Crafting for Charity « Crafter by Night

Crafting for Charity:

I like writing. It makes me think about things, and be more aware. It’s nice.
I have a few charity-related items to post I’ve run across.

1) One is a swap – the Stamping Out Alzheimer’s Charity Fat Book Swap (via).

2) A news item – Quilters’ handiwork speaks volumes to soldiers hurt in Iraq.

3) A fundraiser – Fiberart for the American Cancer Society by Virginia Spiegel (her stuff, by the way, is amazing. You should really take a look).

Do you know what I think the best thing about charity and crafting is? Crafting is something people generally do because it brings joy to their lives (for example, this woman for whom quilting is a source of joy). And in many cases, it seems like crafts bring joy to people to whom they are given. The fit seems , natural – joy in making and joy in receiving.

I’m always particularly struck by how many times I see quilting and knitting referenced in regard to charity. I think this is because quilts and knitted items are very comforting by their very nature. By giving a quilt or knitted item, you are giving comfort by virtue of the materials, or the warmth it provides, or the knowledge of the care and work that went into it, and often the beauty of the item.

Makes me want to crochet something for everyone, thinking about it that way. ‘Scuse, have to get back to work on those scarves and afghans for Christmas now!

Charity for … you know, random stuff

October 16, 2007 at 11:27 pm | Posted in Crafting for Charity | Leave a comment

Currently listening to Putumayo’s Music from the Coffee Lands. I love this stuff. Next up is Music from the Chocolate Lands. Just recently discovered Putumayo (where have I been?) via their Internet radio shows. So pleased. What, not heard of Putumayo? It’s a group (non-profit) that introduces more cultural music to theworld. Very enjoyable.

OK – to the crafting! So, I have not been to Craftster enough. However, I am beginning to solve that problem. One of my most recent discoveries is the forum for Charity. There are all sorts of fun ideas there and possibilities for charity, some of which I’ve posted before like Afghans for Afghans, and some of which I’d never even thought of before like soft cloth for ferrets.

I saw several people consider on the forum consider ideas for running an Etsy shop with donated items. The sale of donated items would benefit charity. I think this seems like a stunningly good idea, and something I might yet do myself one day. Some people are already doing this:

Items for Autism/Aspergers Awareness from Crystal Flipz designs.
Jek in the Box is offering purple items for October, which is Lupus Awareness Month (that’s one of the items – a cozie for glasses/ipod/etc there on the right).
There are a bunch of people offering items for Breast Cancer Awareness, which is also in October.

I’m thinking of doing monthly giveaways for various awarenesses. Pretty much every month is some sort of awareness month for something. What I give away would be something that benefits charity by its purpose – like the items from Jek in the Box. I don’t know – it’s just a half-baked idea. Anyone like it? Anyone have any more ideas about it? Suggestions?
Speaking of giveaways, have you heard about Moby Gratis? Moby’s put up 65+ songs on his website that are free to download for noncommercial or non-profit films/shorts/videos. Pretty awesome. Anyway, if you have a need – what a great resource!

Social consciousness rambling

October 9, 2007 at 10:02 pm | Posted in Crafting for Charity, Indie!, Why craft? | 2 Comments

Consciousness, y’all. Awareness. Thoughtfulness. I believe in it. And it’s why I talk about crafters, independent artists and small sellers all the time. It’s also, in large part, why I work for a non-profit organization. I like to think about what my time, energy and money supports. And I want to do what I say I believe in. Forgive me while I ponder that a minute…

When I go shopping, sometimes it’s hard.

When I purchase something, I ponder where my hard-earned money goes. I wonder what the company is putting my money toward. I wonder if what I bought was worth what I paid. Was the quality everything I desired? Whose pockets did I just line? Did the worker(s) who actually made the item actually get any of the money that I paid for it? Does the company who sold it to me, or who made it, have business practices I agree with?

We all have priorities, right? For some, finding the lowest-cost item is THE one and only priority. But for many people – in fact an increasing number of people – it’s important to support certain business practices and models, and price becomes a less important, or perhaps a secondary consideration.

