All posts by Sylvia

Crafting, Stuff

The Maker Space

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I belong to a maker space called The Bodgery. We get our name from an English word “bodge” which is actually a deprecating word indicating shoddy work. We like to think of it as meaning to “McGyver” something – from the TV show of the same name.

We’ve been in existence for 10 years, having started as a social club at the public library. But it’s not as much fun talking about making things as it is actually making them. So we – I say we, even though I didn’t join until 2017 – met in basements and garages for a few months to make things.

Word got around and as more people joined the group, it was decided to find a space with a cheap enough rent and a few hundred square feet of space that we could move our tools into. Thus was born The Bodgery. We are now in our third space of slightly less than 21,000 sq. ft. and space is again getting tight.

We currently have over 600 members and we have 20 to 40 people sign up every month. Because we don’t have contracts, a lot of members join because they have a specific project to make and don’t have access otherwise to a space and tools. So membership fluctuates from month to month

We are a non-profit organization run by the membership through an annually elected Board of Directors, which provides space, tools, and instruction to our members, and until we gained over 300 members, provided instruction in tool use to the public as well. We no longer have nights where the public can come in to use tools as we have grown to enough members to have to use scheduling calendars for the tools.

However, we do give classes in various areas for members and the public which we announce on our website and on Meetup.com. We have hosted a summer camp for kids and work in partnership with several schools to enrich kids by giving them experiences in woodworking, stained glass, jewelry, sewing, screen printing, bookbinding, and other crafts.

We are funded by paid memberships, use fees for some equipment, the occasional grant, and donations. In addition, we offer semi-private workspaces at an additional fee. The studios are very much in demand and we always have a waitlist. We have a two-tier membership system in which most members pay the full rate. The second tier is half-price for full-time students, people who receive assistance, family members, and those over 65.

We are now looking at buildings and hoping to be able to raise funds for a down payment on our own building. We still have two years on our current lease, but buying our current building comes with problems we’d prefer not have to be responsible for fixing. We’ll see what happens.

Crafting

Students and Charity Sewing

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I volunteered to host a group of 8th grade students from one of the local schools for a sewing project for a charity that collects pillowcases. The arrangements were made and I was told to expect 40 kids. I convinced myself that I mis-heard and there were 14.

Because the project was occurring during the day, I had trouble finding another co-host for the group. I had misunderstood a volunteer as saying he would do it when he said he could do it. So I never confirmed with him and he made other plans for the day.

As an aside, I’m planning on scheduling an appointment to find out if there’s a problem with my brain that makes me glitch or if it’s just age. Any way, the day arrives and I get everything set up. I had to remove some sewing machines and re-arrange tables. I had brought extra tables in case I needed them and an additional sewing machine. I was supposed to have 10, but the extra one never showed up, so I settled for 9 machines.

Since the maker space requires two members to be present for over 10 non-members attending an event, I asked a member who was there if he could stay, and I’d buy him lunch. That worked out. He got a free sandwich and was able to continue working on his sewing project.

At 12:45, the kids and their chaperones arrived – all 40 students and 5 teachers. The fun began. The school had provided the fabric for the cases, some of which was 1-yard precuts and the other was 2-yard lengths that had to be cut into 1-yard pieces.

Unlike my regular sewing classes, I did not have enough time to do more than set the first 9 students at the sewing machines and show them how to start a seam and how to follow the blue masking tape guide I put on each machine. Chaos ensued.

Some forgot to lower the presser foot even after I showed them. A couple managed to break needles. The seams went all wonky on some of the pillowcases because some forgot half-way down the seam to align to the blue tape. The hemmed edges are passable.

The important thing was this group of kids tried their hardest to do something unfamiliar. They were loud and boisterous in a good natured way. They didn’t wander off and they asked for help when they messed up and couldn’t figure out what happened. We had a good two hours to work in, and while we didn’t make as many pillow cases as we could have, it was a good experience for everyone.

I pointed out to the teachers that I am willing to have another group in from the school for more projects – just fewer students.

The beginning
Good job.
Crafting

The Cricut Design Space, Cricut Joy, and teaching

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I’ve been spending time watching tutorial videos on the Cricut cutting machine. My next class at the maker space is Saturday and I will be teaching several people how to use the Cricut software, Cricut cutting machine, and our heat press to create unique gifts.

