Reclaiming Yarn From a Thrift Store Sweater

I am interested in reclaiming yarn from some sweaters I already own but don’t want to wear and am interested in reclaiming yarn from thrift store sweaters, to save money and yes, for the green living efforts too.

While in Pennsylvania we were having a laid-back driving around day and I spotted a huge Salvation Army store. I know of none of these near my home. I also know my local Goodwill sells sweaters for $10-12 which is not such a great bargain in my opinion. So I went in to the Salvation Army in Pennsylvania, and hit the jackpot on sweaters. Most were $2.99 with a few at $3.99. I bought only wool sweaters. I found many beautiful and ‘like new’ sweaters in cotton too, but I didn’t have plans to use them in the near future so I didn’t buy those.

I might machine felt (full) the sweaters as is, cut them, and then cut and sew them together in a new shape. I might unravel the sweaters to reclaim the yarn and to knit the yarn into something new. I need to investigate this more to examine my options.

At the time I bought the sweaters, I had no idea how to reclaim yarn from a sweater and did a Google search. This excellent tutorial came up, on the blog Chaotic Crafter. Chaotic Crafter reclaims all types of yarn, not just wool and not just cotton, to use to knit new projects. I wanted to share this with you in case you are interested in doing this.

Reclaiming Yarn from a Thift Store Sweater post at Chaotic Crafter

Technorati Tags: reclaiming yarn, reclaiming yarn from a sweater, green crafting, knitting, machine felting.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

We are home!

Our family was in Pennsylvania for six days. Before leaving I had written some blog posts for my main blog, The Thinking Mother, and used Blogger’s new posting function to set up my blog posts to publish while I was away. That function is great, I inputted the time and date to publish the post and when that time arrives, it gets published! Presto!

Our family had never taken a trip to Pennsylvania before.

The reason for the trip was a family camping trip with the Boy Scout Troop, to visit Gettysburg. The first full day the Troop hiked. To be honest it started of horribly, as we began the hike at 2pm in 95 degree, sunny and very humid weather. It was very oppressive weather and outdoors is the last place that most people wanted to be. Our small group got lost, making the trip longer than planned. The new visitor center’s location made the hike a mile longer than it was with the data we planned the trip with, meaning we found out after we got there that the hike would be longer (in full sun walking on pavement). Before the hike was over, people ran out of water, their faces were red, everyone was soaked with sweat, it was bad to say the least and we are lucky no one had heat exhaustion. The next day was supposed to be a ten mile, six hour hike, forget that. Our family (and a number of others) backed out of it at the last minute. Instead our family did a four hour auto tour using a wonderful audio CD published by the History Channel (given to us by a friend). We heard great stories told by a very good narrator and historian while driving to the sites. We got out when we wanted to. It was ‘the way to go’ if you ask me. The camping was brutal due to heat and humidity and the noisy campground (our site was next to the flush toilets) and many campers ignored the 9pm ‘quiet time’, instead being very noisy until midnight (going to and from the bathroom, washing pots and even taking showers up to midnight). So our family bagged out of camping the third night and checked into the hotel a day earlier than planned.

So the second part of the trip was near Hershey. We spent two days at Hershey Park and it was great. My husband had been there as a child and I’d never been there before. It was a fantastic time, our kids had a ball. My eight year old was a bit young for some of the roller coasters and too old for the kiddie rides but there was still plenty for him to do. My ten year old was tall enough to go on all the rides in the park, even the scariest coaster, and a brand new coaster called Fahrenheit. By chance we happened to get the first car so we had the best seat! Hershey Park also has a huge water park included in the admission price which was a great way to cool off and have different fun than standing on line for thrill rides.

We also spent a day driving around seeing the sights and doing a little shopping, visiting a local yarn shop and trying some locally made ice cream at a farm. We tried to do some factory tours but that proved more difficult and impossible. If you ever plan to do that you should plan ahead (more than we did) and stick to a strict schedule or you will miss the tours (like we did). All the tours we tried to take were not ongoing throughout the day (unlike other tours we’ve taken in other states).

As for me, since I was the rider not the driver I got some stuff done. I read the first half of “From Crayons to Condoms: the Ugly Truth about American Public Schools” on the way home. I plan to blog that separately but for now I will say that what I do for homeschooling and what I have based the educational plan for my children on is way different than what is happening in schools today. What is going on today is light years apart and very different than what I experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. This book is a compilation of letters written by educators, students and parents about what is begin taught in public schools, including naming curriculums, books and other educational programs with short opening and closing statements by the authors. I am really shocked by what I am reading, this is a new look at what is going on that is very different than what has been said in the past by educational reformers such as John Holt and John Taylor Gatto. Concrete examples are given to illustrate vague claims and catch phrases such as “dumbed down”, “indoctrination”, “anti-Christian”, “new age”, and “self-esteem promotion”. I have not read the part yet where they outline what parents of publically schooled children can do to try to make changes in their own school systems.



Prior to reading that book, I spent every spare minute knitting. I worked on a handle in wool yarn for a bag that I plan to machine felt (full) until I ran out of yarn prematurely. I then began work on a new bag and knitted up nearly two full skeins of a new wool bag that will be machine felted (fulled). I think I have the Continental knit stitch down well and I’m making even stitches and nice rows. I need help learning the Continental purl stitch as I was not able to teach myself from the book I own while on the road. I also feel ready to do something different and more complicated. My sons are asking me to make them a knitted hat in camo colors. I want to learn to make socks. I’d like to make mittens too.

I hope to blog more about some of our educational and fun experiences in the last week in separate blog posts. I also found some great books about the Civil War at the Gettysburg visitor center’s gift shop and will blog book reviews of those in the future.

I Want to Make This Felted Bag

I want to make this booga bag!

I found this by inputting my new yarn stash today in my Ravelry account. Then I clicked through to see what finished projects other Ravelry members had shared. One felted bag made with a yarn I just purchased was this bag. This pattern is available for free.

I don't own the right needles. This will have to wait until I buy new needles.

Inspired, Ideas & Limited by Time

I feel so inspired to do many different projects.

I have lots of ideas.

I have limited time. I know this is true for everyone.

Lately I feel so busy with appointments, prepping for them then unpacking and winding down from them. I feel like I have no spare time for just relaxing and doing crafty things.

I have managed to knit each evening after being very busy all day long. I get into bed in my PJs, put the TV on, "watch" a show while I knit. The kids are with me for one show then off to bed they go. Then I usually watch another show and knit a bit more.

I then read a little while before shutting off the light and going to sleep.

It is kind of frustrating to have tons of ideas and feel like I have no time to do these in.

I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to keep up with the laundry and keep the house looking decent. The recent weeding, about six hours worth last week, also took up some of my time. We have also planted our container garden on the deck. I am planting seeds and have planted tomatoes in the raised bed in the yard. I am sure the deer will eat that but my husband insists on trying.

So many creative juices are flowing through me, and I feel stifled. The knitting though shows me the progress is being made. The kids can't believe how big this wool bag is getting, which will be fulled (machine felted).

Oh, and I am doing my first postal letterbox ring. I should take the time to blog the photos but for now I'll share that I did create two handmade books with a new method learned from a book. I also designed and carved two original rubber stamps. I sent my book out with one stamp. So far two people's books and their stamp has arrived. When those come I take the stamp in theirs and stamp it into my second book that stays home with me. I take my stamp that stays here with me and put it in their book. I then send their stamp and book off to the next person in line. I wonder when the next book will arrive??