Many businesses these days are finding out that operating according to certain “socially-conscious” ideas is really attractive to their customers. This is why you see a Subaru commercial on TV that touts its environmentally pristine, landfill-free plant in Indiana. Subaru isn’t advertising their cheap cost – they’re telling you that they’re eco-friendly and American. They’re selling to people whose priorities and values are based on more than just cost.

i think Indie Shopping is the best way I know of to be a responsible consumer. I know, for example, that the money I spent went to the maker. I often know whether the maker is ecologically conscious. I know who owns the business, and sometimes something of their story. I have, in general, a much greater chance of knowing that my hard-earned dollars got spent responsibly, and aren’t supporting things I don’t like.

Here I am, rambling on… so I guess I should at least say that this whole train of thought was started when I roamed by the outfit Marmalade Pink. Marmalade Pink is “a co-operative of online women-owned businesses supporting socially conscious shopping.”

Their definition of “socially conscious shopping” is a bit different than mine – their definition is sustainable, eco-friendly products, while I think that choosing to purchase from, say, a woman-owned business or an independent business is also socially conscious. That Wiki article I linked to above thinks a little differently about what social consciousness is. Perhaps my definition is influenced by pop culture! But I think, and you may disagree, that what it comes down to is that “socially conscious” really means “what are your priorities apart from money?”

We all have to think about money – where it comes from, where it’s going. But it doesn’t have to mean that we just fling it about carelessly. When you pay for things, you support their existence, you say “I agree with what you’re doing – keep on going, I’ll support you.” The question is – right now, are you saying what you think you’re saying?

Crafting for Charity: Various bits

September 25, 2007 at 9:24 pm | Posted in Conference/Fair, Crafting for Charity | 4 Comments

Oh no! I in my brilliance forgot to post that last Friday was World Alzheimer’s Day and that I’d seen a couple things craft-wise about it. I’ve kind of kept track since I posted about the Alzheimer’s Quilt Initiative a few weeks ago. Do good intentions count?

In other news, I noted that the upcoming Maker Faire in October here in Austin, Texas has given a nod to giving/charity via FirstGiving, a website where you can start a fund for a nonprofit. The Maker Faire will have a FirstGiving booth on hand.

[Note: I've taken off my information about giving, because Alison from FirstGiving stopped by my blog, and you can read more (and better!) information about it in her comment! Hi Alison! Just on another note, the nonprofit that I work for is on FirstGiving - I haven't figured it all out yet, but it seems like a really neat site!]

Teddies for Tragedies On a side note, can I say how exciting it is that the Maker Faire is approaching?

Finally, this week’s charity – this charity is in the business of collecting & delivering knitted orcrocheted teddy bears for children that have been involved in tragedies of some sort in Lebanon, Romania, Costa Rica and Brazil.

This site, Teddies for Tragedies, is a Canadian operation inspired by an English operation that began in the 1980s. There is a pattern on the website (use theirs, please!), and some pictures.

What neat things people do to help others feel better!

Crafting for Charity: Quilts of Valor

September 18, 2007 at 3:25 pm | Posted in Crafting for Charity, Fabric-Related | 1 Comment

QOV Icon The front of the Quilts of Valor website says, “This foundation is not about politics. It’s about people.” It’s part of the mission statement, too. And looking at these labors of love, I can see what they mean.

I think that’s an interesting trend in the sites I’ve seen that use some sort of craft as a method for helping others or giving back. Quilting, knitting and other handiworks take time and effort to do. Making a quilt for someone else is an act of care and of dedication, whether that someone is a family member or someone you don’t know. So even though this is the second time I’ve featured crafts that are going to people in situations that are politically charged, the crafters themselves appear just want to provide some comfort to people whose situations are kinda crappy. I think that’s neat.

Quilt Example SO, Quilts of Valor – basically, it’s a foundation that makes quilts for all of the wounded veterans of the U.S. military service. You can make quilt tops, or do the actual quilting. You can find veterans to award quilts to. You can donate – lots of people need postage. Some of it is about community – quilters have been known to form QOV Bees, and all everyone who makes tops is paired with a quilter at least.

