Author: Betsy

Fine Cell Work Selling Exhibition This Thursday!

| Betsy

In or near East London this Thursday (the 19th) between the hours of 1pm and 6pm? Go check out Fine Cell Work’s selling exhibition of their wares! Their new film (below) will also be shown at the event, so hop to it!

Leathersellers’ Hall
15 St. Helen’s Place,
London
EC3A 6DQ

Having seen their work in person before, I definitely recommend going! This charity is one of my favorites the world over. The quilt shown in the video will be part of the V & A Museum’s exhibit Quilts 1700-2010, which will be from March 20 – July 4 2010.

There was a video here but it seems to have disappeared? Keeping the link in case it miraculously goes back up.

Want more?

*A Stitch Doing Time
*Doing Time: Patchwork as a Tool of Social Rehabilitation in British Prisons

Explorasaurus.

| Betsy

Lately I’ve been wandering around a large yet small city with my camera and incredibly uncomfortable shoes. I’ve enjoyed the whoosh and burst of air that hits you down in the Metro, sunsets over monuments, visiting museums, dancing to old 90s music, dudes that give someone elderly their seat when they teeter totter on the Subway, and long walks with coffee.

The lovely mix of politics and punk, messenger bags and Prada, suits and skateboards has been a total delight to explore. Of course, there have also been not-so-lovely moments, scraping a Secret Service car in Georgetown (getting them to laugh when I asked if their little secret pins were like “flair” was pretty sweet, though) and angry people in the Metro when there was a fire and lots of smoke.

Here are some photos from the past few months, including lots from the 9.12.09 Tea Party where I went to see if their DIY signs were good or not. Personally, I found the majority of the posters either incredibly offensive, misspelled, or misinformed. The reason for my delay in posting these photos? A few days after the rally I discovered some of my relatives were there. Honestly, it took me awhile to try and understand why our views could be so different. At the rally and on the train back to my car, all I heard was hate, hate, hate. Dissent? Go for it. But hatred? There’s no place for that if you expect to have a dialogue and not a shouting match.

[ETA: The above being said, however, there were signs at the rally that were based on fact, not conjecture! Those signs? Sing it! My reactions were based on the anger I saw arising (from listening to a man tell his 4 year old that the government were crooks, to shouts about “commies going to hell”) in the crowd. Seeing so much anger in a public space was personally shocking, although our right as Americans to express disapproval is one I hold dear. For the people upset about what’s going on and voicing their opinion? Again, go for it. Just keep anger out of it. And before you stand up with a sign, it’s always a good thing to know why it says what it does. It’s your chance to state your voice, why not make it properly heard? Let what you carry provoke conversation not anger, understanding not yelling, and dialogue not diatribes.]

Believe what you wish, just be informed as to why you believe that way. What I don’t understand is, why is everything boiled down to religion this “we’re right,” “they’re wrong” dichotomy? Maybe I’m wrong, but aren’t the tenets of love and acceptance found in every religion? If so, how can you honestly say you’re doing God’s (or Allah’s or Jesus’ or the Buddha’s, etc) work when you’re speaking in anger?

The shots here are waiting for a bus with the awesome Through the Eye of the Needle, Metro seats, my Secret Service repaired mirror, and a Tea Party shot. You can see them all over here.

Projects and Poems.

| Betsy

Okay, just one poem. A poem that was mentioned an another project, The Creative Life, which I started with Kim Werker, to explore, well, the creative life. It came via a recommended link* posted in a comment by Carol Browne. Carol’s comment was in response to my post about how the creative life, to me, means more than worrying about if others post more than me or comment more than me or what have you. Living a creative life means reminding yourself that life is meant to be lived and that if you don’t live it, how can you write about it? Quality will forever mean more to me than quantity, even though current technology begs to differ. Stopping to really see the sunset is always more beautiful than constantly moving around to get the best shot. Thanks for reminding me of that, Carol.

The poem below is “Desiderata” written by Max Ehrmann in 1927.


Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

*Clicking this link will take you to a very lovely photo of a very lovely tattoo someone had done of the first line of this poem. It’s copyrighted. So, you have to click on through… it’s worth it.

Thank You.

| Betsy

No matter if you call today Veterans Day or Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, just remember to say thank you to a veteran today. (Confused by all these names? Go learn more here.) No matter what you call it, it’s still about paying tribute to veterans who have given their lives for their countries.

According to the US Census, there were 23.7 million veterans in the United States. Chances are you’re pretty darn near one right now, so thank them.

Not all veterans look like those lovely men above snuggling in cozy lapghans either. If you’re not sure what’s going on in the world military-wise (seeing that the military produces veterans), go read something on this list for a start:

*At War: New York Times blog
*Guardian: Afghanistan
*Reuters: Iraq: Bearing Witness
*The Age: Afghanistan
*United States Department of Defense

Then, armed with knowledge, go say thank you. They work to protect you (outside of foreign policy issues or whatever), at the end of the day, that’s the basis of their job. Every day. While you fight with the copier or fall asleep in meetings or fill in yet another spreadsheet. They have more at risk than a broken fingernail or struggling with formatting that makes no sense in MS Office.

Not sure how this day came to be? Here’s a quick lesson, text taken from here.

HOW IT STARTED:
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

(But there was no hoopla. The hoopla came later after all the naming of people to committees and obscure laws. In short, the hoopla began later.)

THE HOOPLA!:
The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Completely unrelated: Knitting for Good! was published one year ago today! Exciting!

Knittin,’ ‘Innit?

| Betsy

Last weekend there was a lovely piece in The Guardian about “yarn storming,” written by a reporter who had seemingly never knitted anything in his life, but was along to see what all the fuss was about with a knitter from Knit The City. After you check out the article, here are some lovely videos of the Knit The City ladies yarn storming around London.





Surely you’re familiar with the US knit graffiti crew Knitta, but what about people that are yarn bombing (storming?) farther afield? Many of the groups knit-tagging all over the world can be found in Yarn Bombing the book, which was released earlier this fall…a book I’ll be reviewing later on this week. (Meanwhile, check out the Yarn bombing Flickr pool!)


Speaking of public acts of craft, as of last Friday 6 of my cross-stitch pieces will be shown throughout November at Cafe Helios in downtown Raleigh, NC!