I am behind in doing one ATC swap for May. I have the idea for how to do it and I hope to do that soon. I need to make one ATC for a swap for June. I already have the idea for what to do for that. I just quit off of the swaps so when June is done I am finished.

Make It From Scratch Blog Carnival Has Been Published

The Make It From Scratch blog carnival was published today at Our Red House. Check it out and get inspired to make something from scratch.

Lots of Bees

How many different kinds of bees are here?

Can you identify them?

(Double click on the photo to view it larger.)










Photo taken in my front yard, June 2008.

Technorati Tags: bees, nature study.

Knitting Project One in Progress

Here is my first knitted project. It will be sewn into a small bag then fulled (washing machine felted). Due to shrinkage it may end up just big enough to hold a cell phone.

I was struggling with tension and it started off with too-tight stitches. Due to the fulling that will be done none of the stitches will be seen in the finished product. Therefore my imperfections will not be evident!

Small Town Living

Small town living is great.

Even on days when I have to wait for service at the post office because the sole clerk is out to lunch.

I can only assume the other postal workers are on vacation.

Knitting Error Confirmed

I mentioned in my last blog post that I was worried I was doing the Continental knit stitch incorrectly. Yesterday at homeschool park day I verified this with my friend who also knits Continental stitch.

I was going from left to right instead of the other way around. My friend says that if I continue doing just the knit stitch for this project it will be fine. However since the twist is wrong if I was trying to combine purl with knit then a disaster would ensue.

The new plan is to finish off this bag which will be machine felted (aka “fulled”). Then I will re-train my hands and mind to do the Continental stitch the proper way. The book that is helping me with this fulling is "Not Your Mama's Felting" by Amy Swensen.

Well my friend said my rows are straight and that I’m doing well for a beginner. That is nice to know!

My boys are surprised that the knitting is getting so large. I am using up balls of yarn given to me by a friend. I am on color #4 now. The bag will be striped. The stripes are uneven as I am just using all the yarn I own of each color then changing to the next color. Well I am starting each on a new row so I do have scraps left over; I didn’t go right to the very end.

I finally had my husband download the photos from my camera so hopefully soon I’ll have the time to upload some photos here soon.

My Progress with Knitting

I thought I'd give an update on my knitting.

I chose one color of wool yarn, given to me by a friend I met through the local homeschooling chat group and who also is a reader of my blog. Using the gifted metal knitting needles (#8 I think), I started to make a rectangle. The idea was to make a felted little bag without even using a pattern. I figured the felting process would hide any errors I made.

I really struggled because I was knitting very tightly. I am trying to understand
'the right tension'. I have loosened up.

Using logic I did increases to make it wider then decreases to make it narrower at other points.

I did some shopping for books on knitting and could not find any in local stores that seemed like they could teach me the things I needed to know. It seemed so many were too sparse on directions and techniques but heavy on projects. In one tempting book they used nearly every size knitting needle and all different kinds of yarn. For some simple looking projects I would need several different sets of needles. I wanted something to do with just one set of knitting needles and maybe one skein of yarn!

Just a couple of days ago I found a book at A.C. Moore and bought it using a 50% off coupon. What I was looking for was a book with very clear diagrams of how to do the stiches and various techniques like changing the color of the yarn. I finally found the right book for me. It is called "A-Z of Knitting: The Ultimate Guide for Beginner to Advanced Knitter" by Sue Gardner. The whole book is on technique and stiches. There are NO patterns or projects. Each technique has full color photographs in many steps to clearly show what is going on. The written instructions are clear too. This is just what I wanted.



Note also I had trouble shopping for a book about knitting on Amazon becuase I couldn't see the inside of the book to check the diagrams.

Using the book I taught myself to bind off. I did that to finish the piece that is going to be the little bag. I need to get a needle that will take yarn, because I don't think I own one, I know I didn't buy one, and after that I will sew up the sides and then the little bag will be felted in my washing machine.

The book I am using for felting information about washing machine felting, and directions on how to do it is: "Not Your Mama's Felting" by Amy Swenson.



At the same time I began a second project. Using size 13 bamboo needles I cast on 100 stitches of a very thick wool yarn. This will be a larger bag of some kind.

I am just doing the knit stitch for both projects. I figure, one thing at a time.

I keep having the feeling that I am doing something wrong. According to the new book, I was doing one step backwards. I am having trouble moving the needle in the opposite way to do it like the book says. The weird thing is that the finished stitches look identical when done with either method. Next up I think I'll see if I can find a You Tube video of the Continental knit stitch to see what others say about how to do this correctly.

I have been knitting mostly in bed at night. I take it with me when I know I have to sit and wait, like in the doctor's waiting room, while sitting vigil with my dying grandmother or waiting for a carpool.

At this point I am enjoying this. I still feel very much like a beginner. The idea of following a pattern scares me to death.

I have a new appreciation for hand knit sweaters and complicated projects. I am feeling that so many of the usable items are very difficult to do. I am not rushing to push myself to do harder projects right now. Slow and steady is my pace for knitting.

My older son is begging for me to make him a blanket but honestly that may take me a full year!

I also tried to teach him to knit but it got frustrating and I gave up. One problem with that is that I don't know enough about the right way to knit to know if he is doing it right. I don't know enough about fixing errors if he makes a mistake.

Blogging Sporadic

My blogging has been and will be sporadic for a little while due to:

Grandmother getting Hospice care, setting up the care

Sitting vigil with my grandmother sans computer and Internet

Me being tired from lack of sleep

Grieving for the loss of my grandmother, processing emotions

Helping my children cope with a second grandparent's death in the last seven months

Helping make burial plans

Trying to keep up with normal life stuff

Trying to catch up on things already put off due to all of this

If I am sent links to article I may blog them but don't expect deep thoughts from me for a while as I'm just too strung out.

I'm behind on reading emails too, in case you are trying to reach me...

Surprise Meeting

I hate it when God does this. I am speaking of when a person thinks they have something to be upset about God gives them something to shake them up and to rearrange the priorities and to deal with something bigger and more important. Suddenly the old issue that we saw that felt so bothersome and looked like a mountain is now perceived as just a mole hill.

Last evening while still in the bad mood about something I got a phone call that really shocked me. My father said that Hospice called had just phoned him to schedule an urgent meeting about my grandmother that will take place this morning. The surprise is no one told us she was dying.

Based on the end of life care and Hospice experience with my father-in-law six months ago I know that the hospice agency here does not step in until it is close to the end and they also need a doctor's order to even have that meeting with the family.

I know my grandmother has not been well and has been much more sleepy. In the last month while sick with two acute, what are technically considered minor infections, she suddenly needed more help as she was sleeping more and more weak, they said, due to the infections which knocked her energy levels down. She has had care 24/7 all that time. She didn't phone me on my birthday as she was too out of it and that was not a good sign. Still, no one has said at any point along the way that she is dying!

Presently my grandmother is living alone in her own home. For a long time that is what she has wanted but about six months ago she got lonely she said she wished someone could be there for companionship on a 24/7 basis. Well as I said in the last month she has had hired help there 24/7 and the last time I saw her, about ten days ago she said she is very happy in her home with companionship and it is just what she wants. (The financial cost is basically equal to a nursing home stay and that is not something that she can afford for years!) My grandmother was hoping she'd never have to return to a nursing home. My grandmother has been asking to die for years and always said she wanted to die in her own home. She has a DNR order and a special order that if 911 is called the paramedics are not supposed to take her out of the house (I never even knew that existed, but it is on a bracelet she wears now).

