‘Cause we got the alternative energy
For a nuclear free autonomy! (I’ve had that Combat Wombat track in my head the whole way through this project).
So a while back Katie Lee got in touch with me about this cross stitch pattern she’d designed and was planning on stitching more of to raise some cash for the Austin Yellow Bike Project. And I said ‘well hey! let’s make it into a pattern!
The Austin Yellow Bike Project is a community supported ALL-VOLUNTEER 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing human-powered transportation for the people of Austin, running a community bike shop, and educating kids and adults.
They are on a fundraising drive to set up their new headquarters. All profits from the sale of this pattern will go direct to AYBP.
So if you’re into doing anything you can to help get people out of cars and onto bikes, pop over to the Radical Rags etsy store and grab yours today!
Birthday gift for the Scumbrigade
I know I promised to update often, a promise that I haven’t really kept… But I blame the fact that it’s summer in Sweden and there’s a tropical heat wave hitting us right now. Too hot to think or manage the blogging…
But I should at least give you my latest creation, aka “the Valerie Solanas project”.
It is of course the first paragraph/sentence from solana’s SCUM manifesto, the raging text about all that’s wrong in society. You could discuss solana’s writing & thoughts for days if you wanted to – was she a complete lunatic who committed a violent crime (she shot andy warhol!) & promoted a hateful feminist philosophy? Or was she a brilliant writer/artist that got abused & mistreated by everyone & everything in her life? I’m too tired do get into that right now (maybe i’ll edit this later) but i think that, if you’re swedish, you should pick up a copy of Sara Stridsberg’s book Drömfakulteten. iI’s a beautiful odyssey into the mind of valerie, from the authors own fantasies & conception of her. Just read it.
As we come marching, marching
I’m pleased to present the first Radical Cross Stitch official collaboration!
This pattern was designed by me and has been stitched by the lovely Cross Stitch Ninja. And you wouldn’t believe how quickly she did it, I am so in awe!
This pattern has been a labour of love and is a tribute to some of the roots of creative resistance. The Bread and Roses poem and song was penned in 1911 and is most commonly associated with the women of the Lawrence Massachusetts textile strike of 1912.
This strike was a defining moment in Union history as it saw a very large working population of mostly women and immigrant workers organising themselves for better pay and conditions.
The pattern contains more about the story of the Lawrence Strike.
So if you want to get your own copy of the pattern, skip over to the Radical Rags etsy store and pick one up today! By buying one of these patterns you are supporting grassroots creative resistance for social and environmental change!
Crafting for a reason
Here’s some late night linky love. So late in fact, I didn’t finish this post until the morning!
My new favourite Etsy store is culturerevolution. Not my favourite store of all time, that’s still Jellyshoe Rebellion, who now have a Facebook Page become a Fan! Anyhoo it’s cause of this super outfit (which I’d never wear, but love anyway)
” It is made out of a recycled t-shirt and striped knit fabric saved from the scrap trash bin… Be environmentally friendly and fashionable at the same time!
Join the Revolution! Recycle, ReUse, Revolution!”
Speaking of which, when was the last time you crafters out there stopped and had a breather and thought about the processes you use to create your works of genius? Do you think about the reasons you craft? What gets you started and what keeps you making? If you’re like me and into thinking about this stuff a lot, I urge you to read “10 qualities of slow cloth” at Red Thread Studio. It just made me want to run in to my craft room and start making stuff so I could sit there and think about making stuff!
For those of you out there who like to make nice things for other people, you might want to check out a couple of posts that highlight crafting for a cause. Firstly the wonderful Mikes crew have started the Softies for Mirabel Auction. You can go start bidding on your favourite softies now and all the profits go to the Mirabel Foundation who are ACE! There’s still room for more softies. So if you want to do something for some kids who will seriously appreciate, jump over and get on board.
If softies aren’t really your thing then All Natural Me has a great list of a bunch of causes that you can craft for. I especially like the Goods for Girls idea. I’m a huge fan of reducing dependence on wasteful corporate products. So I am a huge raving fan of cloth pads.
I always thought moonpads would be yucky and surfboardy like those big horrible pads you got when you were a kid. But cloth pads are so soft and cuddly and comfy. And infinitely better for the planet. They’re easy to make too or there’s a ton of people selling them online. I recommend the Moonpads Store. Lovely product and lovely service. And you can buy seconds (which don’t really have anything wrong with them) for cheap!
And speaking of crafting for good, we can’t forget what comes before the crafting and that’s the designing. And I just found this super inspiring website that all you designers out there should be subscribing to. It’s called ’101 Things Designers Can Do To Save The Earth’. They’re up to 109, so I’m pleased they’re not limiting themselves (although there hasn’t been any posts in a little while…) There’s a ton of useful and interesting links on there and I reckon it’s definitely not just designers that will find this site useful.