Also interesting is this story about a QOV Quilter and why she chooses to use her quilting skills for wounded men and women – it’s an empathetic gesture for her. She had a liver transplant and found her time of being wounded in the hospital unnerving, so she’s trying to comfort others.

The Quilt of Valor pictured here is the work of Lissa and Lin. More views of this beautiful quilt can be seen at this online album if you have a Snapfish account. You can find more examples here.

P.S. Speaking of quilts, About.com has this site dedicated to Remembrance Quilts for people involved in 9/11, such as the EMS, FDNY, Port Authority, NYPD and so on, not to mention the victim. It’s an interesting view.

Crafting for Charity: Manos del Uruguay + hook = Happy Jeff

September 11, 2007 at 7:10 am | Posted in Crafting for Charity, Fabric-Related, Finished Projects, Where to Find Stuff | Leave a comment

Manos Multicolor Last Friday I ran across a lovely post on Quesadillacraft about Manos del Uruguay yarn (well, I found it via Craftzine). Now normally, I’m pretty much a wash ‘n wear person with my yarn, but I do love this soft wool, and I was particularly drawn because purchasing this wool benefits a cooperative. I know, I know, I can’t help it. I’m just completely a sucker if you tell me it benefits someone. Besides, it wasn’t my scarf, so The Husband had some input in what he was going to wear on cold days in NYC around his neck.

Jeff's Scarf Anyway, we travelled to a place called (oddly enough) The Yarn Co. on the Upper West Side to find something nice. This type of yarn is a hand-spun blend of merino and corriedale wool. You can get a multicolored version, but we chose the handspun semi-solid (from the purlsoho.com yarn source), and Jeff chose skeins of black, pewter and petrol (aka black, gray and blue-gray). Yowza! it was expensive, but it’s just a small scarf, and it’s very nice. It was a tadbit irritating to work with, as the black yarn there was nowhere close to an even thickness.

Jeff and his scarf That’s the scarf there on the right, which is a very long scarf, crocheted length-wise with a double-crochet row to give it a nice pattern. It has nice long, thick fringes on either end. That’s Jeff wearing the scarf on the left. You can see how it wraps about him that it’s a super-long scarf, which is just how he wanted it. It was originally a different scarf with a slight ribbed effect, but that was scrapped because the yarns’ varying thicknesses made it impossible to make the scarf an even width.

If you make something with this yarn, post it to Quesadillacraft’s Flickr group and show off some more of the beautiful things that get made from this beautiful yarn!

History of the Cooperative – from ashleyyarns.com (distributors of Manos) via Quesadillacraft

“The Manos del Uruguay Cooperative was founded in 1968 by five friends. Their goal was to develop economic opportunities for the women in rural Uruguay. Although Uruguay has one of highest literacy rates in the world, there were and continue to be few employment opportunities for women.

Olgita Artagaveytia, one of the founders of the cooperative, had been volunteering at a village school in 1968. She and her friends were very impressed with the level of expertise in the craftwork produced by the village women. They decided to take the products to Montevideo and sell them for the village. This was a very successful venture and everything they presented was sold in one day! The name of Manos del Uruguay (Hands of Uruguay) was born.

The founders also helped the women organize socially and financially. They were committed to creating a professional organization that had legal standing and a strong marketing plan. The Cooperative was formed as a non-profit organization, committed to developing work for the women in the countryside. In 1976, working with the InterAmerican Development Bank and a marketing consultant, they opened a showroom in New York City, where they sold knitted and woven garments as well as Manos yarn. Over the ten years that the showroom existed, it employed Lola Ehrlich, who went on to become the editor of Vogue Knitting. Anne Simpson, also an employee of the showroom, created the space-dyed colour range and was the U.S. distributor for many years.

The original method of dyeing was done in iron kettles over wood fires. The dyes interacted with the iron in the kettles, producing a striated, faded quality, which was at first, seen to be a problem. It was a marketing consultant who saw the beauty in the colour shadings and named it Stria. Over the years, the process has been refined. Using stainless steel pots and steam heat, the dyers can now control the water temperature and provide a consistent range of over ninety colours. Manos Stria is a trademark of the product.

The Cooperative continues to be a strong, viable business, providing employment and income for the women of Uruguay.”