The Invisible Sisters!

As happens often, I have a new crafty crush, Ann Wizer.

How can you not be enamored of someone who writes that:

“instead of making more waste, we REUSE waste. Instead of employing highly skilled experts, we TRAIN the unskilled. The aim is not to make more stuff quickly and cheaply, but to address problems through CREATIVE experimentation.

Where there is garbage, there is always poverty. A large part of the world – primarily in developing countries – continue to live in extreme poverty within huge global economies of waste.

I design products from waste and the production methods that include the poor. In waste reduction and social business, the more challenging aspect is to instill a sense of possibility and creative experimentation in this mix of artistry.”

Invisible Sisters is a project set up to help women in Manila who can’t work outside of the house earn an income. They crochet items from city refuse, bags, wires, computer parts. Seeing this creative reuse of trash is not only uplifting, it is also inspiring and providing us with another example of what we can do with this mountain of trash we’ve collected over time.

Even though we may not be able to see the heaps and heaps near our houses because they’re tucked far away in a landfill (out of sight out of mind), they’re there. And one day we will not just have the option, but will most likely be forced to deal with them. Why not start now?

You can read Ann’s inspiring vision for the project here.

Also inspiring and crafty:
*Schoolchildren reuse fabric for charity weaving project
*Harris Tweed weavers start course to help bring back dying industry
*Women in England knitting real-life size house to raise money for church
*European Relief Society members knit 4,400 hats for newsborns in Guatemala


Bonus! If you can read Greek, you might want to read about their introduction to craftivism over here. Thank you, Greece!

Goodbye 2009, I Want A Goat (dot com)

Here we are at another closing of a decade. Thankfully, unlike last decade, we aren’t worrying about technology crumbling or the world ending. Regrettably, however, there are more of us living with our countries in wars and recessions and other problems than in 1999, making us wish Y2K was our biggest problem.

And here at the end of 2009, even though I don’t know half the songs involved, I’m loving the message from this mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits from DJ Earworm, United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop). A song I discovered thanks to a Tweet from @jackgraycnn, reminding us to ultimately “Don’t worry/ Just get back up/ When you’re tumbling down,” something I’d like to think as more of a gentle pop culture directive than merely wishful thinking.

And speaking of Twitter, it seems to have been the buzzword for 2009. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to cast the gruff and tumble year of 2009 good riddance, with its long job searches, skimpy bank accounts, tears of frustration, quickly escalating death tolls, heartbreaks, warring politicians and never-ending worried nights about bills and bills and bills. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to dance.

And ready to welcome a more altruistic buzzword onto our cultural radars in 2010. A buzzword that speaks of love and hope and hugs and helping hands instead of short-and-sweet technological blips of our daily musings. Need a starting place to get ready for that new word? Or a way to jump-start that new feeling? Check out the video below* (be careful, though, as there is some “bad language”) for the awesome project I Want a Goat.

And remember that the $20 it costs you to buy a goat for a needy family in eastern India will go a hell of a lot farther than the $20 it costs you to buy imported organic pomegranate juice. And that doing good means looking a lot further than the nearest mirror.

Asking yourself, “Why goats?” Look no further than the I Want A Goat website:
For tribal people who are landless, raising goats is a great alternative source of income. Families who breed goats can earn a good profit selling the kids in the local market. The extra income, usually from being paid to read email or other data entry tasks, provides a safety net for families that can be used for things like medicine, food during lean periods and farm equipment.

Whatever situation you might find yourself in this December 31, 2009, you could do worse than throwing up your hands in a tiny wee celebration, dancing to much needed goodbyes and fully embracing the new decade just waiting for us to greet it.
*This project was brought to my attention by the always illuminating Elephant Journal. It’s based on a Saturday Night Live skit called “I’m On A Boat,” which is linked and further explained here.

“The Big Knit” video. Grandmothers! Thrifting! Knitting! Hooray!

If I had to vote for my favorite video of this year, it would have to be the one below because it contains most of my favorite things in the world: grandmothers, thrifting, knitting, charity and awesomeness. There are also motorcycles, which I don’t like, but a lot of people do. They are also “cool.”





BUT WAIT! What are they knitting? Hats for penguins? Spoon covers? Nope. They’re knitting hats for bottles! The Big Knit, an Innocent Drinks project now in its 6th year, to raise money for the UK charities for the elderly, Age Concern and Help the Aged. The funds raised go to help older people during the winter months, supporting them to adopt healthier lifestyles and eating habits.

As if the video itself wasn’t amazing, The Big Knit has a Hatometer!






Wondering why the elderly might need a little extra help in the winter months, as your grandmothers are all nice and snuggly this winter? Well, not everyone’s grandmother. Given their age (and apparently lower body fat on average), the elderly are more prone to get illnesses like hypothermia and pneumonia there are a few links below to articles that show just exactly why they need a little assistance. Interestingly, there is a lot of information from the UK press about this, but not in the US press… although it happens both places.

*“67% increase in elderly deaths in Wales due to cold weather”
*“Elderly are at a high risk for hypothermia, frostbite, and influenza”
*“Extra 36,700 deaths in England and Wales from December 2008 to March 2009, compared with the average for non-winter periods”
*“This summer was deadly, but winter could be even worse.’


Apparently the women singing the song above first sang it in 1980 when they were kids. You can see the original video of their smashing Top of the Pops performance here. Sadly, there is no knitting or thrifting. There are, however, lots of adorable kids wearing adorable pink dresses that I want.

Additionally, there is also a really great Pulp song called Help the Aged.

8th Annual Supernaturale Holiday Hat & Scarf Drive!

It’s that time again, time to whip up a scarf or hat for someone in need for SuperNaturale’s 8th annual holiday hat & scarf drive!

From the SuperNaturale website:

For the last seven years Glitter has created a winter hat and scarf drive. We donate these items to Sanctuary for Families. They are an awesome organization dedicated to the safety, healing, and self-sufficiency of battered women and their children. They offer an array of services including shelter, legal assistance, and counseling.

Please join our eighth annual scarf drive. Get your knitting needles and crochet hooks out and knit up some warm, washable hats and scarves to donate to people who need them. Send them in by December 10th, 2009 so we can get them to people in time for the holidays.

Mail to:
SuperNaturale
c/o Flat
391 Broadway, 3rd Fl
NY NY 10013

So mark yer calendars, whip out those needles and get to knitting!

Big thanks to Tiny Choices for reminding me this year!

Fine Cell Work Selling Exhibition This Thursday!

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