I recently discovered A Craftsman’s Legacy on two of my local PBS television stations. Show host Eric Gorges (which for many episodes, I heard as “gorgeous” and thought, “Oh yes, you are”) travels around the United States, visiting craftspeople in their studios. He spends a couple days with them, interviewing them and learning the basics of their craft. Gorges is a craftsman himself; he’s a master metalworker and makes custom motorcycles at his shop, Voodoo Choppers, in Detroit. At this point, I’ve seen 12 of the 13 episodes in Season 1 and all four of the Season 2 episodes which have aired for the current Season 2.
The show’s website says, “Each episode will tell the story of anOld World Craftand its importance in the building ofAmerica.” Towards this end, each episode starts with a short overview on the history of the craft, presented as pictures with voiceover by host Gorges. This is the least interesting part of the show to me. While I am interested in this background, I find the presentation a bit dry and rather tortured. The main reason for this is that Gorges’ voiceover sounds bored. This is not at all true during the rest of the show. He clearly enjoys meeting and talking with the craftspeople. He loves the tools and workshops and learning new things. His obvious enjoyment of the process is absolutely charming and a big part of what makes the show so engaging to watch.
At some point in most episodes, Gorges asks the craftsperson, “Do you consider yourself an artist or a craftsman?” Everyone has an immediate answer to this question; clearly each one has thought about the differences and similarities between the two words, and what the implications are as they pursue their work. A few reject the dichotomy. One or two think it depends on the task or project. The rest are evenly split between the two categories.
Crafts highlighted on the show include glassblowing, stone carving, metalsmithing of various flavors, boat building, woodworking, and many more. Season 1 included a Native American basketweaver; this is the closest the show has come to a fiber craft so far, but upcoming episodes in Season 2 include a weaver (Juanita Hofstrom) and a quilter. I love the variety of crafts presented in the show. I don’t expect to ever pursue any of these crafts, but I love to see the ways people have organized their lives so that they can make a living with their crafts. I also love seeing the work spaces, tools, and processes used in the various crafts. I find the show inspirational and it provokes me to think about my personal approach to the crafts that I love.
If A Craftsman’s Legacy is not available on any channels in your area, you can join the “Legacy Society” on the show’s website. It’s free to join and this gives you access to full episodes of Season 1. So far, they haven’t added any episodes from Season 2. I’m not sure if they are waiting until the season ends or if they will add the season 2 episodes at some point before then. However you access it — local TV or through the web — the show is absolutely worth a watch.
While I was at The Knit and Crochet Show, more than one person commented to me that they couldn’t take classes the entire time because it was too much for them to absorb. Wasn’t I totally overwhelmed? Nope, not at all. The entire event was an adrenaline rush and I enjoyed every moment. A week after I got back, after reliving the entire event through writing the blog posts about it, I crashed. This wasn’t all because of the show; August is break month for the Harry Potter Knitting / Crochet House Cup. I push myself hard during the term, achieving feats of crafting that I otherwise wouldn’t attempt, and I appreciate break month! Don’t get me wrong — I still crafted and had fun adventures in August and September to date. Here’s the highlights.
August
S’s 5th Birthday Party
My cousin’s daughter turned 5 and had a birthday party at the zoo. It was the largest kid’s birthday party I’ve ever attended — 28 kids and 30+ adults. I made fondant cupcake toppers (I don’t think I’ve mentioned here that I’ve got mad cake skills? I don’t make cakes as often as in the past). Since I live 2+ hours from my cousin, she bought cupcakes locally and I put the toppers on when I arrived at the party.
Birthday party at the zoo = live animal show and tell!!
And I was the first person in line to get my face painted. I got to the party early so I could get those cupcake toppers on the cupcakes and the few children already there showed no interest in getting their face painted. I figured I’d beat the rush!
I knit the birthday girl a Barbie dress.
