Indoctrinating the Masses

Cassandra and I have an evil plan. Well, it might not actually be evil but we kind of like the idea of being slightly dark and mysterious.

We want to teach everyone to craft something. 

Frankly, it doesn't matter what a person's interest is, we just want them to join the club and become a maker of things. Making stuff is great for the soul and the mind. It gets you out of your routine and gives you something to focus on that will provide a finished project at the end. For those of you who are readers, you know that sad feeling you get at the end of a good book? Well, making something is the exact opposite of that. Even if your finished project doesn't come out exactly as planned, you've CREATED something - which is an awesome feeling.

To this end, we've been doing our part to bring crafting to the masses. And, while the term "masses" may be overstating it a bit, we believe that every little bit counts. In recent months, we've taught a Beginning Knitting class and, yesterday, I taught a Beginning Embroidery class.

Me, teaching. Note my new hairdo!

We're lucky to have this cool community space in Madison called DreamBank where they'll pay for all the materials and advertise the class. All you have to do is teach it. The students get to go home with a new skill AND all the materials. So, yesterday, seven people tried their hand at our Bear embroidery pattern*. They received the pattern printed on linen/cotton fabric, a 6" hoop, a #5 embroidery needle, a skein of floss, and handouts on how to do the stitches needed for this pattern. Plus, of course, they got two hours of instruction from yours truly.  ;)

Interestingly, teaching embroidery was MUCH easier than teaching beginning knitting. All my students were women (two of them teenagers) and they seemed to intrinsically understand the stitch work. My star pupil was one of the teenagers who just plowed through her pattern with abandon and did a great job. Her mom struggled a bit but I was able to find the right words (and process) to help her understand what she was doing and she eventually caught on and was successful.

The best part was watching people "branch out" and try things that were not strictly on the curriculum. I encourage this behavior because I think it makes more fearless crafters.

Anyway, a good time was had by all and I'm pretty sure that a few of these folks will actually finish their project. Hopefully they'll continue on and make more wonderful stuff.

- Alex

*Click that link for free downloads of Bear, Hare, Fox, and Owl embroidery patterns!

What's Going On?

Over here in Mighty Distractible country...yeah, well...lots of stuff is happening. Some good, some not so good. Alex is dealing with an unexpected and relatively major health issue and I'm dealing with some intense health issues of a family member. As I'm sure many of you are aware, this can suck the time and fun out of your day. It's a distraction that neither of us is too keen on.

But, like so many of our readers, craft is our sanctuary. So, during our bumpy patches we are still making - or we'd probably lose our minds! Here are some snapshots of my crafty world over the past couple weeks...

So, please have patience with us as we focus on other things for a bit. We'll continue to post as we can - hopefully at least once a week. If nothing else, we'll re-post some vintage MD which can be a lot of fun. Keep us in your thoughts, please.

–Cassandra

Friday Finds: Homesteading & Survivalism

I'm pretty sure I've talked to you all about my love of Doomsday Preppers, the reality show on the National Geographic Channel. The program follows folks who are preparring for some version of Armageddon - world financial collapse, electromagnetic pulses, a new ice age, etc. The reason I love the show is not because these people are, by most standards, a little nutty but because they are the most amazing, maniacal crafters.

From canning to building bomb-proof shelters, these people do it all. They are fully prepared to live off the land (or their stores of stuff) should civilation-as-we-know-it collapse. I'm impressed and jealous all at the same time. Frankly, I want a giant storage shed full of canned food. And a bomb-shelter made out of an old shipping container. And a cool way to filter brown water to irrigate my plants.

Maybe I need to start believing that the end of the world is coming. That might be the motivation I need.

In the meantime, I found this awesome resource for all things "survival" - Homesteading and Survivalism.

Sadly, their regular website is just a store - although they have some great pamphlets and books on how to do various crafty things. The store is here: http://homesteadingsurvivalism.myshopify.com/

I love this idea!!

Their best content is what they put on their Facebook page. They cull the internet for all manner of awesome craftiness like "50 ways to use baking soda" and "how to build a pallett cooler". I'm not even scratching the surface of the cool ideas you'll get if you "like" their page. (Sorry to feature another FB resource... but it really is great.) Find their FB page here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/homesteading

And, of course, you can follow them on my preferred social media, Twitter: www.twitter.com/homestdsurvival

I hope you get lots of amazing, crafty ideas!

- Alex

Regrets, I've had a few...

...but then again, too few to mention.  - Frank Sinatra

I make mistakes when I'm creating. Time-consuming, frustrating, and occasionally boneheaded mistakes. Sometimes I think that blogs like ours celebrate the finished objects and make the process seem so beautiful and seamless. But it never is. Sweaters get frogged and reknit, sewn seams get ripped back, and even designs are flawed. Trust me.

The 2 quilt block fails from last week.

I am addressing this because I hear a lot of very smart people tell me that they love my finished object, but don't think they could ever make it themselves. They think that I pick up needles and magically it's all done, without bumps in the road. And without that sort of wizardry, they have no chance of success. Of course, I quickly share with them the reality. The swearing, the disappointment, and even sometimes giving the project the silent treatment for a while.

The strips for my new block are supposed to be 6-1/2" long. Doh!

Then they ask me why I do it. Why subject myself to this self-inflicted torture? My answer is always the same. "Because I have to." If I didn't, I would go crazy. I don't have a choice. Making things keeps me balanced. And I'm guessing that if you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know what I mean from personal experience.

Scenes from my lap yesterday afternoon:

Yea! Got a few inches knit on my Ishbel Shawl. Um...wait a minute...

10 minutes later...

So, you other makers of stuff out there, please don't think Alex and I are any different than you. Your mistakes and frustrations are ours. And, I am guessing that somewhere in New England, even Martha Stewart has balled up the gardener's apron she's been sewing and has thrown it in the corner of her tastefully appointed room. Because it's not always a good thing. The good thing is pressing on and mastering that project in the end.

–Cassandra