knitting.

I like knitting, you like knitting, the world likes knitting.

Charity Knitting, plus DIY Robot Knitting Machine!

| Betsy

First off, I wanted to share this sweet article and photo that I came across recently! And while they may not be making crafts with a Kevin Bacon motif, they are warming thousands of strangers in need with their mighty knitting power! So here’s a big shout out to the Westport Women’s Club of Westport, CT! Article excerpted below, you can read the whole thing by clicking here:

Westport’s Sue Mahar, the other co-founder, said the knitters produce hundreds of mittens hats, scarves and special items during the estimated 4,000 hours a year they keep at their charitable work. The bulk of knitting goes on while the women are watching television — or during down time while members are doing volunteer work at various posts in the community –[co-founder Gerry] Munce and Mahar said. “Knitting in front of the TV set makes television palatable,” Munce said.

Way to go ladies!

Secondly, robots! I think “DIY Robot Knitting Machine” are pretty much the four sweetest words ever put together.

Text from post over at Ubergizmo:

It’s often nice to give your friends and relatives a knitted sweater or something for Christmas, but most of us are just too lazy to knit something. Of course, the wonderful thing is that robots are fully capable of doing many things that we dislike, and that happens to include knitting. Someone out there decided to come up with a homemade robotic knitting machine. It’s made from old printer parts, two servos and a Picaxe-18x microcontroller. The machine isn’t the quietest thing around, but as long as we aren’t doing the knitting, we’re happy. Would you rather create this machine or spend a few bucks and buy the sweater at the mall?

Also:
*MACRO Uganda- Beads of Hope
*Interweave’s Knitting Daily’s new iPhone app!
*Historical Craftivism: Knit Your Bit over at Hello Craft
*Trespass: A History of Uncommon Art over at Brain Pickings

Sit and knit a bit – for the missing women of the world

| Betsy

[This post was originally posted over at Mommy Do That.]

Did you know that there are 100 million women missing in this world?

When I came across this statistic, I couldn’t believe it. The facts tell a different story. If you take the natural distribution of male/female, there are 100 million women missing from our planet. Why?

Because baby girls are selectively aborted
Because baby girls are killed
Because women are killed
Because women aren’t given an education
Because women do not get the same medical care as men
Because women die in childbirth
Because women are trafficked and sexually exploited

And all of this 100 years after International Women’s Day was first celebrated on 8 March.

100 years of International Women’s Day, one million women missing for every year.

To highlight the inequalities that still exist across the globe and are responsible for 100 Million missing women as well as the continuous gap of women being represented in decision making positions in the government, the workplace and the media, there is a great Scottish-based initiative which tries to create a debate and… a massive blanket, with 100 Million knitted stitches; one for every woman missing. The great thing is that everybody can contribute to this, by knitting a simple square measuring 15 x 15 cm (6×6 inches). 100 million stitches is an awful lot though, as little as one stitch per missing woman does sound, so a lot of helping hands are needed.

So then, I challenge you my lovely readers to support this initiative. How? Simple. Sit and knit a bit. Knit a square, or two, or many. Ask your friends and colleagues to do the same. Blog about it. Follow on Facebook or Twitter. Organise a Sit and Knit a Bit evening – in your home, in a cafe, in a community centre. And while you do all of this, or some of this, remember the 100 million women missing from our world today. There are so many ways to support this, do head over to the website to get inspired.

Please send your completed squares and stories by 8th March 2011 to Jetson and Janssen, c/o Tramway, Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE. If you have any questions, you can email here. If you blog about it, please come back to this post and add a link to your post in the blog hop below (and the blog hop code to your post, to link them all together).

Crafting for the Holidays… Always a Risky Venture.

| Betsy

For anyone who is making their holiday crafts by hand, this may ring a bell*….


(by Franklin Habit)

If the above doesn’t scare you off, I have a nice and easy pattern for fingerless gloves in Craft Hope. As someone who has given these as gifts, I can tell you that they have always been well received, usually either sparking a request for the pattern or a friend to say, “Oooh! Make me some!” I’ve been wearing those exact gloves in the photo below and can tell you that they are handy and keep your fingers from getting cold while both typing and walking around the city.



