Arts and Crafts United for Japan

Unfortunately, all of my challenges and creations are on hold at the moment as the running of ACU4J (Arts and Crafts United for Japan) has, ironically, taken over my crafting time.  "Knitting with human hair", "The Ladybeard Challenge" and other equally daft and juvenile plans will have to wait until we have sold a few vases and mopped up a little blood.


What we are doing is getting artists and crafts people to offer up their wonderful masterpieces for auction.  We've done all the hard work setting up the facilities to achieve this and I don't want to bore you with the details but all you need to know is that we'll give you back your postage so that your only cost is time and materials (although you can donate your postage if you are in an especially giving mood).


There is a link on the right to the Facebook page but I know you don't all like Facebook, so we've set up a website and gone on Twitter.  You can find us here:

http://artsandcraftsunitedforjapan.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/ACU4J

http://twitter.com/#!/ACU4J

If you want to submit a piece, take a gander at the submission rules and then email artsandcraftsforjapan@gmail.com.

We need you to tell people about it.  Post it everywhere.  Make us trend on Twitter.  We don't have much time so please get the word out.  The deadline for submissions is March 31st.

Japan

I have a number of personal connections to Japan through language, people and crafts.  I have spent several days trying to locate a friend of my daughter's amongst other people.  Nao is safe (as are close friends).

I am running a number of fundraising activities based around the 1000 cranes origami tradition ( if you wish to sponsor the folding of the cranes please message me for a paypal address).

In the meantime the crafting community can prepare for Arts & Crafts United for Japan.  A Facebook page will be up for this in the next couple of days.  We will be asking you for donations of art pieces and craft pieces made by you which we will auction off in aid of Global Giving Tsunami.  Your postage costs will be reimbursed.  The deadline for completed creations will be at the end of March and the auction will take place on Ebay in early April.

We have post apocalyptic skills that can make a difference.  The apocalypse came for them; let's not find ourselves wanting here.  Go forth and knit an elastoplast (metaphorically).

Headway, meanwhile and forewards

So....I am making my way through my stash of crap.....bits of bilge and pieces of eight and tatters of dreams....they are being woven into physical objects whether they are already yarn or forced to be yarn.


I have however embarked upon a new endeavour (whilst fully committed to Ladybeard and a Sisterhood Quilt that is also my fault in the happening thereof).  This new endeavour is Etsy.  No, don't rush off there, I haven't actually DONE anything for it yet.  I just feel overly proud at having picked a name.  In accordance with the blogness I've gone for ApocalypseCrafts.  You won't forget it, will you?  There'll be nothing up before June...I have a plan...a slow plan....oh ye fast spinning world fuck off, I don't go at that speed..let me build up and craft sock...stock...shmock...er...there'll be "Stuff".


So, stash...ya wanna see?


First up is the blanket of Oz vomit ("Oz vomit" copyright to Hilary Bennett - who deserves a golden gong for it):

This is made of every scrap of crap I've hoarded.  Pattern?  Um....Make a square with sc, then go around the edge with dc (US dc...old UK crochet terms are crap - I'm British; suck it up, it's true!)  and at each corner do this *2dc, ch2, 2dc*.  You too can have an Oz Vomit blanket!  Aren't you lucky?


Next up is a divergence from the promise, kinda.  I did not buy any new yarn but I did make some...from loads of old tat.  There are tutorials online if you want to learn how to cut up and join fabric.  I looked one up, stared for 4 seconds, sighed "oh yeah" and went forth and butchered this:

Then I did something pretty:  I promised a pregnant friend that I would make her a shawl for her new baby.  The new baby buggered up my knitting plans by arriving early but I set to and delivered the shawl before the little person crawled....WIN!

No, the baby was not a Koala mutant hybrid....although that would be fun......LOADS of stocking stitch and then freestyle crochet around the edge.




Whilst in need of things to eliminate my stash, a friend (Jany) then posted a link to an awesome pattern, which I butchered and made bigger and altered a titchy bit to make what I wanted.


Pattern for crochet tidy:
http://tinyurl.com/crochetcase


Pics of enhanced crochet case (Jany has enhanced it further - blog link?):

The final thing, on my rampage through my stash was to make a toy cat for my daughter's birthday (cat obsessive - watched the Smarties Blue Cat You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougN8DdUonM EIGHT times in one sitting and the Cravendale "Cats with Thumbs": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CcxJQq1x8 uncountable times and balances her life on Oracle Cat: http://www.oraclecat.com/)...I had bought too much black wool for pirate socks (do you want the pattern for them?) and so set forth on a cute cat.

You need felt to make this......shall we get in to the benefits of having a MASSIVE stash of craft STUFF?  No, let's leave that humongous topic for another day.