Spring Break
Don’t you love how the first flowers of spring are just so little and peepy?
xox
International Day of Solidarity
Solidarity in the Kulin Nations
FED SQUARE, 2pm
Melbourne
Global Day of Action Saturday 30th August 2008
We demand the unconditional freedom of the people who are facing charges as a result of the state terror raids on 15 October 2007.
Attempts by the Police to lay charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act (TSA) failed but people are still facing politically motivated charges under the Arms Act. These charges are the result of a racist operation.
Police used the Terrorism Suppression Act and over $8 million to harass and punish political activists who they saw as supporting Tino Rangatiratanga.
The Police have arrested a few people but we’re all targeted. The arrests of 15 October are aimed at intimidating and frightening all of our communities and cannot be tolerated.
We therefore call on everyone to stand up against this attack on our communities. We support the global day of action on 30 August 2008 and are mobilising to demand the unconditional freedom of the people facing charges as a result of the state terror raids.
Brought to you by LASNET & In solidarity with Oaxaca Political prisoners
For more info on the Global Day of Action, check the Indymedia Feature.
You can also support the arrestees by buying a hand printed copy of the poster form the Garage Collective, pictured at the beginning of this post. Details here.
Anyone Can…
Yay for collaborative ziney goodness!!
The people at Melbourne Street Press are producing wonderful things, you should check it out. And while you’re at Sticky, look out for Hoopla!
Yay for clever people! Yay for self publishing! Yay!
xox
thoughtcrime ink coomperatition
Those awesome people at thoughtcrime ink are running a design competition/cooperation aka coomperatition to help raise funds. They’re looking for people to design some tshirts to help expand their range. And there’s prizes! Yip, if you’re one of the top four chosen by the community you get $100 (and more, check the website for details). And not only will you be FAMOUS but you’ll be supporting an awesome community doing awesome things to help make this world less screwed up.
Does it get any better?
And to inspire you to keep it real, check this ace Frank Chimero poster I recently found at Groundswell. Had me in stitches!
Hoopla #3 Call for Contributions
Hoopla #3 is now in production and we’re looking for more contributions. Hoopla is the world’s most revolutionary craft zine and has a global audience and distribution network. After an initial foot in the water to see if there would be an interest in such a zine and discovering that there indeed is, Hoopla will now be offered quarterly. And it’s gonna get a bit flasher!
Contributors get a free copy, website links in the zine and a 25% discount rate for all future issues. And yes, this applies to contributors to earlier issues, I’ll be in touch to let you know how it works.
The theme of Hoopla 3 is ‘Radical Inspiration’. We want to hear and see what it is that drives people to make political craft.
Contributions are welcome in the following forms:
Opinion pieces
Craft action reports
Patterns and tutorials
Pictures of finished craft
Contributions may be accepted in the following forms:
Poetry (completely over to editorial whim, don’t get your hopes up)
Contributions are never accepted in the following forms:
Advertising (ick)
We’d also like to hear from anyone that wants to offer any of the following skills: graphic design/layout, distribution, proofing. Same deal goes for the contributor benefits.
If you have something that you want to contribute that doesn’t fit in with the theme, get in touch and run it by us. It might still be suitable or it might be just perfect for the next issue!
Submissions are due by September 19 by email. If you are planning a contribution, please get in touch and let us know so we can start planning space. The planned release date for this issue is September 30.
Braybrook Rules
In a continuing series about how ace the suburb we live in is..
Most people in Melbourne haven’t even heard of Braybrook. Which has it’s advantages, but this part of town is worth promoting.
The Quang Minh Buddhist Temple is the coolest place to visit. It’s perched on the edge of the Maribyrnong River and is the hub of the most beautiful community. My top tip for a family adventure on a Sunday afternoon is to visit for some of their yummy pho. In fact, visit tomorrow and you can participate in the Vu Lan Festival which is the Vietnamese Mothers Day.
And if you visit Quang Minh, you’ll be guaranteed to meet Tom, who is quite possibly the friendliest person I have ever met. And he’s also quite crafty. The photos at the top of this post are of Tom wearing his custom made safety vest (it’s bright orange in real life). ‘Cause it’s all about community! Respec’ Tom!
Quang Minh Temple is one of the most positive places you can visit. I love one of the latest stories on their website “Record Rainfall, Double Happiness”. Beautiful.
We go there quite often on a Sunday, if you’re in the hood and planning a visit, let us know, we might just see you there.
xox
Glove Love
My darling bought himself some cheap gloves for keeping his hands warm on the chilly ride to and from work. And being cheap gloves, they started to come apart. I thought I could darn them up but by the time I got to them, they’d unravelled quite badly.
Now I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to fixing the finger tip of a glove which has a big hole in it. So I just made it up as I went along. I folded a small piece of calico in half and stuck it in the glove. The I did some kind of random stitch around the hole, ensuring I tied down all the ravely bits. Then I turned it inside out and did the same thing around the edge of the calico. And I had a bit of thread left, so I added a bit of sweetness.
This is an ultimate hack job, but one I think turned out really well!
Change For A Ten
Anyone who’s worked with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds knows how powerful art can be. As the old saying goes ‘those who lack imagination cannot imagine what is lacking’. None know this more so than the wonderful people at Art 180. Based in Virginia, their mission is to turn kids’ lives around 180 degrees.
To celebrate 10 years, Art 180 is running a wonderfully creative fundraiser which is great for crafters. They’re asking everyone to send them a real $10 and a $10 of your own design to show the kind of change you’d like to see in the community.
You can check all the details and download a submission template off their website. And check out the blog for contributions they’ve already received.
Props: Another Limited Rebellion.
I Wish I Could Knit
So I could make these
And they’re super practical as well as being super awesome looking. If you need to knit something for a baby, I totally recommend making these.
The pattern is free and can be found at Chopped Tomatoes.
350 Craft Comp – Voting Time!
A while back I talked about the competition that Craftster.org was running with 350.org. Well, it’s voting time! You should absolutely go and check it out and vote for your favourite. I can’t chose a favourite ’cause there’s so many good entries!