Craft Crest: Part Deux

Is crafting the Britney Spears of DIY? Not really. Is Debbie Stoller an evil marketing mastermind forcing the craft arts into the public sphere? Certainly not. Is it important to discuss the hipster-related frustrations? Debatable.
Did putting extreme-ish, subversive-esque crafts in a Museum really piss off that many people? Really?

Pricked: Extreme Embroidery at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC opened November 8th of last year. The New York Times published an article about the exhibit on December 28th, which got picked up as part of a blog entry on Jezebel. Jezebel makes a point we like, namely, why does embroidery have to be feminist:

"Is it because embroidery and knitting were considered housewifely arts and the feminist movement was reclaiming them by making samplers of penises or something? Is this why Bust is always bombarding us with craft projects? Please explain!! "

Which prompted a slew of comments on the post. Some responded to the fury sparked by NYT's assumption that embroidery in a museum is necessarily feminist. But the more troubling discussion revolved around crafting being something fun, something handed down by grandma, something hipsters do while they drink, and somehow the "downward spiral of Bust." Read the comments on your own, but the general tenor is that crafting has taken on an unacceptable hipster tint, that no one is particularly happy about.

And that friends is exactly the type of discussion we like to start. Momma always said money, religion and politics were taboo topics for polite company, but so far she's been silent on hipsters and instigating crafter fights, er, debates. But while we like crafting and we want other people to craft, we find it is hard to define hipster without using the word annoying.

So which is more annoying, the hipster adoption or the assertion that feminism is necessarily inherent to crafting. Would any of this deter a potential crafter? If crafting is resurfacing as a cool thing to do, will the crafty popularity peak have been reached? Is there any middle ground on either of these points?

If you happen to see us in a bar, be prepared to answer one or all of these questions. Happy Friday! Let's get this party started.