Author: Betsy

“We’re Rock and We’re Knit”

| Betsy

Even though I’m not entirely sure what is going on, words cannot fully express how much I love this video. Dudes, yarn, rock. Basically all you need, no? Just kidding. You also need coffee. But anyway, I like that this video shows Indonesian men crafting and enjoying the heck out of it. Bonus points for their t-shirts that say “The Man Who Knit.” Brilliant!





Want more craft from Indonesia?

Tobucilhandmade.blogspot.com is a great place to start. They can be followed on Twitter here.

A little bit about Indonesia & craftivism: More than a year ago, I got an email from a PhD student asking if I knew anyone in Bandung, as they were working on some sort of library/community center. While I’m not sure it’s totally true, but when he wrote, “I thought it would be neat to know that you are inspiring young people in Indonesia,” I was gobsmacked. He was referencing an interview with Tarlen Handayani, which if you read Malay, you can read here. The center he was referring to was Tobucil & Klabs, which is the website listed above and where the video is from! Small world!

The blog has put together a lovely list of international crafty links here but it’s a shame there isn’t more craftiness online from places like Indonesia. Or is it that I just haven’t found them yet?

*Although, I will say that the book Yarn Bombing exposed me to so much international knitting groups. More to come on that soon.*

Keeping it Clean. (Is Awesome.)

| Betsy

Today I had the luck to spend the afternoon at the North Carolina State Fair with a friend and the 8 year old she babysits. Yes, it was awesome. They saved everything fluffy or furry (bunnies, donkeys, cows, chicks, duckings, sheep) until I got there, which was even more awesome. The special surprise treat was being there in time for pig racing, with all the pigs named after NASCAR drivers!

What was not awesome was watching people litter right in front of me. Bottles, gum wrappers, fried Oreo papers, you get the idea. One guy even stared at me while dropping a gum wrapper on the ground, and I couldn’t help wondering if he was jonesing for some sort of litterbug stand-off or a citizen’s arrest.

So, in a late reply to the earlier litterbug, here’s the song which I sing when I’m cleaning my house. It’s called Tidy Up Tidy Up by Barcelona Pavilion, a song which Rachael Matthews introduced to me one night, and 5 years later, it’s still in my head! Imagine my glee when I discovered that some young students made a video for this song, Year Six at Sheringdale Primary School in Wandsworth!





Thanks Sheringdale Primary School Year Six students for such an awesome video to such an awesome song! You made my day!

Some lovely links from lately:
*How to make almond milk
*The amazing work of photographer Chris Jordan
*The incredible contour drawings of Elizabeth Layton
*Keeping up with the Johnsons: A blog about fixing up their newly bought house by Garth Johnson and Claire Joyce
*Mad Cowboys, Skinny Bitches, & Vegan Freaks: 10 Books for Your Cruelty-Free Diet Library (via Tiny Choices)

Climate Change: Crazy Hippie Theory or Reality?

| Betsy

Today is Blog Action Day. This year Blog Action Day is about climate change.


Most of what we hear about climate change is depressing. Really depressing. A lot of people think that climate change is a load of rubbish and completely a liberal rouse. Chances are ridiculously high that you know one of those people, even if you think you don’t, you probably do.


What if instead of thinking about climate change as either an inevitable disaster or something made up by crazy hippies, we thought about climate change as an opportunity to make positive changes in our lives? What if we used all that angry energy used to convince people we’re either right (the end is near) or that we’re not crazy hippies (it is really happening, I swear) we actually started changing things? A much nicer approach, no?

Taking a few leaves from the books of Ed Begley, Jr., or Larry Hagman (He runs the nation’s largest residential solar-powered system!!), I’m going to start being inspired by the change we must make at hand. One person working towards that change is Mark Diacono who runs a climate change farm on the theory that climate change can be done in the positive direction through agriculture. You can learn more about what he’s doing here, the fact that is absolutely adorable* doesn’t hurt either:



I like the way he changes vocabulary, taking it from something negative into something more positive. We have the power. We have the chance. But do we have the will?

