Al Mubdiaat - The Creatives!!!

I posted it yesterday ... the beginnings of a new and exciting project: Creating change for women in Algeria! But things are moving faster than I'd expected! Zoomaal, a crowd-funding organisation, approved our project and went LIVE with it today!!! How exciting!!! Please have a look HERE and see if you can donate whatever is within your means. And you know what, if you can't donate, no problem, but please share the project with others. Pretty please!

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trochet news

Do you know the feeling when you see someone you used to baby sit years ago? You watched them as a kid and perhaps read stories to them. You played games with them and took them to the park. You had a role in nurturing their early days, albeit a small one. And then you see them a few years later, growing up, developing their own unique character, a little attitude, maybe. Do they even remember you? Probably not.  The trochet project is a bit like that. It started off as a "crazy" idea, I babysat parts of it, it's still early days but it's definitely growing up! 

• One of this region's top photographers, Mokhtar Chahine, has come on board and taken shots of some of the trocheted products.

• Diana has been interviewed on Rotana, where she describes how it all started and what it's all about (in Arabic).

• Recycling bins have been placed in different parts of Jeddah, aiming to collect 40,000 plastic bags! Check out the plastic bag counter!

• Trocheted items are being exhibited at The Courtyard (Khalidiyyah, on the corner of Rawdah Street and Prince Sultan Street) starting TODAY and running through to the end of next week! It's a lovely, little exhibit. Photos coming soon!!!

• UPDATED TO ADD: Have a look at the latest video!!! I LOVE it! And yes, that's our big, blue beanbag collecting the bags!

As I said, it's early days still, but I can see that this was an idea that someone had, just like ideas that you and I have, more often than we realise. She then went out and did whatever she needed to, to make it happen. Some people were brave enough to support and encourage the project. But she was determined and passionate about it anyway and even when things were rough, she didn't stay down too long, dusted herself off and carried on again ma sha Allah. And it doesn't stop there. Go ahead and like the trochet facebook page and follow along on twitter. Stay in touch, get involved and see what happens next. AND let's not allow negativity, both in ourselves and others, to snuff out our creative ideas! OK?

   

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13. risk

... of not having enough yarn to finish a project 

... of not putting in to use something that I've made

... of not having it turn out the way I want it to

... of not having the motivation to finish a project

... of sharing something and nobody caring ... lol!

I'll take the risk!

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my creative space - crocheting plastic for a cause

The back story:

Diana was inspired by others all over the world that had recycled plastic bags. She thought it would be a good idea to have some ladies on low incomes from various parts of Jeddah, do the same and bring in an income from it. She went on a hunt for a local crocheter who would be willing to design something and run a workshop. Project "Akias" (Arabic for bags) was born. Diana works for an organisation called Ateeq (that I mentioned previously), which aims to encourage quality production, the good old-fashioned way. They also encourage productivity as a process rather than by focusing solely on the end result. 

What we did:

We produced crocheted samples and she obtained custom orders. We got together and held a two-day pilot workshop at Rawaj (a part of the Majid Society) that aims to empower women by training them, holding various workshops and allowing them to produce all sorts of items on the premises, from school uniforms to beautiful toiletry bags.

It was a small workshop but it was pretty amazing! By the end of the second day, we had transformed metal clothes hangers and grey plastic bags in to Brain Cancer Awareness keyrings! 

Ready for Jeddah's Backpack! 

What we learnt:

It was a challenge! It took us the first day to brainstorm and feel comfortable enough with a design to go ahead with it. We learnt a lot from each other. One lady in particular was so full of ideas, creativity, and enthusiasm, I felt inspired by her. We exchanged Arabic and English crochet terminology. We learnt that we needed that time together to share our ideas and it was important to do that early on in the process. Crocheting with plastic or plarn (plastic + yarn) can be tricky. It has to be the right thickness so as not to brake easily and it shouldn't be too sticky. For myself, personally, Day 2 was smoother and we produced more. But I can't say that Day 1 was not productive. It was a very important part of the design process.    

What happens next:

We hope that this is just the beginning. We are working on other designs for potential customers but we need local crocheters to volunteer a little of their time. [Local crocheters, Taz and Khadija were a great help ma sha Allah!] We'd love to hold crochet classes for non-crocheters and then introduce them to crocheting with plarn. We'd love to see these ladies on low incomes, produce and sell plarn-crocheted items and in turn, train more women to do the same. So for now, I will keep playing and producing some more "trochet" (coined by Diana, trash + crochet!) in sha Allah. 

