LEARNING TO KNIT:  The Ugly Sock

I know, I'm very late to this party.  I decided to take up knitting (again) to remind myself first hand what it feels like to do the thing I ask of my students.  It's been a while since I faced being a rank beginner or very rusty at something I was never good at to begin with.  I wanted to do something to keep myself honest.

The photo of a very ugly sock says it all.  It is becoming a sock though.  I just came from a class where I showed it to my students who laughed at it at the same time they also told me how well it's coming along.  I can only hope I am as kind with them as they are for me.

The take away for me, trying something that I've attempted several times before but could not make myself get over the hump to become a knitter is that having others to want to do something for is a great motivator.  I could not tell them that I tried and then come up with some dog ate it excuse. to do what I ask of them:  just stay with it even if you think you are bad at it.

I do have a sock, or at least I will in the next day or two when I get to finish the toe.  It will be warm and the holes in it are smaller than the ones worn in my favorite pair of socks, also this color of purple wool that I've not been able to make myself throw away despite those holes.  I've stuck it through so many much more difficult things but somehow learning to knit always lost out to other concerns, but really I had a hard time looking at the mess I'd made of it and wasn't willing to take the time to fix it.  I love socks.  If I had only done this sooner, I'd have a whole drawer full of beautiful warm socks.  No regrets, though.  I can do it now.

I do have two feet though.  I have hope that the second one will be better than this one.  I'm looking forward to wearing them both and looking down at my feet wearing a reminder that just sticking with it most times is all that I need to do.

Homemade Dye Spray Booth

My Dad gave me my first driving lesson without being allowed in the driver’s seat.  It was more a lecture demonstration on all the features of a car, especially the safety features.  He also showed me how to check the oil, antifreeze, water in the radiator and battery.  Last, how to change a tire.  I have to admit it was one of the most valuable afternoons I ever spent with my Dad.  I have to give the same credit to my Theater Department in grad school for giving its students, known for experimenting in their shops, a class on craft safety.   I recently found several videos online using fabric dye that made me apprehensive for anyone who had not been in my class.

Fabric dye is not just correlated with toxicity, it is a known carcinogenic.  This means that rather than an  acceptable concentration to stay below like with lead, mercury or cadmium, a few years of unprotected dye exposure builds from risk to eventuality of cancer.  Contact needs to be avoided all together.

In the segments I’ve seen recently, loose dried dye was sprinkled freely in the open.  Anyone who has cleaned up after using dye, especially in powdered form has seen drops of water hitting a surface kept scrupulously clean suddenly burst into color when it hits a spec of dye too small to the naked eye.  Unfortunately, this leads to a cancer risk.

Fortunately, there are measures that are easy and effective.  First, try to use liquid dye whenever possible.  Second, never use any utensil or container used for dyeing for eating or drinking.  Keep a set completely dedicated for dyeing.  And use a spray booth.

This is a contained workspace that captures stray particles or droplets.  If you don’t have access to an industrial shop equipped with one, no worries, it’s so easy make one and keep it around for all your projects it’s foolhardy not to do it.  All you need is a cardboard box big enough to mix and pour in, a couple of old towels or a roll of paper towels,  a mist water sprayer filled with ordinary water and a pair of gloves. 

1. Cut the side off the box as shown below making sure to keep a lip at the bottom. 
2. Line the bottom with toweling. 
3. Spray the inside of the box with water covering all surfaces.  Also spray a towel or a strip of paper towels big enough to drape over the top, wet side facing the inside of the box and draping down over as leaving just enough opening to mix your dye. 
4. Put on the gloves. 
5. Place the container the dye is going to be mixed in the box fill with the desired amount of water and spray the inside of the container above the fill line. 
6. If you have ignored step 4, Put on Gloves! Mix your dye bringing the measuring equipment and envelopes or containers of dye into the booth to open them smoothly near the destination container avoiding as little flyaway of dye particles.  
7. Leaving measuring and stiring utensils inside the box, remove and use the liquid dye solution taking care to wipe any spills or droplets immediately.
8. For cleanup, spray the inside of the box again fold the towels rolling the exposed surfaces to the inside and dispose of in a closed container like a plastic bag and dispose of or put in the wash separately from the regular wash.

For a reality check look at the inside of the draping towel at cleanup.  No matter how careful I’ve been, I’ve never found it to be without any marks of dye.  If you look carefully, even just tearing the corner off an envelope of dye gives off a little “smoke” of dye particles stirred into the air just by the motion of tearing.   My spray booth has also come in handy with spray glue and spray paint although I do that in a well ventilated area or outside away from intake vents.  It will contain paint droplets but not the fumes.

