I Wrote A Book For You
and Storey is going to publish it! Plus, DIY clock tutorial, free pattern, and other rad shit going on.
This is the most exciting announcement I’ve ever made. I wrote a whole ass book and Storey is going to publish it! For four years I’ve been working on what I know will be an incredibly helpful guide to strategic art activism and craftivism. I’ve taken everything I’ve learned over my *cough* 25+ years as an activist, strategist, artist, marketer, and educator to write THE book that I wish I had had back then. The book that brings it all together and will provide readers with an in-depth path for working strategically to maximize impact and elevate our collective change making ambitions. And, obviously, it is accessible, fun, and full of art!
I am so grateful for my amazing literary agent Myrsini Stephanides at Arc Literary Management who sees me, gets what I’m trying to contribute to this world, and has advocated for my vision.
I am elated to be working with the team at Storey to design and publish this book. From our first meeting I knew it was a perfect fit. They got it. They got me. And they were 100% on board.
We are working hard together to get this book, in all its glory, into your hands next year. It has been so hard to keep this a secret as the last few months have been a wild adventure. It’s like a load has lifted off my shoulders being able to tell you. Lol. I hate not just telling you everything always. I have big plans and there will be lots of fun activations around this book so stay tuned!
I wrote this book for you. I wrote this book for us. I love you. Ever forward change makers!!
Now, onto the rest of the news and resources!
CRAFTING FOR ABORTION ACCESS
This month’s pattern to support Abortion Access Front was created by the astoundingly talented, Holli Samet. For a donation of $10+ to Abortion Access Front, you will get the detailed pattern for creating this luxe knitted cowl. Holli sent me one and OMG I will be wearing it every second starting November 1st.
You only have until Monday to get this beauty so don’t sleep on it. Donate today!
UPCOMING EVENTS
I’m slowly easing back into workshops. The move and the book have really taken over my life. I’ll be planning many for this winter. In the meantime, I will be hosting one online workshop in October for folks who want to jump start their winter stitching aspirations:
Intro to Embroidery, October 21 from 1-2:30pm CT on Zoom.
And I have one in-person workshop in Evanston, IL scheduled:
Intro to Embroidery, November 16 from from 6-8pm at cloth+home.
COOL THINGS OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING
WALK WITH AMAL
Little Amal is a 12-foot puppet created by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa for the play War Horse. The puppet is a 10-year-old Syrian refugee and represents the vast number of children fleeing war and violence. Little Amal has traveled the world and is now making a massive trek across the United States. Beyond bringing attention to the plight of young refugees and displaced youth, her “walks” have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for education, food, shelter, emergency medical care, and legal assistance for refugees around the world. I cannot wait to see her in Chicago this week! You can learn more about how you can see her and support their fundraising efforts here: https://walkwithamal.org/
OMKARI WILLIAMS BOOK LAUNCH AND TOUR
You know I am a huge fan of Omkari and her work. Her new book, Micro Activism, is about to hit shelves. You can meet Omkari, hear her read, and buy her book in person as she embarks on her book tour. You best believe I will be at the Chicago launch!
Cambridge, MA / October 24th
Brooklyn, NY / October 25th
Astoria, NY / October 26th
Decatur, GA / November 2nd
Savannah, GA / November 4th
Chicago, IL / November 9th
WITCHCRAFTivism WITH MINDY TSONAS CHOI
Another one of my favorite humans is delivering some seriously transformational offerings. Can we also stop to appreciate her brilliance in coming up with : WITCHCRAFTivism?! Gah! So good.
Allow me to quote this wordsmith,
We are being called to blaze off-grid trails, share our stories with new ears and audiences, imagine and co-create essential art with different muses, and to find our way back to ourselves and one another by setting ourselves wondrously adrift in unpredictable seas. This will require the inner fortitude and resources we have been building during all the years of centering our own “personal development”. Now, the time for self awareness only for personal gain is over.
Interpersonal development, care and healing is our next initiation.
Witchcraftivism: 13 Moons begins on the full moon on September 29th. Described as, a year long coven for practicing wild embodied living, creative expression, radicle ritual and collective belonging, this adventure includes:
Create your own 13 Moons Alchemy Journal, your creative source and spell book for our year together (optional kit with beautiful supplies and inspiration)
Storied monthly themes to gather our collective energy around, offered through a variety of written, audio and video posts filled with inspiration (ie. projects, recipes, tutorials, prompts)
Radical rituals to explore in your Radicle Ritual Planner (free to download)
Alchemy Collage for intuition building and practicing creative liberation
Writing the Roots prompts for going deeper into our embodied stories
Alchemy Card readings for offering collective wisdom
Special guest offerings shared by other world-building mystics and magic makers
Live seasonal coven gatherings for connecting in real time online
Virtual sharing space for gathering, on Patreon and Instagram
End of year community 13 Moons Zine, a coven collaboration and keepsake of our year together!
She is also offering a facilitator training for folks who are a fan of her Alchemy Collage workshops and might be interested in leading some!
The dates are October 21 and 22nd.
DIY CLOCK TUTORIAL
As you know, I moved back to Chicago and into an old school Chicago apartment. The landlord had just replaced the oven (yay!) with the cheapest oven I’ve ever seen (boo!). It has no clock on it. I realized quickly, that I am trained to check the clock on the stove all the time. I know this, because I have looked at the spot where the clock should be hundreds of times over the past month. When I find it is not there, I curse a little. I decided to solve for it by making a clock for the wall above the stove.
I thought you might want to know how to turn your embroidery into a working wall clock! Through much trial and error, I got it down.
Materials:
8-inch embroidery hoop
Two layers of cotton fabric (10x10 inch)
Embroidery floss
Embroidery needle
Water soluble marking pen
Scissors
5/16” grommet with eyelets
Eyelets Pliers
The first time I tried, I stitched the design on a single piece of cotton and then applied the grommet. BAD IDEA. I had never used a eyelets plier before and I fucked it up. I had to restitch the whole thing.
My process suggestions are:
Create your design
Draw it out on your fabric but don’t stitch it yet
Place a second layer of fabric behind your working fabric
Apply the grommet to the center of both layers of fabric using the eyelets plier
Hoop your fabric
Stitch your design
Remove the fabric from the hoop and run it under water to get the marker out
Let dry (flat on a towel)
Hoop your final design carefully (make sure it’s centered)
Apply your clock kit to the hoop
I watched this quick video to make sure I was following the directions properly.
Throw in a battery and hang it on your wall!
The clock kit includes a hanging mechanism so that the clock device carries the weight of the entire piece. The hoop doesn’t actually need to hold any weight. I used a second layer of fabric just to make sure you can’t see the stitching through the front of the clock.
It is pretty straight forward once you have the best order of operations. And now you do. Go make some clocks!
FREE PATTERN
You made it! Thank you for your time and enthusiasm. More next month!
Hugs,
Shannon