Links: 

Beautiful plarn crochet was mentioned on Crochet Concupiscence!

More creativity with plarn! 

My creative space has been buzzing. Check out some more here!

Blogtoberfest - OK, I missed a day yesterday! 

This project was a great start to the  Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah (in which the Hajj or pilgrimage takes place). In the first ten days of this month we are encouraged to focus a lot more on our good deeds and worship. Here's a super link to Hajj-related activities for kids. I'm always on the lookout for great educational resources!

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children and creativity

I've had many people comment on my creativity and in all honesty, I've never really understood it. I grew up envying the creativity of my brother who seemed always to be able to think outside the box. I got married to someone who's able to do the same. I've come across relatives, friends and bloggers who can create dishes, stories, homes, relationships in innovative ways. Is creativity something that we're born with or something that we learn? Is it something that we get used to?

I had a little issue last year where I'd lost my mojo. How did I get it back? I created something. Anything. And yes, it came back. I think we can all be creative. We just need to get in to the habit of it. Perhaps certain personalities find it easier though, than others. One of my offspring is very laid back and continuously creates and along the way, explores and discovers. I have another who craves order and organisation and finds it a little trickier to think differently. I was watching another TED talk by Tim Brown and in it, he talks about how we fear the judgement of our peers, which makes us a little conservative with our ideas. Children on the other hand play with and question everything. This type of playfulness helps us create. And unfortunately, while children at pre-school level play a lot, as children make there way through school, they lose this. As I homeschool my children now, I'm trying to keep their creativity flowing. I'm trying not to give them a strict timetable. I'm trying to encourage them to love learning, discovering, creating new ways of doing things, and that there need not be a level of rigidity in how we do things. They make and edit videos of their assignments or produce powerpoint presentations. One of mine seems ready for some basic programming and design software. We can try things out and if they don't work we can try something else, until we find what's best for us. I want to help set them up for life in sha Allah. To be able to take it all on. To think outside of the box for solutions. It's not an easy task. 

Do you think it is important to encourage creativity in children? How do you/would you go about instilling it in them?

Interesting reads:
Ten Suggestions for Raising Creative Kids | The Creativity Post
20 Tips for Encouraging Your Child's Artistic Expression
If You Come Out of School Thinking You Are Not Creative, School Failed

* This post is a part of my attempt at Blogtoberfest 2012!

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local artists - geekfest jeddah gamma

... took place yesterday. 

The idea was great! Like-minded, yet original types, that are passionate about various things, came together, could network and possibly collaborate on future projects. And, not feel so alone!

I was able to connect with quite a few crocheters. One wants to yarn-bomb. One has lots of ideas for the plastic crochet project. So many want to get involved! It's exciting! The organisers or "UNorganizers" where friendly and helpful and made us feel right at home. 

There were geektalks about Arabic sci-fi, gamer girls in Riyadh, community-building and design. The last one was presented by one of the TechnoCases, Graphyte, a local Graphic Design company. The geektalks were interesting but I found that last one, the most interactive, interesting, funny and one that I could relate to most. They even had a comic-making activity. I felt that one of the speakers really hit the nail on the head about creativity, when he mentioned that not being in the habit of creating, hinders creativity. But everyone can be creative! One of the designers also mentioned a couple of books that anyone interested in design should check out:

• Thinkertoys - by a regular contributor of this great site!
• Change By Design - by a great speaker on TED [More on this later in sha Allah!]

Another TechnoCase, Samsung had smart TVs around the venue (one of which was used for an Angry Birds competition!) and they have a Samsung TV app development contest on too! 

TechnoCase 3, Virgin provided GeekFest with some of their products and hosted another meet -up today (Friday 12th October).

All in all, it was a great event and I think there was something in it for all geek-types in Jeddah, venturing out to connect with others. Although there was artwork displayed, I unfortunately didn't notice it, as the venue itself houses so many vintage pieces on display. Speaking of which, I loved the feel of The Store. Although it's a clothes shop, I'd love to pay another visit, just to relax in the cafe! 

* Yes, I'm still blogging!

