|
The Needlework Nutshell Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << October01, 2007 - The Needlework Nutshell |
December01, 2007 - The Needlework Nutshell >> |
|
The Needlework Nutshell—November 1, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 11 November 1, 2007 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL Needlework news, musings, tips, contests, and what’s happening now at FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Editor: Jen Funk Weber Mail to: mailto:mail@funkandweber.com Web site: http://www.funkandweber.com Your privacy is important to us. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. *********************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *********************************************************** 1. Needlework Musings 2. Tips and Tricks and Brilliant Ideas 3. What’s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Readers Ask 5. Reader Commitments 6. Puzzle Contest 7. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** Anyone who regularly reads this newsletter knows that I am a *huge* fan of needlework outreach. I encourage everyone to celebrate and share the fun of needlework. Here in Alaska, we had 2 local outreach programs in October in conjunction with the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy campaign. Members of the Anchorage chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America introduced more than 50 people to embroidery, many of them kids. (I posted pictures from both events on my blog. You’ll have to scroll down the entries to find them.) http://JenFunkWeber.com/blog Now, it’s up to the individuals to decide if they want to continue practicing the craft, but we laid the groundwork for turning interested non-stitchers into stitchers—something I hope we all agree is a good thing. It’s important to understand that not everyone is cut out to embroider. That seems like a no-brainer, but it bears repeating, especially when you’re getting frustrated because someone you’re teaching isn’t getting it. Not everyone we introduce to our craft will become a lifelong stitcher, but there’s no way to know who the real stitchers are without first making the introduction. So what does it take to turn a non-stitcher into a stitcher? I’m going to say there are 3 steps: exposure to the craft, a positive experience with the craft, and the discovery of intrinsic value in the craft. As teachers and embroidery ambassadors, we can provide the first two steps, but not the third. That one is up to the individual. EXPOSURE We can expose non-stitchers to needlework by making it visible: wearing stitched jewelry and clothing, having a stitched tag on our keys or purse, and stitching in public. We can also expose non-stitchers to needlework through outreach events like classes, demonstrations, and make-it/take-its. POSITIVE EXPERIENCE This may be only marginally within our control, but there are ways to tip the balance in favor of a positive experience. Work with groups so there is a social element; choose simple but satisfying projects; encourage individual creativity; focus on fun, not the finished product. INTRINSIC VALUE This is what we can’t control. It’s up to the individual to decide if the craft is stimulating, uplifting, challenging, satisfying. The better job we do of creating a positive experience, the more likely non-stitchers will be to value the experience and the craft. Because not everyone is cut out to embroider, we have to cast our nets far and wide, reaching as many people as possible to discover the needlework diamonds in the rough. We must be willing to introduce anyone and everyone to our craft. About twenty minutes before the close of our first event, a mother walked in with 3 kids: a 12-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, and a 5-year-old girl. I got them set up with materials quickly and did my fastest-ever intro to cross stitch. The mother and youngest girl worked as a team, and I tended to the other 2 kids. To my surprise and delight, they all caught on quickly. I ignored my instinct to concentrate on the oldest girl, and that was good. It was the 7-year-old boy who carefully stitched a tidy row of Xs, ripping out ones that weren’t on the right line, and who smiled and said to his mother, “I’m good at this!” He really was! *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS AND BRILLIANT IDEAS *********************************************************** The Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy *2007 Bookmark Challenge* continues through November 15th, so keep stitching bookmarks, and get them to a participating shop by the 15th. Last month I urged you to take your stitched bookmarks out of their books and put them on display with the help of ribbons and shepherd’s hooks. I want to add to that this month by suggesting we add some bead baubles. Bead baubles add weight and swing to a bookmark fob, and they’re fun and pretty. I like to add a length of beads (1 1/2- to 2-inches) between the hook or ribbon and the stitched fob. I prefer to mix-and-match beads, so it’s a great use of one-of-a-kind beads, and a reason to continually add random beads to my arsenal. I’ve put together a tutorial on making bookmark bead baubles using eye-pins. If you don’t have eye-pins and round-nose pliers, and you have no desire to get them, use your favorite bead thread and string the beads instead. I like Fireline from BeadSmith and/or Berkeley (fishing line folks), but there are oodles of thread choices. To the tutorial: http://funkandweber.com/fw/bookmark-baubles.html *********************************************************** 3. WHAT’S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER? *********************************************************** I have added a new trade show to my winter agenda. I will be attending my first CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show in February. Squeeeeeeee! I will have a designer showcase to show my patterns to manufacturers, publishers, and editors, and I’m on a team of designers putting together a display of crafted fashion accessories. I am enormously excited about this display! My team embraced one of my ideas for our theme, and through collaboration with their brilliantly creative minds, it’s grown into something original and maybe even *unique,* which is always my goal. I can’t share details yet, but I will in March! Tons of work to do for this show, and because it’s new to me, I’m feeling clueless and overwhelmed. Yippee! ~~~~~~~~~~ NaNoWriMo begins today, and I’m competing. NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. Participants attempt to whip out a 50,000-word novel in the 30 days of November. It’s crazy fun! I did it last year, loved it, and won—which means I actually wrote 50,000 words in 30 days. This year I’ve persuaded 3 members