Sorting Yarn
A few months ago, my friend Nancy and I went to the home of a member of the weaver’s guild who had passed away (see my blog post). She wanted her yarn to benefit the guild. Nancy and I sorted it to pick out anything that was suitable for demos. We always have a little takeaway for kids and are constantly on the look out for yarn for those. We packed up any project kits or yarns suitable for weaving and brought those to the guild’s annual auction. The money raised from the sale of those yarns is designated for demos and will be used to buy yarn for takeaways once we use up our current stash.
Orlando Shakes Open House
From the Weavers Guild meeting, I went straight to the Orlando Shakespeare theater for their annual open house. I’ve never made it to this event before and had a great time. I went to all three panel discussions — one on lighting and sound production, one on building props, and one with the directors and educators about visioning and producing individual plays and the future of the troop. They also had a small display of props and costumes from previous productions. Here’s a small selection of the spectacular costumes, which are created in house, in conjunction with the theater department of a local university, and with the help of many volunteers.
Akerworks
My order from Akerworks arrived! I got 6 bobbins for my wheel (one in each style) and 3 drop spindles (one in each size). I didn’t take pictures before they got pressed into service, but I’m sure you’ll see pictures in future blog posts. I did take a picture of the lovely hand-written note Adan included in the box.
Ravenclaw Staff
I accepted a position as blog mistress for The Ravenclaw Aerie, the blog for the Ravenclaw Tower in the Harry Potter Knitting / Crochet House Cup. This is a big part of the reason for the neglect of my own blog; planning and executing for that blog has taken the time I had for blogging. Now that we’re on a schedule over there, I expect to be back to my own blog regularly! Most of what’s on The Ravenclaw Aerie is probably only of interest to those in Ravenclaw Tower or the Cup, but one of the first posts is about something else I did in August. Ravenclaw Porcupine Snuggles works at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She and two of her colleagues drove from Baltimore to New Smyrna Beach, FL to release Cougar, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. I met them in New Smyrna Beach so I could witness the release, and Porcupine Snuggles and I wrote a blog post about it for the Aerie.
Disney with Beth
My friend Beth came on vacation for a week and we spent lots of time at Disney! We ate at the Be Our Guest restaurant in the new part of Fantasy Land in the Magic Kingdom. We did not expect to be able to get a reservation because this restaurant, the interior of which is a replica of the castle in Beauty and the Beast, is sold out 6 months in advance. We checked anyway; someone must have cancelled because we got a 1:15 pm reservation! The restaurant is stunning inside and out.
On the day we went to EPCOT, it poured. My mother, Beth, and I walked from The Land to Journey through the Imagination without seeing any one else walking around (everyone else was smarter than us — when we got to Journey through the Imagination, the ride was down because the building was struck by lightning!). It was eerie, and made us think about what the park is like after it closes. We waited for Journey through the Imagination to be back up, and after we got off the ride, the rain had settled down to a normal rain shower rather than a deluge. We headed towards the World Showcase, wading through a calf-deep puddle on our way there.
All the rain made for a beautiful sunset!
Sick
A couple days after Disney, my husband got sick with a very bad cold. I caught it from him and it turned into a sinus infection. Yuck! For the last week of August and the first week of September, we took turns feeling misearable. Not much got accomplished around here. I was coughing so much that fiber crafting wasn’t even viable 🙁
September
L’s Birthday
Fortunately, I felt better in time to fly to New York City for a long weekend celebrating my sister’s 40th birthday. Before she arrived on Friday evening, her friends and I went to the Global Fashion Capitals exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum. Here’s a couple of interesting pieces from that exhibit.
We were trying to decide what to do next when I saw someone walk by with a Mood bag. For those who aren’t familiar with the name, Mood is a fabric store and is the place contestants on Project Runway shop for the fabric used to make their creations. We decided to go to Mood and since it was a lovely day we walked the 10 blocks to the shop. I was totally overwhelmed by Mood. On the ground floor, there’s a two-story section of upholstery and other home decoration fabrics. To get to the main shop, you take this old elevator, operated by an elevator attendant, to the third floor. Once there, you have another 3 stories of every fabric imaginable. I have no idea how the contestants manage to shop for fabric in only 30 minutes!
