I tried my hand at writing in a real paper spiralbound notebook today. All I could really manage was the word “FOCUS” in bubble letters and a weird cartoony comicy piece about the conversation I was eavesdropping on. I know it’s considered a bit gauche, but I couldn’t tell if the guy was spilling his relationships issues because he was in some sort of coffeehouse therapy session or if he was dumping the person he was talking to. In a word, it was gripping. In the end, the lack of histrionics led me to leave. To my defense, it was a public place and he was really loud.

And he actually used the phrase, “there are a lot of men out there…” line which had me wanting to chuck my coffee all over him. I thought such witty repartee was left for films alone?

Anyway, lately I’ve been trying to pin down what is so enticing to me about the world of crafts. I mean, on the one hand, who the f*ck cares? It’s just a bunch of people with varying sizes of needles and string! But on the other, I think that a lot of this stems from an interest in the experience of women.

We’ve made it til the 3rd (some say 4th, some say post-) wave of feminism. Now what? To we keep creating waves until they are backed out to sea or start upon making some new definitions and metaphors?

I don’t know about your personal work experience, but mine has been mostly uneventful. Most of my work experience has centered on work in secretarial positions. A lot of phone answering, filing and sitting on my ass. While finding the actual work (or complete lack thereof) banal and time-wasting, I was often fascinated by the personal dynamics of this mainly woman-dominated sphere.

In one particular office of 9 women on a university campus, I was constantly enthralled by the drama that ensuing in these women’s lives, these ordinary women who came from differing socio-economic backgrounds, age groups, marital status. No one was a supermodel or high profile particularly, just a group of women working in an office with lots of beige decor and a few plants thrown in for good measure.

One woman (who had retired just before I got there but was a frequent visitor) lost a battle to cancer, another was suddenly diagnosed with weeks to live if both of her breasts weren’t removed within days. Stories emerged of past battles with cancer that were previous kept under wraps. I was there throughout the operation, the chemo, the picking out of wigs, the grit, the strength, and the tension-breaking laughter. Watching all of these women deal with this in such a small work environment was fascinating.

Its pure ordinariness made it sublime.

I still have that sense of awe everytime I’m around people knitting or otherwise crafting and as their hands methodically work, their stories start tumbling out of their mouths.

This picture was sent to me by an amazing woman in New York state who spins wool from her own sheep. The above ewe in question is named Sophie.

Sometimes I feel like I inhabit someplace firmly inbetween flaneur and voyeur. But one things for sure, I never get enough of the stories that unfold around me.

As I’m currently in the process of applying for research programmes, PhDs and scholarships (at the last possible minute), it’s been a bit slow of late. I also no longer have email at my house, which means that I haven’t been answering my email for the past two weeks.

But I promise that soon enough I will reveal the ridiculousness that was my first ‘art’ (don’t call it ‘craft!’) piece, unleashed to the public March 18th. On a wall, not a scarf around someone’s neck.

If you’re feeling antsy about what’s currently inspiring to me in the world of craft, check out :

*Knitted Hyperbolic Space, A Gallery of Hyperbolic Models, and an article about crocheting the hyperbolic plane. (Many thanks to Maddie for the links!)

*the knerdy reading that is knitknit

*the ‘i wish i was born in the ’30s’ joy that is Designing Britain 1945-1975

*the amazing and inspiring work of Germaine Koh

*i heart Freddie Robins

*the happy quirkiness that is the work of Deirdre Nelson

And that’s (happily) only the beginning of what’s out there.

It’s amazing how much time flies by when you’re doing nothing but working on an ‘art piece’ and constantly having an internal dialogue with yourself regarding the whole ‘art vs. craft’ melee.

And it’s funny how when you start making things with your hands, you stop checking email, turn off the television, turn up the stereo, and start thinking more in images than in words.

This week has totally made me realise how my grandmother’s grandmother’s hands must have ached after having to make xx number of stockings/sweaters/socks in order to put food on the table. And how despite the fact that we are lucky enough to live in an age where clothing is provided for cheap and in close proximity, that there is nothing more rad than holding something you constructed with your own two hands- especially something that you could have bought at the local megamart.

And back to working…

Tonight I was talking with someone who was in Sri Lanka during the tsunami. She was talking about how the woman she was with is now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Luckily, she is American and has a hefty support network.

But for those who don’t, there’s a little project out there called The Tsunami Quilt. Although the deadline for contributions has already passed, it’s a perfect example of how you can put your crafty and artistic talents to good use.

Happily, there are loads of photographs here.

I’m not suggesting that the efforts of one quilt are going to counteract all the damage that was done last December. But noting that sometimes when things seem so huge and like you can’t do anything to help, you can.

Hooray for tiny altruistic acts.