Pattern (PDF) here.



(Thanks to the book’s publisher, Lark, for the PDF and Crescendoh, Mayamade and Whipup for sharing the pattern, too!)


A few linky links:
*Party Cat!!
*5 Ornaments to Make
*Crocheted Closet Hangers
*Betty Crocker Cinnamon Rolls… Veganized!
*Etched to Order: DIY Dry Goods Organization
*Candy Cane Bedroom Socks (from the Purl Bee)
*How to Repair Scratches, Tears and Spots on an Old Photograph
*Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization by Douglas Haddow (mp3)

*Bells? Holidays?! HA!



Oh, and we got some German press, too! Yay! Thanks, Emma!

The Man Who Knit: The World’s Most Awesome Indonesian Male Knitters?

| Betsy

This Monday, when I mentioned I was having a not-so-awesome day, The Man Who Knit sent me a link to their new video. I think this very act should happen every time I have a bad day… A wonderful and lovely video made by wonderful and lovely people should show up in front of me. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be a bad day, good days work, too. The first one they sent me, the second I discovered online. As always, thanks The Man Who Knit!







Like these videos? (And clearly, why wouldn’t you?) You can see some of their other videos here, here and here. You can learn more about The Man Who Knit over on their website or on Twitter.


Lest you think that these boys are alone out there being men who craft, you can find examples and links of many others here and here, which includes the story of Jim Simpson (pictured below), who knit this rug while a POW in WWII.* He’s pretty much like WWII MacGyver, if MacGyver had more free time and was even tougher. He straightened soup pot handles to use as needles and took apart sweaters and socks for the yarn to make this rug. Jim Simpson is truly inspirational and amazing.




Urban Engagement, Graffiti Knitting & A Really Cool Dog

| Betsy

If you follow what’s going on in the craft world, chances are you know about what’s been called yarn bombing, yarn storming, graffiti knitting and/or guerrilla knitting. It’s a crafty way to reclaim city space and make your town, city, village more personable and less drab. It’s so easy to get lost in a sea of concrete and brick and asphalt- Why not liven it up a bit? Crafters around the world are doing just that, covering statues, lightposts, bike rails… bus stops… the bus stop above was adorned in Tel Aviv by the group Savta Connection.

As generally happens in life, some people love it. Some people hate it. Either way you crack it, it opens up a dialogue about engaging with public space. For decades artists and kids hellbent on vandalism alike have used public space and walls as their canvas. Some of it is great, others not so much.

But what urban knitting does that street art doesn’t is bring the tactile into the equation. You can touch it and feel the different types of yarn involved. It’s taking street art just one step further. With this in mind, I was ecstatic when recently I discovered the project in the video below called “Sniff.” First of all, go watch the video… then keep reading.

Sniff from karolina sobecka on Vimeo.

Okay, now that you’ve seen the video, you know what I mean about it also taking street art a step further. And this is just the beginning! After you calm down again after the awesomeness above, maybe have a cup of tea or something, you may have some questions like…

1. Just what is going on with that dog? You can see how the did it over here.
2. Who made this? Karolina Sobecka.
3. What else has she done? By clicking over to her website you can see other projects listed on the left-hand side of the screen. I suggest Wildlife, which will both make you feel like you’re in a Disney movie and ask yourself, “What animal do I want running beside me as I drive to the grocery store?”

Or you may have totally different questions or ideas entirely, in which case I urge you to explore them. Search for solutions to the question. Brainstorm the execution of that idea. Just let your mind wander where it will, and try checking out other urban art projects like this one:


Kindred Times and Future Goodbyes from Leah Borromeo on Vimeo.



Also recommended, Sarah Corbett’s (of Craftivist Collective) essay My Right to be a Craftivist.

The post above the line was originally posted on the now defunct collaborative blog Make and Meaning on January 4, 2010.

Photo from Flickr user serenity_now.