lovely

A Quilt of Many Panties

| Betsy

How could I not post this on a Friday?

Text from here, click through for whole story:

Video from here:

Louisiana, MO. He’s a hard-core biker with a sensitive soft side. Truly, how many Harley owners do you know who stitch quilts on the side? And have you ever met a HOG lover who makes his quilts out of women’s panties? And let’s not forget this character has his nickname “Shovelhead” tattooed just below the bridge of his cap. Yep, right there on his forehead so you won’t forget his name—as if anyone could forget ol’ Shovelhead.

But back to the panty quilt…

Louis “Shovelhead” Garrett rents out the basement of his mother’s house in Louisiana, Mo. That’s where he crafts his one-of-a-kind quilts. He’s kind of picky with his panties. He’ll accept silk, acetate, nylon, even rayon. But polyester panties need not apply.

“I don’t want them cheap, dollar store, not-sexy-farm-girl panties. I want classy.”

How can you not love a story who’s headline reads “Biker stitches panty quilt? Or a video that dares to ask, “From where do you get all the panties?”


Yet another example of how craftiness has nothing to do with gender or appearance… And how it runs through the lives of many in so very many ways!



Hello, December. (Plus The Weepies and Love.)

| Betsy

It’s 12:05am EST. My friends in the UK are still sleeping. My friends to the west are still awake. Here I am welcoming in December 2009. Hello, December!

I love you for your coldness, your crispness, your stark trees that somehow remain beautiful, how you make me wrap up in a scarf, or a coat, or a blanket or a hug. Or maybe, on an especially lovely day, all of the above.

I love being able to see my breath, watch the steam rise off my morning coffee, craving fires to warm my icy feet, the hope of snow, the extra warmth of a kiss, snuggling with my furry pets, layering clothes of all different colors, pulling on big boots in the morning and the extra sweetness of the holidays.

I love for you making life more cozy and beautiful in the quiet you always bring. I love you for making me smile while (all warm and snuggly) watching lovely crafty videos like this one made for The Weepies “World Spins Madly On.” The lovely little monsters and everything else in this video is brought to you by Joseph Gaffney.



Hello, December, how I’ve missed you. Welcome back.

Please bring snow.



The Dream Rocket!

| Betsy

About a year ago, I heard that the amazing and talented Jennifer Marsh had an eye on her next project. Covering a rocket with crafted goodness and hope. After tackling an entire gas station (above) and a giant tree (below), what’s a ginormous rocket? Well, the other week, I was so excited to get an email that included the press release for covering that rocket- a project called The Dream Rocket! Following the amazing Gas Station Project and Tree Project, here’s a brand new project that’s as equally as inspiring!

From the website, this project aims to:

The Dream Rocket is reaching out to students, teachers, schools, individuals, groups and organizations to create and submit over 8,000 “Dream Theme” or “Visionary” panels that will be sewn together in Huntsville, Alabama. This historical 30,467-square foot quilt will represent dreams from all over the world. During May and June of 2010, (60 days) this quilt will completely wrap the 363-foot vertical Saturn V Rocket which stands in front of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® in Huntsville, Alabama.

I also love love love what Jennifer had to say about this endeavor, “The Saturn V Moon Rocket is the ideal example of achieving a dream that seems impossible. Whether your dream is curing cancer, going to Mars, or ending world hunger, the Saturn V is an inspiring visual reminder that any dream can come true. If we can work together to put a man on the moon, we can do anything.”

Want more information? Find out more on the Facebook page, through Flickr photos, on Twitter, and the website. You can also sign up for their newsletter here.

And for all you fellow kids of the ’80s, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® Space Camp is what the cinematic genius that is Space Camp is based on!

Let Me Ease Your Day.

| Betsy

The lovely fiber artists Rockpool Candy and My Tarpit have launched a lovely new textile intervention project called Let Me Ease Your Day.

The kickoff for the project was earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to stop there. They’ll be spreading goodness through the UK and Ireland for a bit, and then bringing their magic to the United States in the fall! Below is a bit of text taken from a Rockpool Candy blog post regarding the project’s Belfast kickoff, and above are a few photos taken from their website. Want more? Then have a look over here.

In times of financial worry, charities suffer. The public pull in their purse strings and stop giving. When the living is easy, our money is often given to charity to ease our consciences, to allow us to carry on our day to day lives without having to interact with needy causes and to feel like we’re doing something.

But I want society to be different.

As crafters we have skills that we can put to use and make a difference that is not dependent on the free change we have in our pockets.

6th July sees my LET ME EASE YOUR DAY project launch in Belfast. A movement that takes what can often been seen as a middle-class pass time, yarn bombing, and purposes it for the good by providing knitted, crocheted and sewn textiles to the people in our society who might just need a random act of kindness to ease their day.

It could be you.
You may be having a bad day.
You could be sleeping rough.
Your job may be in jeopardy.
You could be worried about your mortgage.
You could have lost your cat/your friend/your child.

All these things leave us feeling vunerable.

What if, during your day, you found a small item left for you by a stranger specifically to nurture you. It won’t solve all your problems, but it may just put a glimmer of warmth in your chest.

Now, you may argue that LET ME EASE YOUR DAY is still a middle class reaction to human loneliness, but surely, as makers, it’s a way that we can make a difference with textiles.

Big big love.