Spin, Weave or Dye
The Hubbard Museum is hosting a fiber arts event, Spin, Weave or Dye, on June 12, 2010. We are inviting fiber artists from all over New Mexico to participate. The goal is to allow them to demonstrate their expertise in fiber arts and also to raise awareness of the artistic talent that we have in New Mexico, but they will also be selling their handmade products. As part of that, we will host a Knit in Public Day , but will invite anyone with an interest in fiber arts to bring a portable project (knit, crochet, embroidery, quilting, tatting, etc) or come to learn and socialize in our Stitching Bee workspace. We are also asking people to donate 7″ x 9″ washable knitted or crocheted squares that we can assemble into afghans for a Warm Up America project, which we will donate to a local charity. We will be open 9-5 on that day (normal hours) and regular museum admission will apply, so I hope you will come join us that day if you are within driving distance.
Learning to weave
I have long loved the fiber arts, beginning with learning to crochet some 25+ years ago. Last year, I learned to knit. Now, my focus has turned to spinning and weaving. My husband is making me a small hand loom, based on what we learned from eLoomaNation. Spinners and weavers abound in southern New Mexico and I found a local guild that meets at La Placita in nearby Lincoln. These ladies (and a few guys) get together for monthly spin-ins, which are great fun.
The Guild members are also helping me plan our annual Spin, Weave or Dye celebration at the Hubbard Museum on June 12th, 2010. Many of our local spinners, weavers and fiber enthusiasts will spend an entire day sharing their knowledge and love of fiber arts with museum patrons. We will also have hands-on activities for youngsters such as dyeing wool with Kool-aid and making felted soap. I can’t wait!!
When one door closes…
When we moved to a small town in rural New Mexico last spring, I knew I was taking a chance that I might never find a job that would allow me to use my experience and education. But, we loved the lifestyle and the country and we were really burned out on the big city (Houston). After 20 years of working at a major research university, I was ready to try something else–something that made me feel like I was making a difference some how. So when the opportunity came up for my husband to transfer to southern New Mexico, I just said go for it…I’ll find something to do with my career when we get there.
Not your Grandma’s quilts
As a would be fiber artist, I think I sometimes forget that you can take the oldest techniques and methods and give them a completely new twist. This guy has done just that with solar system inspired quilts–jimmy mcbride.
My cubeecraft boys
This is the cubeecraft.com version of my boys, Inkmo and Jackmo. Those nicknames have evolved into alter egos that my son often uses in his cartoons. If you check out the Cubeecraft website, there are lots of other cool things to do with cubeecraft.
Novel ways to recycle bottles
This article from the Daily Green has some very novel ideas for recycling plastic and glass bottles. In particular, check the video at the very end–made by folks who obviously have too much time on their hands.
Charities for crafters
Busy hands are happy hands, so I have been looking for charity projects that would allow me to use my crafting skills for a worthy cause. Here are three that were recently highlighted in my Yarnmarket Knitting News e-newsletter:
More DIY wedding goodies
Well, I am up to my eyebrows right now in wedding things. It is amazing how much time and work goes into even the simple home ceremony that we are having. We are having cheesecake (gluten free) instead of a traditional wedding cake because we love it and half my family has to eat gluten free. I found a couple of recipes that freeze well and will bake those ahead of time. I am making a simple A-line dress, but adding a crocheted shrug from the summer issue of Interweave Crochet (with slight modifications–different yarn) and fingerless wedding gloves from Crochetnmore. I am also working on a design for a beaded and crocheted hair froo-froo–I’ll post more on that later.
Collecting inspiration–making a "glue book"
This is an idea I came across on the Think Crafts Blog–a glue book. I am always coming across ideas in magazines that I like–decorating, landscaping, hair styles, doggie couture, whatever. Often times, it is not something I want to reproduce exactly, but it inspires some kind of design idea or an idea for a gift for a particular person, an organizing problem that needed a unique fix, a quote that would be great for starting a lesson, planning a special event, ideas for writing an article–that kind of thing. At one time I tried tearing out pages and saving them in an idea file, but that stacked up way too much paper way to fast and I usually never went back to it. A glue book would be an easy way to keep ideas, pictures, poems, quotes–anything you come across that you don’t want to send out to the recycling bin, but really don’t have a place to store. Plus, when you just need a quiet moment to recharge your batteries, you can get a cuppa your favorite beverage, kick your feet up, and thumb through all your favorite and very personal inspirations in one little book. What a great idea!
Crafting for hoarders
I am a hoarder–something my mate does not understand. Maybe its because my grandparents were products of the Great Depression and I spent summers with my grandmother growing up. She never threw anything away that had any life at all left in it. It kills me to toss anything that might have a use somewhere down the road. I never leave old furniture on the curb–I rebuild or repurpose it and occasionally, donate it. I have fabric hoards that are almost as old as my grown kids. I don’t hoard to the extent of having 300 cats and newspapers piled on every surface of my house–I recycle the newspapers and magazines (or make beads) and I’m allergic to cats. But if something might have another life as some kind of craft project, I stash it away. Thankfully, I am also something of an organizer, so the hoards don’t get too far out of hand and stay in my craft room, for the most part.
