Hi
Thank you so much to everyone who left comments about the awful Slink website….i will keep you updated on what happens…and you may want to keep an eye on the guardian…. 
On a lighter note, i have found a great website that lists craft events in the UK! In case you haven’t seen it yet, you can find isew here:
Let me know if you are going to any! I am up for the NEC ’sewing for pleasure’ show the ‘London Stitch & Creative Crafts Show’ and maybe the ‘make it’ one…..xx
When i was about 4 years old, my mum tells me that one day i didn’t feel very well. Apparantly i was dissatisfied with the level of sympathy my parents gave me, so i proceeded to fashion myslef a homemade badge! It was a little circle…sort of…with a safety pin taped on the back, and on the front i had written with crayons ‘poor me!’. My mum still has it! And sometimes, even now, i feel like wearing it! Today is one of those days. Things i thought were going well have suddenly not worked out and i feel kinda lost right now.
Anyway, something else that is annoying me right now (sorry about all this moaning!) is a BBC website called Slink.
I run an online forum at work and someone wrote in to point out what AWFUL and VILE advice this website is giving to teenagers. It is aimed at teenage girls and here is an example of some of the terrible advice that the ‘agony uncle’ gives…these are answers given to genuine questions asked by children.
Q – What do boys expect on a first date?
A – The only time we’d expect the works is if we’d heard you were easy and were going out with you for that specific reason. But no one wants to be that kind of girl, do they?
Q – Why are boys mean to girls they fancy?
A – It’s better to look like a bastard than a wimp. So we’ll do everything possible to avoid looking like a wimp, even if it means being a bastard. The reason is simple: girls prefer bastards to wimps. So it’s your fault really.
Q – Does age matter to boys?
A – As some boys get older they start going for younger girls. Often this is because they’re easier to impress, easier to control and, well, just easier. So watch out!
Can you believe this crap? Easier to control? Do you think this fool knows that 40% of teenagers in the UK are in abusive relationships and that power and control are central to this. Does he not realise that 2 women a week are killed because of domestic violence? And how about the fact that 70% of teenage mothers are in violent relationships? No? Well perhaps he should find this stuff out before giving disgusting, masochistic, unsafe ‘advice’. Lots of teenagers must use the internet to get advice, and you would think that the BBC would offer more support.
On another section of the site, girls are writing in with ‘real life stories’ where they are disclosing abuse, violence, forced marriages etc. Then under each one, dozens of others are leaving comments saying they too are going through the same thing. You may think that this would be a great opportunity for the BBC to link to some helplines, websites as well as responding and offering support and advice, but no. There is nothing of the sort. This is outrageous. They have a repsonsibility to practice responsible broadcasting. What kind of message is this giving to young people?
Anyway, i am making an official complaint with several other organisations that also work to eliminate violence against women. Wish us luck and join the campaign! If you are also shocked by this, please do something. You can use the official BBC complaints form. We all have a duty of care and we need to act. Now.
Rant over. Now where is that badge?xx
So, the reason i have not been posting recently is because i have been moving!!!
The old flat i used to live in was really too small and the landlords were too dodgy. Not to mention the fact that it was haunted…oh yes, my kind neighbour told me ONE YEAR after i had been living there that there was a ghost…which explained the strange face i kept seeing in the window and the overwhelming sense of sadness and regret that i felt whenever i walked in (i thought that was just me….). Also, as some of you may know, last year was not the best year for me, so i started this year with a new attitude which seems to be working! Basically i am not letting little things get me down and i am trying to think postive thoughts, it really makes a difference. I feel really blessed right now.
The shocking thing about moving was that i went from North to South London, which i never thought i would do! But, i love it! Heaps of parks, trees, cool bars and unique vintage shops….awesome. Also, much nearer to work and more importantly friends. And, i have a garden! All of my own. This is it on monday…..
And here is a certain Miss Martha looking out while i play in the snow, i did put her on her lead to take her out, but that didn’t go down well…
Now i have more space, i am feeling alot more inspired and creative, i also have more creative people in my life this year, so it is a good place to be. xx
Hey lovlies,
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are having a great new year so far!
My new year got off to a difficult start but this week has been AMAZING! Sometimes the most beautiful people come into your life unexpectedly and i feel so thankful….
I hope all your dreams come true this year.
xx
I never know what to buy my mum for Chirstmas….this year she wanted a dolls house in the shape of a beach hut! And to my relief such a thing does exist, so she has that and lots of bits to go with it. But i wanted to make her something as well, and she loves seahorses (can you tell she lives by the seaside??!) so i made her this seahorse. It was simple to draw the shape, i just needed to make sure the tail was wide enough to avoid any ‘argh…i have just sewn this only to not be able to turn it inside out as it is too thin‘ senarios!!
