radical knitting

This Post Brought to You By the Word “Lovely.”**

| Betsy

This has already made the internet rounds, so this is an “in case you missed it” scenario. Ah, The Colbert Report + radical knitting = awesome. Oh, and I’ve been extra lucky to have lots of lovely crafty links come my way lately, so some of the bestest are below the video.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Nailed ‘Em – Radical Knitting
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

My favorite link snippet was this poem written by young knitter Emily Powell, who formed a friendship with her teacher over knitting. It is hands down the best knitting poem I have ever read. Ever. Way to go, Emily! Link below quote.

Knitting is like reading a book. The yarn flowing through your hands are the thoughts flowing through your mind. The speed you are knitting is the speed you are reading. The amount you knitted is the amount you read. The color of your yarn is the excitement of your book. The curiosity of your knitting is the mystery of your book. The clinking of your needles is the voice in your book. After that, it is like your friend’s new house. She goes in through the front door and around the back. See peeks through the window and off jumps her brother Jack. Then it goes back. The end of your knitting is the end of your book.

— Emily Powell


*Raptivism!
*Hospital valet knits for good
*Graffiti written by Tower of London prisoners
*Facebook allows Egyptian women to become political activists
*Lovely review of Donna Druchunas’ new book, Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, Ireland
*Woman trying to collect 10,000 handmade cards to send to overseas troops
*Interesting article on church flipping its flag to bring awareness to gun violence
*Wonderful tale of how knitting formed a friendship between student and teacher
*And, check out this sweet Knitting for Good! review on the CanadianLiving.com crafts blog! Awesome!
*Lovely story from WWII about a woman who received a blanket that kept her safe



**Along with using the non-word “bestest” on purpose, there is also a ridiculous overuse of the word “lovely” in this post. If Sesame Street can have a Letter Of The Day, why can’t I have a word?

rebel, rebel in the rain.

| Betsy


It’s raining and I’m sleepy and trying to enjoy the last few minutes of my Sunday night. I’m lucky enough to have a wide view from my room of the lightning show above me, and I’m thinking it’s the perfect way to end the day. Although I know that if we had thunderstorms every night, I would soon take them for granted and resent them, cursing the sound of the rain instead of allowing it to lull me to sleep.

I’m wearing paint-stained jeans, my grandfather’s belt, a thrifted Kern River t-shirt from 1986 and a shrug to keep the chill off which seems damn near inexplicable in North Carolina in late July. I know that changing into my pajamas signals the official end of the weekend, so I’m protesting.

It’s been one of those hot, sticky, summer weekends perfect in its simplicity and sweetness, with lovely late nights, good friends, homegrown tomatoes, getting lost in tiny towns, lengthy shavasanas, strong cups of coffee and long talks with the cicadas battling to drown out our voices.

Also this weekend, The Guardian had a knitting supplement today! I was happy to be one of the 13 knitters chosen to knit a pattern created by Mazz (Marisa Turmaine) who was profiled. Mazz made the news a few months ago after the BBC told her she couldn’t offer her knitted Dr. Who patterns on her website thus making the theme for the supplement “rebel knitting.” The photographs and blurbs of those of us asked to knit one of Mazz’s patterns for the supplement, are here.

Lately:
*Making sheets into skirts
*Dreaming of abstract knitting
*Happy to see people I know learn new things
*Listening to Lykke Li and The Gossip entirely too loud
*For the Love of Light: A Tribute to the Art of the Polaroid
*Finding time to watch Randy Pausch’s last lecture. (Thanks for the reminder, Garth!)
*Getting ready to cheer on the Olympics in just a few short weeks! Yay! (Especially excited to root for a good friend’s little sis, Margaret Hoelzer!)
*Fabric of Resistance, an amazing herstory project by the people who brought you Radicalcrossstitch.com! Awesome!

And now, to fall asleep to the sound of rain.