Farming Futures
Climate and Farming
Organic farming could stop global climate change
“Greening” agriculture key to fighting climate change

*Yes, but then again, you know I do have a weakness for men who make the world a better place. Farm and Wellington boots? Optional.

Game Knitting!

| Betsy

I met Lee Meredith, or Leethal, this past spring in Portland and was oh-so-happy to be lucky enough to receive one of her craftgasm patches! This alone was reason enough for a complete craft crush, and then I discovered Bad Movie Bingo, the amazing game she made with her hubby-to-be, Pete Bejarano, which makes really bad movies even better, helping them to fully embrace their badness full on!

And last week, Lee self-published her own e-book, Game Knitting, chock full of projects you can knit in between turns of Clue or Battleship. Color me amazed. Again. At 65 pages for only $9, it’s a steal, and with it you get the added bonus of being the craftiest game player in the room.

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For those crafty folk in the DC area, chances are you were at Crafty Bastards yesterday! After spending a few hours helping people make buttons* at the good ship Hello Craft, I bought three things from vendors I’ve swooned over for years: toast plush from My Paper Crane, a fascinator from Giant Dwarf and a Supermaggie.

In case you missed it, check out the photos over here on Flickr. Be sure to check out the b-boy battle photos, too! Apparently if you want to get me to not move for an hour and a half, you must bring a breakdancing competition that reminds me of my childhood. Seriously. It was awesome.

*I made a button for myself that said, “Ask me about my job search,” which kept me giggling despite the somewhat depressing and confidence crushing job hunt that so many of us are on these days. Have yet to wear it out in the non-crafty public. Keep your eyes peeled, DC area people.

Histories, Knitting and Kindness.

| Betsy

The woman knitting above is Selma Miriam, a co-owner of the restaurant Bloodroot in Fairport, Connecticut. I had heard about Selma from my friend Dayna Mankowski, the Crafty Scientist, years ago and have been wanting to go to the restaurant ever since. After finding Bloodroot’s history and philosophy incredibly inspiring, I was saddened to read that someone recently broke in and robbed the restaurant. And to add insult to injury, they stole Selma’s knitting bag, but not until after she bravely tried to get it back… from an armed man. She’s offering a reward for its return as it (and the contents) hold memories of her work with fiber, scissors from one trip, yarn from another. The bag itself is a creation of Selma’s, and I was touched by this article** as she explains why she wants the bag back. You can read more about Selma over here, too.

Reading about Selma’s love for all those individual supplies and what they mean to her, makes me ask myself some questions. What would happen if someone stole your knitting/craft bag? What would be lost? Would you pay to get it back? As currently, my knitting projects are taking over my house and not my handbag, I don’t have to answer those questions today, thankfully. I’m crossing my fingers that someone returns Selma’s bag with its contents in full, not for the reward, but because it’s just the right thing to do. And thank you, Selma, for living a life true to your ideals, full of creativity and completely immersed in kindness and love.


And lately, some interesting articles:
*Yoga for Crafters
*Africa’s first eco-town (made possible by microfinancing)
*Amnesty International trains young Moroccans in cyber-activism
*Fundraising + knitting: helping to buy livestock row by row (literally!)
*106, and still knitting for charity (Way to go, Olive, a true inspiration!)
*From a bank cubicle in London to a farm in Accra…for belief in microfinance

**This article isn’t linked because The Connecticut Post has taken this (a 2 month old story) offline. Although it can be purchased for $2.95. It’s a shame, too, as the article was well-written, and now the author won’t be getting much credit, given that you now have to pony up for each article. I understand why a publication would do this, but I also think that it’s no good for those who contribute to the paper. Lesson learned: Get a clip (.jpg or otherwise) of your work online, or else it may just disappear.