Annoyingly the shiny fabric in the top is more see-through than i realised, so you can see the hem from the darker backing fabric, but i am telling myself that it adds to the charm!!
**update**
Well, i did it! THe questions were a bit different to what i was expecting so i hope it sounded ok. They asked me if teenagers are violent because they have grown up at home with violence in the family. I really dislike this idea, it has been widely discredited but still you hear it all the time in the media, and also from professionals. It may increase someone’s vulnerability and may heighten risk but it by no means causes or predicts the likelihood that someone will go on to be abusive in their own relationships.
I was also asked why young men are violent and what they say to me about their use of violence. I didn’t mention this on the show but the other day i was on a late night train. I was on my own in the carriage apart from three 19-20 yr old lads. They were saying the most vile things about girls. I hear this stuff every day, but this really shocked me. They were talking about playing spin the bottle, and the things they make the girls do in this game was so shocking. I listened for a while but i had to challenge them on it! Maybe it wasn’t the most sensible thing to do, and i am not saying we all need to start challenging people everytime we hear something like this, but if we don’t do something, these kind of attitudes will continue. We actually had a really good chat about repsect and how the girls may feel when they are made to do certain acts by the boys. They ended up really thinking about what they had been doing, and i just hope that next time they play spin the bottle, they will think of the annoying woman who lectured them on the train and have more respect!!
There is such a climate of fear at the moment about young people and violence and research shows worryingly high levels of acceptance of violence in relationships. Much of this is down to the fact that we live in a society that condones and even glamorises violence and sexualises young girls. As well as doing everything we can to safeguard victims, we also need to challenged the underlying attitudes in our society that allow this abuse to continue.
Rant over.
x
So today i got an interesting phonecall from Radio 4, asking me to be on women’s hour tomorrow!!! I am going to talk about domestic violence in teenage relationships.
You can listen on 93.5 fm or on the internet , or on freeview channel 704 i think!
I am so pleased that finally this issue is being taken seriously and i am looking forward to discussing it!
In the meantime i am off to make a dog out of a sock.
xx
Hey twinkles….
I had a lovely visit from my mum today and we went to the winter wonderland in Hyde Park. There were so many beautiful stalls there. I especially loved the amazing hand carved wooden decorations. So, feeling festive i skipped home to make some decorations of my own, using the wonderful templates from cheeky magpie!
hmmm…it is supposed to be a reindeer and sleigh but you can’t really see the detail in this picture. Doesn’t the wine glass look realistic? Took me ages….! However, none of this is getting my dissertation done. If anyone has any ideas for how to get motivated i would be very grateful….I seem to be having real trouble recently and i have SO MUCH TO DO!!! Argh.
Tunes that are pleasing my ears this week are:
*Blitzen trapper
*Eluvium
*Laura Marling
xx
You gota love toilet door graffiti, and for those of you who know where Old Street is in London, you will know there is plenty of it! Unfortunately this little door was full of sadness!
I think i am going to make some happy stickers to let them know it will all be ok…..this reminds me of a fantastic website i found last night. Urban knitting!!! Let us cover the world in crafts and love.
Anyway, i must do some work, i have the busiest of busy days tomorrow and am not sure if i am prepared! If anyone has some tips on organising work/study please let me know. Writing a thesis and working full time = panic.
Still, i am listening to the new Cure album so that makes everything ok.
G’night sugar puffs.
xx
Hi lovelies…
I am so sorry for being away for so long….not sure how to explain what has been happening…here are some words to summarise it:
endings…beginnings…lonliness….hopefulness…birthdays….dreams….work….words….study….denial…travel….dodgy hotels….trains…waits….missing….crying…sleeping….waking….more work….reading….absorbing…elections (yay!!!)….believing.
Anyway, I hope you have all been ok, i have missed you!
So, lets get back on track. Last night i saw some beautiful fireworks and discovered a firework setting on my camera (yes, no more dodgy phone pictures!)
And i want to share with you a beautiful website:
post secret
This is where people send in postcards with a real secret on, they are updated every sunday. I use some of them when i am training people at work…
Here are some from today:
I think it is amazing that people share such deep and personal secrets…..
Check it out.
I have had no time to do any crafting recently, but i hope that will change soon….in the meantime i am stacking up fabric and other cute bits and pieces for when i have time to make something. I am feeling festive too, so maybe some Christmas inspired stuff is in order.
Ok, it is bedtime for me…sweet dreams.
xx
Things have not been very happy in the kitschcraft house recently. Lots of heartache and confusion going on….so I decided to try and make something postive last night and got out my newly arrived silver clay! Then i went hunting for the perfect leaf….an hour later and after a close shave with my blowtorch, i made this!
I dont have a steel brush yet so i had to burnish the whole thing, it will look much more shiny soon!
I really can’t recommend this stuff enough! Give it a go!!!
jx