Last week her doctor was on vacation and no one would speak to my father about her for an update on her condition (long-time CHF plus the two minor infections). Last night during the office's evening hours, after the Hospice call, I begged him to call the doctor's office to ask about this and he was told the doctor went home and no one else would talk to him. I know on the one hand they say American medicine is so great but in times like this it seems like the communication part at least is not so wonderful. And if the communication is not there then the entire care can be perceived as not good. It is too bad so many doctors fail on the communication part, office staff could help to make this smoother instead of just being even more of a blockade and hindrance, which is a shame.

It is important to me that in the senior years, people are allowed to live with dignity. I wish that all elderly people and also the dying (of all ages) continued to have their wishes considered instead of sometimes other situations such as family doing what they perfer or intentionally going against the desire of the patient. I feel today regarding my paternal grandmother that she is getting what she wants, being in her own home with 24/7 care, and for that I am happy. I don't know how much longer that will be possible or when/if the money will run out and if she will have to go to a nursing home and enroll onto Medicaid and have the state take her home to help defray those costs.

I decided to get the straight story I will attend this morning's meeting. I feel sorry for myself and afraid to hear news that my grandmother's heart may be completely and truly failing at this point but I keep telling myself that this is not about me, it is about her and trying to focus on getting her the care that is right and best and what she wants also. I feel like I need to pull courage out from somewhere. Prayer is helping, I'm leaning on God this morning.

(Note: this is a case where blogging something is kind of a form of therapy. I'm not looking for attention. I am just sharing from the heart. Writing this out helps me process the situation and relieves stress. I don't usually share this type of personal information on my blog, a lot goes on in my life that I never blog about!)

Link to a Lomo Rant

I learned some interesting things in this article including that I don't have to buy a Lomo pinhole camera but can convert a cheap ($1-2) plastic 35 mm camera to a pinhole myself.

I have been stumbling upon those plastic 35 mm cameras with no batteries at thrift shops and Goodwill ranging from 50 cents to $4. I find Goodwill overprices, selling those for $3-$4 and as a comparision, selling a Kodak Instamatic for $7. Does anyone really want a Kodak Instamatic that takes 110 film for $7? On the good side I came across a Canon (film) SLR, a zoom that goes to 210mm and a flash in a case for $25 at a Goodwill the other day. (I didn't buy it as I still have my old Minolta from the 1980s and I inherited two manual SLRs and also two Minolta Maxxim's.)

Lomo Rant

Behind on Posting

I am behind on posting due to busyness.

I have been creating.

What needs to be blogged in more detail:

1. I have purchased a Diana camera from eBay.

2. I have shot one roll of film on the Diana and sent it for processing which is another story in and of itself. I'm waiting for it to come back.

3. Where does a person get gaffer's tape?

4. I have purchased a Nickelodeon Action Blaster toy camera.

5. I used my never used but bought new about 15 years ago camera which is a no name version of the Lomo Action Sampler.

6. I shot half a roll with the "Action Sampler".

7. I bought an Agfa Clack on eBay from a UK seller.

8. I bought a box of antique cameras from a tag sale including a rare form of the Brownie and some Polaroids.

9. I learned of the Polaroid film change. They are still being made by Fuji now.

10. I bought some Polaroid 669 film locally.

11. I shot some photos with my Polaroid Colorpack II and my Polaroid Colorpack IV.

12. The best camera I own for a Polaroid was the one I got for FREE.

13. I just finished reading Michelle Bates' book on toy cameras which I will do a book review on.

14. I shot half a roll (roll #2) with my Lomo Fisheye camera.

15. I decided the Diana was more appealing to me than the Holga for now. I am starting with the Diana and will see how the photos turn out. Later on if I feel I need more cameras I'll buy a new Holga.

16. I am more tempted with the full fisheye circle of the Holga Fisheye lens than the Lomo Fisheye camera that I own right now.

All those things deserve their own blog posts!! If I only had the time!!

Trying To Knit

Summary of recent events:

KNITTING ATTEMPTS

Monday, daytime: A homeschool mom taught me to knit, gave me a pair of knitting needles and some wool yarn. I could do it when I was there. The plan is to make an easy felted bag. The reason for felting it is so that the messy stitches will not show in the final product.

Monday, nighttime: Could not knit. Gave up.

Tuesday: Watching videos on knittinghelp.com, not working. Watched videos on YouTube.com to learn to cast on. I thought it was working. Knitted about 45 minutes. It looked horrid. Ripped it out. Went to sleep.

Wednesday: Busy and feeling discouraged. Didn't touch the knitting needles.

Thursday: Watched videos again. I think I got the cast on. I think I got the continental stitch. Knitted while waiting for kids to arrive from carpool. Later that night, it looked horrid. Ripped it all out.

Friday: Tried casting on again by the YouTube directions. Not working. Bought a book on knitting and felting. Read the book's ridiculously short directions. Realized I had been doing something very wrong after seeing the videos. Started all over again. I think it is working.

Saturday (today): Looked at my work and found some odd tangles and a mess. Don't know how to fix it. Ripped it out. While kids playing in a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament, using the book, I casted on and did three rows. It looked horrid. Ripped it out. Casted on again and did four rows. There are things very wrong happening. I gave up and put it away. Read a magazine to pass the time (Somerset Studio May-June 2008 issue).

Not sure if there is any hope for me at this point. I think I should hang out with a knitter and knit for a while and if I make an error they can help me right then and there.

Homeschool mom friend recommends me to go to weekly Knit and Bitch gatherings that are held one town over. Not sure I have time to make it at those exact times.

I really want to learn to do this. Really I do.

Doing a Lomo Happy Dance—Scored My First Lomo Camera for $5

Last week after finishing reading one book about plastic cameras, I decided to explore some thrift shops to see if I could find some old plastic junky cameras, preferably a Diana or a Holga (one can have high hopes). The idea was hatched on the morning that we had to go to another city that I usually never go to, for a doctor’s appointment. I wanted to check a Goodwill up there and see if there were any other thrift shops in that city. I barely know anything about that city and have only been there three times in my life (despite living in Connecticut my entire life).

I did a search online and found that Google maps does a search to tell you the names, addresses and phone numbers of all businesses in a category and it lays out the points on a map. I took down some phone numbers to input into my new car navigation system (which I am still learning to use).

The trip was botched though. The navigation system didn’t think that some of the phone numbers existed, so I couldn’t find my way to them with just the phone number. I should have written down the street address. (This is yet another shortcoming of this navigation system.) Then I put in two destinations after the doctor’s visit was over and the Goodwill was supposedly ½ mile away (fantastic). Somehow though it didn’t direct me there but a roundabout, longer way to the other one that was three miles away. I asked it to route me from one to the other (seems pretty easy doesn’t it). I got annoyed when I realized I had somehow gone by the first stop without the system telling me I had. This was traffic-y driving and it was hard enough to keep my eyes on the road and get into the right lanes so I could not look at every sign in the wall-to-wall strip malls I was driving past. Frustrated, before getting to the farther away store and I declared the journey over when I was going by the on-ramp to the highway so just jumped on it to head home.

