Tag: Cotton

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TIME TO GET UP

Hello Minders & Menders,

I can’t tell if it’s fools spring or third winter lately, but we’re still finding all weather – from sunshine to ice – around here. Either way, it’s refreshing to see some signs of a waking nature. It’s nearly the spring equinox. We’re starting to see the loons & the geese. Soon we’ll see the growth of what was planted. For future’s sake, I hope we all come out from our winter slumber together. It’s time to get up.
It’s time to get going.

Ring. Ring. 

It’s time to get up.

It’s time to get going.

You long for real change,

but the sand keeps on flowing.

You can theorize progress,

quantify pain,

but the hourglass whispers-

inaction’s a chain.

You data-analyze

And armchair-philosophize,

but there aren’t recline pulls

For those beams in your eyes.

Maybe there was a time to rest 

with ruminations and lore

But now the world needs

IRL renderings of human rapport.

A generation needs us

To put feet on the ground

for valor to echo,

not just circle around and around 


And around… 

Let’s let go of lip-service,

put our hands in the dirt

and get out to plant the seeds

fear and entitlement can’t hurt.

Leave the chair empty

bring passion in full

We have unique gifts

to spot wolf from the wool

Vacate our safe spaces,

but arrive soul-intact—

with discernment to see

what love never lacks. 

That child desperately needs us

to stand for them out of our chair

Put our thoughts into action

While there is still time to care.

UFF – TADA

Little scraps, like little feathers, can help us take flight while working together.

When trimming iron-on patches, we end up with what would look like a lot of waste, but we choose to reuse as much as possible. When we put those scraps together, it can become a symbolic mosaic.

Tools: Scraps of iron-on fabric, scissors, iron, optional sewing tools.

STEP 1: Choose a large base piece. This can be scrap fabric, or an article of clothing like a jean jacket.

STEP 2: Cut your scrap iron-on into smaller mosaic pieces to create your larger artwork.

STEP 3: When you’re ready, follow iron-on instructions to adhere your design to the base.

STEP 4 (Optional): Add extra detail or security to your artwork by sewing the patches down.

UPDATES:
1. Dates are being finalized for the first pop-ups!
2. More products have been added to the shop. You can shop now (feedback welcome), but the official launch date will be April 1st!

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CREATE MORE

Hello Minders & Menders,

Things are dark, but Minnesota continue to put the “Ope in Hope.”
That hope is in Minnesotans choosing to continue creating despite the atrocities that are all too consuming. Against all odds, neighbors continue to show up and create more than they consume – create more community, create more connection, create more peace.

Do you create or destroy with your tools?
Do you create more than you consume?

Be like Minnesota & create more.

Shall the hammer build a home or destroy a nested shelter? 
Shall the printer whittle a whistle to cradle life or deploy a weapon to take it?
Shall the technology be used to conglomerate care or decay our very humanity? 
Shall the mental load be softened with creation or hardened by consumed by media?
Shall the knowledge be embodied with student's self-chosen paths, or leak out as standards are consumed?   
Shall the earth breathe freely with creative reuse or suffocate under consuming trends?
Shall the country create new freedoms or consume the very purpose of its existence?

In Minnesota, we choose creation.
Create more connection 
create more community 
create more peace
Create MORE.

UFF – TADA

Ripped jeans have been in and out of “style” since I was a kid. I’m all for ripped jeans when they tell a real story, like that time you slid into home plate while playing at the park with friends (too much 90s nostalgia?). Or maybe you got a snag from backing up into the rose bush at grandma’s house. If you like the rip, you can wear it proud. Or, you can memorialize your symbolic rips and recoveries with a little art. Here’s a fun and super easy way to add some personality and repair.

Tools: Fabric markers, scrap 100% cotton fabric (light colors work best), double-sided iron-on adhesive, scissors, needle & thread

STEP 1: Follow the iron-on instructions to apply the adhesive to the scrap cotton scrap.

STEP 2: Cut your fabric to the size you want for your repair

STEP 3 (Optional): Use painters tape to tape your fabric to your workspace to keep it from sliding as you draw.

STEP 4: Use the fabric markers to sketch a design. (Tip: Allow to dry between layers to prevent bleeding)

STEP 5: Apply your patch to your ripped jeans according to the instructions.

STEP 6 (Optional): Use needle & thread to secure the patch.

UPDATES

  1. Nearly all of my energy is going towards caring for neighbors, so I have no idea when Uff Tada will be up and running fully. I hope, however, that when the geese return to the thawed lakes and the monarchs again make their home in our grassrooted milkweed, we will all be able to come together for many days of visible mending.

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PEACE by PIECE

Hello Minders & Menders,

“UFFDA” might be how a polite Minnesotan describes this moment, but boy is that an understatement.
This past month, let alone the last year, has been more than a small moth hole in our hearts. It has been nothing short of a paper shredder. But, what the rest of the world may not fully comprehend, is that no amount of ice can freeze a Minnesotan’s heart. We take every shred of human decency around and weave it together with whatever we have. And we will, together, continue to visibly mend. 

Hand me your bit, I'll give my peace
Peace by piece, woven & tied
All welcomed: monarch & geese
Through snow and ice, unified.

UFF – TADA

At Uff Tada, we try to create as little waste as possible. Everything has potential. The scraps that are created by trimming patches? Those get slowly collected and turned into art, such as scrap-fabric mosaics. Have trimmings of your own? Give it a try and show us what your tattered scraps inspire you to create.

Tools & Materials: Scrap fabric, hot glue (or other adhesive), wood frame or plaque

STEP 1: Cut your scraps into even smaller pieces if needed.

STEP 2: Use the various colors and textures to create a whole new picture by using hot glue or another adhesive to attach them to the plaque in layers.

STEP 3 (Optional): Share your finished work with us, we’d love to see it.

UPDATES

  1. A lot has happened close to home. That has sped some things up and slowed other things down. Thank you for your patience and thank you to anyone who reached out.
  2. We are so grateful for those who showed up to the impromptu, unofficial mending gathering. Please reach out if you would like to schedule an official visible mending event of your own.

    Thank you to everyone who has held our community together in your various scrappy ways.

    Love Always,