Crafty Manolo

Polka Dot Queen vs the Polka Dot Princess or the Battle of the Yeti Coats

Well. The fur certainly flew in last night’s episode of Project Runway All Stars!

Sniping, trash talk, mutterings in corners… we expect all of these. But accusations of plagiarism? Not so often.

Let’s talk about it behind the cut, shall we?

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Left Handicrafts

I don’t know how many of you out there are fellow southpaws, but my parents knew pretty much the moment I emerged from the womb that I was a dyed-in-the-wool leftist… er… leftie. Any and all political leanings came much later in life. Probably my first political act (and it was an accidental one at that) was when I was five years old and I inadvertently convinced the principal of my elementary school to order left-handed scissors for all the classrooms.

Anyway.

We who are wired the other way ’round have had to face a lot of challenges in life. One of the most annoying to me is the fact that when there’s a craft we want to learn, we’re often forced to either do it with out less agile right hands, or we have to sit down and figure out how to turn everything around to work with our dominant hands. Things have gotten better over the years, but I must admit that one of the things that really appealed about bobbin lace to me was the fact that it doesn’t favor one hand or the other. Both hands are used pretty equally throughout the process. As long as I have a pair of scissors I can use in my left hand (and those are nearly universally available now!) I can use any book, any pattern, any tool I can lay my hands on.

But what if you want to learn something that does make more use of one hand than the other? What if you’re not good at turning things around mentally? What if your right hand just doesn’t have the necessary dexterity for the craft in question?

Well, I’ve found a few good resources to help you learn some of these crafts.

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I Pity the Fool…

… who spends $600.00 on this:

I honestly can’t think of anything to add.

Quickie Question: What Do You Gain?

First off, sorry about yesterday. There were technical issues which have since been resolved. So unless WordPress goes blooey on me, we should be fine for the rest of the week.

Anyway.

Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of odd questions about my lacemaking. One of the most common, for some reason, is how I make money off of it. Here’s the answer: I don’t.

Sure, I do get paid for writing this blog, and for a very short period I did make a try to sell copper wire lace jewelry… which made me a lot less cash than this blog does and cost me a bundle, to boot. So no, I’ve never specifically made any real money out of lacemaking.

I suppose I could try writing a book about it, or create some patterns to sell, or start up a company to supply other lacemakers with the tools they need… but I don’t really want to do those things.

On the other hand, I’ve gained things from lacemaking that are more precious to me than a few dollars in my pocket. Here are a couple of the things I’ve gained.

Friends. I’ve found some truly wonderful people through a shared passion for tossing bobbins.

Knowledge. I’ve learned a lot about how cottage industries work from reading about the history of my craft. I’ve also learned some gloriously grizzly trivia about eighteenth century smuggling techniques, some quaint rhymes and traditions, and the names of some very interesting folk who have done their small part to make our world what it is today. And all that’s in addition to the technical skills I’ve acquired.

Patience. I like to tell people that I took up lacemaking because I’m not terribly patient at heart. It’s true. I can’t stand to sit around without doing something with my hands… and this way I have more to show for it at the end of a long evening watching television than I ever did when I played solitaire to keep my hands busy. But with all the demonstrations, all the repetitive questions, all the times when rushing made a hideous tangle of my threads, I think I finally have learned a form of patience that I wouldn’t have done without the lacemaking.

Pride. There’s nothing quite like finishing a big project and seeing how well it turned out to make your heart swell and your back get just a tidge straighter. I wore my own lace with pride on my wedding day. I felt pride seeing my friends put up my lace elephant picture in the nursery for their first child. I feel pride whenever someone looks at what I’ve done and thinks it’s beautiful.

So no, I don’t make money off my lace. I probably never will. So what? What I have gained is far more important to me.

So what have you gained from your craft?

Excuse Me, Sir, May I Have Your Shorts?

Yes, this is an actual image from last nights’ episode of Project Runway All Stars. No, I am not making this up.

And no, Anthony is not making a pass at Muscular Shirtless Guy. He’s just asking the guy for his shorts.

