Why I choose to DIY!

I promised myself that this first DIY post on my motivations for craftiness would’ve come a lot sooner, but, I’ve been busy with my hand-crafted jewelry and accessories business, so go figure! 🙂

There are tons of good reasons and motivations for hand-crafting. Some are quite personal, others are political. I come from a crafty family, so it’s not surprising that I am obsessed with crafting. My Mom did copious amounts of embroidery while she was pregnant with me, my Grandma dabbled in crochet when she could, that same grandmother and my great-grandmother both quilted out of family necessity, and I am proud to tell anyone that one of my great-great-great grandmothers on my Dad’s side was a single mother who supported herself and her little boy by having her own weaving business. I am so proud to be carrying on these traditions. My Mom taught me to sew when I was seven years old, right around the time I had a wonderful knit-wit (knitting) babysitter who encouraged me to be creative. The rest is history.

Another great reason is that it is a great creative outlet for me. I needed an outlet that didn’t focus on my negative emotions. I do write poetry, but it got to where words were not a fun medium, more like a form of exorcism for me.

DIY has been empowering for me. The last year or so of improving my skills and adding to them in preparation to start my business has been a great experience. I imagine that I must be able to relate my ancestress the weaver now, with both the pitfalls and the joys of seeing the fruits of our labors and talents.

And one last area I’ll mention, is that DIY is a way for me to act on my political convictions. Portions of the sales I make are tithed to worthy charities and non-profits and I donate my crafts to charity events for them to use for fundraising purposes. I pride myself on improving my awareness of how to lessen my carbon footprint a bit by using vintage and recycled materials (including literal trash the blows into my yard!) in my jewelry projects, for instance.

This past Christmas all of my gifts were either handmade by me, or I gave the gift of supplies to my crafty pals. I’d like to think that if more people made the presents they give, or if they bought handmade from small crafty businesses, we could avoid feeding the commercialized beast that caused the death of that poor Wal-Mart employee this past Black Friday.

So that’s why I choose to DIY.

For those of you who craft, what sorts of crafts are you into? And why do you choose to DIY? 🙂

Are Neo-Confederates to blame for Republican obstructionism?

Ah, it’s time for another collection of linkage. Enjoy!

A writer suggestions that people who don’t realize that the CSA lost the Civil War are to blame for Republican obstructionism. I’m not totally sure what to think, so I’ll leave you to your own conclusions! h/t to Crooks and Liars commenters.

HuffPo reports that Congressman Barney Frank has ordered the banking CEOs that were bailed out to testify before Congress and get a good yelling at.

This Yahoo article explains the different kinds of jobs that can be created by President Obama’s stimulus package. Once again, h/t to Crooks and Liars commenters. 🙂

From Crooks and Liars, a report on Michelle Bernard suggesting that women shouldn’t worry about pay equity.

Check out Project Censored’s Top Censored Stories of 2009. Brought to you by the rocking commenters at C & L! 😉

Womanist Musings has a post on a transgendered woman who was discriminated against by a nightclub based on her transgendered status.

Good on a judge! Abyss2hope writes about a judge who was uninterested in rapist’s excuse that his crime “was not that bad.”

Season of the Bitch shares thoughts on what roles liberal and progressive bloggers should play in cleaning up the mess our country is in.

There can never be enough snark when it comes to Dick Armey’s dickish comment to Joan Walsh on Hardball the other day. Feministe provides us with more snark, plus the actual video of Armey making a dick-sgrace of himself.

From RH Reality Check, women’s health advocacy groups react to the Obama Administration caving on contraception in the stimulus package.

MOMocrats write about why the Republicans are freaking out over labor secretary nominee Hilda Solis.

And last, but not least, Natalia Antonova deconstructions the comments being made about Ali Campoverdi, former pinup model turned White House employee by so-called progressives.

That’s it for now, no craftiness until tomorrow, when I will be doing an entire post on why I choose to get crafty! 🙂

Alaska Native villages need assistance during colder than usual winter.

Hi everybody, here’s a heads-up for everyone who enjoys digging in and making a difference.

Alaska Native villages are really struggling to get by during this colder than usual winter, and can use your help.

If you visit the link I’ve included, you can get info on how and where you can send food, baby formula, nappies, etc. to be distributed to the village families.

You can request packets of flat-rate Priority Mail boxes from the U.S. Postal Service that can be mailed to your place. You can fill them with up to 20 lbs of supplies and food, and they mail for just under 13 dollars per box. It takes about 3 days for the boxes to reach their destination with Priority Mail. The link I’ve provided can help put you in touch with village community organizers who can tell you what is needed by the families.

I am broke myself right now, but I’m trying to sell of some of my crafts to come up with the cash to undertake some food mailing of my own. Wish me luck! 🙂

Plan One from Outer Texas!

Wow, I never imagined I would have the opportunity to do a blog title homage to my favorite zombie-related movie. But here I am! 🙂

Earlier this week, residents of Austin, Texas got quite a surprise when some unknown people had a little tomfoolery with digital traffic signs.

One sign read, “Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!”

But these weren’t just any old zombies. Oh no! These were, “Nazi Zombies! Run!!!”

As the news article I posted states, the Austin Public Works Department is very concerned about this and will treat like a crime, but I gotta tell you, this is a little bit of a funny crime to me! 😛

If only I could make myself a little vampire street or road sign for home decor purposes! Hmmm….

Rape myths challenged, plus other good reads.

It’s time for a weekend edition of linkage. Not as much to work with today, hopefully everyone is enjoying their weekend! 🙂

abyss2hope challenges some rape myths, namely how some people deny the occurance of sexual assault in their minds by thinking of what happens in an assault in very melodramatic terms.

Womanist Musings writes about the alarming rise of hate groups and hate crimes since the election of President Obama.

Feministe reports on new restrictions on abortion in South Carolina, such as a day long waiting period, and that the requirement that ultrasounds be performed.

The Curvature reports on a Lutheran religious school, which a court has ruled may discriminate against and expel “suspected lesbians.”

Brownfemipower did a post on a tax workshop for strippers and other sex workers.

Season of the Bitch reports on abortion restrictions in Utah, which could put doctors on trial for murder.

Hear Me Roar wrote about the disturbing trend of news sites reporting incidents of violence against women as “weird news.”

RH Reality Check has an article on Obama and family planning aid.

MOMocrats wrote about NSA domestic spying.

Rachel of Rachel’s Tavern has written a great piece of the difficulties and complications of carrying pregnancies with multiple babies.

Crooks and Liars pointed out some super-icky comments by Michelle Malkin about old Republicans with erections! :S

Natalia Antonova has some snark for Dick Armey in light of his boorish comments directed at Joan Walsh.

From the crafty (and political!) department:

WhipUp has a series of posts on the Quilts for Obama exhibit, along with posts on Obama related crafts in general.

Etsy’s Dark Side has some info on mini books for gothic dollhouses made by one of our members.