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blogtoberfest

Friday was a rough day. Do you know that empty feeling? And you believe no one else gets it. It was a bit like that. But since then, I'm finding myself immersed in busy-ness and I feel better for it. We're still waiting on things before we can book our flights and set our date to leave. So I'm tempted to jump in to Blogtoberfest, a week late but why not? I've never done it before. Do you think I can blog every day for the rest of this month? I'd like to try. I don't have a plan. I don't have a theme. I might use the prompts. I might not. All I know is there are things going on all the time. Some big. Some small. It would be a great way of archiving my "stuff before I leave". Do you see blogging that way? Initially, I didn't. I'm not the type who goes back and re-reads their blog posts from yesteryear. But I've had to at times, while looking for something and it has been quite interesting. So many times I've thought "Did I really do/say/write that???" 

I don't often check my blog stats either. Occasionally, out of curiosity, I'll check to see where people are coming over from and head over and pay referring sites a visit. Sometimes I get some funny little search keywords. Last week I had this:

do gifts that fall apart mean a hex

I hope they didn't find what they were looking for here!

Now that I should be leaving soon, I think it will be nice to share more slices of life here in Jeddah. Especially the art and creativity.

I have a few other projects to share with you and in sha Allah I can do that too. And those draft posts are haunting me too! 

For now though, back to the business of educating my children ... 

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our own junior masterchef

I had to share these here because I mentioned it in my last post and the kids (mine and my brothers) did such an amazing job ma sha Allah! They're ages range from 2 to 12. The 2, 4 and 5 year olds were in a group and had help of course in making the Iced Heaven, the yummy ice cream cake on left. 

The other children chose their own dishes and flavours and just stunned us. My 9 year old son made the Triple Threat Pizzas (3 different and interesting toppings) and my 12 year old daughter made The Shrimp Escape (top left), a delicious shrimp pie! 

My 6 year old nephew made the Meat Vs. Fish lasagne (left). He named it himself! My 10 year old daughter made the Cracked Chocolate Cake (with butterscotch pieces in it!) and my 7 year old niece made the Kamikaze Wings with Sushi (scrumptious, spicy chicken wings in a peanut sauce).  

A lot of work went in to organizing it, getting the shopping done and coordinating 8 kids in a kitchen. My brother and his wife, with some help from my youngest brother, did a great job with it. I know the kids loved it and I think activities like this are such a confidence boost too. We didn't score the dishes. We had to guess who made what! 

Have you tried anything like this with a bunch of kids before? 

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my creative space - staying creative

I finally got the cup covers finished! Yes Tammy, that's what they were. Arabic coffee cups are teeny tiny, so the IKEA Pokal glasses are perfect for serving them up and the crochet embellished ones seemed to be a winner at the bazaar (I know I still need to publish my bazaar tips post). 

I did find that I hadn't estimated things well though, namely how much it would cost me, in TIME! Thanks to everyone for your comments about this in my last post. I really appreciate you sharing your opinions and experiences. I do think that you have to watch your pricing carefully. It's not nice when you put effort in to making something only to sell it for a price you think is just too cheap! Having deadlines too ... agh no comment! 

A friend of mine has asked me to crochet her a hat that she has designed. But she has said "Take all the time you need with it. Crocheting is something you love, and I want you to enjoy making my hat." Aw ma sha Allah!

Things are quite hectic at home, so I'm glad to be free of a few deadlines. We are now

nearing the end of Ramadan (the month of fasting) and it's a special time for worship. I 

will have in laws joining me and then it will be 'Eid, which is always family time! And 

then some moving around! In sha Allah. 

I'm joining the creative spaces here today. Kirsty asked for tips on staying creative and one of mine is to do something different. To try and shake things up a bit. I love to crochet and even knit. But since I have been cooking up meals for my family, I've been trying to get creative in the kitchen. 

chicken pastry puffs

Khoubz Tounis or "Tunisian Bread" made with all of my leftover stale bread! Great recipe here!

I've cooked up healthy treats for myself too. But I'll have to share them with you another day!

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my creative space - sc, sc, sc,

Reasons why I don't loooooove amigurumi:


1. I find seemingly never-ending rounds or rows of single crochet boring.
2. There's too much fiddly stitching involved.
3. There's no smooth, flowing crochet involved.
4. Most of the time I can't do something else at the same time.
5. It takes me too long to complete even a small project because of the above!


