The redeeming power of craft! In The Age's Odd Spot this morning: prisoners in the UK are being taught embroidery - and the work is sold through the charity Fine Cell Work.
I love the fact that the work displayed on the website looks just like the type of needlework you'd expect to see on inmates' skin, if you look here.
I'm not much of an embroiderer (ok, I'm not at all an embroiderer), so I was impressed by all of it - there is some serious skill on display. You couldn't pay me enough to embroider a high-definition picture of a beetroot onto a cushion. Anything I attempt with needles thinner than 2.5mm involves first sulks, then tears, a minor tanty, and finally a mess of cotton and cloth dumped in the lap of my mother to fix.
It might sound like and odd scheme, but big respect to the people involved in Fine Cell Work.
There is a "musical dice" game
9 hours ago
