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Full Circle. (Kinda Sorta)

| Betsy

I first started really thinking about knitting and its relation to community and theory when I was in graduate school at Goldsmiths College and therefore involved with the Centre for Community and Urban Research, headed by Michael Keith.

During that year I fell in love with ethnography and Walter Benjamin and felt literally as though my head was cracked open. It was the first time that I understood that I wasn’t the only one who was fascinated by the dance and beat of the city, or hell, even knew there was an almost audible tone separate to each city. Or energized by discovering how people interacted with their communities and totally infatuated with the pulse that was almost palpable on the streets of London whether it was early morning before setup at Spitalfields Market or trying to maneuver around people in Oxford Circle or lost on purpose on the streets surrounding Brick Lane.

One of the first books we read that year was The Fall of Public Man by Richard Sennett. I remember talking about the book excitedly with my friend Katherine in our favorite coffeeshop across from the college. When I started talking about my dissertation topic, on knitting, community and DIY, I was wondering if I was actually onto something or had taken one too many long walks on the Thames alone.

I was well surprised when I read that earlier this year, Sennett wrote a book about crafts, simply titled The Craftsman. And I was even more surprised when an interview I did about my craft book, Knitting for Good! was on the same radio show this week as an interview with Sennett on his craft book! The second I found out, I was immediately reminded of the day we went around the table at the Centre and told our advisor (mine was Michael Keith) about the ideas we had for our dissertation…many of them based on the theories and books we had read during the previous year. I still remember several of me peers saying, “Knitting?!? Really?!?”

Four years later, Sennett and I are interviewed about crafts on the Wisconsin Public Radio show To the Best of Our Knowledge along with Handmade Nation’s Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl. The show, “Reconsidering Craft,” can be listened to online here. What a strange, small world.

Rediscovered The Faint this morning. Just what I needed.

Flow.

| Betsy

I have this photo of Bikini Kill on my desktop right now.

It’s been a nice reminder back to the days of singing along to 7″s up in my room, when it seemed like music could really, honestly change the world.

Lately, as part of talking about the book, I’ve been mentioning more and more about what inspired me when I was younger. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I discovered bands like Bikini Kill and record labels like Dischord and K Records, I was beginning to think independently of my peers, my family, the media. Not that I was necessarily disagreeing with them, just that I was beginning to form my own opinions and theories and ideas. I was beginning to understand that there were options and different routes to take and adventures to be had.

Tonight, I had an event at the lovely Quail Ridge Books and was reminded of all the energy and possibilities I felt were possible way back in those early days. It was a delightful experience with what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “flow” where the conversation and questions were organic and people were telling me about the most incredible fiber and creative work they have been doing.

It was a moment I couldn’t have ever imagined jumping around in my bedroom shouting along with Huggy Bear’s “Her Jazz,” undoubtedly my favorite song of that era. During those moments of discovering that it’s okay to question and dream and journey, I wondered if I would ever meet anyone else would feel the same way. I mean, I knew they were out there, I just didn’t know how to find them.

Somehow, I guess I got lucky, because all of these amazingly awesome smart, crafty and interesting people keep coming into and enriching my life for the past few years with their conversations, far flung knowledge, skills and ideosyncrasies. Each and every one of them makes me glad I kept singing loud and questioning and asking and dreaming and wondering all those days alone and didn’t stop, because now it’s not just me and my 7″s. I just never would have guessed I needed all those years of fighting and yelling and questioning and feeling alone in order to find them.

Speaking of lovely people, if you missed my interview with KPFK earlier this evening, you can find the podcast for the December 10 show here! There are 3 great interviews on before me, and then I’m on around 40 minutes in! Thanks so much, Feminist Magazine!

Now In Stereo.

| Betsy

This Christmas card, from Fine Cell Work is by far, my favorite Christmas card this year. Maybe even of all time.

I like the humanity it brings to what is normally thought as inhumane or deviant. I like that it highlights a part of our communities that might have been forgotten about, people who might have been forgotten about. I like how it communicates quietly that the holidays just aren’t for the ones who are out shopping in malls or wrapping presents and setting up the tree.