I will bring a variety of glass, paper, plastic, and fabric items to show what can be done with various types of vinyl, including heat transfer vinyl with the heat press. I’ve made stencils for etching glass, a design for a bib, plus designs for tee shirts and glass objects such as plates and jars.

I haven’t checked the stash of objects I keep at the maker space lately, but there should be at least one plate, a couple of glass mugs and coffee cups. I din’t think there are any fabric items in the box, but I’ll bring a couple of tee shirts, a fabric tote, and a ballcap to make up.

Also this week, I had some students from a local high school to teach sewing to. I generally have the kids sew pillowcases as they are simple, only have two seams and a hem to sew. It seems to take them most of the two hours to finish their pillowcases.

I bought precut fabric in a variety of patterns and colors from Walmart. That was faster than my first classes where I used fabric we had at the maker space and had to cut to size. My first classes were assorted ages, either children of members or a group of students from the neighborhood.

Next week is the big project – sewing pillow cases for Ryan’s Case for Smiles https://caseforsmiles.org/. There will be up to forty students with their instructors, taking turns cutting, pinning, and ironing fabric as well as sewing the pillowcases for kids with cancer.

We’ll have ten sewing machines going. I’m not certain how many cases we’ll get done next week, but we’ll get as many done as we can. And maybe schedule a second session to finish up. I was asked by a member if I arranged for compensation for my time. I did not. But if they offer, I’ll accept it. At any rate I’ll definitely be filing extra 1099 forms for tax season with the classes I’ve taught so far.

At the end of the month, I’m going to schedule a class on how to read a sewing pattern. There are a few beginning sewers/sewists(?) who have asked me what all the markings mean on sewing patterns. This one will be a free class, but I’ll require sign ups so I’ll know if I need the classroom with the projector.

Crafting

Not another die cut machine!

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Yep. I have another cutting machine. This one is the Cricut Joy. I don’t need a large cutting machine because my go-to machine is a Silhouette Cameo. The Cameo replaced my Silhouette Portrait which I’ve had for several years, but the Portrait doesn’t like Windows 11. I haven’t checked to see if there’s a fix or work around for it.

The Cameo has been a great machine, but the reason I bought the Joy is that I’m teaching classes and machine checkoffs at the maker-space using a Cricut Explore 3. The Joy is a basic machine but it lets me become more proficient with the Cricut Design software.

My new Cricut Joy.

I didn’t want to pay a lot for a Cricut machine, but when I was in Michaels today, I saw the machine for almost 30% off. Since the class fee will cover the purchase, it was a win-win. It only cuts 4 1/2 inch by 6 inch materials so it’s great for small projects.

A sheet of vinyl can be cut down to fit the mat or I can purchase a specially sized roll for the machine. Since I have lots of unused vinyl, the weird colors can be used for proofing designs. I can do the same with cardstock.

I might even buy a multi-pack of the pens to draw and color items before cutting. The pens will also work in the pen holder for my Cameo. So, double duty. Maybe I’ll suggest that the youngest Granddaughter could get the pens for me for Christmas. She works and has more money than all of us.

She’s been planning her future since she was a Freshman in high school. She graduates next Spring and plans to do her basic courses at the technical college before transferring to the university. I’ve offered her the room upstairs if she wants to not be under her Mom’s thumb which requires a lot of watching and caring for the preteen. She’ll also be closer to the college if she lives with me.

I think she’ll do well upstairs. I’ll rearrange things up there so she has a private space. I’m certain she’ll be a better tenant than her Dad, who never seems to have any money toward the added expense of heat and water. She has her own car, so transportation won’t be an issue. She’ll also be able to get a transit pass for a nominal fee as a student.

Another consideration will be that if she lives with me, the kids will stop trying to get me to sell my house and move into an apartment. I don’t do well with close neighbors. Either they’re too noisy or I am. Besides, it’s nice being in a relatively quiet neighborhood. When I first moved in, I was on the younger side. Now I’m the oldest person on the block.

About me, Stuff

Hot, Cold, Hotter?

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Do I take the air conditioner out of my bedroom window or do I leave it in until the end of the week? The really hot days seem to be over, but temperatures are still high. I’m not one for much cool air unless it’s natural. So I generally keep the windows open until it’s time to turn on the heat or unless rain is blowing in the windows.

