Editor's Letter
it's all good

Welcome to the *new* getcrafty.

We’ve got a new design, new content, and new forums and the brand new Craft-Up, the online place to meet other crafty folks and then get together in the real world!

But even with all this newness, there is one thing that remains the same: getcrafty is about inspiration.
As Jeannette Winterson writes: “Whatever it is that pulls the pin, that hurls you past the boundaries of your own life into a brief and total beauty, even for a moment, it is enough.” I believe that craftiness and making stuff, in whatever small way that we do it, be it baking brownies from scratch or cupcakes from a mix, can be the pin that “hurls you past the boundaries of your own life.” I think living life creatively is the key to living joyfully.

That said, getcrafty is not about a bunch of shoulds. It’s not about perfection. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. My son sleeps in the living room. I work out of my bedroom. At the moment, said bedroom/home-office is littered with clothing and there’s a pile of sewing projects at my feet that I’ve been meaning to get to for three weeks now. I have a closet full of half-finished crafts and a collection of badly knit scarves! One day I make my kid faro pasta from Italy and creamed spinach for dinner, the next night it’s frozen French fries. OK, so they’re organic. But you get the picture: I ain't no Martha. (Not that I don't love her. I do. I really do. I'm just not that organized.)

At getcrafty, we try not to feel bad about the things we don't do (there is, of course, guilt, but that's my own personal saga). Instead, we like to celebrate all the things we do do. You sewed your own denim, A-line skirt? Good for you! Grilled up some soy-wasabi salmon? Hurrah! Bought a bunch of sparkly stickers to decorate your calendar? Now that's crafty!

See. It's all good. No one really cares that you aren't doing it all, darling. Just have fun. Discover some things you like. Get a hobby. Make a nice house. Eat good food. Figure out how you want to live.

When it comes to getting crafty, you get to mix-n-match. You bake your own bread and order take out. You crochet a scarf and wear it with a store-bought coat. Whatever. If you like to craft, to make things by hand, to be in touch with the magic of creating , then do it. If not, who cares?

Getcrafty, as the hub of the new domesticity, is about combining careers and cooking and crafts and family and going out and staying in and fashion and home decorating and, of course, politics, books and philosophy. It's about not having to choose between being a feminist or a domestic goddess or an intellectual or an artist. It's about using powertools, people. It's about messing things up. Not playing by the rules. Making home ec hip. Am I making sense?

OK. That's it. Got to go pick up the kid from babycamp and get dinner on the table. Hope you like the site. Stay tuned for more stories, more photos and more craftiness.

Sincerely,

Jean Railla