National Crafting Month Meet and Greet
Feb. 28th, 2022 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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allbingoWelcome! Here is our space to squee about the current theme and tell others a bit about our crafting interests.
Below are the thematic questions for this months fest. Fill in as much or as little of it as you wish, depending on your interests as they relate to National Crafting Month.
My Name (how I wish to be known):
Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried:
I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other:
Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed:
Project I’m particularly proud of:
Something I learned the hard way:
Something I haven't done yet, but I'd like to try:
Biggest crafting frustration(s):
Something else I'd like to share:
Below are the thematic questions for this months fest. Fill in as much or as little of it as you wish, depending on your interests as they relate to National Crafting Month.
My Name (how I wish to be known):
Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried:
I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other:
Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed:
Project I’m particularly proud of:
Something I learned the hard way:
Something I haven't done yet, but I'd like to try:
Biggest crafting frustration(s):
Something else I'd like to share:
Feel free to copy this Meet and Greet into your blog as well as filling it out here.
Hello!
Date: 2022-02-28 06:47 pm (UTC)Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried: Oh gosh, I've dabbled in a huge range of things, and spent significant time in a fair number.
* Beading: I'm good enough to make nice earrings and necklaces. I've tried bead weaving and several styles of Native American beading but don't really have the patience for those.
* Candlemaking: A favorite when I can get a workshop together. I've tried dipping, pouring, rolling, sand candles, etc. Usually nowadays we do a Candlemas ritual every few years where we make poured candles in glass containers and firestarters with pinecones and egg cartons. I've also done some other wax crafts like pressing leaves between waxed paper. I love beeswax but more often work in paraffin.
* Ceramics: I did this for a while when I was little, and was pretty good at handmade sculpture type things. I've also done sculptures and beads with polymer clay more recently.
* Drum making: I learned this in a workshop and have subsequently hosted several. You get some big PVC pipe (4" to 6" are the common sizes, but we've got one much wider), sand the edges smooth, cover one end with Manco Crystal Clear Duck Tape, then paint it. You can add eye bolts for a strap if you wish. The sound is amazingly good, and doesn't take much talent to play. If you have most of the people doing a simple 2 or 4 beat, then one or two real drummers can riff over the top of that. But even a simple beat sounds great with several drummers. these mix fine with standard drums such as bongos or doumbeks.
* Embroidery: I use a few stitches fairly often, like blanket stitch for applique, and I have a sampler I made when I was little. I've also done cross-stitch and needlepoint.
* Feathercrafts: I am quite good at mounting a loop on feathers so they can be worn. I've also used them to decorate things.
* Fibercrafts: I can card efficiently, though I haven't in years. I'd love to try a blending board or a drum carder; those would play to the strengths I have. I can use a drop-spindle. Hook spinning is too tedious for my tastes. I had no luck learning to crochet or knit. Braiding is a permed skill for me; I don't have to learn it fresh each life. I can do very simple finger-weaving. I've done loom weaving but I'm not a big fan. I've made god's eyes and some other yarn crafts. I love yarn, especially handmade yarn.
* Flint knapping: Tried it, can create a sharp edge, but I lack the hand strength to be any real use. In a survival situation, I would likely resort to Level 0: Break a piece of flint or glass to get a sharp edge and use it without trying to modify it.
* Jerry-rigging: While I haven't reached my grandparents' skill level, I can usually make do with available materials, and I know what kinds of things to save as useful raw materials.
* Miscellaneous: I've done a bunch of things that aren't specific genres of craft, just assembling stuff into a shape I like. Call it hippie craft, folk art, upcycling, whatever. If I look at bits of stuff and get an idea for how to assemble it, the results are usually good.
* Painting: I'm not great at anything representational, but I can do things like tape mosaics, protest signs, or ombre. I once made paint for a cave painting.
* Photography: I've gotten pretty good at this, but I'm limited by my skill with technology which is low.
* Quilting: Possibly my oldest craft, since my grandmother noticed my color-matching ability and set me to selecting floss colors when I was a toddler. Later on I got into cutting and piecing, which is where I learned the applique.
* Scrapbooking: I mostly scrap poems, occasionally photos. This is one area where I do quite well, although I don't get as fancy as some people do. My current projects include a memorial scrapbook and memorial board for my mother. This is one of my main crafts currently.
* Sewing: Good enough to make my own patterns as needed. I hand-sew because, while I know how to use a machine, it's too hard to keep the damn thing running. I've made a lot of ritual and historic things.
* Tie-dye: I did this a lot when I was little, occasionally as an adult. I am an avid buyer of tie-dye clothes.
* Woodworking: Nothing fancy, but I can sharpen a pencil by hand, make fuzz sticks, and build a Wicker Man. A friend and I once collaborated to make a pretty great looking spear for ritual use, with a bone point, fur and leather wrappings, and feathers.
