I know that most of my readers are women. It makes sense, so much of what I write about and creative has to do with being a woman. It’s not intentional, it’s just what I do.
So, last year I thought about making some potholders for men. I was thinking that there are women on my blog who might want to give a man they know a potholder and lets face it, most men wouldn’t be interested in most of my potholders. I’ve gotten a couple of requests for potholders for men ( a couple means 2 and I remember them both) but when I thought about making them, I couldn’t picture what they would look like. When I thought of fabric men might like, sad to say, that traditional men’s pajama print was the only thing that came to mind. Then I started thinking of baseball and football stuff and then all those horrible “Uncle Cards” from Hallmark. Ya know, sailboats and bad sunsets. Well, that took care of that idea.
But last week I got a comment from John. He said he was breaking the stereotype and that he didn’t know anything about fantasy football, but was excited about a new binding foot for his Bernina. I like the idea of having men on my site, so to broaden my narrow view, I decided to try making some potholders for men again.
I pulled out a bunch of fabric that I though said Man. But when I looked at them, Ugh! Boring, Dull and Ugly. What to do?
So I asked Jon (my Jon) . After all, not only is he a man, but he loves to cook. “Bold, strong colors” he said, “not to bright.” “Oh” I said, “you mean boring colors.”
Back in the studio I looked around some more. Under my bottle of water, pretending to be a coaster, was a piece of purple corduroy. That’s It! Corduroy! It’s manly (I think) and it comes in bold, strong colors and isn’t boring because it has texture. It has thick lines and thin lines. They can go up and down or across or even diagonal. And most of the corduroy I have is from men’s pants. (the yellow corduroy is from Jack Metzgers favorite shirt, he’s the artist and antique dealer that was in my first show at the Pig Barn Gallery, Mary Muncil, his wife finally convinced him to give it to me after many years of denying that it wasn’t falling apart)
Above is my first attempt at my new Manly Corduroy Potholers. I don’t know if I’ve got it right, I mean, I kinda like them and I’m not a man. So they might really be unisex potholders, but well, for now lets just say they’re Man Potholders and see what happens. And all you men out there, I’m open to advice.
Denim. Lots and lots of denim. Light, dark, all kinds of (did I mention?) Denim. LOL
one word comes to my mind when I think of material for men…denim! i think denim would go nicely with the corduroy & maybe add some plaid too.
good luck with the new ones!
Plaid flannel – big, bold, Lumberjack plaids would look cool with the corduroy.
Haha, I asked my dear hubby what he thought of the potholders and his response was “Its got turquoise in it, so I like it”. Gotta love his honesty!
I think they’re nice, they’d make a good gift for some men I know. Not necessarily my DH, though!
I like them! They kind of remind me of nautical flags, especially the one with the triangle shaped pieces. You have another winning idea here, Maria.
These solid corduroy colors and your arrangement of them remind me very much of the “modern” quilts I have seen — Blocks of solid color placed in some intuitive design. I think they are for males or females who like solids and contemporary designs. You encourage me to explore more with my quilting.
Reminds me of one of my sock-knitting friends who, when her husband or brother-in-law wants hand-knitted socks, she goes in search of “man yarn”. That translates to earthy colors or colors that feature dark blues, shades of brown, orange, certain reds, certain greens, tweeds, greys, certain yellows, and similar. She’s created multi-color “man socks” (and I have, too) that are really cool. Another knitting friend has made “man socks” that have undertones of pale lilac and pink – and they still look masculine because of how the color is infused or what other colors accompany it.
I like them! Maybe try flannel shirts? And maybe something like you did with the motorcycle t-shirts quilt (if I’m remembering right) but with just one sports team in the middle, like Red Sox from a t-shirt, surrounded by plain materials? My guy does not cook – no help there.
i think they are very good for men! Especially in cordoroy! Jim and I didn’t meet in person until about 5 months after his first letter (in answer to a personal ad) So our first meeting, I got him a few house warming items for his appt. Matching coffee mugs (The best is Yet to Come on them)a kitchen towel set and a small bag of coffee. The kitchen towels had an applique of a steaming cup of coffee on it.
Manly stripes, denim (old jean pocket would be great!)
nice going, maria. imp and wise one show up in it. You’re doing great. I like them. I wonder if men-folk would like a surrounding border? Would you like such a thing? Maybe it’ss too much work for the price. a border would act like a frame around an image and might set off the facts that each one pot holder (and hopefully manly) is a geometic image with each shape a color.
OK Maria, now you’re on to something. I like good old, inexpensive duck canvas that comes in the oatmeal color. Someone suggested borders and binding. I think that would look great in earth tones. The canvas duck is a perfect backdrop to your quilted art. What would be better than seeing Simon “braying” for me as I make dinner?
I hear you John. Thanks for being a man about it and giving your opinion. Simon braying Huh, I know someone else who suggested that (the guy I live with) And what about Strut, the rooster?
These are awesome and I definitely think of corduroy as a men’s fabric (I don’t wear it myself, too bulky for my shape)….I like the other ideas about denim and plaids as well….nothing says man more than a flannel shirt and jeans, LOL…..What fun ideas you come up with. My husband loves to cook and he thinks these are neat!!!! Of course, as the one woman mentioned about the quilt, he’s also a Harley guy so he’d love HD as well! If you need some denim, flannel, or corduroy, let me know, as I have tons of boxes set aside of clothing that has minor (or major, lol) flaws that are destined to be recycled one way or another! Can’t bear to throw much out!! Shop number is 518-751-4020! Great job, as always, Maria!
Good to know Barbe. Flannel n jeans seems to be the way to go. I’ll take you up on your clothes offer
I’d like to suggest wool tweed. Often you can find great Harris tweed jackets and other wool tweeds in thrift shops. Mix it with corduroy and/or denim!!