
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.