I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other: Varies widely, see above. Probably intermediate on average, which is to say, better than average on my favorites but not professional level.
Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed: My favorites are marked above. I have enjoyed most of the things I've tried, but I'm not a fan of long tedious stuff.
Project I’m particularly proud of: I've made a whole set of ritual tabards including some countercharged applique ones. You can see some of my scrapbooked poetry here. See also Making a Crystal Ornament for the Window and Making a String of Bells. Drum making instructions are here.
Something I learned the hard way: I don't have my drawing/painting skill in this life. I have my eye for color, my eye for composition, and decent dexterity.
Something I haven't done yet, but I'd like to try: Spinning on a wheel. Throwing clay on a wheel. Drum carding. Blending boards. Making something with modern art yarn, because it only recently occurred to me that I could make a wall hanging or something else not worn so I wouldn't be limited by the wool allergy.
Biggest crafting frustration(s): I miss representational painting/drawing skills, but you can't fit everything into one body/life.
Something else I'd like to share: I'm just generally "crafty." I'm sure I've missed a bunch of stuff. I've tried all kinds of stuff. I enjoy crafting in general and will happily talk about or admire crafts that I don't do personally. I think the division between "fine arts" and "folk crafts" is bullshit. I use the anthropological definition instead: Art is anything decorative that doesn't have a pure practical purpose. Putting a flower pattern on the end of a spoon is art.
Crafting for the Win!
Date: 2022-02-28 09:01 pm (UTC)Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried: I've taken a shot at many different crafts, but stuck with relatively few. My paternal grandmother taught me how to crochet; didn't stick. Same grandmother taught me to sew; much success! So at this point in time I focus on sewing/costuming as my main crafting outlet (other than writing) and when I decided a few years back that I wanted to get good at a second craft I looked for one I felt was sewing adjacent so they could work together. I choose to self-study hand embroidery and cross stitch. That way I could further embellish the costumes or decor I created with my sewing machine.
I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other: Intermediate sewing, beginner needlework.
Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed: I adored watching my grandmother crochet. She could do it while watching TV and never once looking down at the incredible creation draped over her lap. How?! I hate that I'm not good at painting. I'm so-so with doing pencil drawings, but paints don't do what I want, the way that I want them to.
Project I’m particularly proud of: I'm proud of myself every time I conquer my inner critic and actually write something, no matter how short. I'm very proud of my early hand embroidery pieces, especially the Hugin & Munin I embroidered on the back of my Samhain ritual garb.
Something I learned the hard way: Joann fabrics is not a safe place for my wallet. I've never left a craft store without finding a treasure or ten.
Something I haven't done yet, but I'd like to try: Cosplay! Its another way to stick with sewing, but add more crafty options.
Biggest crafting frustration(s): My WIP pile. I tend to get about 30% through a project, then stall. I have an entire cedar chest of neatly stored fabric bundles, each a potential finished garment, but the oldest is from 2013 and it bugs me.
Something else I'd like to share: I enjoy crafting discussions, Stitch n' Bitch sessions, and lately I'm noticing that Macramé has come a LONG way from the 1970's plant hangers in my grandma's dining room. Has anyone else seen some of these epic wall hangings happening!?
Re: Crafting for the Win!
Date: 2022-02-28 09:26 pm (UTC)What I love about embroidery is that there are SO many stitches to explore. I have several craft books on the topic, but now videos are often easier to learn from.
What I love about cross stitch is that it's one of several crafts using grid patterns along with needlepoint, beading, and certain types of knitting and crochet. Pretty much anything on a grid can be used for any of those crafts.
>>I'm proud of myself every time I conquer my inner critic and actually write something, no matter how short.<<
"If you hear a voice inside you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
-- Pablo Picasso
Works with most creative endeavors, provided you actually have enough skill to make things you enjoy.
>> Something I learned the hard way: Joann fabrics is not a safe place for my wallet. I've never left a craft store without finding a treasure or ten.<<
I have dealt with that by carrying in with me only money I am comfortable spending.
>> Something else I'd like to share: I enjoy crafting discussions, Stitch n' Bitch sessions, and lately I'm noticing that Macramé has come a LONG way from the 1970's plant hangers in my grandma's dining room. Has anyone else seen some of these epic wall hangings happening!? <<
I recently started collecting things to do with art yarn that aren't clothes, one of which is wall hangings. Next time I see art yarn -- almost all of which is wool -- I will probably buy some to make things that aren't clothes.
I've seen some truly spectacular macrame. It depends entirely on the skill of the ropeworker. Plant hangers range from simple tools to elaborate sculptures. Wall hangings can be simple or intricate. One of my favorite pieces of wall art in my office is sort of like a rag rug with differently colored cloth braids sewn together. I've even seen pictures of a macrame playground done with full-size ropes.
Re: Crafting for the Win!
Date: 2022-02-28 09:50 pm (UTC)