I should have taken pictures of the four huge piles of cuttings and wood from the lilac trees. I don’t think anyone would really believe an old lady with a chainsaw made those piles. I’m not really an old lady – only in my middle 70’s. Parts do seem to be failing, but I can still lift up to 40 pounds and carry it up stairs. I used to be able to lift more, but my strength has faded some.

I had loaned a friend my tiller, but it came back dead. She’s offered to buy me a new one, but I’m going to take mine apart to see if I can fix it. That’s another thing I do – take things apart to fix them. I used to do a lot of the maintenance on my cars, but now I leave it to the pros. Too many electronic connections now.

I had to give up my baby and find something less manual to drive. I had a 1998 Saturn that I got new and had to give it up at 251,708 miles because my shoulders and knees don’t like certain positions required to shift and steer a manual car. While I can still lift heavy things if I need to, certain body parts would lock up in the Saturn and I’d have trouble with turning to look over my shoulder or moving my foot to the needed pedal. To say nothing of trying to steer out of tight spots.

Now I have a pre-owned – what a great term for a used car – 2013 vehicle with bells and whistles and lots more bits to go wrong. So far, it’s an okay drive, but compared to my Saturn, it’s a tank. It’s taller, higher off the ground, longer and wider, and almost too big for my garage. I have to be very careful to watch my mirrors when I go through the entry.

Enough complaining. Upcoming projects include teaching more 6th graders how to sew and supervising a group of 8th graders in sewing pillowcases for a charity. There are also my 3 classes for members and the public at the maker space. I find I have more fun teaching the kids than the adults, but I wouldn’t want to be a full-time teacher of either.

I’ll try to remember to take pictures. You can tell I’m old by the fact that I don’t record every waking moment of my day, or what I do, or eat.

Mostly me, My own damned opinion.

I finished (mostly) cutting back the lilacs

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I killed another mini chainsaw. I had gotten one that only lasted me one battery charge so I sent it back to Amazon and received a replacement. That one is now dead, but I’m just going to replace the little motor. It won’t be subject to intense cutting from now on, so it should last.

Meanwhile, the 14” electric chainsaw I used for the trunks is still going strong. I did get the chain changed and properly seated after putting it on with the teeth in the wrong direction. There was a lot of deadwood among the three lilacs. The heartwood in several pieces was totally gone. A couple of sections were like giant drinking straws, hollow all the way up.

Most of the wood is at the street awaiting next week’s pick-up, and I’ll haul the rest down later today. I could have kept some sections for firewood. They would have gone to the bottom of the pile to sit and dry for a few years. But since I still have most of a maple in the back, there’s no need for additional wood.

When I moved in 18 years ago, there were sections of what was left of a huge maple stacked behind the garage. I’ve either burned or shared about half of that wood. Some of it still needs to be split. I’ve cut back on fires for two reasons – global warming, and worse, I can’t drink.

Sitting around the fire in my back yard was when I’d drink alcohol – a bottle or two of some flavor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade or what I would call a rum slushy – rum and Bacardi mixers served in a mason jar and stored in the freezer in jars since I’d only sip on one before letting the fire die out after a couple of hours and toddling off to bed.

I’m not the sort to mix medications and alcohol and it seems that after every doctor visit, I get a new prescription for something going wrong. So no alcohol. So it’s the mixers and fizzy water until the last ones are gone from the freezer. Not the same, but I don’t have to worry that I won’t wake up. Besides, I’ve never been that much of a drinker.

I used to have some firm rules about my drinking – I didn’t participate in buying rounds, I had a 3 drink maximum depending on how long I was staying and if I wasn’t the driver. I’d only bring enough money for my own drinks including three cokes if I was going to drive myself home. I didn’t allow anyone to buy me a drink.

I personally have never been arrested for drunk driving. I admit I did once drive home drunk in a snowstorm. It was terrifying and I never did that again. There was no traffic and a couple of times I was going sideways. That memory is still so firmly in my mind, I haven’t forgotten the feeling in 30 years.