Yes, I did pet Swatch!
One section of the leather department.
One day, we went to the Tenement Museum (no pix allowed there). Our grandfather grew up in the Depression-era tenements of the Bronx, so this was a poignant visit for us. Afterwards, we wandered around SoHo and I bought my first ever pair of Fluevogs.
Later that evening, my sister and her friends went to a play. They bought tickets before I committed to the trip, and I wasn’t able to get a ticket to the show. Instead, I took a train out to Long Island to visit law school classmates and meet their 4-month-old baby. It was good to see them!
The next day, my sister, her friends, and I went to the Cloisters Museum, and visited their famous room of unicorn tapestries.
We ate fabulous food every day, including the best doughnuts I’ve ever eaten, from The Doughnut Plant. The interior of the shop was adorable, with doughnut pillows on the wall, a doughnut tile backsplash, and donut chairs!
The last night, my sister and I stayed in her friend’s apartment in Brooklyn. The friend was out of town, but gave us a key. The apartment came with bonus kitty, Billie.
Billie was super sweet and reminded me of my Pepper, whom I still miss very much!
Although I lived in the Northeast for nearly 30 years, I had never spent more than an afternoon in New York City before this trip. I had a wonderful time and hope I get to visit again!
Spamalot
For the fifth year in a row, Chris and I have season tickets for the Orlando Shakespeare theater. The first show of the season was Spamalot! It was absolutely spectacular. If you have the opportunity, you should totally see this show.
Orlando Maker Faire
Last weekend was the Orlando Maker Faire. The Drunken Monkey Spinners and Weavers of Orlando shared a booth for the event. Nancy and I spent the entire weekend in the booth; other members of the two groups spent one day or the other.
This was the fourth year of the Orlando Maker Faire. Last year, they expanded from the Science Center and included some exhibits in the park. This year, they expanded further, with arts and crafts exhibits in the Orlando Museum of Art, which is located on the opposite side of the park from the Science Center. The expected attendance at this event was 15,000; I didn’t hear an actual number after the event, but it is by far the highest attendance at any event where I’ve demoed.
The Science Center was wall-to-wall people; the Art Museum, where we were located, was steady but manageable. This was a fantastic event to demo. The people coming to this events are makers themselves. They like to know how things work and ask lots of questions! I spun the 50/50 Camel Down / Silk that I bought from Red Fish Dyeworksat The Knit and Crochet Show. I only got 1 ounce spun, out of 4, in the 17 hours I spent spinning! This is partially because I talked to lots of people, but also because it is spinning very fine.
Hey — there’s one of the Akerworks bobbins I got in August!
Florida Fiber In
This weekend is the Florida Fiber In. I went last night, but won’t make it there the rest of the weekend. I picked up some Black-Faced Valois locks and some Bombyx Silk fiber, and spent a couple hours spinning and chatting!
Fiber Crafting
The new HPKCHC term started on September 1 and I’ve been crafting like a mad woman. I haven’t taken pix of anything yet, but I’m working on that today and tomorrow. I’ll have a Year of Projects update post sometime tomorrow.
Ongoing
I have also been working on improving skills to benefit my blog. I bought my first DSLR camera (a Canon 70D (affiliate link)) and a Pro-Am video camera (Canon XA-10 (affiliate link)). I added Adobe Stock to my Adobe Cloud subscription. I used my Lynda.com subscription to learn how to use Adobe Bridge, then used Bridge to move all my photos out of Apple’s Photos app and into their own folders on my external hard drive. I’m still working on adding metadata and tags to the photos. I had 19,000 photos and videos in Photos and have a very hard time actually finding anything when I’m looking for it! It’s a lot of work to organize, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. I’m just starting the Lynda.com courses on Adobe After Effects and Lightroom, to further improve my photography and videography skills.