On the ride home I was disappointed because I really wanted to see if anyone had any toy cameras. So when closer to home I stopped in the Goodwill which is one town away from me (not using the navigation, just using my brain, thank you). I had never looked at cameras there before and did find them in the back, thrown onto a shelf. I didn’t find anything except some digital cameras and some battery operated automatic 35mm cameras, so I headed out. I stopped at the glass cases by the cash register which are kept locked. I peered in and saw to my surprise, a Lomography box, it was a fisheye camera! JACKPOT!

I have wanted a fisheye camera forever as I just think they are fun! I asked to see it and it was in perfect looking condition with all of the booklets and directions intact. The box was just ripped when the person tried to open it the incorrect way. It was $5. I bought it on the spot and held it like treasure while I waited in the long line to pay.

Upon getting home I read the directions and realized they’d never been read before, they were way too crisp. When I went to load the film in (which I already had on hand from past uses of 35 mm film), I discovered the silica gel packet inside and realized the camera had never been used! This is a special edition camera made for Urban Outfitters and the original price sticker says it was $38. It is all white including the very edges of the barrel (is that what it is called?) and pretty cool looking.

I went outside and began snapping shots. I had a homeschool meeting to go to and so had to stop playing with it (darn). I almost took some shots while at the coffee shop but I figured the ladies would think I was off my rocker for playing with a fisheye plastic camera so I didn’t do it. (If they read this blog they’ll find out about it though.)

The next day I took it to the homeschool park day with me and snapped more shots. I finished the 24 exposure roll by dinnertime and ran to the drug store to get it developed. I couldn’t wait to see how they came out!

Here I am with a self-portrait, taken in my driveway, the day I bought the camera. (I now know I should have used the flash even though it was sunny outside, becaues the sun was behind me.)



Things learned about the Lomography Fisheye Camera:

1. No matter how bright it is indoors, you do need the flash.

2. My camera leaves odd black shapes in the corners when the flash is used. This might be my shadow; I’m not sure, as it is only on the left side.

3. It works best in bright sun.

4. Even when the sun is overhead (at 1:30pm or 2:00pm) when I try to take a shot looking straight forward or slightly up the sun is in the shot.

5. Even when close to the subject in the center of the shot, (3 feet) the thing appears far away. In photos of my son riding his bike he looks 10 feet or more away when he was so close to me that he almost was going to hit me.

6. You can get very close in, such as 1-2 inches and the shot comes out.

7. Close-up’s of faces get distorted.

8. There is a fine line between getting a very close shot that has enough light versus using the flash and having the close thing overexposed and whited-out.

9. My white camera sometimes leaves a white ring around the fisheye. I see that the regular Lomography fisheye camera has a black area (barrel?) around the lens which leaves a sharp black outline around the circle of the fisheye. The black looks better. Note the black camera is sold by Lomography.com and goes for $50.

10. The flash is malfunctioning. Sometimes when it is on and the light is on, it does not go off. Sometimes when the flash is shut off, the light is still on and the flash does go off when I don’t want it to. Other times no light is on and the flash goes off anyway. I am confused!! Even with a $38 camera I expect the flash to be working right. This tells me then that the Lomographic Society is overcharging for their cameras which truly in the end are as some call them “crappy plastic cameras”.

11. The top and bottom of the circle are cut off. If you desire a true round fisheye, they do sell a fisheye adaptor lens for the Holga camera.

12. The viewfinder is ‘normal’ and you don’t really know how your image will come out, which things are included or not included in your shot. You have to just aim and shoot and what comes out in the end is a total surprise.


Already wishing for more…

1. My camera is the first generation of fisheye camera that Lomo made. You cannot do a double or multiple exposures. There is a new model “Fisheye No. 2” which has a lot more features such as allowing for multiple exposures, having a shoe for a second flash that can be used for longer exposures, has a true fisheye viewfinder, and comes with one pack of film for $70.

2. Lomo also sell an additional product that makes the camera waterproof for underwater shots!

3. They sell a special cutter to quickly and smoothly cut the circle shape out.
I am already thinking that I should start using this camera not just for fooling around but such as for taking shots when doing tourist-y things. How fun would it be to have more typical tourist photos but done in fisheye view?

Links
Fisheye microsite at Lomography.com

Fisheye Camera exclusive edition for Urban Outfitters (the one I now own)

Technorati Tags: Lomography Fisheye camera, Lomography Fisheye camera no. 2, toy camera, plastic camera,

Great Photos of Disneyland with Toy Camera

Check out these fantastic photographs made with a toy camera at Disneyland on Pollywog Productions blog.

Zen and the Art of Knitting: Book Review by ChristineMM

Title: Zen and the Art of Knitting
Author: Bernadette Murphy
Format: softcover book
Publication: Adams Media Corporation 2002
ISBN: 1580626548
Retail price: $10.95

I stumbled upon “Zen and the Art of Knitting” at a used book fundraiser sale and thought it looked like an interesting read for the quarter that it cost me. I have been drawn to learn to knit as a way to keep my hands busy and for the love of making things from scratch. At the time I read this I was not yet a knitter.

Each chapter in this small book is a stand alone essay. This is easy reading, relaxing reading, the type that is perfect to read before going to sleep and is light yet interesting enough for airplane or beach reading.

First I will address the fact that this is not a book about Buddhism, something that others assumed about the book, which was the reason that one Christian knitter refused to be interviewed and featured in the book. The author practices no religion, although her aunt is a nun.

Murphy uses knitting as a way to center and calm herself, as a meditative activity. Knitting helps Murphy slow down, sit down, and think. I found that so interesting because the first knitters I was exposed to in my adulthood were mothers whose toddlers or preschoolers were no longer clamoring to be in their arms, they wanted something to do with their hands. I had been around so many mothers, mainly through La Leche League, who, after being so busy caring for babies and children, could not bear to sit still in administrative meetings or lectures—so they knitted while they listened and talked. Now I find myself in situations where just sitting still and listening is unbearable and I clamor for something to do with my hands. Not always wanting to take notes, doodle or sketch while others watch, I’d feel more comfortable knitting, I think.

On the idea of knitting to keep the hands busy versus knitting to slow us down, I found this passage from page 174 intersting. When interviewing a knitter named Lizbeth Upitis, Lizbeth says,

"...the tools of knitting provide this mental health break while fitting within the Western mentality of production, the idea that we must always be productive? She says she found her way to meditation through knitting. "Idle hands are devil's work," she quotes the old saying. "Meditation is a valid part of my life; it's not selfish. But it's taken me a long time to realize that."

In the book Murphy interviews knitters about what they do and why. Although some knit for crafting pleasure, others knit to meditate and others knit their way through recovering from injuries or illness, as a sort of therapy for the mind while the body heals. One doctor knits as a way to reduce on-the-job stress, specifically that caused by the death of a patient. There is talk about tapping into a different level of consciousness in various places in the book. What I wanted the author to realize is what is being described is the ‘flow experience’. For more information on that, read the books by Mihaly Csikszentmihal.



Murphy interviews her aunt, a nun, who knits items to be used by those living in poverty, so the aspect of knitting for others as an act of charity is touched upon. Another interview is with a Jewish woman. A Buddhist is interviewed as well. As you can see the author was trying to research how people of different faiths feel their knitting intersects with their religious and/or spiritual life.

She also has a chapter about a Waldorf handcraft teacher who discuses the Waldorf education outlook on handcrafts and working with natural fibers and anthro views on wool yarn and natural materials being real while acrylic yarns are not real and help teach the child to know the difference between the real and not real. I do need to state that the statement about acrylic yarn not being natural is not true as it is made from petroleum and petroleum byproducts which are all natural materials. A more accurate way to describe the difference between acrylic yarns and the wool yarn used in the Waldorf schools would have been more honest and appreciated by at least this reader.

