Candy Corn Bag. You can put all the toilet paper you were storing in your sushi tp cozies in here and no one will suspect you're about to decorate their house.
Fortune Cookies. Scare your friends by making weird and strange predictions.
There will come a point in the evening when people won't notice you have slipped them a knitted Olive.
We felt Mochi Ice Cream deserved a mention if only because it reminds us of the "We're Not Candy" singing pills of our youth.
This past weekend Portland, Oregon played host to the now famous--at least among knitters--Sock Summit 2009. We couldn't make it out there but happily Chandra Rogers, who Joanna knows from her World of Warcrafters group on Ravelry was in attendance. Here's Chandra's wrap-up of the weekend's happenings.
I'm off to get the rest of what I need to construct my hydroponic Window Farm with Rebecca and Britta tomorrow. That in conjunction with some video troubles is leading to today's quick post: Top 10 Creature Knitting Patterns.
Bad JuJu by Zabet Stewart (I'm making this one now)
Over 300 vendors crowded their tents around the track at McCarren Park for the Renegade Craft Fair. There was a huge variety of sundries on display. Hamburger rings, watch movement necklaces and squid tentacle sconces are a few that caught my eye but the predominant craft being peddled was without a doubt T-Shirts. Waving lazily in the wind in neon green, powder blue and basic black. They carried simple silkscreened silhouettes, ironic phrases and in some cases beautiful and complex designs that might be fetching enough to draw some glances on Bedford Ave.
One vendor who's snarky wares caught my eye was Sable Yong. She makes Tee Shirts and Tote bags that will definitely put a spring in your step. One of my favorites sports the phrase "My Tote bag is a totier tote bag than your tote bag" If that doesn't turn your sass up to eleven I don't know what does. You can check out some of her other totes and tees at her etsy shop, Sabletooth Tiger.
The highlight of my day had to be Diane Koss's booth. She makes these absolutely adorable, mostly cycloptic and totally huggable plush toys. Each has a name and a lovely story about their personality. They have the uncanny ability of completely disarming you with their charming and curious smile. I think Nigel is my favorite, he is a scientist. Be sure to catch Diane at one of the many fairs she will be visiting or just grab a doll at her etsy shop, Cutsey But Not Cutsey.
All in all I had a great time at the fair. I did feel that it was a little over populated with t-shirts that were for the most part underwhelming. I think with most fairs of this size you will always have to do a little sifting and ultimately, if you put in a little effort, you'll come out with some very unique treasures. If your a fan of the Renegade Craft Fair be sure to check out Bazaar Bizarre, another indie craft fair that always has a great showing of merchandise.
The summer's first World Wide Knit in Public (WWKIP) was this past Saturday, coinciding with what has been the excedlingly rare sunny day in NYC. Knitters,crocheters, and spinners gathered in places around the world to show just what makes crafting so fabulous. The following videos were shot at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library near Prospect Park.
I met Lexie through our Geek S&B NYC group. She shares some of the unusual things she's knitted up.
Last but not least, here's a few of the knitters I met at WWKIP.
In case you missed this weekend's festivities, you'll have one more chance to hang out and knit in public with big groups of other knitters. Visit WWKIP for more info.
If you're interested in joining one of the groups mentioned in the videos, check out Ravelry or Meetup.
The 4th Annual Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA was this weekend. My husband and I have gone every year and it keeps getting bigger. We have to go both days of the fair weekend just to see everything. For those who don't know, the Maker Faire is put on by Make Magazine, a magazine for Do-It-Yourselfers, a growing movement. Well before the economy crashed, geeks of all sorts discovered the joys of hacking Roombas to make spirographs and turning trash into art. The Maker Faire celebrates those who make, build, sew, craft, hack, and teach. It's a brilliant concept.
Creativity reigns at the Maker Faire, both in the products that are displayed and demonstrated and in the people who display and demonstrate. Walking through the fairground, you can't look at a crowd without seeing people in costume (Steampunk, furry, or superhero), people representing the rebellious fringes of society (punks, eccentrics, hippies), or those just expressing a wild individuality (hair of every hue and length, squid hats, stilts). And, of course, the ever-present Utilikilt.
The displays vary wildly. There are always a lot of robots. They're a real crowd pleaser and people clearly love to make them. There are science teachers talking about demos they do in class. There are electronics for bikes, Christmas, and entertainment. There are always lots of things that shoot fire, such as the Crucible truck and the Flaming Lotus Girls' display. And let's not forget the over-the-top displays of making, like a life-sized Mousetrap game or the big metal giraffe that tools around the fairground or the human powered amusement park rides or the giant mechanical hand that picks up oil drums as if they're soda cans.
Ecology is a big influence for many of the makers. It shows up in big things like electric cars (my husband loves the Tesla) and in smaller ones like using recycled plastic bottles to make art. There's also a group called Engineers Without Borders which helps build wind turbines and provide water to countries in Africa.
A new feature this year was a Food Makers tent. A little sparse but promising, it offered cheese tastings, home beer brewing kits, tips on pickling, great chocolate, mushroom growing, and information on vegetarianism and local food. Since this Maker Faire takes place in the Bay Area, land of serious foodies and a huge local food movement, I expect this tent to grow in future years.
It's often hard to take time to sit down and listen to the presentations by makers since there’s so much to see. But there are talks and music all day long. We always make time for Adam Savage, co-host of Mythbusters, who spins a good yarn about what it's like to be a maker. This year he talked about failure in a funny and touching way. My husband caught a talk by a 14 year-old CEO who created a chemistry-based game called Elementeo.
As ever, a good time was had by all and a great deal of money was spent. On the way out, you can stop by the Maker Shed where they sell books and kits and materials so you can try your hand at being a maker or expanding your repertoire. I always walk out inspired to create. If I got nothing else out of the Maker Faire, that's definitely worth the price of admission.
In the course of the past year, I've been combining my love of knitting with my new-found obsession of World of Warcraft. I've been tracking down fellow knitters who enjoy spending hours at a whack questing to our hearts content--and knitting during the long flights or when being corpse camped. I decided to branch out do in-game interviews using Fraps, which I'd never used before. To my way of thinking, if I'm going to write about crafting and WoW, what better way to do so then from the inside?
photo: nuala29
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