National Poetry Month, G-Uknit style.

Tomorrow kicks off the 10th anniversary of Poetry Month in Canada. The theme this year is "Poetry Without Borders" - a celebration of the diversity of cultural traditions in the true North strong and free, and an exploration of how poetry can combine with other forms of creative expression. I thought it would be nice to share some of my favourite poems here in honour of Poetry Month, but then decided it would be more in the spirit of the thing if G-Knittah herself put down her glue-gun and composed a few rhymes. Drawing from one of my biggest inspirations, this month I too will consider how poetry (in particular, haiku - you know, that 5-7-5 sh!t) can combine with the creative expression of the Wu-Tang Clan. There's a shared methodology between haiku and rap music, I think. Both are expressive despite (or maybe because of) the limitations imposed by the form itself: haikus are limited to 17 syllables distributed over three lines, and rap lyrics (one might argue) by the number of syllables one can comfortably pronounce in one breath and over a beat. So to celebrate National Poetry Month, and to give mad props to the Wu, I offer a series of Wu-Haiku poems - haikus inspired by the lives and rhymes of the greatest rap group of all time. There will be 9 in all (you know, 9 Chambers...) posted here throughout the month. There will definitely be foul, offensive language which I will try to soften through the use of various typographic characters, so don't say I didn't warn ya. Starting tomorrow, Ima bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies and hypotheses can't define how I be droppin' these mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery...

Is it just me, or is it Spring?

G-Knittah morphed into Sistah Solder this past week, thus finishing the first metal project of the year: sterling silver swallows! These were cast from a plastic vintage swallow charm. By deftly soldering on some pin backs and adding a dark, antique finish, I turned these wee birds into handsome brooches for your favourite cardigan. A few have also become pendants for necklaces, and even more will soon be cast in brass. These little guys just seem to shout "Spring!" and I'll be displaying them at The Spring Thing Trunk Show (another City of Craft joint) in May.

Eazy-E Study Part I: Stencilz With Attitude

Hey kids, know what you can do with a photo of Eazy-E, a sheet of vellum, and a razor blade? Cut out stencils, that's what. Now, this is new territory for G-Knittah, and I couldn't pull off as much detail as I had hoped (it just doesn't scream "jericurl!" loud enough). The stencil (pictured above) will only be good for a handful of prints (pictured right), so the next step is to make a linocut of the image. The possibilities here are endless: Eazy-E printed on stationery, clothes, and hopefully very soon, completely hand-embroidered onto pillows and book bags.

Happy Easter, kiddies.

What better way to celebrate Easter Sunday than by kicking back with the old Viewmaster and being dazzled by a 3-part story of Jesus, in three-dimensional, full-colour Kodachrome? These were a lucky find at the St. Lawrence (North) Market. Buddy recognized me as a sucka when I squealed with delight, so he wouldn't budge on the price ($1 each!) - this gal spends three weeks haggling in the toughest markets in Mumbai and obviously didn't learn sh!t. I decided to splurge anyway and also picked up reels for Wild Animals in Natural Habitats, Roy Rogers King of the Cowboys, and Little Black Sambo (I wish I were kidding). I'm thinking of somehow rigging these up into covers for notebooks.

Step Into A...Tote Bag (Knitter's Delight)

A crazy snowstorm (and plain old laziness) may have kept the G-Knittah from checking out KRS-One at the Opera House a few weekends ago, but at least I made a pretty awesome knitting tote. With unmounted Futura alphabet stamps found on Etsy and a tub of black screenprinting ink, I hand-stamped lyrics to The Bridge is Over onto a $1 cotton canvas tote. I don't think most people get it, but the bag's received a couple of meaningful head-nods from brothers in the subway. NWA, Biggie, and Wu-Tang book bags are currently in the works. I'm not saying I'm number one, um, sorry, I lied - I'm number one, two, three, four and five. God of rap, indeed.

Teddy Smalls is the illest.

Yours truly kicked a crochet freestyle the other night (i.e., no pattern, yo!) and created my first amigurumi-style teddy bear. I still need to make his legs. His nervous expression was not intentional, but I must say I rather enjoy it. And since he was more-or-less completed on March 9 (the day the Notorious B.I.G. died, 11 years ago), I've named him Teddy Smalls. Either you're slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot. You said it, Big, you said it.