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Convoy from Connecticut

I just got back from the State Armory in Hartford. It's one of the collection centers for the coordinated Connecticut relief effort to assist hurricane victims. It's really an intense operation.

I usually volunteer at the Foodshare office at lunchtime on Thursdays. But most of that crew has been at the armory this week and the volunteer coordinator said I should head over there if I was interested.

At the armory, I signed in and got my orange volunteer bracelet. My first job was to ask drivers to fill out a form on my clipboard. I needed their names, addresses, and a description of what they were bringing.

All cars and small trucks with donations are directed to the back of the armory and into a drop-off lane. In the drop-off lane, volunteers jump on the vehicles like flies and quickly take whatever people have brought. Along the edge of the lane are stations for different types of items. So there are stations for water, medical supplies, diapers, etc. The items from the cars and trucks get brought to the stations where they get packed into boxes. The boxes get stacked on pallets and the pallets get wrapped. The wrapped pallets get lifted into a tractor trailer that is parked along the other side of the drop-off lane. The tractor trailers take the items to wherever they are needed.

New York is Hooked

NYT predicted it, and now NYT has found it.

I love seeing crochet reinterpreted in updated fashions (as opposed to these) but, I'm afraid, a lot of these clothes make me think of bedspreads. Or tablecloths. I don't know. These women all look great, but it's still a tough look to pull off.

Controversial Crochet

Recently a sculptor received several complaints about her crocheted nudes and quickly hooked some fig leaves to appease the offended. (Source: Neefer)

I hope she know that this happens to the best of them. At a traveling exhibit from the Victoria & Albert Museum a few years ago, I saw a fig leaf for a cast of Michelangelo's 'David' that had been given to Queen Victoria. She preferred to have something left to the imagination, I guess. There's more on David's fig leaf here.

We Got Apps

This time, I'm serious. I really like this hat.

When I first saw the thumbnail on Myra Wood's site I thought, 'It's a Bloomin' Onion!' Then I saw the next photo with the title and turns out that's exactly what she was thinking, or maybe she was also hungry. The hat is called 'Awesome Blossom.'

Unfortunately, it's her original artwork and she is not selling a pattern.

Myra Wood

Source: inaminuteago

A Visual Feast for the Snarky

Even if you usually ignore the crafty stuff I post, this next little tidbit is worth a scroll-through. It's a gallery of hilariously awful sweaters and scary accessories appropriately titled: Emasculation Nation. Father's Day is just around the corner. I better get to work.

And the seamsters might enjoy the digs at disturbing sewing pattern illustrations at Threadbared.com. There is no shortage of material when it comes to making fun of sewing patterns.

Sources: Going Jesus and ljc fyi

24-Hour Costume Cram

When I took on a solo in my last chorus concert, of course I said I would make my own costume and of course I left it until the last minute.

Even though I rushed through it and had to leave out some things to save time, I'm still really proud of the dress I made. It's Simplicity 9891. This was my first time at making a dress and at making anything with princess seams, so I learned a lot from the project.

The Green Dress

If you're interested in all the nerdy details of making it, I wrote a review of the pattern.

Raise The Gauntlet of Rock

I need everyone to send me their measurements by Thanksgiving at the latest so that I can have these done for Christmas.

School Kit Bags

I've been getting frustrated with everything I start lately, so I was very glad to finish a project this weekend.

I made these school bags which I'll then turn into school kits for children from places like Kosovo and Sierra Leone where everything is being rebuilt in the aftermath of war. These kids can go back to school now but they don't have access to the supplies they need to learn.

The school kits are collected by UMCOR, a service organization that delivers much-needed supplies and other kits, like health kits and flood buckets, all over the world. I found the instructions for making the school bags and the specific list of supplies that go in them from Rusty Bobbin's Linkings.

I was also glad to put to use some fabric that I had bought years ago for a different project only to realize later that it was completely inappropriate for what I was making. It was perfect for these bags.

Get Your Crazy On

I love crazy quilts, both old and new. I think one of the reasons I'm so fascinated by them is because they're improvisational; each quilt is unique. Some modern-day crazy quilters are really good at keeping us supplied with eye candy at their blogs, such as Frequently Wrong But Never In Doubt and Chloe's Place.

For a serious crazy fix, I like the galleries at In A Minute Ago. The quilt Sharon B. calls 'I Dropped the Button Box' is a real jaw-dropper. She's also created a comprehensive on-line crazy quilt stitch library (with directions and photos!) and keeps a blog on fun textile links, women artists, and all sorts of other good stuff.

It Rubs the Lotion and then It Starts Crafting

I'm a big fan of DIY, but Michael Cook really takes it to a level even I wouldn't attempt. He raises silkmoth caterpillars to harvest their cocoons for silk. He reels the cocoons into thread which he then uses for his homemade soaps or his weaving projects. He provides details (with photos) on how he makes the thread as well as extensive information on his moths at his website: wormspit.com. The dyed reeled silk is really impressive.

Source: sharon b's in a minute ago blog