About Competition...

I have a personal moratorium on competition. Competition is a limiting belief and is an affirmation of scarcity in our universe. We are too focused on winning and losing and being 'better than' those who are 'less than' which is wrong thinking. There is plenty for everyone. I tweeted exactly that in July and that tweet was cached in a live twitter feed in England about the season premier of Project Runway. I enjoyed that!

I entered a little competition last Friday not because I have changed my thinking at all, but because something I have done for years is relevant to this particular contest. The Rit Dye Company sponsored an 'Upcycling With Rit' contest where unusable things are given new usefulness using Rit Dye. I have been very loyal to Rit since I started making rag knits in 1982 because their products are easy to use and safe to handle in my kitchen. I can create appropriate fabrics from almost nothing and the company was very helpful and sold me some colors I was lacking for an intricate dyeing project for dance costumes in 1983. Their factory is located in Indianapolis and I am extremely loyal in supporting my local economy! Rit Dye is a brand that has been so important to fueling my fire for many years that I am proud to show my support for this product and possibly inspire others to think beyond conventional materials and blaze new trails!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY CONTEST ENTRY!

This entry includes a tutorial on how to make this sweater. I will be including additional tutorials about designing and constructing with rags soon. This contest was a great first step on getting this part of the blog started and also helps me confront the issue of a different kind of competition - the business one. Again, I believe there is plenty for everyone.

On the surface, it doesn't seem wise to give my secrets away. It, however, makes perfect sense to me. I do not believe that you actually own any thing. I also know that the things I make fall into the category of objects resistent to commodification. This is not something that can be reasonably produced in a factory exactly like this. Things that will evolve from this sharing will make my product more desirable because it is in fact infused with the peculiarities of the maker. This was a basic premise of the Situationist International Movement and this link connects to an article connecting Situationist International and Punk.
The Consul is a particularly good glimpse into the life of S.I. founding member Ralph Rumney. I also recommend reading punk productions that explains the evolution and influences of punk with discussion about Situationist International. Both books are available at Amazon.com and I have included links below for your shopping convenience.

I have a regular Baisebeige Studios Amazon store which I am cloning and restocking with merchandise relevant to blog posts. The first store with mask - making materials can be accessed through a link in
'Happy Halloween Part I'. The current store is in the sidebar of the blog and contains tools and materials for DIY Rag Knits. Of course there's plenty of Rit Dye there. I also have specialty tools such as very large diameter knitting needles and ecofriendly materials to substitute in case you are lacking garbage fabric and junk yarns to upcycle. I think it's important to maintain the earth - friendly spirit of these articles. From my own Amazon shop I was able to obtain the 'holy grail' of rag knitting tool! I absolutely love these bamboo size 35 circular knitting needles, shown below. It is also possible to enter all of Amazon.com from my shop and do your 'one stop shopping'. At the top of the menu on the left side of the page, click on 'Powered by Amazon.com' and you will recognize everything!