Here, let me put in a cut for spoilerphobes and those who don’t care about Project Runway, the poor, benighted souls.

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What Has Happened to Your Nose? I Just Returned From Rome

Don’t worry. His nose isn’t actually gone… so far as I know. But it does give one pause to realize someone came up with the idea of a nosewarmer, created a pattern, crocheted it, and actually got someone to pose wearing the darn thing.

Even more amazing? This photograph is number four in a series of  six such images on display over at What Not to Crochet.

Then again, it could be worse. There’s also an article on hand crocheted banana hammocks that may not be safe for work, but is kind of mesmerizing.

Too Kool for Wool

Some years ago, a wool-happy friend of mine showed up with some rovings she’d just dyed and planned to spin. I fell in love with the cheerful, Easter eggy pastels and asked her what she’d used to dye them.

I nearly fell off my chair when she told me Kool Aid.

Yes, the packets of fruity drink mix so loved by small children was the source of those gorgeous colors. Oh, and for those about to make a Jonestown joke, that was actually Flavor Aid. Then again, I imagine Flavor Aid would work, too.

Just don’t choose the grape.

Anyway.

Turns out, dyeing with Kool Aid (or similar drink mixes) is a pretty simple process. the results, however, are fabulous.

If you’d like to learn the method, I suggest going to Under the Desk (which is also the source of the top illustration) and reading through Ana’s illustrated tutorial. I know it’s something I’m bookmarking for future reference!

How To Save a ‘Dying’ Craft

(Illustration via Stuart King)

Mention bobbin lace, and chances are if the listener knows anything at all about it, this is what they think of: an old woman in antique clothing doing something they can’t for the life of them figure out.

A hundred years ago, that’s exactly what bobbin lace looked like, too. It was something nobody needed to do for themselves anymore, so they didn’t learn it. It was something only very poor people did, and most of them had been run out of the market by the machine laces that were so much faster and cheaper to make.

By the time I took up the craft in 1990, most people I saw at demonstrations thought it was tatting and would pontificate that it was a ‘lost art.’

In reply, I would hold up a tatting shuttle to show them the difference, and explain that bobbin lace isn’t lost at all. I found it just fine.

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Quickie Question: Trying Anything New?

Every once in a while it’s fun to try out a new craft.  Some of them will stick with us only a short time, others the rest of our lives. Either way, it’s good for the brain, the manual dexterity, and keeping your friends from fearing presents from you because they’ve already got all the (fill in the blank) they could possibly want if they live to be as old as Methuselah.

So I’ve decided to try two new crafts and have gone so far as to order me some instructions and equipment to get me started.

The first one is needle felting. I’m finding I’m fascinated with the range of possibilities in the craft. Besides, there are days when sitting there repeatedly stabbing something sounds kind of like good, cheap therapy. I’m  eager to get started.

The other one I’m giving a go is nalbinding. It’s something of an ancient forerunner to knitting, but done with a single needle and your fingers. I’m kind of in love with the idea of making my own socks, but regular knitting and I… we just don’t get along so well. I’m thinking that I’ll have an easier time with the thing that gave me the most trouble with both knitting and crochet – the gauging – since in nalbinding it’s done with each stitch using your own fingers. Besides, it doesn’t get much more travel-friendly than something you can do as long as you have something resembling a darning needle, a ball of yarn, and your own fingers at the ready!

Stay tuned for adventures in these two crafts!

Now what about all of you? Tried anything new lately? Picked up a book or toy you can’t wait to test out?

Tell me all about it!

Wrap it Up, Quick!

Imagine, if you will, being asked to make a fabulous designer outfit in just six hours from concept to runway show.

Yes, this week’s Project Runway All Stars asks just that of the remaining designers. But wait! There’s more! They have to show these to guest judge Diane Von Furstenberg, design icon and all around weirdly wonderful lady. I always love it when she guest judges because her mind is a fascinating place I enjoy rooting around in.

But wait! There’s still more! The designers need to base their designs on…

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