A fun chapter explored the reason that Clare Crespo began making her now famous three dimensional crocheted representations of food items, sold as sculptural art pieces.

More serious, deeper thoughts are touched upon throughout the book as well. I found the discussion of knitting and feminism interesting to ponder as well. A knitter named Karen shares that when she began knitting it was product based, knitting to have a finished product and that after she entered her 40s knitting became more spiritual and less product focused.

"That's the difficult thing, sometimes: getting women to just give in to the process of knitting and not focus so much on the product." She relates this to the larger issue of the women's movement. "A lot of women between forty-five and sixty were taught that they can do it all. Women's lib, entering the workforce and so on. They think it's self-indulgent to do something simply because you want to do it. They're project-motivated, making huge committments and trying to do everything perfectly."

In a nutshell this is an entertaining read for anyone who has an interest in knitting. The book is a combination of deep thoughts and ponderings written in a light way that makes for fast and easy reading, but to get the most pleasure out of this book, I advise reading it slowly one chapter per sitting to savor it.



Technorati Tags: Zen and the Art of Knitting, Zen and the Art of Knitting book review, knitting.

My ATC: Listen

ATC by ChristineMM, created May 9, 2008 for thematic prompt "LISTEN".

Technique: Collage of used postage stamps on recycled cardboard. White gesso painted on top then wiped off. Selected areas to remove even more gesso from to highlight the images. Passage also written by ChristineMM, in word processor, printed on paper then made into a packing tape transfer and adhered to the front of the ATC with Golden Acrylic Gel Medium soft gloss.

Technorati Tags: ATC mixed media collage, ATC , ATC postage stamp.

The Toycam Handbook: Book Review by ChristineMM

Book Review by ChristineMM


Title: The Toycam Handbook
Author: The members of ToyCamera.com
ISBN: 9781411663817
Publication: self published through Lulu.com
Price: $31.03



Summary Statement: Provides the Basics on Using Toy Cameras with Camera Lists and Prices Too

This book is a compilation of contributions of members of the discussion forums at ToyCamera.com. Without ever meeting face to face, this book was compiled and is printed on demand by Lulu.com. Before I get into comments on the book I wanted to share that unique and very cool fact. You have to love the way the Internet is not just connecting people but is now resulting in books being produced!

The book is divided into three main parts.

The first section of the book is a guide to toy cameras. About 30 cameras are described on two page spreads including multiple color images of the cameras and two examples of the photos they produce. The information on each camera provides a bit of history and an indication of the rarity and price you will probably have to pay to buy one. It is helpful to know if you have found a treasure at the thrift shop or not. Twenty more cameras, some new and still in production such as some of the Lomography cameras are shown with full color photographs of the camera, with just a small amount of information.

The second section of the book provides all kinds of useful information. As a beginner to playing with toy cameras I found all my questions answered. Basic questions such as the types of films, how much they cost and where to find them and get them developed is covered. How to modify different cameras is discussed such as converting a 120 film camera to accept 35 mm film, converting the cameras to a pinhole camera or using a zone plate. More advanced techniques are also covered such as developing your own photographs. Also mentioned is having the film developed then scanning the negatives in order to work with the images digitally or to have them printed off after digital conversion.

Lastly, there are interviews with 15 toy camera photographers who are members of ToyCamera.com who discuss why they love toy cameras, which is their favorite and some of their favorite techniques and interesting good stuff like that.

After reading this book I realized some of the differences in the different vintage toy cameras and decided which I think I’d like to use. I feel more capable of jumping into toy photography now. I know what to keep my eyes peeled for in thrift shops and at tag sales and I know what price ranges are typical before bidding on some cameras on eBay.

This book left me feeling capable and that anyone can have fun and produce good photographs using toy cameras, you just have to ‘go for it’—go get a toy camera, get out there and take some photos and get to know your camera. This hobby is accessible to all.



Some "Toy Cameras":









Technorati Tags: The Toycam Handbook, The Toycam Handbook book review, toy camera guide, toy camera, lomography.

Pondering Photography

May is here and that means Mother’s Day and my birthday. That makes two occasions for which a present may be received from my husband. I’m long overdue for something substantial. These won’t be holidays that presents are skipped, not this year.

I like my digital automatic focus camera with zoom lens. I carry it with me everywhere I go and I take lots of photos. However after taking literally thousands of photos I want something more. I miss my old SLR which allowed me to focus the camera. I miss the out of focus things in a photograph; I am tired of everything being in focus all the time. I am sick of having problems trying to take a photo of something close up and struggling with the automatic focus when it focuses on something other than the main object. I am sick of the slower shutter and the slow recovery time that makes me miss things that my children are doing or animals or other creatures.

I was thinking of getting a good digital SLR camera, probably one of the Canon EOS Rebels. I am overwhelmed by the choices. I don’t ‘get’ digital SLRs. I tried to do some research online but can’t find the answers to my questions. And I will admit that if a camera has a lot of books published just on how to use it makes me worry. I don’t want a camera that I have to read a whole book to learn how to take a decent shot.



Which brings me back to thinking about my old film camera. I still own my film SLR (a Minolta). I have different telescopic lenses for it, a macro lens, and a 28 mm (wider than normal) lens. I just inherited some more film cameras: a Konica SLR. A Minolta SLR. A Minolta Maxxim 7000 and a Minolta Maxxim xTi. I also have multiple lenses for those cameras, flash units, and a number of other accessories, and all the owner's manuals too.

Thinking back to artsy photos from old cameras, I have been reading about using an old Polaroid Land Camera, the SX-70 to make interesting transferred images with. I just inherited a camera case, a flash unit, and an instruction manual for one of those but not the camera. My husband informs me when he was a child he accidentally broke it. Those cameras are selling used on eBay for over $100 (wow). I have just inherited a Polaroid Spectrum camera with one unused film cartridge. I don’t know if I can do the transfers with that film type and with that camera. That is something else I tried to investigate on the Internet but so far can’t find the answer. I bought a book on Polaroid Transfers and can’t find the answer in there, yet. I have not had time to read that book cover to cover, so maybe the answer is buried somewhere in there.



Through an alternative art magazine, Teesha Moore’s Art & Life, about two years ago, I learned about lomography’s site (technically it is called the Lomographic Society). Teesha’s husband Tracey is into lomography and he wrote the article. The article taught me that artsy people are using old and new plastic toy cameras to make interesting photographs with. I have been pondering the idea of jumping into that hobby of ‘lomography’. I should mention in case you don’t know that the Lomography site also provides web space for members to upload photos (they call that a Lomohome). There are many ways to view and search for photos such as searching by city name and type of camera or type of image. There is a message board for networking and chatting and they also have a big conference for members to attend and meet up.

The fantastic photographs by Angela Cartwright I found out are usually made with photographs from a vintage Holga camera. In her book which I read cover to cover recently, “Mixed Emulsions” all of my favorite images were made with her Holga. The Holga’s images are with 120 film and produce 3x3 inch photographs. You have to buy the film from specialty Internet sites and unless you are going to develop the film yourself you have to pay about $10 per roll and send them through the mail to get developed.



