BUTTON UP FOR A CAUSE

http://www.buttonmad.com/Site/Catalogue/Catalogue%20Page1.htm

Someone just directed me toward a site that sells fantastic buttons all handmade by women in Africa. Such a small thing, a button. But, such a huge way to support an artisan anywhere in the world with the purchase of his/her handmade items.

To this end, I’m going to begin collecting and posting information about similar sites on this blog. IF YOU are aware of a site that would support an artistan/artist/crafter in a ‘fair market’ way, please be sure to post a link to the site or shop here.

Since I’m a small business owner, I try to support other small business owners rather than having all my dollars go to the big box retailers. This can’t always be done on a practical level, but I have discovered that it’s usually worth the few extra pennies or bucks I might spend to keep good businesses local and to maintain the huge amount of expertise in all crafts/arts that will be lost if we spend all our money at the big box stores.

So, join me in this. Doesn’t matter if you’ve actually dealt with the business yourself, but it does matter that you have good reason to believe it’s on the ‘up and up’ and that the majority of money will return to the artisan rather than to some intermediary.

On this site, there are literally hundreds of buttons to chose from. Here is a sample:

Best of all, these buttons are available at MY favorite LYS (Hearthstone Knits). You can check the website for a retailer (or wholesaler) near you.

Here are some more buttons that are stunning. I love that they’re made from fallen trees rather than from the destruction of living trees.

http://www.ecobutterfly.com/catalog/Natural_Buttons-7-1.html

At the Ecobutterfly.com site there’s a section on beads. I’ve purchased a bunch of glass beads in India. As far as I know, they’re all authentic. This site tells you the questions to ask when purchasing ‘fair market’ beads to determine that you’re getting the real thing.

Another business benefits the children of mothers with AIDS.

http://www.injabulo.com/acatalog/Beads_from_Mothers_for_All.html

You can find more resources online that will use your dollars to benefit artisans all over the world. After all, when you pour your energy and money into your one of a kind crocheted project, it may well be worthy of a special button.

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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