feminism + human rights.

Because people rule.

Craft Hope… On US shelves now!

| Betsy




When I started craftivism.com so many years ago, I had no idea what I wanted it to be. In my wildest initial dreams, I would have loved for it to have been Craft Hope, that Jade Sims has so lovingly and amazingly created. A site that is a catalyst for mass action, but sometimes what we hope isn’t a) what we’re good at, b) what we’re meant to do, and c) where we’re needed.

Yesterday I received my copy of the new book, Craft Hope, on my doorstep, and it is so incredibly lovely and just, well, perfect! I am so honored to have been included as a designer in this book, along with some amazingly and incredibly talented people.** I whipped up some easy peasy fingerless gloves to donate for people who might want to do some mindless knitting for the greater good and just have a small bit of time and/or a small bit of wool.



Congratulations, Jade, on such a lovely book and for all the thousands of people you’ve aided along the way with donations from your Craft Hope projects! And thanks for filling the void that I thought I initially needed to fill, doing a mightier job than I ever could of done because it’s where you need to be.

Even though they don’t know who to thank, there are thousands of people out there with items obtained from Craft Hope projects (like the recent project collecting hand towels for the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies to help clean animals effected by the oil spill, over 65,000 items!) whose days you’re making brighter.


More info:
*Craft Hope over on Facebook
*Interview about the book with Jade over at Lark Crafts
*All month this month over at Craft Hope: Month of Hope! Giveaways! Links! More about my fellow designers!
*BOOK GIVEAWAY! I’ll have an extra copy of the book to give away, and am not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, as I’ve been working on other things than the blog the past few months… Give it away here? Donate it?



**Who are the other designers? They’re Stefani Austin, Ellie Beck, Amanda Carestio, Christina Carleton, Lisa Cox, Maya Donenfeld, Malka Dubrawsky, Molly Dunham, Celine Dupuy, Cathie Filian, Wendi Gratz, Jenny B. Harris, Vickie Howell, Rebecca Ittner, Rebeka Lambert, Kathy Mack, Kaari Meng, Manda McGrory, Jhoanna Monte, Aimee Ray, Eren Hays San Pedro, Amanda Blake Soule, Blair Stocker, Amanda Swan, Beth Sweet, Susan Wasinger, Dana Willard, Rebekah Williams and Geninne D. Zlatis!

As for what these designers made? That’s for you to discover in the book for yourself!

Craft in Prisons…

| Betsy

The above pillow is part of Fine Cell Work’s newer collection of pillows.

Currently Fine Cell Work is in need of volunteers in Yorkshire. If you know anyone in Yorkshire that might be interested, please pass this along or direct them to the Fine Cell Work website.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!

Fine Cell Work is very eager to hear from any keen stitchers who might be interested in chatting to us about the possibility of going in to HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire to teach our group of male stitchers there. The group is well established and is full of very able men but currently no teacher is visiting and they would really benefit from a weekly or fortnightly visit from anyone who is familiar with stitching, either tapestry or surface embroidery – or even better both!

We are looking for 2 to 3 volunteers to go into the prison together and would need people who could commit to at least a year on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is a keen needleworker to help foster and encourage our stitchers in a prison where the group has been established for some time but is now needing more regular contact from a visiting tutor.

If you are interested in helping us at HMP Wakefield then please phone the office and chat to Kim Nightingale on 0207 931 8973 or email kim@finecellwork.co.uk

And that’s only one example of programs that allow inmates to dually gain from the therapeutic process of craft and the practical product to sell. Here are just a few more examples:

A Stitch Doing Time
Our Children’s Place (NC)
Embroidery at Cuddalore Prison
No offense: Crochet Behind Bars
Hiland inmates restitch their lives
Shakopee Women’s Prison Project
Knitting Behind Bars (via Interweave)
Lithuanian prisoners knit for poor Afghans
Inmates learn social skills through knitting
Lebanese inmates stitch their way out of prison
From scraps of prison cloth a miniature world grows
Female convicts knitting winter clothes for Afghans
Stitching in Cells: Teaching prison inmates the art of quilt making
Lady Anne Tree: Meet the aristocrat who’s got the prisoners in stitches
Mosaic Liberation (post about Carrie Reichardt from Radical Cross Stitch)



And this is just the small list… Have any links for specific charities doing this sort of work? Send ’em on!

This is Bravery.

| Betsy

The August 9th cover of Time magazine, and video with commentary from the photographer, Jodi Bieber. Read the abridged article here.

[Interesting contrast to the 1985 National Geographic cover of Sharbat Gula. The original 1985 article is over here.]




More resources regarding Afghan women’s bravery and strength:
*Women for Women
*Afghan Women’s Network
*Women for Afghan Women
*Feminist Majority’s Campaign for Afghan Women & Girls
*RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan)


And, of course, what’s happening to women in Afghanistan is also happening to women all over the world. To millions and millions of women. While you’re eating your cereal. While you’re checking TMZ. While you’re complaining about having nothing to wear.