of my online critique group to participate, so I expect it will be even better. (Are you ready, Chrissie?!) If any other Nutshell readers are NaNo-ing this year, let me know. I want to buddy you. For program details, visit the NaNo Web site: http://www.nanowrimo.org ~~~~~~~~~~ I will be teaching 3 classes at the TNNA NeedleArts Market in Long Beach, CA, in January: *Fabulous, Funky, and Fun Fiber Artist Trading Cards - This is a group class taught with Heather from monsterbubbles, Jenny from Sublime Stitching, Kat from Cross-Eyed Kat, and Sharon from Crescent Colours. *Make-It/Take-It Projects for Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, and Embroidery *Reaching Tweens, Reaching Teens, Reaching Out - Ideas for outreach programs targeting this audience. This is a wholesale trade show, so students are shop owners and designers. If you have any advice or ideas to offer on any of these subjects, I'm listening. ~~~~~~~~~~ The new puzzle pattern is really coming along! I’m working on it almost every day. My goal is to have it finished and printed for the January TNNA NeedleArts Market, but when I consider that I’ll have to frame it, well, that seems unrealistic. It will, however, be ready for the June TNNA show (she says with 99% confidence). ~~~~~~~~~~ I'm awaiting word on dates for a potential 2008 Stitch-N-Safari. Is there enough interest to put a trip together? Please let me know if you might be interested. Information about these special stitching tours is available on our web site: http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/tour.html *********************************************************** 4. READERS ASK *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com I am asked this all the time. In fact, I think I might have answered it here before, but I don’t remember, and I’m not going to go back and look. cal760 asked recently, so I’m going to answer. “Do you ever get depressed because of the darkness in the winter?” For the most part, cal760, no, I don’t. The truth is, I have a long emotional pendulum and my moods can swing wildly, but the darkness doesn’t trigger depression. I *like* the darkness! I consider this time of year an opportunity to snuggle into my indoor life: a time to read, write, stitch, create, plan, dream, bake. I love getting up at 5 in the morning and having 5 hours of quiet darkness in which to work. And I love winding down at 4 in the afternoon with several more hours of quiet darkness before I go to bed. I associate this time of year with peace, quiet, solitude, calm. I like the seasonal change of activity in my life, how my level of activity and the activities themselves change so noticeably. I tend to think I’m more aware of the passing time because the years are so clearly punctuated by the seasons. I suspect time would slip by more unnoticed if my life weren’t so drastically altered twice a year. I think the seasonal changes in my activities create a natural rhythm. Animals migrate seasonally, some hibernate in the winter. That’s pretty much what I do. I guess you could say I’ve adapted to my environment. Thanks for asking! *********************************************************** 5. READER COMMITMENTS *********************************************************** We, the daring and determined, commit ourselves to making progress NOW on projects we wish to complete before the end of the year. This is what I call "throwing our hats over the fence." Once we do that, we have no choice but to go get them; we have to follow through. *Gail* JULY: "Finish THE GREAT OUTDOORS that I got in Alaska 2 summers ago." She's done the border and that's it. NOVEMBER: “I finally think I’m going to finish this! LOL! Maybe not by the end of the year, but before spring anyway. It may not have worked for you, but it’s really worked for me, Jen. Being spotlighted in your newsletter shamed me into doing it, and I’m soooooooo glad!” This warms my heart, Gail. I’m pretty happy with my progress now, too. *Rayna* JULY: "Make 8 Christmas ornaments, one for each of my granddaughters." FINISHED! *Linda* JULY: "Finish SILENT NIGHT. Cabin project replaced with an orchid project. Start and finish THE TRAIL HOME." NOVEMBER: This is now old news, but Linda says, “Do you really need to know about my progress? The 3753 snow is killing me! Actually, I think it's the 28ct Linen that's getting me. Slowly, ever so slowly, The Trail Home is going to beat me!” No, no, no, Linda! You can do it! Put on a riveting audio book, concentrate on the story, and let your fingers do what they know how to do. If that doesn’t work, what about doing the snow in different stitches? Bigger stitches, so it doesn’t take so long. Or just leave the piece out and spend 15 minutes on it every day. What do you think? *Jen* JULY: I want to finish the new puzzle pattern and make ornaments which were subsequently replaced with Roman shades. NOVEMBER: I’m making real progress on the new puzzle pattern, and I have 2 Roman shades done, 4 more to go, along with a couple of tabbed curtains. Let's go, team! *********************************************************** 6. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! Solve this puzzle, and be entered to win a free Funk & Weber Designs pattern! Winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries. E-mail your answer, with “PUZZLE CONTEST” in the subject line. The deadline for this month’s puzzle is midnight (Alaska time, of course) November 7, 2007. The winner will be selected on November 8, 2007 (or shortly thereafter), notified by e-mail, and announced on our web site and in the next NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To avoid sending e-mail attachments, contest puzzles will be uploaded to our web site. I will provide a link to the puzzle in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/knot1107.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~ October PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: Becca, from Farmington, NM. Why are Alaska’s lakes so scary? Answer: They’re for boating (foreboding) A Mike Weber original joke! *********************************************************** 7. CONTACT FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS *********************************************************** SUBSCRIBE: 57410-subscribe@zinester.com UNSUBSCRIBE: 57410-unsubscribe@zinester.com ARCHIVES: http://archives.zinester.com/57410 Jen Funk Weber mail@funkandweber.com http://www.funkandweber.com http://JenFunkWeber.com/ http://6writers1story.blogspot.com/ Copyright 2007, Funk & Weber Designs |
| << October01, 2007 - The Needlework Nutshell |
December01, 2007 - The Needlework Nutshell >> |
|
The Needlework Nutshell Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on The Needlework Nutshell |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |