Crafts For A Cause

Binki Shapiro of Little Joy, one of my favorite bands, has gathered a group of artists/actors/musicians to put together unique, handmade crafts to auction off for Haiti relief. All profits go to Artists for Peace and Justice, an organization founded by Oscar-winning fillmaker Paul Haggis to deliver food, water, and educations to the empoverished children of Haiti. After the devastating January earthquake that left an estimated million people homeless, the kids need our help more than ever.

Please, check out Binki's blog, Crafts For A Cause, to look at the crafts and cool videos of some celeb contributors. Some artists involved are: Vampire Weekend, Natalie Portman, Fleet Foxes, Spike Jonze (the a-ma-zing director), The Strokes, Drew Barrymore, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The auction starts March 15 at 8 a.m. Pacific Time.

The Knitting Neighbors

The other day, my neighbor, Linda, sped into my grocery store for a half gallon of organic Clover fat free milk. We proceeded with the usual over-the-counter banter:

"How was your day?" I asked.

"How's school?" she asked.

"Well, I'm learning to knit," I replied.

She smiled slyly, leaned forward, just slightly, and remarked,

"You know I knit, right?"

Ten minutes later, Linda strolled through my front door wearing a thigh-length, white, pearl-knit coat and a carrying a bag of knitting needles. We spent an hour going over the basics of yarn, the width of needles, the casting on process, and the knit stitch. Linda was amazingly patient as I struggled with the awkward feel of the needles, and she quickly declared that a hat is too complicated for my first knitting project.

Coming from a woman in a pimped out white coat, knitting at the speed of sound, her words were taken seriously. How could I argue?

That night, I sat down to knit in front of the television. I took out the ball of blue alpaca yarn, Linda's loaned needles, and recited the instructions she gave me:

"Needle under and up, cross it to the back,

yarn goes around and between the needles,

right needle down and through..."

But something wasn't right. The stitch looked strange. I resisted the urge to call Linda at 11 p.m. (knitting desaster! help!), and asked her to check my progress during her next milk run to my store. That was the first time I had to start over, and it certainly won't be the last. Thank goodness for good friends.

Searching for supplies...

Consider yourself warned. Go to Peet's. Grab a medium soy Matcha Green, find the nearest unoccupied bench, and whip out your page-turning paperback, you know, the one with 'New York Times Best Seller' proudly displayed on the cover, that you snatched as soon as you heard about its big screen adaptation coming out next year but never opened to page one, 'cause, amigo, if you're shopping for art and craft supplies with me, we're going to be a while.

No, I don't spend a million minutes weighing each item in my hands as I weigh the potential hit on my pocket book just to difficult; when a crochet hook, a bristle brush, or a good pair of craft scissors moves into my tool box, it's 'til death do us part.

Quality products on my mind, I headed over to the Colma Michael's (the Target of craft chains). My best friend, Bonnie, and I frequently raid the bead secton, and I figured a store that large must have a great knitting section, too. With Melody Griffiths's Knitting in No Time stashed in my oversize purse, I walked around until I found 17 inch Clover knitting needles and 7 ounces of yarn to knit a cute hat with earflaps. Though Michael's carries three aisles worth of yarn, I struggled to find the bulky yarn recommended in the book, and multi-colored bulky yarn was no where to be seen. Isn't this "where creativity happens?"

Frankly, I was disappointed with the selection of bamboo needles, though there were plenty of shiny plastic ones. Maybe Michael's was low in stock? I'm not sure. Word on the street is bamboo is the best, so that's what I want: the best for my buck. I picked up single-sided needles instead of the double-sided ones I need, and now I need to return them. Bummer. At least, the Bernat 30% alpaca yarn I bought is super soft, and the Shetland chunky green yarn I added, just in case I change my mind, is a great color.

The lady stationed at the cash register was adorable. We chatted about how she wants to crochet, I want to knit, and some day, maybe, we'll get it right. But ultimately, I'll be checking out a more knitting-friendly craft store before I jump in.

No time to craft? Try quick-knits.

What time is it, again?

