Posts Tagged ‘knitting’

After sending out a quick email to thank our Detroit Maker Faire volunteers, I received such wonderful responses, I just had to note a few of them.

Sue K. sent a great picture, and although it’s not one of the new stitchers we taught at Maker Faire, I just had to post it . . . It demonstrates how very skilled our volunteers are, and is a testament to the fact they can motivate just about anyone to learn.

Bentley learned how to knit . . .see it's easy

Several volunteers commented about how nice it was to spend time with other fiber artists, as well as welcome newcomers to the needlearts.   Dawn Pollard, Treasurer
of the Monguagon Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America and a
member of Needlepoint by Night, part of the American Needlework Guild told us she “walked away from the event in a great mood” and sent her best “to each of you that helped to bring the love of needlework to the Metropolitan Detroit area!!”

In fact, I don’t recall anyone leaving without asking to be notified again next year.

I have a feeling volunteer list for the Stitch Zone in Dearborn is going to fill up quickly in 2011 . . . in the meantime, we’re in the planning stages for Maker Faire NYC, to be held at the New York Hall of Science on September 25 and 26th.  We’ll be sending out information soon.  If you want to know more now, send an email to tnnamaker@gmail.com.

It seems the D0 It Yourself Movement has given way to a whole new awareness, appreciation and personal involvement in crafts and, in the same vein, the needlearts.

I recently received an email from Pete Poitras, the “P” in JP Needlepoint, and TNNA’s Needlepoint Group Chair.

It was all about a “craft social” which is, simply, lots of people getting together to work on craft projects.  They don’t have to be the same projects  . . . They could be anything from stamping, buttons, T-shirts, cross-stitching, knitting . . . well, you get the picture.

The article was specifically about the Chicago Craft Social which included total strangers, in their 20’s and 30’s who even paid to spend the night at — what the organizers call — the biggest craft party in the nation.  The event is held four times a year in suburban Chicago.

The article states, “More than (offering crafters a chance to try new techniques, find inspiration and sample new materials),
Craft Social is a chance to build a community for a new generation of do-it-yourselfers who follow popular crafting blogs, search YouTube videos and post their own tutorials online.”

The organizer Amanda Edwards, says “People are craving community, so we say make stuff, make friends and meet with other people.”

The event is being compared to the “Stitch ‘n Bitch movement” . . . but it seems to me it’s more like the Maker Faire events that TNNA has been involved in recently.  Talk about community  . . . the San Mateo Maker Faire in May 2010 brought out 90,000 people who simply wanted to learn about “making stuff.” TNNA’s Needlepoint Stitch Zone entertained over 1000 new stitchers, thanks to the help of close to 50 volunteers from local guilds, TNNA members (wholesalers and retailers), Ravelry followers, and other local stitchers.

I guess, some of it wouldn’t be called crafts.  At Maker Faire, there were all types of “making” going on from high tech to low tech and everything else in between.  But it certainly was a community, and it certainly was creative.

TNNA is planning to be at Maker Faire in Detroit on July 31st and August 1st.  Although we don’t anticipate quite the turnout we had in San Mateo, we can expect a great, enthusiastic crowd.  If you’re able to teach one of the needlearts (crochet, knitting, needlepoint or cross-stitch/embroidery), and would like to come out to join the fun, please go to Jooners and sign up for a convenient time slot.  We still could use a few people . . . and best of all, you get in for free on the day you volunteer.

But even better, you get to participate in a type of “craft social” . . . people who love to simply create coming together, in community, to share new ideas, techniques, materials and good times.  What a great way to spend a day.

Recently TNNA sponsored an award-winning Needlearts Stitch Zone at the San Mateo Maker Faire event.  We were there last year, and taught more than 1000 new fiber enthusiasts.  The theme was “recycling” and so we incorporated yarn made of grocery bags into the kids programming and the display.

This year, the theme of the event was “children,” so we were even more tuned in to the kids.  Again, we spent time knitting, crocheting and stitching (needlepoint) with the kids on our oversized needles, hooks and canvas.  You can get a glimpse of what it was like at http://tnna.org/Outreach/tabid/100/Default.aspx.  And, again, we estimate we taught over 1000 new stitchers . . . this time, even more appeared to be under the age of 12.

Ada Lai shows a young boy how to crochet!

Now you might think, ok . . . these kids really aren’t going to go home and knit or crochet . . . but we also know most of the fiber lovers of today first learned when they were younger than 12.  So, today’s play will eventually turn into tomorrow’s passion.  We also know, many of the parents who were watching will go home and get out their old projects, left unfinished years ago and just waiting for the moment they’ll be picked up again.

Even the young ones are able to pick up this lace making technique.

Recently, Jules Kliot (Lacis and the Museum of Lace) sent me some picture of an event at the Exploratorium in San Francisco in early July.  They demonstrated lace making to young and old . . . These picture really tell the story.  Even the young ones were enthralled, and obviously were able to pick up the techniques themselves.

The children were enthralled with the lace making demonstration by Lacis at the Exploratorium in SanFrancisco

If you have pictures of young stitchers, send them to us so we can show the world the stitchers of tomorrow.  (Of course, get their parents’ permission first!)