The Holga is just one of what people are calling toy cameras. It is a plastic camera that sold for dirt cheap back in the 1960s when it was invented. The light leaks in the body, the defects in the plastic lenses and other quirks make the images surprising because they don’t look like ‘real life’. The images can wind up looking blurred or having light streaks on them. Some parts can be in focus while others are not. I love the idea of taking a photograph and finding the surprise when the developed film is seen. I actually loved that part of all the film photography that I used to do.

Lomography is selling new copies of the old Holga’s and new Diana cameras too. I just read a review with comparison photos and I think the vintage Diana makes better photographs than the new one. So now I am on the lookout for a vintage, working Diana. I spent some time checking completed auctions on eBay. I see some noted the camera was tested and works. Now I worry that a camera without that statement might not work at all—especially those marked “sold as is” ----it would really stink to buy one for about $50-65 and have it not work.

But first, before I even peeked at eBay, I began making rounds to local thrift shops when I was near some. After many trips with nothing being found, I bought six in one day. All were either 50 cents or $1. All are not battery operated which allows for multiple exposures or overlapping images across two negatives. Two are Diana knock-off’s, two are 35 mm panoramic cameras and two are 35 mm basic cameras. I have also kept my eyes peeled for a Polaroid SX-70, the Holga and the Diana but so far have not found any.

I also own a new camera I bought almost 20 years ago but never used. It takes 4 images in a grid pattern all separated by some fractions of a second, and it has no flash. I paid $10 for that in a mail order catalog back then. That is similar to the new Lomo Action Sampler without flash, which sells for $40 new. So you can compare the old prices to the new cameras developed to meet this new trend. Just as the old Diana’s sold for $1, now the new Diana sells for $60.

I decided before I buy a new or a vintage used camera I need to know a little bit more. I have been trying to read websites but am not getting much information. So using my Amazon commissions from my blog’s Amazon Associates account I bought “Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity” by Michelle Bates. This discusses toy camera photography and then it moves on to tips for using the Holga. It arrived yesterday so I began reading it immediately and already learned that the professional artists usually develop their own black and white and color films and some create custom made frames for their images. Now this end of the extreme has me wondering if lab developing is even worthwhile.

For the record I am stating publically I am not pondering getting into developing my own film. I did learn to do that in a Photography 100 class in college but I just don’t want to ‘go there’ mostly so that I am not exposed to the chemicals and also because our home does not have proper ventilation. So I reject that part of what some photographers are doing with printmaking from their toy cameras.



I am awaiting delivery of another book that discusses the many toy cameras on the market, called "The Toycam Handbook". That book from what I can tell explains what all the different toy cameras are like. It has galleries of photographs as well.



Today out of curiosity I checked while at Wal Mart and they did have a few toy film cameras. One was a soft jelly plastic Barbie camera with a roll of film and a battery for $13. Another was a Disney princess camera with film and battery for $13. They were sold out on the Fisher Price toy camera. Note they each took a battery so it is not hand wound so double exposures are not possible. They also had flashes. I didn’t buy any. Starting at $20 there were low pixel toy digital cameras as well. At least with the film cameras the quality of the print is higher.

I then thought if that is all that we need then why not use disposable cameras. A four pack of a cheap brand with flash sold for $8.88. If one wants to modify the disposable camera to make the lens do something funkier, they can. Here is one set of directions for modifying a disposable camera.

I don’t quite know what to do. I’m not sure if a $450 really good digital SLR is what I really want. I want to do funky fun photos. Toy cameras, especially the Holga or a Diana would do the trick—but then I am saddled with the cost of film and developing (total would be about $20 per roll for both things from what I found on the Internet). I have one more book on toy cameras on its way to me.

I think I will hold off from buying a new expensive digital SLR for now (even if I end up not having a gift on Mother’s Day or my birthday), and I will read up more on toy cameras. I’ll keep checking at thrift shops for a Holga or a Diana (I’m not holding my breath). In the mean time I guess I can fool around with the cameras I already own that take 35 mm film and get that developed at Costco.

Oh and last month on Freecycle I was the happy recipient of some 120 film and some 35 mm film. I figured that I could use that in my experiments.

I’m also going to see if I can find a local camera shop so a human can explain the in’s and out’s and the pro’s and con’s of digital SLRs. There are not many around me so that may involve a 45 or 60 minute drive (not very convenient). However I do feel like I’m getting ripped off to buy the camera from the local shop when the difference between their price and Amazon’s price is $150 (on the model I’m looking at).

And lasty while I ponder this I could spend hours and hours on the Internet viewing images taken by photographers with Holga, Diana and other plastic and toy cameras. Between the Lomo site and Flickr I could just scroll and scroll and scroll and never get around to actually making my own photographs!

Links

Lomographic Society (Lomography) (You can buy new Lomo cameras on this site.)

Toy Camera.com

Light Leaks magazine of low technology photography (link from this home page)


article: Reloading and Adapting Single-Use (Disposable) Cameras By Howard Wells

One example of a double exposed photograph from the lomography site

Gallery of winners of the 2007 Krappy Kamera competition (New York City)

Holga camera Wikipedia page

Diana camera Wikipedia page


Angela Cartwright’s Art webpage

Holga info and links on LitFoto site

Amazon sells new Lomography cameras also and sometimes less expensive than on the Lomography site:










Technorati Tags: toy cameras, plastic cameras, Lomography, Holga, Diana camera.

More Felted Creations

Here are more needle felted creations that I made in March and April 2008.

1. Easter Egg about 1.5 inches in length

2. Easter Egg about 3 inches in length.

3. Robot about 7 inches tall

4. Race Car about 7 inches long. I could not think of what to make with this hot pink roving! I especially like the racing flames on the sides.

Hilarious Pointed Party Hat Photo

If you are as sick of seeing pointed party hat photos as I am you must go look at this photo. It most likely is a temporary webpage.

Light Leaks magazine preview issue cover shot

Struggling to Learn New Craft Skills

I have a few things going on that are making me realize the difference between an art and a craft. What is happening is that me and my children are struggling to learn how to use the tools of some different ‘crafts’. The bottom line is that when you do certain things that require that you use certain tools and that you use them in just a certain way in order to get your ‘finished product’ to come out ‘right’ then to me that is a craft.

Even when I have a unique idea which I consider a creative artistic skill, it cannot come to fruition with out a certain level of skill and mastery of the tools for certain types of work.

When I see a finished piece of artwork or craftwork that a person designed and conceived all on their own I consider that person an artist. The more I learn about mastering certain types of craftwork the more I realized that there is both the element of the mastery of using the tools and the artistic and creative idea in and of itself. I admire not just the finished stained glass window’s design but I admire the fine soldering work as well, from seeing my mother struggle and get angry with the soldering part of the stained glass works she used to make. The more I learn about certain types of work the more I realize which kinds of things are difficult to do. A stained glass maker can identify a design which has a successfully executed difficult shape or size of a piece (it make take many botched cuts before they finally got the glass to cut correctly as they wanted it). This is why those who know about making certain arts and crafts especially those with hands on experience at trying those crafts, can more deeply appreciate well-executed pieces of finished art. A person who is ignorant about the basic skills cannot appreciate as fully what that finished piece represents.

