craft-adjacent Archives - Page 4 of 5

New notebook

I keep my to do list in a 4″x6″ notebook, one page per day. This give me enough space for a detailed list and some changes of plans without being a wastefully large amount. This is also where I keep track of hours worked, scored with points; this is a system based on David Seah’s Printable CEO.

The current notebook is a clearance Staples purchase, college ruled with a classy and non-flashy cover. It came into use in a fit of envy over Carrose Creation’s Filofaux project, but with the knowledge that in November a new calendar is either a waste of money or an exercise in extreme patience. I added some stickers and a ribbon bookmark (also pictured: my “reporter’s notebook” for the Upper Valley Fiber Crafts blog, prior to getting its own ribbon bookmark).

Obviously this picture was taken a while ago, before tomorrow’s page filled with tasks.

I wanted something prettier for my next one, although time will tell whether that’s what I really want. So I went through my paper collection and asked my sister and mother for any contributions they might have, of paper lightweight and light-colored enough to use in a notebook, at least 6″x8″ in size. I ended with 17 distinct papers and a cover cut from a textbook advertising flyer, and bought 4 more so that I’d have 21*4 = 84 pages, an even 12 weeks. I used stamps on the plain backs that most of the pages had. I’ve been busy so I wasn’t as thoughtful with it as I had hoped, but if I like it I’ll make the next starting more in advance. This notebook got a ribbon bookmark too, added before assembly, and I pasted striped tissue paper over it and the text on the inside of the cover.

After folding each page in half and aligning them, I stapled them with my husband’s booklet stapler and then trimmed the edges, more carefully than with my blog planner. Then I discovered it was really too much for the stapler, so I added two more staples outside in and one inside out. Hopefully it will stay together; otherwise I’ll have to sew it. I made my own washi tape with masking tape and Sharpies as described on DIYSara (whose blog I found while searching out handmade planner resources, fittingly enough) to cover the short edges of the cover, to give it a little protection and also to keep the tissue paper from getting scraped off.

My scissors make an appearance because it doesn’t lie flat very well and I didn’t want to manhandle it too much. I’m hoping it breaks in easily.

This isn’t really an FYDP because I deliberately waited until after Christmas, but I did leave it late – I prefer being able to write tasks into the next week’s lists. Now to date all the pages and put in the tasks and dates I already know. Onward!

The value of craft classes

As a craft teacher, with the abundance of instructional material available online, I ask myself why someone would still want to take an in-person non-free craft class (such as the crochet class I’m giving tonight). What do I offer, and what should I focus on offering?

Certainly “live” instruction is available on YouTube, there are lots of free patterns to practice with, and most popular crafts even have sequenced curricula available for free online (such as my Learn Crochet series). You can use those materials any time, anywhere, and focus on what you care most about. You can play the videos over and over again without worrying about being annoying or looking foolish. You can scroll back and check over something you can’t quite remember.

However, there is value left in craft classes. Here are the three main advantages I think they offer.

1. Dedicated time to prioritize learning. This is all on the student, of course, nothing to do with the way the class is put together, but sometimes utter freedom to schedule yourself leads to not scheduling at all. Setting aside time and paying for a class are both ways to give learning the priority it needs to happen.

2. Samples and models that can be handled and manipulated. There’s nothing like picking up, turning, peering at, and otherwise interacting with an example of what you are trying to create. In crochet and knitting in particular, one of the skills you have to acquire is reading your stitches. At first it’s all an incomprehensible tangle of strands of yarn, and it’s only with experience that you can make sense of what you’re looking at.

3. Immediate live feedback. This is the biggest benefit, and applies no matter how good you are at self-guided learning. If things aren’t working out, or they seem to be but your piece doesn’t match the example, in a class you have someone knowledgeable to check it over and determine what you are doing differently.

The class still needs a good syllabus and solid instruction, but I try to give a lot of time to guided practice. As a former mathematics teacher I’m used to only explaining and demonstrating in class, but I had office hours then for direct feedback. Now I have to fold it into the class itself. I also produce a lot of samples ahead of time, although I’m playing a guessing game with those – it’s hard to tell which ones will be most useful.

What are your thoughts about in person versus online learning, especially for physical skills?

Craft warfare

[Posted with accompaniment by loud chickadees exploring my deck.]

I’ve recently put in a lot of time writing a business plan, and sewing items to sell to benefit the Sew-op, which has rekindled my interest in having an Etsy shop. As a result, I find myself thinking a lot about my goals and desires. Overall, my goal is to make my living through craft. More specifically, well, that part is in question. Of course there is teaching, but there’s a limit to how much of that I can do, and it lies below the threshold of livable income. There are pdf patterns and potentially books, but can I get to the point of solvency fast enough with those alone? It seems doubtful. I’m considering my three main crafts.

Sewing is my endurance craft. I can and have stayed up all night doing it. I love to make do and customize. I don’t love cutting, but can usually get myself through it. Every electronic gadget that comes into my possession gets a bag. My items may end up slightly imprecise; I lack the gene that allows perfectly aligned corners in a patchwork quilt, or carefully adjusted sizes in a lining and outer fabric so there won’t be extra fabric to spread out. I love the idea of upcycling and remodeling clothes, although in practice I don’t have a lot of inspiration for projects, and design sometimes gets trying — don’t even ask how long it’s been since I started designing a sewn summer hat.

Crochet is the craft that plays to my design strengths. It doesn’t need the precision of sewing, and I find it easier to apply my geometric intuition to it. The difficulty of engineering crochet is just right to make the challenge fun and interesting, though I have several unmet goals and on one have decided sewing just makes more sense. I am a fairly fast crocheter, but I get tired of making the same thing repeatedly as is needed for design — often the design challenge feels completed well before the design is actually ready to share with others. Sometimes I have to bribe myself to buckle down and finish. Often it comes down to not wanting the time I’ve already spent on the item to go to waste.

Embroidery is the craft I lust after. I have a number of ideas for large-scale art embroidery pieces, though the details are not worked out. I enjoy embroidery, though I am slow and typically get tired of it well before a large scale piece is finished. If I hadn’t had a deadline I was determined to meet, my embroidered spaceman would probably never have seen the light of day. This also means any large-scale piece would have to be done for love more than for money. On the other hand, I’ve been jonesing for a small-scale embroidery project for a good two weeks now, but can’t seem to come up with something I really want to do.

There’s not one craft I want to do all the time — and wouldn’t it be easier if there were? To graft my lust for embroidery, adaption to crochet, and endurance for sewing into one fruitful tree! “Find your niche and focus on it” is one piece of business advice I have seen over and over again. As it is, though, my living will have to be cobbled together from multiple sources. I do feel that my subconscious is working on a solution, but meanwhile I’ll have to muddle on however seems best.