The holidays are for the lonely, the forgotten, the abused, the ill, too, and not just for those who try to make this holiday “the best one yet!” And they’re not about money and acquisitions and wish lists. They’re about recognizing love and joy and kindness…wherever they might find you.

Fine Cell Work is an charity that teaches needlework to inmates and sells their work. From their site,

Fine Cell Work is a Registered Charity that teaches needlework to prison inmates and sells their products. The prisoners do the work when they are locked in their cells, and the earnings give them hope, skills and independence.

Savings reduce the likelihood of offenders returning to crime. Prisoners often send the money they earn from Fine Cell Work to their children and families, or use it to pay debts or for accommodation upon release.

The inmates are all instructed by volunteers, many of whom have been taught at the Embroiderer’s Guild, the Royal School of Needlework and the world of professional design. Once trained, they can be responsible for difficult commissions done to deadlines, and support other inmates who are still learning.

Much of their finished work is traditional, but my favorite piece is a cushion of a prison calendar. After going to a sale of theirs in London a few years back, it’s been a pleasure to watch their online shop grow in designs and medium. Their work is always well-done, so I wasn’t surprised to see this excellent holiday card pop up in my inbox!



And in book news:

Today! (December 9)
*An interview I did with Open Mind was broadcast, and will be repeated again on December 14!

Tomorrow! (December 10)
*I’ll be talking about how you can use your craftiness for good at 7.30 in Raleigh at Quail Ridge Books!
*After the event, I’ll be doing a live interview with the wonderful Feminist Magazine on KPFK in Los Angeles, which will be broadcast online and on Pacifica Radio! I’m the last person interviewed on the show tomorrow, so listen up around 10.40 EST!

lovely little surprises.

| Betsy

Sometimes it’s good to ride in the countryside. The other weekend we came across Shangri-La in Prospect Hill, North Carolina while we were delivering cupcakes to a wedding at a firehouse.

It was the best thing to discover on an otherwise slate-free Saturday afternoon. We spent the next 45 minutes wandering around this little tiny village wondering about the man who crafted it, what he was hoping to build, what his vision for Shangri-La was.

It’s amazing what you can find when you keep your eyes open.

From Roadside America:
Henry L. Warren was a retired tobacco farmer who kept building this collection of 27 leprechaun-sized creations until his death at age 84 (in about 1977).

Shangri-La was conceived by Henry in 1968. The first few buildings were constructed in his side yard next to his house, and the miniature town kept growing. At the same time, he used his creative energy to incorporate 11,000 arrowheads into the walkways of his home.

A sign in front says “Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man.” His wife told us: “As long as he had a cigarette and a Coca-Cola, he’d keep building.”


Also, check out this lovely review of Knitting for Good! over here at Supernaturale!

leaves, knitting awesomeness and the marshall tucker band.

| Betsy

Above you will see a photo from the November issue of Ode magazine, which I took in the bookstore, while it was on the shelf with people looking at me weird. You can read the review online right here. Thank you Ode! Thanks also to my friend Jeff for taking this photo of me on his front porch one afternoon in Durham!


Today is one of those days when it’s lovely and perfect to sit outside drinking tea with your feet up and no shoes on, even if your neighbor insists on listening to The Marshall Tucker Band* really loud and leaves keep falling on your keyboard and in your tea. I secretly wish it was like this outside everyday.

In knitting news, I found the most amazing article about how knitting can change lives today! It’s the story of my new favorite knitter, Tonks (aka Jessi Rose), and how knitting both saved and changed her life.

After battling mental health issues for years, Tonks saw a way out as she planned to commit suicide one night after the mandatory group therapy class at the halfway house where she was living. What she didn’t plan, however, was to learn how to knit during the class. As she watched the slow and steady progress of the instructor’s work and picked up the needles herself, she began to see how she could slowly rebuild her life bit by bit, just as the scarf progressed row by row. That was 7 years ago.

She is now preparing for her full knitted wedding vow renewal ceremony in 2010. You can follow her progress on this project on her blog! Go Tonks! Her story is one of hope and persistence and love and creativity that makes my heart smile.


*“In My Own Way” seems to his favorite, generally closely followed by his second favorite, Can’t You See.