But still,

I gave it a go. 


Then I lost my weaving-in needle. So I have to wait until I go home (I've been staying at my parents') to finish this off!


In the meantime, 

• I got stuck into something more autumnal

• enjoyed early morning sunlight

• fed my bottle love

• went out walking in my parents, oh-so-quiet compound 

It's becoming a bit of jungle!


While I cook something up for our returned and returning travellers, check out some more creative spaces.

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where's that mojo?

Thank you so much for your comments to my last post. It's not a life or death situation but it's nice to read encouraging words when you just don't know where that mojo is. I've heard people say they can't find theirs. Where do they look? Do you know? Have you ever lost your crafting mojo?

It's Ramadan. We're fasting and trying to tune more into spirituality. We're making and baking, the little people and I. It is heart-warming to see them working together to get things done. It doesn't happen often enough. The other half makes cool, refreshing drinks. He experiments on us! 

But back to my crafting, I have ideas in my head. I need to put them on paper. I think I might lose them. Forever. 

I have been inspired lately by all the lovely projects on flickr. And not only crochet. There are great inspirational shots and quotes like this. I think Julian Bialowas' work is amazing!


I've been working on an older project, but when the rounds and rounds of double crochets get a bit dull, little motifs are the way to go.  My photos are still horrible because I've used my phone. 


I crocheted the heart after I saw this, loved it and analysed it. 

I don't know if mine is the same but I think it's close enough.

This is something unusual I really wanted to try. I saw it on flickr and asked about the pattern. Malatri kindly posted it soon after. It turned out to be SO simple. It just looks different. 

And Mollie Flowers are so cute and versatile. I want to make bucket loads of them!

I might just be alright with the mojo issue. I hope.

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crafty kids

The weeks just float on by and before you know it, months and then years have gone by!  Last weekend was jam-packed one (and it was nearly a week ago) but I have to tell you about it! My sister-in-law, our collective kids and I went to this wonderful 'Eid party. It was hosted by the daughter of this creative soul ma sha Allah, who very generously let us gather with our gangs of children, at her home. We were welcomed and led to the garden where we found a number of craft stations waiting for the children. We lounged with old friends and mingled with new ones while our kids started with creating little name tags for themselves. 

We sipped Mauritanian green tea while we guided our kids from one station to another. By the end of that, they'd made their own friends and we caught up with ours.

Oh there was some lovely, drool-worthy stationery for simple book-making! Then there was beautiful face-painting, some gorgeous paper flowers being made along with decorative felt crowns and the most delightful little cupcakes.  The kids loved it!

And to top it all off, a swim and a barbecue! Don't you love seeing kids roll in to bed, tired but happy? Ma sha Allah!

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scent

The other day, I happened to walk past The Body Shop in a mall and casually, strolled in. Something very strange happened. I noticed this. 

 "Here's a blast from the past ..."

Dewberry. It wasn't my favourite scent. My favourite was always White Musk. But was it nostalgic or what! It took me back, back to when every teenaged girl in Jeddah was crazy about The Body Shop. I remember being gifted so many "smelly" soaps and lotions that the sweet aroma of them all would envelope me as I'd walk in to my room. I bought the Dewberry lotion purely for that reason. It got me thinking. We've been capturing images for so long with all sorts of cameras, camcorders and now mobile phones. Are our visual memories really memories? Or do we think they are memories because we've seen certain photographs? 

Scents on the other hand, can't be reproduced as easily. Which is why I think the memory of a scent is something extraordinary. A quick rub of this simple lotion over my hands, reminded me of events that took place about fifteen years ago. I know there are certain smells and scents that make me think of certain people. The wonderful thing is that they are people that are or were very close to me. And just as bright, colourful visuals brighten my mood, so do fresh, floral or fruity fragrances and warm, woody ones too. Isn't the smell of cinnamon so deeply, warm? Do particular scents remind you of particular people? Which fragrances ignite your fondest memories? Have you ever tried to visualise a scent? I've never tried it but I think it would make a very interesting project and something I'd love to try with the kids!       

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another 'eid ...

... came and went so quickly! I wanted to share some little gift ideas with you. Literally little!

 Cute keyrings filled with your favourite perfume oil or 'itr.

Bars of musk.

 100% cotton, re-usable tawashi facial wipes!

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