Part of making an artistic well-made finished product with a craft is mastering the actual tools and using them correctly. With a craft if you don’t have good tools, or if you are using the tools incorrectly or you are not yet skilled with using those tools, then the finished product will look bad, not just in an artistic way I mean, but it just won’t be right. I was so frustrated with my first (and only) stained glass making attempt because after all the work of cutting I realized two pieces didn’t fit well enough together to actually use them in the piece! With a craft you need your raw material, true but you need the tools to make those materials into something other than what they are in their raw state. You may have your vision of the artistic rendering of the finished product, such as if you designed your own pattern for knitted socks, but if you cannot master the working of the tools then this finished product will not come to fruition. Period.

The learning to use the new tools takes patience. Sometimes people get hung up in that learning process and give up. Being frustrated with using the tools is not a direct reflection on the person’s creativity or artistic talent, it is purely an issue with the tools and has to do with skill and lack of mastery of those tools.

Weaving with a Loom

Right now my son is trying to weave using a Brio (brand) loom. This was lent to us by our church as part of a children’s art show. It sounded like a great idea. However they didn’t give us the instruction book. I had no way to know what the proper way to start a new piece is. We don’t know how to properly remove it from the loom in order to not have it unravel. I don’t know how to rethread the loom to make another piece. All they showed him was how to do just the weaving part (the easy part).

When using the loom last night the tension appeared wrong. Since we have no directions we don’t know how to fix this. I then moved a piece on the loom like you are supposed to and a piece of the wood snapped. Oh no. I then realized that some of the strings were tangled. Further inspection revealed that the way the loom was strung I believe was incorrect. The strings were bungled up more near the middle instead of being evenly spread out across the length of the span of it (this is how we received the loom). Having the string going on an angle caused too much tension on that outmost ‘rung’ or whatever it is called and caused the thin wood to snap.

I should mention too that I had spent time on the Internet twice now going all over trying to find directions for this Brio loom to no avail. I have found direction for different looms which are not at all the same as this one. I feel like we are the blind leading the blind here.

This Brio loom is quite nice and I see it sells for $40. It comes with a booklet and I am sure if I had that information we’d be in a much better situation right now.

Today I tried to rethread the loom. I had to dissect it to see how it was set up and now I have tried to re-string it (or whatever that process is called). This is very hard to do when one does not know what they are doing. This is when it was underscored for me that a person needs to understand how to use a tool like this—that is part of the ability to make the finished product; there is skill and knowledge of the tools involved here.

Beading (Jewelry Making)

Two weeks ago I strung my first necklace with beads. I was following directions in a book about how to make jewelry including the very important step of crimping the ends so that the thing doesn’t fall apart. I struggled with that. My son (the seven year old) made me a necklace. Then it fell apart making me realize I had crimped it wrong.

I spent time later reading books and watching YouTube videos about crimping and realized the tool I own that led me to believe it was an ‘all in one’ tool was not a crimping tool and so it didn’t do the task right. I hoped the finished pieces I had already made would be alright.

The next day another necklace I made fell apart right in my lap while I was in a public place. I gathered up the beads and tossed them into my pocketbook. This underscored to me that although I used creativity and an artistic eye while designing my own necklace, the fact that I used the tools incorrectly really screwed the whole thing up. The necklace was not functional, it was in pieces.

Later I went in search of a crimping tool only to find out while staring at the wall of jewelry findings that the tool needs certain sized crimping beads and the bead size depends on the size of the thread you use. Why this very basic information was not clearly stated in the three books I read ‘for beginners’ is beyond me. I learned this by reading many labels and by putting two and two together on my own.

Those are the times when I realize that having a local friend who does a craft or taking a workshop can be very useful. I will say though that I did take two workshops on beading which ended up being only a putting together of a pre-made kit not actually learning anything about me making a beaded item from scratch but that is a longer story that I may tell another time. I guess another lesson learned is when you pay and attend a workshop you should have a clear understanding of the goal and content of said workshop. Probably the two workshops were done to meet what the majority wanted, they wanted to just string the beads onto a necklace to have the finished product in their hands. Well I wanted to learn the basic skills of the task and to be able to do the entire process on my own (all the making of it plus the designing of a unique creation).

Soldering

The second project is that for a long time I have wanted to learn to solder. I would like to make some of my own charms to use in jewelry pieces. I grew up watching my mother make stained glass windows and soldering but never looked at what she was actually doing. She liked to work alone and she hates teaching others so she never taught me any of these skills. (Well a few years ago she tried to teach me stained glass and that was SO HARD.) I have read three books about making metal things that use soldering. I still felt that I didn’t get it. I then discussed this with my mother yesterday and asked her to demonstrate it for me. Instead she explained it verbally in a way that I suddenly realized I had something very wrong. I kept having to ask her to explain in again and in a different way so I could fully understand what she was saying. I then verified that from reading the books I had the most important part of the process incorrect. I realized that part was never shown in photos in a step of soldering and that if I had tried it based on how I thought it was done from the book instructions I would have failed.

My mother told me the soldering iron we bought at Home Depot is junk. She lent me hers which is much larger and looks more industrial and heavy duty. I told her of some of the recommendations in my books about buying more expensive ones with thermostats on them and so on and she said that is nonsense. I said how the book said you need a metal stand to hold it and she shooed me a hunk of pine wood that she used for years and said it sufficed quite well. So much for needing expensive stuff that can only be bought from specialty companies. If a person has been soldering stained glass windows for years with a not super fancy soldering iron and a piece of cheap scrap wood then that is proof for me that not the best equipment on the market today is always necessary either. There are times when the best of the best equipment is needed and there are other times when being skilled with the tools is sometimes acceptable for making fine finished pieces. The best tools with weak skills is worthless also.

Knitting

Lastly the urge to knit persists in me. One reason I want to knit is that it will keep my hands and mind busy at times when it kills me to sit still. I would like to knit while a passenger in the car and while sitting in a boring meeting or even while listening to a conference speaker. I would like to knit while sitting on the side of the room for my son’s Boy Scout Troop meeting. I would like to knit while camping. I would like to knit while visiting relatives and having conversation with them. I’d like to knit while watching our nightly TV show with our family. I need something to do that is portable. I need something that is not very personal (journal writing or sketching in a sketch book is too personal to do in public or around family sometimes).

I looked at some knitting books last week as I had a 50% off coupon for Joanne’s and also A.C.. Moore and a 40% off coupon for Michael’s (they are all in a 1.5 mile range from each other so I can go do a craft run and use all the coupons to stock up on various supplies). I got overwhelmed by the knitting books as some projects used three different needle sizes. Other projects used even other needle sizes. I wanted to just buy one set of needles and do something from start to finish with that one set of needles. I guess then I’ll have to make a scarf, is that my only option?

I realized I should narrow down what kind of knitting I want to do. I was reading some felting books and was thinking about making a felted handbag like a friend of mine does. But two stores didn’t have the needle sizes I needed to do the projects in the book that the stores were selling. Groan. So I bought nothing.

My mother agreed to teach me to knit. I then realized though if I bought a book of a project she’d never done (like knitting socks using circular needles) then she could not help me. I figured then that maybe I should just have my mother teach me to knit in the way she knits and that I should start off doing just what she does. Once I have my general bearings I could buy a book with a different technique and teach myself that.

I also will share the fear that I felt when I looked at the list of the directions to knit what the book called a simple sock. A terror ran through me and I had that feeling that maybe I was not smart enough to handle doing that kind of work.

