tea

Raising Awareness Stitch By Stitch.

| Betsy

Many moons ago, I volunteered for The Prince’s Trust in Watford, Hertfordshire. As for the town of Watford, let’s just say my English friends mocked me as much as I would get here in the US if I moved to New Jersey. Some places just get a bad rap. Although living in a YMCA on a hall of girls training to be cruise liner beauticians was not the best experience, I did learn how bright those spotlighty things on helicopters are when one arrived late one night near the YMCA. It was there to help break up a riot in town. Good times, indeed. Moving on…

So, memory lane and all, I was especially touched to learn today that a bunch of elderly Watford knitters (and a few from Elstree) got together and broke the Guinness Book of Records for largest knitted tea cosy. The squares for the cosy were knitted by local knitters along with submissions from knitters around the world. Way to go Watford (and Elstree) knitters! I was even more touched when I read that they were knitting the cosy “to help raise awareness of loneliness concerning elderly people!” This effort was part of BUPA’s delightfully named ‘communi-tea week.’ How delightfully English sounding, no?

I think every nation should band together, pick a week and make an effort to hang out and drink tea, especially as there are so many people out there who could use a little company! “More than a third of older people in the UK, including half of all women aged over 65, now live alone. It is a frightening statistic but Communi-tea Week aims to bring together those who may be struggling on their own by reaching out over a friendly cup of tea.”

What I like the most about this tea cosy is that it shows how with a little creativity, you can use your crafts for good in all sorts of ways. While the tea cosy wasn’t protesting for a ban on pesticides or to stop child labor, it was a project formed to raise an awareness about a different sort of problem. Sometimes problems such as elderly individuals and loneliness get ignored in light of giant disasters, so it’s nice to see a week arranged to raise awareness for them. Hmm…maybe it’s about time to invite some friends ’round for a cuppa and conversation. Just as long as someone brings the HobNobs, I’ve got enough tea to caffeinate, well… New Jersey, perhaps.

Do you know how long the fastest game of Operation is? Or the fastest time someone can pluck a turkey? People are awesome.

teatime wisdom and bringing in the holidays.

| Betsy

As I was winding down from the day, I went to make a cup of bedtime tea. It’s starting to get really cold at night here in North Carolina, which means that nighttime tea is practically mandatory before going to sleep. Tonight’s tea was extra wonderful as considering what I wrote about yesterday, I found its accompanying wisdom pretty much perfect. Maybe it should become mandatory for all tea to be attached to little labels of awesomeness?

Even though I try to not start celebrating the December holidays until the tail end of November, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go eat homemade butterscotch cookies while watching Julian Koster sing carols the other night at a friend’s house. Julian is currently on a caroling tour of the United States, and if you’re lucky, he might just play at a town near you. For more details, see here.

I highly recommend starting the winter holidays with an in-house caroling session by a traveling musician, musical saw optional. Even though he arrived in a 4-door sedan instead of some sort of fairytale holiday sleigh, Julian was as magical as ever. I’m already wondering my Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums are.

Lately:
*Cloth and Culture Now
*Design Altruism Project
*Dreaming of running around St Kilda
*Trellick skirt kit from Clothkits (via Needled)
*Whose Craft Is It, Anyway? by Diane Gilleland and Rachel Hobson (via Murketing)
*Claire Joyce’s new website…finally her glitter paintings up close! (via Extreme Craft)
*Amazingly brave article about my friend’s little sister, Olympic swimmer Margaret Hoelzer’s childhood sexual abuse and how she plans to devote her life to helping abused children

i <3 fridays...

| Betsy

It’s Friday afternoon here in London, and currently my attention is divided between dancing to the new Peaches album, how delicious tea is with soy milk and the political importance of activism in society. Weird.

As some of you may have already noted, I’m in graduate school at the moment. This means that my life is all about sociology and making connections between things. I found this in my notebook after one lecture where I was supposed to be writing about multiculturalism and its relationship to both cultural and economic development:

unhappiness -> activism -> ideas, creativity -> craft

I don’t know if that has any relevance to you, but it sure made sense to me.

Regardless, for those who are craftily inclined, check out this from the amazing people at getcrafty. And while you’re staying in on those cold cold nights, be productive in front of the television, ok?

To borrow from the vernacular, people, get yer craft on!