So that’s the highlight reel of the last six weeks. What’s your highlights?
For the past week, I’ve been crafting like it’s my job. I also had an unusually high number of fun activities. I had lunch in Diagon Alley with Ravelry friends who were in Orlando on vacation from Massachusetts.
Of all the items listed for sale here, I most want the never-tangle wool.
I went to my first ever professional soccer game. It was my cousin’s wife’s birthday and that’s what she wanted to do.
My husband and I bought tickets to view last Sunday’s SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from the NASA causeway. We didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn and drive over, so we drove over Saturday night and stayed in a hotel.
If you look closely, you can see Launch Pad 40 and maybe the rocket on the pad. There’s 4 objects that look like buildings. Pad 40 is between the two right hand buildings. There’s 4 lightning towers surrounding the pad; the rocket is in the middle. It’s a slightly thicker line than the 4 surrounding towers.
Here’s the video I took of the launch. The vehicle failed 139 seconds after launch. I stopped recording two seconds before that because I was using my phone to record video and could barely see anything at that point. It looked like a beautiful, perfect launch with nothing more to see. And then the Liquid Oxygen tank exploded.
I still managed to get quite a bit of crafting done! Let’s review the ridiculously ambitious list of goals I wrote:
Goals for June 21 to 30, 2015
Finish Raindrops on Roses Shawl (Headmistress Challenge)
Finish Grisou Scarf (homework, but which class?)
Finish Solid / 1×1 Scarf (OWL)
Three more color and weave scarves to meet OWL 50% (highly unlikely to finish)
Finish current Heart Illusion Dishcloth, plus 4 more (COMC?)
Tier Scarf (Charms or Potions)
Crochet Dishcloths (Transfiguration)
MHK1 swatches (Divination and / or Charms)
Small stuffed bird (DADA)
Cast on Sweet Summer Shawl (Quidditch Round 3; due July 8)
Liquid Silver Swatch (OOTP; due July 19)
Cast on Begonia Swirl Shawl (Headmistress Challenge; due July 28)
Fully Accomplished Goals
I finished the Raindrops on Roses Shawl. I absolutely love it. I test knit this for Assorted Musings (Ravelry, blog); the pattern will be released on July 15. I plan to publish a detailed blog post for FO Friday on July 3.
I finished the Grisou Scarf. I test knit this for Sasoolero (Ravelry, blog) and I’m not sure when she plans to release the pattern. I will publish a blog post on this project for FO Friday on July 3.
Partially Accomplished Goals
I started the Solid / 1×1 Scarf. I’ve woven somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of it. I have the hardest time taking pictures of weaving in progress. Since the finished work gets wound onto the cloth beam, it’s difficult to see progress!
I finished the Heart Illusion Dishcloth that I had in progress, plus two more.
I started the tier scarf and knit about 1/3 of it.
Knitting while waiting for the rocket launch.
I crocheted one dishcloth. In my goal, I didn’t say how many I wanted to knit. I need 18 for the Dishcloth Advent Calendar, but didn’t expect to get them all done this month. I was hoping for 9. I learned how to single crochet increase, single crochet decrease, and crochet through the back loop.
I knit the first 3 swatches for MHK1. I still need to weave in the ends and block them. I also wrote answers to several more questions.
Unaccomplished Goals
As expected, I did not weave the 3 additional scarves for my OWL. I did not make the stuffed bird. I decided to submit the Grisou scarf for DADA instead, and didn’t need the bird for anything else. I have not cast on the Sweet Summer Shawl. I will be doing that today. I have not swatched for Liquid Silver. I will be doing that today. I have not cast on Begonia Swirl Shawl. I think I’m going to wait a couple of weeks and cast on before I go to TKGA in San Diego. It will make excellent travel knitting.
