A new generation of crafty women is embracing the domestic arts. Some are looking to their grandmothers for inspiration, because many of their mothers ditched these hobbies as part of a feminist revolution that often looked down on such traditions.

Younger crafters are turning classic knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry and paper making into modern art, must-have fashion items and eco-conscious lifestyle statements.

Knitting and sewing needles aren't just for Auntie Elza, they're for tattooed chicks with attitude, hence the motto of popular swap-and-chat Web site, Craftster.org: "Rock is dead. Long live paper and scissors."

Members of the Tulsa Craft Mafia embrace the renaissance and its sense of humor (they're the local chapter of a national/global group started in Austin). One of their monthly events is called "Stitch N' Booze," where they meet at a member's house for some domestic arts and drinks.

Tulsa Craft Mafia's regular monthly meeting is at hipster home store Dwelling Spaces in downtown's Blue Dome District, where they get together to share techniques, try new trends -- and have fun (the next meeting is Thursday at 6 p.m.) This past weekend, they organized the Indie Emporium, a craft fair featuring local artists' wares.

Tara Mason, 25, who started Tulsa Craft Mafia with her friend, Christine Crowe, said she sees the crafting revolution as a push back against the mass-produced, consumerism culture prevalent

It's also a 21st-century model of feminism, where women can be high-powered attorneys and corporate giants, but also knit kicky little sweaters and scarves.

"I think back then, maybe women were trying to break away and say 'I'm not your housewife,' " Mason said of her mother's generation. "But now, it's cool and kitsch to start embroidering and making tea and cupcakes."

These 20- and 30-somethings also aren't afraid to add their own entrepreneurial twists, selling on Web sites, in local stores and organizing large urban craft fairs.

"We started discovering there are a lot of young, hip, crafty people in Tulsa," Crowe said. After visiting Oklahoma City's annual craft-and-art expo called the Girly Show, they decided Tulsa needed its own festival. So the Indie Emporium was born.

Mason sells several lines of jewelry and clothing through Websites such as Etsy.com and has a line of gnome-themed onesies and T-shirts, "My little Gnomies," that will soon be available at Dwelling Spaces.

"I grew up with construction paper all over the house, digging in grandma's fabric drawer and learning how to sew," Mason said.

For 25-year-old Crowe, her grandma was also a huge influence on her love of crafting (her mom was into work, not crafts, she said).

"I have these amazing memories of spending time with my grandmother crafting when I was a child. She taught me to sew and I still use her sewing machine and a lot of her craft supplies that I received when she passed away," Crowe said. "It's a lot of fun to take the things I learned as a kid and put new spins on them."

She loves seeing crafters turn out traditional pot holders emblazoned with skulls and crossbones. Lots of the local crafters' works contain reclaimed and recycled items, vintage fabric recycled into new pieces, and fair trade beads. Crowe makes tote bags that say, "I Exercise Ethical Consumerism."

"That's what shopping handmade is all about for me," she said. "There is such a personal connection when you shop handmade. I buy handmade for the same reasons that I shop at the farmer's market instead of buying my produce at the grocery store. The connection with people is something that gets lost when you shop at mega-stores and malls."

Amby Barnes makes jaunty, colorful handbags and pillows with clouds, flowers, cupcakes and trees embroidered in felt under her label, the Knit Owl. Her pillows will be carried soon at Dwelling Spaces.

Barnes' mother was not one who shunned domestic arts such as sewing and cooking, she said.

"My mom is a stay-at-home Southern woman," she said. "She taught me how to sew, and she always stressed how it was very important to have those skills."

She gave up on sewing for a while, then started knitting again while in college.

"It just reinvigorated this creativity inside of me," she said.

Mary Beth Babcock, who owns Dwelling Spaces, said she was "blown away" by the offerings at Tulsa's first Indie Emporium.

"I think a lot of people are looking for a creative outlet, and crafting is definitely being taken seriously as art now," she said. "And it feels so awesome to be able to contact these people and say, 'I want to carry your line.' "

Crowe is determined to hold her own against mass retailers, hosting craft sales at her home during the height of Christmas shopping mania. Last year, she lived near Woodland Hills Mall and put up signs on Black Friday with her address that said, "Buy Handmade for the Holidays." There were plenty of customers.

"A lot of people are just tired of everything being mass-produced," Crowe said.

Cary Aspinwall 581-8477
cary.aspinwall@tulsaworld.com

Where to find local crafts

Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit Ave., 582-1033
www.tulsaworld.com/dwellingspaces

Tulsa Craft Mafia
www.tulsaworld.com/tulsacraftmafia

Etsy
www.tulsaworld.com/etsy

Such Pretty Things
www.tulsaworld.com/suchprettythings

Modern Dharma
http://www.tulsaworld.com/moderndharma

The Knit Owl
www.tulsaworld.com/theknitowl

My Little Gnomies
tulsaworld.com/mylittlegnomies

Weather and noise
www.tulsaworld.com/weather&noise