Thoughts on Skills

I saw a piece of soldered jewelry that was a real mess because the person was not skilled at soldering well. My son’s weaving is coming out terribly because the tension is not right on the loom, it started out wide and it very narrow further along. Those are both signs of the fact that a person can make a craft while they are not yet skilled in the craft itself. My point is that when working with certain crafts the mastering of the technique itself, just handling the tools and materials I mean, is something very different than having a unique creative idea and making art with it. Other artistic endeavors such as drawing doesn’t need complicated materials or tools but requires the skill of being able to draw. I guess then the eye and hand are the tools?

So you see in these three different craft projects the use of the tools themselves are a skill that has to be learned in order to make the project at all. While a craft such as weaving, making metal jewelry charms and knitting is art making—especially when the person designs their own unique creations out of raw materials (yarn, glass, metal, and homemade art collaged pieces)---the art piece cannot be made at all if the person is incapable of using the materials in the right way.

Other Thoughts on Crafts vs. Art Making

One last thought about ‘crafts’ is that to me a craft is sometimes something that requires certain materials that must be used and bought and that also has a preset finished product conceived by some other person. To make that craft you then follow strict instructions to create a project entirely conceived by a stranger. There is little room in there for creativity or uniqueness of the maker. The person who just follows that direction and uses preset materials is not freely expressing their artistic vision. A perfect example is the scrapbook kits that have everything you need to make pages and they give examples of finished pages and when a person makes an exact copy of someone else’s work. Another example is if you watch a craft TV show and exactly replicate something they made on the show.

On the other hand some crafts can allow for more open ended artistic creation. When our family used the Fabric Blo Pen kit it came with factory made stencils that we could use. We instead designed our own stencils and used other tools that I owned to do that part of the work. I already knew the process to make a new stencil and I already owned the special tools needed for that part of the job. We then used the fabric paint from the kit to make our finished product. I feel that more creativity was used as we used our unique ideas.

Knitting allows for more creative expression when the knitter picks out their own yarn instead of just copying what the directions say. If a knitter makes up her own patterns then that to me is very artistic.

Creating one’s own things from one’s own imagination takes creativity, desire and guts. It can be scary to create something totally unique.

I personally enjoy working in a more organic manner with more of an intuitive flow. I like to have materials at my disposal and then to just begin working and creating. While I am in the flow I just make things, sometimes without putting thought into it, following my gut feelings. What the thing ends up being in the end is something that I had not planned out in advance. I can’t always plan things and then execute them to the end. This is why I like to draw and make collage. I just start in and get to work and stuff happens. This has been true also with my recent playing around with embroidery and needle felting with wool roving. I don’t like the craft kits with pre-planned work though of by other people as the most fun for me with creating is just diving in and me being in control of what is being created. I also do like to have some ideas ahead of time and try to make those come to fruition (with beading my own designed necklaces, with wanting to knit ).

Anyhow those are some thoughts on my mind today.

My Collage Status

Last note: I have not been working much with collage at all lately. The reason is I have been busy and have not even had time to haul the stuff out and use it at my kitchen table then no time to clean it up in time for three meals a day and homeschooling at the kitchen table. I make much more collage when we are not doing our homeschooling lessons (such as in summer) or when we are on a ‘break’ from it. I make more collage when I can leave the kitchen area messy. I’ve been on a kick to really keep my kitchen decluttered and clean and that includes having the art supplies stashed in the basement and closet (and some overflow on the unused dining room table). (No, I cannot use the fancy dining room table for making arts and crafts or homeschooling lessons or eating all three meals a day.)

This of course had led me to pine for my own workspace. I have been thinking of converting part of the fourth bedroom which is presently being used as a playroom into a studio for ME. Gasp! I also have tons of room in the unfinished basement and some desks and tables that I could use. However I find unfinished, poorly lit basements dark and gloomy places which I really don’t want to spend much time in let alone trying to create things in a space like that. I’m not really thinking much about that whole idea right now and am instead trying to learn the new crafts that I described above which are less messy and are easier to clean up and can be done in various places not just needing a big flat table space to work on.

Most of my creating since about Christmas 2007 has actually been done in my bedroom sitting in bed: the journal writing, the embroidery, the needle felting and the necklace making. I do not make collage or use adhesives in my bedroom or while sitting in my bed (yet). My drawing and sketching in my little sketch books has been done in public or while a passenger on a car or train.

Went to FilmSpeed 2008 Reception

The other night our family attended the recepation at the photography art gallery to unveil the winners of the FilmSpeed 2008 competition.

What they did was this:

1. Gave an award to photographers who overall were the most creative, first, second and third place, and showed all the photos that person or team took

2. From all the other participants, they picked one winner in each single category

Our family attended plus my mother-in-law. We were surprised to see the onocology nurse who took care of my father-in-law during his Cancer treatment up to his passing. I think the nurse was very surprised to see us. My husband and mother-in-law were shocked to think the nurse had a photography hobby (why I do not know--no one knows what creative and artisitc endeavors people do when off duty from work).

The kids were a bit bored having glanced at the photos and then 'they were done'.

I received my packet of printed photos. I think a couple are fantastic to be honest.

If and when I can find the time I will manually scan these into the computer and will upload them to this blog along with the categories. That will probably not happen for two weeks or more though.

If the gallery does this again then I'd like to do it with an adult friend instead of with my children. It was just too cold and windy for a young child to have the expreience be 'all fun and games'. I was happy to see other kids enrolled into the competition, it was not just our family that involved a young child.

Younger Son’s First Attempt at Drawing Manga

While at the library the other day I had a list of books I wanted to scout out. I sent my husband to mind the kids while they explored in the children’s department.

Younger son picked out two ‘how to draw comics’ books. He decided one was too advanced and put it back. He borrowed the other one.

Today while we were ‘doing nothing’ my younger son decided to work on the comics. He pulled out his sketchbook and a regular pencil and began drawing. The book has three steps. Step one is just like a mannekin drawing. Step two shows the clothing drawn over that basic human form. Step three is colored in and all finished.



After he struggled a bit and was angry that the finished thing didn’t look the same I pointed out the reason was he was not erasing the extra lines. I also made the executive decision to let him use the drawing pencils. I took them out of their storage place and explained the different hardness levels of the pencils. He experimented and decided he really liked the soft B pencil. I then showed him three different erasers and how they work better than a regular pink eraser. I also advised him to try to draw more lightly with the pencil in the first sketches so it is easier to erase. He is resisting this.

He drew three figures then gave up. He actually stumbled on the eyes. He asked me to draw them for him and I said no. I took the book and said, “They must have taught you do to these eyes somewhere in here” and he said “no”. Well of course there were four pages of eyes there to practice. I explained that it is typical to do nothing but practice drawing eyes over and over and over to get better at doing them. He didn’t believe me. He also said something to the effect that he chose to skip all the beginning steps and to started in the middle of the book

He declared that he is a ‘bad drawer’. This is my precocious child with giftedness traits who is also a perfectionist. I have a hard time boosting up his morale and trying to get him to lower his standards for himself, but I’m trying. In reality I think he did an excellent job at drawing these anime style people for a child who is 7.5 years old.



The book he is using is this one: “Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics” by Christopher Hart. While looking it over I decided the drawings of the females are a bit too sexy for my taste for my seven year old to be drawing. So far he is sticking to the boys and men. I also see that the robots and mechanical monsters are unbelievable and that will interest my older son for sure.

(A few months ago I bought, with resistance, my first ever “Dummies” book: “Manga for Dummies” which teaches how to draw manga and give a lot more info. I hope I can find the time to do a full review on that book which for us is worthy of owning.)





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