around the start of secondary school.

Daisies If you search you'll find a copy of Natural Rebels by Hilary McD Beckles, I should think this is now a collectors item and definitely cancelled because he talks about women all the time, highlighting that he's not a TRA

Fantastic highame! It looks really interesting, a social history of enslaved women in Barbados with lots of primary sources! I shall enjoy perusing this one maybe enjoy is the wrong word, it could be quite harrowing… I know very little on this topic atm so it will be good to learn about it.

Vilification of the Rights of Women? I think that might be an apocryphal edition. Maybe sneaked in by one of our friends from Feminism Chat?

I'm happy to donate an ex-nappy bin to use as a spittoon. If you put the lid down again after availing yourselves of it I reckon it's pretty covid-safe.

you spotted my “deliberate” mistake SelfPortraitWithEels. Just checking that you’re all on your toes

I promise I’m not a plant!

Oh, that thread! All the lols!

Just dropping off some home made Elderflower champagne. Cheers, wimms