Finally a bit of linky love for my own project. I’ve been busily adding more stuff to the Fabric of Resistance wiki. There’s actually a ton of pages on there now, wee! I recommend you go click on the Random Page link on the left and see some for yourself. And hopefully get inspired to add your own things. If you want to help out with a task that really needs doing, visit the community portal and look at the task list. I’m going to start doing some crafting for a cause projects next!
So there’s a ton of stuff to keep you inspired! Anyone else seen any great conscious crafty projects recently?
xox
Carnival of Green Crafts #1
The First Ever! Carnival of Green Crafts is on line now at Crafting a Green World. Go check it out, be inspired, and start working on your contributions for the next carnival!
Baby Jerseys for a cause!
As some of you know but probably most of you don’t, I live in what’s considered to be the poorest neighbourhood in Melbourne. The suburb is formerly an industrial area and is still pretty heavily dominated by industrial land. It was also formerly predominantly state housing. There was a big sell off during the Kennett years (I think) but there’s still a lot of public housing. And a lot of the housing that was sold off was bought by the people living in it.
It’s also a suburb with a significant proportion of immigrants specifically refugees. There’s a high proportion of African and Vietnamese residents (and a few kiwis!).
This suburb has a pretty bad history of neglect. There is a very high unemployment rate and low education rate. So of course substance abuse is a significant issue round these parts. And of course flowing form that is a pretty high rate of drug related theft, mostly theft but occasionally violent crime.
Despite all this, we have a lot of good stuff going on round here. The Maribyrnong River runs along the side of the suburb and there’s some lovely walks to be had along the river. We have a few good parks with lots of growing trees and good playground equipment. Our major park is undergoing a major upgrade which will see a heap more trees, more sport facilities and an indigenous welcome area.
We also have an amazing community centre which provides a space for exercise classes, playgroup and childcare, health care, community gardens, computer education and access, a tool ‘shed’ (biggest shed I’ve ever seen!) and tool library, craft groups, cooking groups, you name it we’ve probably got it.
But of course being a smaller, poorer suburb, we don’t get the investment in services that some of the bigger, richer suburbs get. So some of the older women in our community use their amazing craft skills to make items to sell to raise money. Unfortunately the small table they have in the reception area of the community centre doesn’t get much foot traffic so they don’t get seen much. So I decided to grab some and put them online.
First off I’ve got a pile of gorgeous wee baby jerseys which are all hand knitted and designed to stretch really well so they’ll last baby a while. Here’s couple but I’ve got a heap more so keep an eye on the store for more. And if you’re interested in a specific colour let me know and I’ll see what’s in stock.
I think at $15 they’re very reasonably priced, and all profits go straight to our local community.
See more in the Radical Rags Etsy Store
Margaret Wilson tribute craft
Not quite but it would be an ace present for her.
It’s from etsy seller edelweissvintage and it’s the coolest plate I’ve ever seen. Although the gavel/mallet more reminds me of a hammer. Like the old saying ‘if I had a hammer, I’d smash patriarchy… found it!’
I just adore crazy old plates. I’ve got one that I picked up in a Salvos once that was made in Hong Kong out of an old family photo, obviously a service they provide. And it’s got a badly framed photo of this 80s family looking tragically 80s. I love it. No one else in the house does so it lives in my craft room and cheers me up.
But as for this plate I reckon it’s the perfect present for a feminist politician, especially one that has been a Speaker. Or it would be a great present for me!
Anyone in the Labour Party?
My favourite things
Ooh I love the internet being full of clever people.
The Social Design Network recently held a competition called Power to the Pedal “This competition looks for ways to enhance the biking experience with designs for accessories or add-ons to existing bikes.”
There’s some great entries and I urge you to check them all out. But my absolute favourite combines my love of bikes, bubbles and gardening.
It’s called Bloom and it’s a pedal powered bubble delivery seed distributor!
The Bloom device is meant to be a subversive and inspirational tool for our concrete jungles. Similar to the tuft of a dandelion as the wind carries the seedling, we propose a way of dispersing seedlings with bubbles and bicycling. Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination , you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green “fringe” to our sidewalks and streets.
Using natural ingredients; vegetable based soap and seeds, combine together to make a dissolving “nugget”. The resulting mixture resides in a reservoir inside Blooms aluminum housing. The housing is attached to the lower frame near the rear tire, similar to a exhaust pipe. Upon pedalling, air enters the front of Bloom and spins a pinwheel inside which picks up a small drop of the seed/bubble mixture and blows a bubble carrying a seed out the back as “exhaust”.
Our inspiration comes from the tale of Johnny Appleseed, where he would spread seeds everywhere he went planting apple trees for future generations.
Brought to you by the geniuses of the week Matthew Boyko and Christina Ng.
I SO WANT ONE!!!!!!!!
props: rebel:art
Friends of the Earth Knitting Circle
(although I’m sure they wouldn’t object to cross stitch)