Tough Dudes, Soft Craft: Men Getting Crafty

| Betsy

This story has made its rounds on the US craft blogosphere yesterday, but for those of you farther afield, I wanted to post about it in case you haven’t seen it, Idle Pastime: In Off Hours, Truckers Pick Up Stitching. I especially adore that when the man in the video was interviewed he was waiting to pick up his next delivery load: 45,000 pounds of Spam, which, seems quite manly, don’t you think?





I think timing is quite interesting given the Quilts 1700-2010 show at the V & A Museum that just opened is showing off the work of some stitching inmates trained by Fine Cell Work. There with all the historic quilts is a quilt made by the tough guys. There is a lovely video about their work over here, if you haven’t seen it already, please go check it out. There is also a little bit more about the truckers sewing above over here.

Just as craft hit a point 10 years ago where feminists began to embrace craft, have we reached a point where men are beginning to embrace it more and more? Just like feminists took back the kitchen and the knitting needles, are men finally getting hassled less now that craft has been in vogue for a decade? I’d like to think so.

Although, just like with the feminists, as we heard such gender stereotyping nonsense like, “You?! You knit? I thought you’d be off giving people tattoos or in a mosh pit or not shaving your legs?” I think that the novelty factor inherent in men embracing craft is a bit sad. Why can’t men make “soft” things if they want to? After all, soldiers are given sewing kits to repair things in the field and wasn’t the toughest dude of the 80s, MacGyver, one hell of a crafty genius? And who could forget, everyone’s favorite male stitcher former pro-football player Rosey Grier? And his 1973 book, Needlepoint for Men?

Hopefully, just like all us feminists who finally get asked less and less why in the heck we’re knitting instead of doing something rough and tough, men who get their craft on will soon enough be seen as just normal (albeit awesome) guys that like to be creative. Because after all, there are plenty of single ladies (myself as well as many of my friends and peers) who think that a guy who can craft with the best of us, is pretty darn hot. So maybe next time you see a guy trying to impress a girl or guy they fancy by being reckless, you should take away the fire/speed/mass amounts of alcohol and hand them some needles and thread.

And these truckers and inmates aren’t the only dudes who craft. Here are some other awesomely mantastic craft links:
*I Knit
*Manspun
*Fiber Beat
*Stitchstud
*Dudecraft
*Mr. XStitch
*Crochetdude
*Manbroidery
*Franklin Habit
*Men Who Knit
*Extreme Craft
*It’s a Purl, Man
*Brooklyn Tweed
*Shane Waltener
*The Man Who Knit
*Brian Sawyer (Check out the DVD about knitting men!)

And I’m sure there are loads I have forgotten to list here. Have any other examples of guys stepping out and up to the needle or hook?

To Be Fearless, Margaret Moth: 1951-2010

| Betsy

I have to admit, it was the picture (above) that first intrigued me. Part rock, part glam, with awesomely coiffed hair and a news camera, I had to find out more. When I did it was a reminder that once, I was fearless (we all were!) but it, like so many things, went by the wayside as daily life snuck in. But where did it sneak off to? Needing to find the fearless side of you again, too? Read on.

Like many of us, when I was little I had several different professions to note when asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” by an adult. Veterinarian. Marine biologist. Writer. There was one anomaly that didn’t fit- war correspondent. Early on I wanted to tell the stories behind the bombs and the violence and the rage and the horror. Maybe it was the excitement, too, but it was always about the stories. I wanted to see life beyond the television screen and the backyard, peel back what I’d been fed by the media and see life in its full breadth and unsteady boom. But I didn’t.

So reading today about the death of camerawoman Margaret Moth I was awed by her story, her bravery and her passion for that career she had when she grew up. I came across these three videos below (forming one 25-minute CNN documentary) accompanying a post about Moth over at Amazing Women Rock.

So today, I just wanted to remind you (as well as myself) about that fearless part that lives inside, maybe even deep down hidden in the middle of that secret place you put it so it wouldn’t get lost. And despite your best intentions, it got lost. May you find it, dust it off and put it somewhere sensible this time. May you remember the passion and truth and call of what you wanted to be, and find some of that fire alight within, however faint. May you just simply remember it’s there, ready to be called for duty.

For me, it’s personal stories that make me want to jump in and ask and hug and run and cry and love and laugh and fight and learn and be. Ironic I’m in the job search process now as I write this, able to shape the answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question, if only a little bit. Here’s to you finding that, too. Perhaps this time, we’ll be courageous and passionate enough to get on the path we should be on, instead of one more tame and familiar. We just need to keep that bit of fearlessness in our hand as we proceed, instead of trying so hard to keep it safe. Maybe by letting it guide us instead of thinking we know best, it will land us just right where we truly need to be.

Thanks, Margaret.

Want more fearlessness? Check out the super inspiring online magazine, fear.less.