Mary Bellamy

Last night was the kick-off of kraft*nite. What is kraft*nite? A group of ladies getting together to work on craft projects. But this isn't your grandma's knitting group. Far from it.

Inspired by Craftster, we're looking for a few like-minded individuals who want to get in touch with their crafty side, while staying subversive. As Craftster says, "No tea cozies without irony."

My renewed interest in crafts began last fall, when I started planning a Christmas gift for my sister. She's a cross-stitcher, and while I had experimented briefly with cross-stitch when I was younger, I usually teased her about her "Old lady" hobby. Then I found Subversive Cross Stitch. When I realized I could show her up in my own little way, I began working on a Candy Ass cross-stitch for her. It was either this or make her a sofa-sized cross-stitch of the last supper. Just as long as I was showing her up, I was happy.

When we talked on Christmas Day, I had to admit the truth: I had found the cross-stitching ... soothing. I soon found another cross-stitch project to embark on. I designed and made a pattern based on the movie Freaks for some friends who were moving back to town. Next I tackled record bowls, with moderate success. I continued to sew clothing all the while, but soon picked up my old high-school habit of reconstructing granny dresses.

Now it's a few months later, and I've gathered friends and friends of friends to join me in crafting. Last night Susan Godwin, Melissa Hart and two of Melissa's friends, Melissa K and Devin, came out to Hidden Hill to work on some projects. Melissa K brought a knitting project, while Devin brought along a kit of fingerpaints. Susan was working on repainting a mirror frame to better fit her goth tendencies.

Melissa H and I were using our awesome MH powers to silk screen T-shirts. We used a technique I found on the Internet that involved making a screen out of an embroidery hoop, tulle and Modge Podge. This technique met with some success, but I hadn't counted on how annoying it would be to cover parts of the tulle with Modge Podge. The lovely font I'd chosen for our logo (Cooper Black, a lovely rounded serif font, in case you care) came out rather pixelated due to the nature of the tulle screen. Nevertheless, our shirts rock.

We've exchanged e-mail addresses and have discussed future kraft*nite project ideas. Toothbrush bracelets? Liner note coasters? Anything's up for grabs at this point. I've posted our plans on Craftster, and Melissa's got a notice in Square. Kraft*nite is here, and it's growing.