Craft the Vote!

With the Presidential debates already in full swing it seems crafters are a political lot. I found this blog on slate.com. Love it!

Winning the presidency with a Bedazzler and a crochet hook.
By Jessica Vitkus
Posted Monday, Aug. 13, 2007, at 3:55 PM ET
Presidential candidates take note: Knitting is no longer a hobby. It's a lifestyle. In America, do-it-yourself handicrafts are everywhere. Magazines like Bust, Make, Craft, and ReadyMade reach out to a hip, young audience whose hands are rarely idle. Even Hugh Hefner's ladies on the reality romp The Girls Next Door have a scrap-booking room in the Playboy Mansion.
Forget NASCAR dads and security moms—it's the craft vote that can no longer be ignored. The candidates already missed an opportunity to woo craft leaders at the inaugural Craft Congress, which convened in Pittsburgh this March. (Musical version coming to Broadway in 200 years.) But it's not too late for campaigns to embrace the crafting kind. Sewing circles as fund-raisers! Collage and glitter billboards instead of e-mails! I challenge Hillary, Obama, Mitt, and Rudy to whip out their pinking shears and win the hearts of the DIY crowd. I've suggested politically appropriate projects for each party—DemoCrafts and RepubliCrafts—and whipped up some samples.

















DemoCraft : Old Glory Oven Mitts Better to burn the American flag than your tender hands. Take a standard-issue U.S. flag, cut into mitten shapes, and insulate with wool Army blankets. One flag yields about 13 mitts (one for each of the original colonies). Betsy Ross would be proud. Probably.

RepubliCraft: Bedazzled Money Money is pretty. You earned it (or inherited it). GOP tax laws let you keep it. But it's even prettier when embellished with colorful crystals and jewels. Play Department of Treasury and bling up Benjamin Franklin with a tiara or Elton John-style sunglasses. Impress friends at the club when you buy the next round.

Artsy Craftsy

We are a crafty bunch here at GMI and our Creative Director, Randy Palmer has gotten in the act of spotting interesting and off beat crafts. He recently put us on to
Heavy Metal Quilts http://www.quiltsryche.com/

Boo Davis, Quiltsryche’s owner and a designer from Seattle is a one women show (WF pros can relate) with a Pfaff sewing machine and a passion for rock. Quiltsrÿche turns traditional quilting on its ear with modern heirloom quilts that look like they were made by your metal-loving, half-blind Grandma. Bold designs, eye-popping color combinations and a touch of evil are the hallmarks of Quiltsrÿche quilts. A one-of-a-kind rock quilt won't match your curtains, but it will have enough character and craftsmanship to captivate you year after headbanging year.