some entertainment, while you're waiting

Just so that you all don't think that I've died/gone off with the circus/stopped blogging, here's two works in progress:

Look! it's not even x-stitch! I've evolved!

But this one is...

sweet dreams are made of this

Yeay, an update! I've finished some stuff during Easter (a weekend spent on Öland with my cousin & aunt, doing nothing but eating & crafting & visiting yardsales) so here goes:

My first encounter with feminism was probably through music - the angry screams of Kathleen, Corin, Tobi, Allison, Jennifer, Carrie & all the other riot grrrls. It was through them I got my first insights about issues like sexual abuse, female empowerment & sexuality. My first analysis of patriarchy was definitely soundtracked & fueld by the pure force of songs like Double dare ya.

We're bikini kill, and we want revolution, girl style, NOW!

So, I made a pattern for the classic jumping cheerleader with the text on it, but then decided to go another way. & I think it turned out pretty good, the plan is to make a pillowcase out of it.

Speaking of pillowcases, this is one that my cousin made last summer. I love the expression in the boy's face:

I'm to tired to make this into a proper update with text & all, so you just have to do with a crappy photo of another patch I finished in the car on the way home today.

tonight, thank god it's them instead of you

These are the estimated figures of the 2007 AIDS epidemic update, released by the UN in november. Approximately 33.2 million people are living with HIV in the world today. 2.5 million were infected by the virus & 2.1 million people died of AIDS in 2007. Of the people living with HIV, 22.5 million live in sub-saharan Africa & 1.6 million of casualties related to AIDS were african. The numbers are so huge that it's sort of hard to grasp them. But the good news is that the epidemic seem to be stabilizing & the global HIV prevalence (the proportion of people living with the virus) appears to have levelled off.

I've had the idea for this embroidery in my mind for quite some time & now that it's done it feels a bit... small, in some way. The original idea was to cross stitch little human shaped figurines representing the numbers, but that was just to much work (I'm lazy). & in a way I felt that the harshness of the numbers sort of speak for them selves... Well, now it's done anyway & the plan is to make it into a pillow case.

Sorry for the crappy picture, the colours are infact much brighter blue & red than what you see here.