Other Projects
I made a felted cat bed for Tiger. I managed to knit 1,047 yards worth of garter stitch in less than 3 days, felt it, and stitch it together! It wasn’t on my goal list because I hadn’t decided to do it until after I wrote that list. Tiger’s been sleeping on an alpaca blanket my father bought me when he was in Peru and I didn’t want it ruined. I needed a quick replacement.
Goals for July 1 to 5, 2015
Knit at least 1/2 of the Sweet Summer Shawl
Cast on Miranda Shawl
Swatch and Cast on Bubbles Baby Blanket
Swatch and Cast on Liquid Silver Shawl
Finish spinning and plying the Cormo I’ve been working on since February
Start spinning the 3 Feet of Sheep (8 ounces BFL) on July 4 for Tour de Fleece
I’m tempted to write more, but I think this is more than enough. My husband is off on Friday and Monday for the July 4 holiday. I will have less crafting time than usual because I’ll be hanging out with him, and we’re going to the beach for at least one day!
It’s been a busy week around here, and this coming week will be busy too. However, there’s always time to craft!
Here’s the list of goals I wrote last week:
Goals for the Week of June 14 – 20, 2015
Finish the Sand Tracks Scarf.
Finish the Raindrops on Roses Shawlette.
Finish half of the questions and swatches for MHK1.
Finish at least one color and weave scarf on the rigid heddle loom.
Cast on the Liquid Silver Shawl.
Knit the Grisou Scarf (another test knit).
I’ve finished the Sand Tracks Scarf.
The Raindrops on Roses Shawlette is a stockinette stitch body with three repeats of a lace pattern. I finished that, but did not bind off. I have enough yarn to knit at least one, possibly two, more repeats of the lace. Since this is a test knit, I e-mailed the designer and asked if she preferred that I bind off now, per the pattern, or if it was okay for me to knit extra repeats. She said she’d like to see the shawl in a larger size, so I’m going to knit the additional repeats and expect to finish early this week. Here’s how it looked on Wednesday, 4 rows shy of finishing the first three lace repeats:
Yesterday, I tied on a color and weave scarf. This is a solid red warp. The weft alternates one pick of the same red as the warp with one pick of a tweed. I’ve woven perhaps 1/4 of the scarf, and plan to finish it early this week.
I looked at all the crafting I plan to finish this month and decided to move Liquid Silver to early July. I do want to swatch for it by the end of the month.
The Grisou Scarf is a test knit. I am using a different yarn than the designer, so swatched for it. I ended up knitting swatches with three different size needles! I’ve just got to finish the border, and expect to finish knitting it today.
While I was waiting to hear back from the designer of Raindrops on Roses and for the Grisou swatches to dry, I cast on another Heart Illusion Dishcloth. I got about 1/2 of it knit.
Finally, though this has nothing to do with knitting, I wanted to post a picture of me with my father, since today is Father’s Day in the United States. I often say that I’ve birdwatched since I was 6 months old. My father started birdwatching shortly after my parents married, and once I came along, I was in a backpack on his back. This morning, my father, mother, aunt, uncle, and I went birdwatching for Father’s Day. We went to a newly opened 11 mile drive that skirts along the northern edge of Lake Apopka, not far from where we live. We only saw 22 species of birds, all of which are common in our area, but we saw many, many individual birds of most species. Here’s a picture my mom took of my Dad and I, looking at birds:
Goals for June 21 to 30, 2015
I’m writing this set of goals through the end of the month, to cover the class deadlines for the HPKCHC. I honestly don’t expect to finish all of these items, but I’m going to do my best!
Finish Raindrops on Roses Shawl (Headmistress Challenge)
Finish Grisou Scarf (homework, but which class?)
Finish Solid / 1×1 Scarf (OWL)
Three more color and weave scarves to meet OWL 50% (highly unlikely to finish)
Finish current Heart Illusion Dishcloth, plus 4 more (COMC?)
