Getting radically crafty

[anthrogirl]

About a month ago, I was at the Union Square Knit-out in NYC. I noticed that there was a table giving away info on making baby's hats for charity- preemie babies in many non-western countries need hats to protect their adorable little heads. More recently, there wasa poster in the NYC subway, extolling the love of volunteer work- it showed a woman who sews and makes items for the homeless.
Many of us here talk about making things for ourselves, our families, and our friends. Yet perhaps we should start sharing ideas on how to make items for various causes. Maybe a new cause could be chosen every two months, and people can send needed homemade items to the appropriate places in their home towns or countries, but all under the rubric of 'GetCrafty'. For instance, I'm in the middle of a big crafting project for which I'm getting paid, and then I have to finish my winter gifts- but I'm already gathering yarn with which I can make hats for preemies all winter. What I want to do is save them and send them all out at once. I also want to start making items like gloves, scarves and socks for the homeless and people in hospitals, particularly children's hospitals. Many of those children get no visitors at all. The same goes for older people in old age homes.
Instead of concentrating on the trendiest 'new' crafts, wouldn't it be fun and positive to maybe start groups that go into old age homes and learn from older women how to better our skills, while helping them to feel useful and wanted? Wouldn't it be wonderful to take scraps of fabric and make quilts for sick children and babies? How about starting crafting groups that teach the mentally ill, prisoners, and the economically disadvantaged how to make things for themselves- not so much for sale, but for a sense of accomplishment and self-worth? I'm curious as to whetherthere would be any people in the NYC are that would like to get together maybe once or twice a month to chat, make fun things for a cause at a time, and send those items off to people in need, or to arrange to help others learn how to craft themselves? But not just in NYC- how many of you are willing to help create what might be called the 'Get Crafty Ladies Volunteer Brigade' and put the radical idea of helping others while helping oneself into action?
While some of this could happen in person, it could also work like a swap- we could do many of these things without even meeting each other. We ould put links to patterns and groups in need up on the forum, and share info on the best way to tackle a project. It could be that this is already happening and I'm not aware of it- I doubt I'm that original a thinker. But if it's not happening, what would be the best way of doing it?
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[craftfetish]

I think that a lot of people are probably making crafts for charity, but acting individually.

I have seen various knit-a-longs for charity projects and some knitting guilds probably incorporate charitable knitting.

But I like the idea of working together - that my one small project would be a part of a much larger get crafty donation.

Sorry, I can't make meetings in NYC - but I like the idea of using the forums.

Maybe something as simple as a stickied thread on charities that could use crafty donations.

Charities that want knitting and crochet projects are fairly easy to find (cold people need warm things).

I wonder what other groups may be out there that could use other types of crafts. Crafts may not help meet urgent needs like food/clothing/shelter (although sometimes they do) but I think that a beautiful object or something made with love can be a huge comfort to someone going through a difficult time.

I would think that scrapbookers/book binders/journal alterers would be a good match for programs that work with foster kids aging out of the system.

Or holiday ornaments or decorations for programs that work with people who lost their homes due to fires or floods or storms.

Or collages or paintings or other decorative items for programs for the recently homeless. (Habitat builds houses - does anybody decorate them?)

Anybody know of those sorts of programs?

My sister does a lot of work with Hope Closet - a group that provides prom dresses to girls who can't afford them in metro Detroit. I know that they could use fancy costume jewelry and accessories. And I know that there are programs similar to Hope Closet in other cities.

I bet Dress for Success could use jewelry and accessories too (although it would have to be business-wear appropriate).

Hmmm. I intended this to be a quick reply and here I have gone on and rambled. Oops.
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I only work to support my crafting habit.

[brdgt]

I know a lot of people participate in Supernaturale's scarf drive every year:
http://www.supernaturale.com/glitter/viewtopic.p
hp?t=25785

In addition, I have to give a shout out to Craftivism: http://www.craftivism.com/

And right here on Getcrafty, the Craftivism Blog has a TON of resources: http://www.getcrafty.com/blogs.php?user=craftivi
sm%20organizer

And here's a thread from 2004 about what Getcrafty was doing as far as Holiday Craftivism:
http://www.getcrafty.com/viewtopic.php?p=12187a>

[janaka]

i do lotsa knitting for charity. chemo caps, baby blankets, preemie caps/blankets, doggie blankets, there are so many programs to choose from - it's a wonderful thing to do - and one of the women in the atlanta knitting guild ONLY knits for charity. we also have women who do one square each to make a big ole blanket.
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[danielepea]

I was going to post a link to the Craftivism site, but I see brdgt beat me to it.

Also, my mom has been doing work with Knitters without Borders. She's doing a project with the kids in the high school she teaches at to knit toys for kids in refugee camps.

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/tsffaq.html
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D ;o)

[h_pets360]

anthrogirl, thanks for giving me a reminder to get my ass in gear.
sometimes i get distracted by the stupidest things.