My son and my ex-husband have both been arrested and have even served jail time for drunk driving multiple times. My son rear-ended an off-duty cop. My ex took out a phone pole. My ex was even pulled over a few weeks after one stop for driving without his license after it was pulled for too many stops. It was the same officer who had had his license pulled for a prior offense and he had no idea.

So a word of advice – never drink and drive.

Crafting

Classes, Part two

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My third class will be melt and pour soap-making. I’ve been making soap on and off for 17 years. My first bars were cold process castille soap. I started soap making shortly after my youngest grandchild was born. Since the other three live 900 miles away, I was determined to be a part of this child’s life.

One thing I wanted was to make certain she had good soap without additives and strong scents. I’m mostly scent free, except for a few scents such as lavender, cedar and saffron, and mint which I find pleasant enough. When I make soap for others, I tend to use the first two and the mint is used with chocolate to make a chocolate-mint soap.

I do have other scents that I use for cleaning and as all purpose air- freshening. But most of my soaps for my use are unscented or lavender. When I give soaps as gifts, I use other fragrances that most people find pleasant. Those are made in small batches.

Back to my class, hopefully I will have all eight slots filled – there has been a good response so far. The class is going to be held in November at the maker space I belong to. Offering classes is a way we engage other members and teach them new skills.

There are classes offered every week in every area of the shop -woodturning, ceramics, hot glass, and others. All the classes are taught by members skilled in the use of the tools and materials. We are all volunteers and no limit is put on how many classes or what we can charge for our expertise.

I usually just charge small fee for time and materials, while some of the others are actively supplementing their income. At the end of the year, the person who is in charge of posting the classes will send out any tax forms that we need to report our class income. This year, I will probably be at the limit and will get a 1099. No biggie, I always report my sales and income.

Crafting

Classes, part 1

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I wrote up three new classes for the members of the maker space I belong to. I’ll be offering a class in using our heat press to make unique gifts. This will include training on our Cricut cutting machine for cutting vinyl for stencils and transfers.

Our heat press has attachments for applying vinyl designs to shirts and other flat items, for mugs and tumblers, ball caps and two sizes of plates. We actually had it sitting around disassembled for almost a year until I finally put it together and taught myself how to use it. I’ve given classes in its use before but it doesn’t get much use since we got screen printing set up.

What I plan to show my students is that the combination of the Cricut and heat press can give them more options for unique personalized gifts. I recommend screen printing for runs of multiples of the same t-shirts or fabric goods. We do have several members who use the Cricut or our big vinyl cutter to make stencils for screens, but for a one-off, the two machines work well.

My second class is basic book binding. I’ve been repairing and making books since 9th grade. I had a open period and started working in the library during that time. We would be given discarded books that had missing pages or wrecked bindings. My job was to make a page template and type up the missing pages from a borrowed copy to be bound into the book. This was ages before copy machines were a thing.

I found it much more interesting work than taking what was called Home Economics which was a course for only female students to prepare them for a home and family. Now Home Ec has been repackaged for both female and male students to teach them some life skills, but not nearly enough skills.

I actually have a side business of repairing older books by hand. I’ve restored both leather and cloth bindings and rebind those that need it. I no longer type up missing pages, but I do use acid-free tape to repair torn pages.

My bookbinding class will have the students build a book from making the signatures and cover to assembling the signatures and cover to make a useful notebook. In the interest of time, I will make basic kits containing the papers, and chipboard, decorative papers, and permanent glue sticks. We won’t be making books to last for ages – just something easy and usable.

Stuff

Chainsaws and lilacs

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I have three dying lilacs in my back yard. The trunks lean out and most, while they are not dead, produce only leaves. They’re also over 15 feet tall. When they do produce blooms, it’s out of season. I’ve had blooms appear as late as November. Not many flowers, and they don’t last as long as spring blooms.

So I’m cutting them down almost to the ground. What portions of trunks left will sprout and they will be easier to maintain. The current trunks are 6 to 7 inches in diameter. The heartwood centers of many of the trunks have rotted out. Some trunks are rotting at the base; I can wiggle them.

Two winters ago, a trunk fell over. I used my chainsaw to cut it into 6 foot lengths so I could haul it to the street. Sometimes I say “haul it to the curb,” but my street is curb-less. Most of my immediate neighborhood has no curbs or sidewalks. We’re not due to get any yet, but we will, when the city gets around to redoing our streets.