Tier Scarf (Charms or Potions)
Crochet Dishcloths (Transfiguration)
MHK1 swatches (Divination and / or Charms)
Small stuffed bird (DADA)
Cast on Sweet Summer Shawl (Quidditch Round 3; due July 8)
Liquid Silver Swatch (OOTP; due July 19)
Cast on Begonia Swirl Shawl (Headmistress Challenge; due July 28)
I just stumbled across the Year of Projects group on Ravelry. This is a blog-along group. Participants make a list of crafting goals for the year and post weekly updates on their progress. The Year of Projects runs from July 1 through June 30, so we are almost at the end of the year. Some participants run on an annual schedule, however. I decided that I will participate on an annual schedule. I already made a list for 2015, but I haven’t been reviewing it or updating it. Now you’ll get an update post every Sunday. Since I already post a WIP Wednesday post, I think the Sunday post will probably just be a list with completed items crossed off, but that may change!
Previous Posts
Since it’s been awhile since I’ve written about my goals — and I haven’t really reviewed them myself since I wrote them — I thought I’d link to the posts I wrote back in January.
Apparently, I never wrote a post about my Stashdown plans. I thought I had!
Current Status
Stashdown
I set the goal of knitting from stash. I would not buy new yarn, except for weaving yarn. Uh, yeah. turns pink That hasn’t happened. There’s been much acquisition of stash, and not all of it is for weaving.
UFOs
Here’s the list again. If I’ve finished or frogged the project, it’s linked to the relevant blog post. If it’s not linked, I haven’t finished it.
After I made this list, I found another project. I need to stuff and assemble a Baby Blue Monster.
2015 Goals and Plans
Knitting
Knit myself a sweater
Improve my finishing techniques
I haven’t done a sweater yet, but I never intended to make one until the fall, so that’s okay. In July, I’m attending The Knitting Guild Association meeting in San Diego, and I’m taking a two-day Finishing class with Arenda Holladay!
Crocheting
Learn to read crochet patterns
Learn all the basic crochet stitches.
Make at least one non-granny square crochet project
The Cotton Candy Corriedale was a breed-specific fiber, but I haven’t been thinking of it as part of that project and I did not write a separate blog post about it. The Cormo that I’m currently spinning is the first fiber that I’m counting as part of the breed specific spinning project. The updated Breed Specific Inventory is no longer correct. I never received the fiber from Little Barn. I ended up filing a complaint with PayPal to get my money back. I’ve also bought some fiber from other sources since. I’m no longer sure that I want to process the Mystery Fleece. I’ve brought it to demos and it’s nice to have an unprocessed fleece for that purpose.
Weaving
Continue playing with color and weave drafts
Learn pick up stick drafts
I finished the Ravenclaw and Slytherin Houndstooth Scarves this year, which goes to the color and weave goal. My OWL proposal for the current term of HPKCHC was to weave 8 scarves using 8 different color and weave patterns. I haven’t started that yet, but plan to start this week. If I complete the 8 scarves, that will pretty much fulfill the color and weave goal. I have not started on pick up stick drafts.
Dyeing
Finish dyeing the MAPLE LEAF Shawls
pH / water source experiment
None of this has happened.
Projects
I only had a few project goals for this year.
Dishcloth Advent Calendars
I need to complete 18 copies of 25 different patterns.
I started another pair on the trip to India, but haven’t worked on them since I got back.
Layette
I haven’t done anything with this project.
Other Finished Projects
This is a list of all the projects I’ve finished so far this year. I’m omitting anything already listed above. These projects don’t necessarily fit into any of the goals I wrote in January. I was surprised that there’s so few! I guess I’ve been more on target than I realized 🙂
I’m collating the above list into one so that I can more easily post on Sundays. I’m also adding some goals. I’ve taken on additional projects and I’ve acquired a floor loom! I’m not including a stash-related goal. I don’t plan to acquire more yarn this year, but who do I think I’m kidding?
