video

You are so very beautiful – the video!

| Betsy

Sometimes when you come up with a project it’s hard to tell people what it’s all about. Therefore, I hired Janice Smith of Big Dog Little Bed to film a little video explaining craftivism and You Are So Very Beautiful.

This project has involved stitchers from all over the world, for which I am so thankful for! The stitches in the video are Olisa Corcoran, Katherine Bates Ruiz (and her adorable son, Michael!), Rebecca Gibson and Barbara Berry. 

Janice came over to my house one day (that’s my grandparents’ chair that I’m sitting on, the one I used to line up my dolls and stuffed animals on when I was a kid, and, yes, there is a Sadie cameo!) to talk to me about the project and craftivism, which was a lot of fun! 

She also followed us around Durham as we put out signs for You Are So Very Beautiful as well! 

For the project, I’ve even made a wee little site, youaresoverybeautiful.com. If you hop over there, you can sign up for 15 Days of Stitched Affirmations to be delivered straight to your inbox! (You can also sign up directly for the list here!) 

Knitting Video (Pimping Natural Gas)

| Betsy

I wish my house suddenly transformed into the house in this video. I wouldn’t have to wear socks 24/7, my toys would look even cooler than they already do, and my radiator would be extra warm. This was forwarded on by a high school friend, thank you Facebook!





Some of my favorite lovely crafty/creative things of late:
*Caroline Hwang
*Dave Blumenkrantz
*Ink and Spindle
*Empower Playgrounds
*Bead For Life (Thanks Mary!)
*The Creative Lives (via Hwang’s blog)
*Blown glass with knitted wire by Emmy Gai Palmer


P.S. Need to find pattern for tiny lovely knitted alligator!

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.



“We’re Rock and We’re Knit”

| Betsy

Even though I’m not entirely sure what is going on, words cannot fully express how much I love this video. Dudes, yarn, rock. Basically all you need, no? Just kidding. You also need coffee. But anyway, I like that this video shows Indonesian men crafting and enjoying the heck out of it. Bonus points for their t-shirts that say “The Man Who Knit.” Brilliant!





Want more craft from Indonesia?

Tobucilhandmade.blogspot.com is a great place to start. They can be followed on Twitter here.

A little bit about Indonesia & craftivism: More than a year ago, I got an email from a PhD student asking if I knew anyone in Bandung, as they were working on some sort of library/community center. While I’m not sure it’s totally true, but when he wrote, “I thought it would be neat to know that you are inspiring young people in Indonesia,” I was gobsmacked. He was referencing an interview with Tarlen Handayani, which if you read Malay, you can read here. The center he was referring to was Tobucil & Klabs, which is the website listed above and where the video is from! Small world!

The blog has put together a lovely list of international crafty links here but it’s a shame there isn’t more craftiness online from places like Indonesia. Or is it that I just haven’t found them yet?

*Although, I will say that the book Yarn Bombing exposed me to so much international knitting groups. More to come on that soon.*

Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home…

| Betsy

The video below came in my weekly roundup of news from Elephant Journal. I think it’s made me love ladybugs even more than I already did. When I was a child, I used to squee in delight whenever I found a ladybug catching a ride on me, slowly pottering its way up my arm or down my leg or circling my wrist. If my mother was around, she would sing the nursery rhyme as we watched it go this way and that until we decided it was time for the ladybug to go along on its merry way. Then came time to pick it up gingerly and place it somewhere safely on the ground.

Now when a ladybugs hops a ride on me I no longer (audibly) squee, but still take a moment to watch it plodding along past freckles, moles and the occasional scar wondering where it’s off to on its grand adventure. Have you ever seen them en masse like this? Absolutely breathtaking. And yes, it, too, made me smile…and softly squee.

5D and EX1 Lady Bug Swarm from Michael Ramsey on Vimeo.