Some of my male friends want me to call them so they can use the chainsaw for me. I keep reminding them that I’ve been using the saw for 10 years without problems. It’s electric and the second I release pressure on the trigger, it stops. I don’t have steel-toed shoes, but I’m not wearing flip-flops or sandals either.

I have my safety glasses, ear plugs and long pants, and I try to keep the fence at my back, so I can see anyone approaching. Same as when I use my table-saw. I place it so I can see out the garage so I’m not surprised by someone coming to my rear.

I ordered a couple of new chains for the saw and I’ll use the old ones to learn how to sharpen them. I’ll have someone at the maker-space show me how. No, I have not been using a dull chain for 10 years. That’s a good way to get hurt. The saw usually only got used when old man maple or old lady evergreen dropped large branches in my yard. The last branch was was from the maple and was 25 feet long.

The first branch that dropped into my yard was from the spruce or whatever evergreen the neighbor’s tree is. The branch was 14 feet long and destroyed my clothesline poles by falling across the lines. We have have an 8-foot maximum length for branches put on the street for pick-up. So they have to be cut. Since I’m just a little old lady, I generally cut them into 4-foot lengths.

The straighter of the lilac pieces will go to the bottom of the woodpile to dry out for future burning. I’ll be shifting the pile to the side fence so the neighbors can grab some without coming into my yard. It will take a few days to shift. In addition to the new lilac wood, there’s still a tree’s worth of split firewood from before I bought the house 18 years ago.

Over the the years, I’ve burned or given away a tree’s worth. When I bought the house, the wood from two trees was stacked behind the garage. That was a woodpile than ran about 10 feet across the rear of the garage, by 3 feet tall by 2 rows deep. Each section of trunk or branch was about 15 inches deep/long. Long after my kids toss me into a nursing home, the new owners will have firewood.

I haven’t burned as much as I could, because for a long time, and maybe even still, you couldn’t bring your own wood from home to a campsite at the State parks. That was enforced to curtail the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Once I get the wood done, I’ll be working more on my craft room and get back to crafting. I have more classes planned for the maker-space including melt and pour soapmaking and book-binding. I’ll keep you posted.

My own damned opinion., Weaving

Today

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Today, I danced and played air guitar. I can’t play a real guitar. Arthritis sucks. For some reason only my middle fingers are weirdly crooked. I can’t make a decent fist with either hand. I have trouble holding knitting needles and crochet hooks. So I’m left with the world’s almost largest yarn stash.

There’s yarn in two closets, in bins under my bed, in baskets on a bookcase, bins in the basement, and in a box in the garage. I swear yarn breeds if you keep odd balls of it in bins and such. You toss the odd ends of skeins into a storage bin and the next time you look, the bin is full of half-grown skeins.

Put a few of them in yet another bin and that one fills up. I keep giving yarn away and yet there’s always more. I gave away two large boxes of yarn from my stash. By large, I mean two boxes of the size that would hold a two-drawer file cabinet. There’s a guy that belongs to the same maker space as me whose partner works as a social worker for the Corrections Department. Once a year, I fill up a box with yarn and give it to him and his partner takes it to be used by inmates in the system as occupational therapy.

I have reduced the stash somewhat. A friend died a few years back and left me all her yarn and unfinished projects in 15 plastic bins, each the size of four shoeboxes, and a floor loom. I have two bins left in the basement from her. There’s an under-bed box of yarn still in the garage and four bins still under my bed.

I’ve kept the best of the yarn for weaving shawls, table runners, and towels. Last year, I sent handwoven placemats to my daughter and oldest granddaughter for Christmas. I currently have what will be hand towels on the big loom.

Weaving is rather relaxing. I’m using variegated yarn for both the warp and the weft with white also as weft thread. For those of you unfamiliar with weaving, the warp is the threads tied onto the loom and the weft is the threads that go over and under the warp threads. Think of the warp as running north and south and the weft as running east and west. I should have 4 towels done by Christmas.

I’ve been watching various videos about the ongoing kerfuffle known as political campaigning. It’s both interesting and disturbing. This country needs to find a viable third party to give us better choices – or not. Different choices then. I’ll vote. I have to. There’s too much at stake not to. Maybe it will make a difference.

Ta ta for now.