If I had a nickel for every time I asked that question, well, I'd have a lot of nickels. Between a full time job and three college classes, I rush around trying to finish projects and fit in necessary naps before impending deadlines, and I tell myself I don't have time for crafts. I often crash in bed around 3 a.m., too stressed to sleep and wishing I had a less hectic schedule.

Then it came to me: why don't I try knitting?

A friend says knitting is relaxing. Maybe I'd get more rest if I spent a short period before bed crafting? My eyes have been too tired to read, and at some point, I need to branch out from that Penny Press Sudoku.

Today, I picked up Knitting in No Time from the local library. I crocheted lopsided scarves during a high school fabric arts class years ago, but I've got absolutely no knitting experience. On first glance, the book seems cool. The author, Melody Griffiths, was savvy enough to put how long each project took her to complete. The hats, scarves, and gloves from the beginning aren't too time intensive, at least to her, and the more advanced projects (totes, vests, boleros!!) look awesome. This weekend, I'll be hitting up the craft stores for supplies. I can't wait.

Beads Are For Friends

The first time Bonnie and I met must've been pretty unmemorable. We attended the same grade school, even had a class together, but we can't remember so much as a conversation until the 7th grade. Our first after school hangouts were algebra-centric, quiz notes and things, but I quickly realized two things about Bonnie:

a) She was super nice.

b) She had a great house.

And I'm talking great house. She had carpets (not possible on my floors, due to allergies), cool collectibles on her shelves, and room to breathe. It was the kind of place where we could relax, spread our school books on the stone coffee table in the center of the living room and get work done, or awkwardly mimic choreography without knocking into stuff (C'mon, you so did it, too). Plus, her parents were cool and allowed friends over, as long as we didn't encroach on scheduled family time.

It started with handmade birthday cards. True to personality, Bonnie created her cards weeks before our gift exchanging ceremonies in her living room. I'd plan for hours, then pull all-nighters to create them before the deadline.

One day, Bonnie began making bracelets. The originals were multi-colored and nostalgically childlike, and the jewelry evolved with our increasingly adult tastes. She experimented with various charms, wire, hemp, clasps and closures. Bonnie gave me a series of blue (the color of our beloved ocean) necklaces and bracelets that I frequently wear.

Wearing handmade jewelry keeps the story of our friendship alive. I rub the follow your heart charm when I'm nervous, and I'm reminded of Bonnie's positivity. I love telling people my best friend made them.

A lot has changed over the years, but our tradition of exchanging gifts in Bonnie's living room is still going strong. Nowadays, we are too busy to hang out everyday, or even every week, but she surprised me recently with the bracelet pictured above to show she was thinking of me. And by wearing her handmades, I hope it shows I love her, too.

Christmas is my favorite time of year...

My little sister and I groaned when Mom insisted on listening to hokey Christmas songs while decorating the tree, but as soon as I unwrapped the old, red train, I knew it felt right. My mom was the Ornament Goddess when I was little. The red train, the first of many Christmas handmades, was so different from the rad lit up balls my friends had on their houses and trees, and at one time, I wanted a plug-in Christmas, too.

Besides the year Mom injected some serious razzle dazzle by going glitter-happy on the felt ornaments, we've had pretty much the same tree for the greater part of 15 years. But this Christmas, the first we had a tree in three years, I felt like I found something I had lost.

Some time between cracking up at my sister's hilarious Bing Crosby impression and rediscovering the heart Mom made to remember Auntie Carol, I realized these handmade ornaments were an important part of my life; still are. And as much as I love the convenience of computers, I know we need to create with our hands, that there's a place for storytelling and craftmaking. Handcrafted art has a place in this digital world.

I laugh whenever I look at the first ornaments my sister and I made. My Santa Dog looks like a rabbit. Making it was a lot of fun.


Bay Area Handmade is a celebration of handmade arts and crafts. I hope my story encourages people to pick up the marker, thread, brush, whatever, and create. I'll be blogging about my favorite supply stores and posting photos of my journey to bring crafts back in my life. I'll also feature interviews with local artists. Welcome to this blog. I hope you'll stay tuned.