Clothesmaking

I've been thinking about this lately as I've gotten the sewing bug again. (Haven't actually sewn anything yet, but give me time to get my sewing room reorganized.) Who sewed this t-shirt I'm wearing? Was she paid a decent wage? Was she essentially held as slave labor in a sweatshop? I hope not. Whipup.net points to Therese Agnew's quilt made entirely of clothing labels and gives five ways this quilt can change your life:

1. You will be reminded that you don’t need money or power to effect change, only creativity and an idea.

2. You will never look at the label in a garment the same way again.

3. You will, even just for a moment, think about sweatshop labor.

4. You will want to show it to other people because of its beautiful workmanship and elegant execution.

5. You will be a little more creative having absorbed a bit of her unforgettable art.

It makes me want to take a little more responsibility for my clothing, and for me that means making it.

hmm, i just selected every single category that has to do with my life, but perhaps that was overdoing it. Yet all these subjects came up today:

Teens, Education, Homeschooling: my homeschooler is trying to crash a class at the local public high school, and although we have every right as "taxpayers" for her to attend, all the b.s. that goes along with their bureaucracy makes you have second thoughts! She thinks it's so funny that the teacher admonishes the kids to be quiet and keep their hands to themselves, stay in their chairs, etc. She's been going to independent classes and community college classes for a year now, and no one ever talks like that. Yet this class is supposed to be this really creative interdisciplinary math class that people vie to get into... had to do an "audition" like it was a broadway show! Maybe it will turn out to be inventive and cool... right now she's just mesmerized by the social scene. They also gave her three hours of homework last night...what on earth? If they spent more time in class doing math instead of worrying about the baby stuff...--read more

How do you "darn" a sock?