[craftfetish]

[athena]

i've been making hats for save the children's caps to the capital:

http://www.savethechildren.org/capstothecapital/
index.asp

(sorry it's another knitting charity, craftfetish!).

you might be able to find listings on craigs list for stuff like art supplies for grammar schools or requests for craft teachers for kids on volunteer match.

[yardenxanthe]

There's Ugly Quilting for those who like to sew: http://www.uglyquilts.org/
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[CraftinFool]

I will add the links mentioned here to the gc craftivism blog.

Are there any other links folks may have for that blog that haven't yet been included?

Thanks!! - Jen

(also, please let me know if you know of any of the sites I link to in that blog are no longer around, I will delete the links to them).

[Nancy Flynn]

Hey all-- you read our editorial minds. Christy and I have been doing some "behind the scenes" stuff to organize a new Get Crafty charity initiative. Stay tuned to the "announcements" section for more details soon!

[CraftinFool]

[anthrogirl]

Glad to hear that! I've been busy the past few days, so I was pleasantly surprised to see al of the responses. while my life is insane right now, I'm planning on decorating some gloves over the next few months (picot crochet stitch applied to inexpensive but warm gloves) for the homeless.

I always hear about knit and crochet also- maybe someone needs to start a jewelry crafting drive? Or storybooks for kids (imagine- handmade pop-up books!)? Or toymaking, since crocheted and knitted toys seem to be popular (do we have any woodworkers out there)?

Here in NYC we have groups like Housing Works that help people set up homes for themselves while they are struggling with various diseases. If a person has a new apartment (I'm brainstorming here- there are people who have just gotten out of prison, or who are battered and starting over, or widows, etc.), simple things like potholders, dishcloths and other items would be a good way of helping out. Even a 'GetCrafty easy to make cookbook' with recipes donated by all of us from around the country and the world would be good- and copies could even be sold on ETSY, with the money going to any group that helps people, especially women and children. That would be a great way of putting feminism in action and reflect the DIY spirit of GetCrafty.

Lately I've been thinking about how each generation has its definitive craft book- the book that shows what really matters. "Our Bodies, Ourselves" could even be seen that way- it showed women how to take care of themselves. Julia Child and the Rombauers did that- they showed America how to eat, and how to dress a table, and how to entertain simply but beautifully. Back in the day there was Fannie Farmer and her Boston Cooking School cookbook, and even earlier we had Edith Wharton (The Decoration of Houses) and Mrs. Beeton (who had recipes for macaroni in the early 1800s). We have had Martha Stewart for a while, but she tends to take the simple and make it fussy and sometimes pretentious. Perhaps we need to go back a bit and do a virtual version of what our grandmothers did- they made cookbooks of recipes donated by members of local women's groups. Perhaps some of us could work on a craft version- it could include recipes and easy and inexpensive crafts? Not too trendy, maybe- some of the classic stuff that modern women ought to know so they can take better care of themselves and their families, while taking pride in their handiwork and moving away from the consumerist mentality that makes people feel small and poor when they aren't buying things they don't want or need.

Wow. That was a lot. All I mean is- how about keeping up the postings of projects while pushing that can-do spirit that is often associated with women and crafts? I'm willing to donate some time to work on such a project, and I have recipes and some easy crafts.
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[artgeek]

I haven't posted to this thread yet because I didn't feel I had anything original to contribute, just random cheerleading of everything that had been said. Now I've settled down at my computer with coffee and bread, deleted some spam from the forums, and was excited to share my thoughts...and anthrogirl has gone and read my mind.

I was looking through some old family/community cookbooks last night and thought how useful and fun it might be to have a craftista's version. Particularly the community cookbooks didn't just stop at stew and cake recipes, they also included basic info about cooking (eg, what temp is chicken done at), the community they were compiled in and household chores. I thought a craftista spin on all those things, plus info about simple crafts to enliven your home and yourself (as well as take some stress out of giftgiving) would be such a gift to a new homeowner (a target audience I think of a lot due to my experience with Habitat for Humanity) or just anyone trying to put they're life together or make do with very little.

They don't have to be big, glossy affairs either. While I <3 a beautiful craft book as much as the next lady, the cookbooks I'm referencing have a simple cardstock cover and either plastic or metal binding (though, personally, I kind of like the idea of a 3-ring binder where all the entries have holes in them, so people can choose to move the stuff most relevant to them toward the front). They're usually only printed in one or two colors, but if you look at the layout of getcrafty (which I always thought was pretty spiffy), you'll realize a lot of pretty can be managed with a limited palette.

Anyway, sorry to rehash your post, anthrogirl, but I thought I'd share how I came to the idea, too. :)
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[athena]

i love Love LOVE the idea of a getcrafty community cookbook / housekeeping primer. i definitely have a few recipes to contribute and would like to be involved in something like this.