If you insist on needing to manipulate the dye other than using a dyebath, use your dyebooth to mix the dye into a medium like methyl-cellulose or agar agar.  Under no circumstances should you ever spray dye without a respirator with the correct cartridge that still has time left on it.  A particle mask will protect you only from larger particles that by the time the water droplet dries may be too small for the mask to filter out.  

  My New Studio

Setting up my studio again has not exactly been what I expected.  Take today for example.  I needed to go outside and stretch my legs, grabbed a can in case I found something I wanted to keep, like a pretty rock, or some wild flowers.  I live on the banks of Fall Creek that runs through Indianapolis.  There's always something interesting even though I also happen to live almost downtown. 

 

There's a small road behind my studio and I went back there to see if any of the wild flower seeds I'd sowed a few weeks back had came up. Not a single one, but almost hidden was a turtle snuggling headfirst under the bushes.  Ok, not even a turtle, it was a tortoise.  It was Huge!  Bigger than a football but not as big as a breadbox.  I wanted to take it back to the creek before someone hurt it, but I was a bit afraid to touch it.  Would it bite?  How fast could it move?  Would it like being found?  I got neighbor to help and, as it turns out, it was a pet of another neighbor just down the road that had been missing for two weeks. 

I know, not exactly like a deer that could dash out in front of a car, but it made me think about what it's been like to get my studio up and running.  Like that tourtise, it's not been very fast, but every day I've gotten up moved a bit further along.  My space is beautiful and it feels good to work there.  It's not often that an actual tortoise turns up out of the blue to remind me that in this world of rabbit fast media, gadgets and anxiety that someone else is going to beat you out of whatever you want to do, prove that there is a place for tortoises.  So I wanted to just warn everybody, watch out for speeding tortoises.  So busy watching out for the rabbits, those wiley over looked tortoises just might win too.

100 Mermaid Tiaras

From time to time, I have a request to make a lot of something I've invented.  Springing from the designs I make for little girls to play fabulous dress up, I made some, I must say, amazing mermaid costumes.  They went over so well I had to make new patterns for a total of three sizes to fit girls three to as old as eight.  Then they clamored for accessories, shoes, purses and of course jewelery.  Most desired was a tiara.

It grew into a Mermaid Teaparty for 100 girls. They liked them last year so much we decided to make that the take home gift.  That meant 100 mermaid tiaras.  100.  One Hundred!!!

As I sat there doing each step 100 times, I thought about where I started making things for the ballet students at a ballet school near me that changed me into becoming a designer and craftsman, over a decade of work all told including  a masters degree, internships, working in shops that made things for Lion King, American Ballet Theater, Disney World.  I thought most about the bump up from making something for fun and making as my job. There is a difference, the biggest is that when it's your job, you have a budget, deadline, and expectations to meet, if you want to keep that job.  It can't languish in a sewing bag until I get the itch to work on it some more.  I have to do it now!  Feel like it or not.

 They also have to be of professional quality and in this case especially, all the same.  Four and five year olds notice whose is bigger, more sparkly or not the same color and let you know about it.  Even if exact consistency is difficult, it is more easy than quelling 100 mermaids question, "why did she get the pink one and mine is purple."

I've done enough big projects it's worth describing how to do this.  It seems straight forward, but surprisingly, it isn't what you'd think.  The steps are:

• Make your prototype and edit it down to the amount of materials and time you can afford.  (Double the amount of time you think you'll need.  Trust me, just do it.)
• Make a test batch run of between five to ten.  Here you'll find the bugs, the pattern piece that needs adjusting, the glue technique that was fine making one but not for more,  that your materials estimate was too big for the flowers but too little for the sparkles, etc. restructure the steps of your process for a better flow from piece to piece.  Fix ALL those bugs Now!
• Proceed with the production run.  Make sure to take breaks when you notice your sensitivity to the task being frustrated.  Pace yourself.  Stop before you get too worked up.  Pushing through all of a step will just mean you'll have to go back and do them all over when you discover what just a little fatigue or frustration did to your work.
• When you finish, do something nice for yourself.  A treat or a phone call to a friend, your favorite trash on TV, whatever gives you the feeling of your batteries being recharged.
• Go back and check your work.  Make a check list of all the features and go over each piece for each checkpoint.  Fix your mistakes.
• Photograph one for your records.  You never know, it may turn up in your portfolio to other clients to get new work so take this step seriously.  Even if your client is hotfooting it, do not skip this step.  Keeping your job depends on it.  It helps to have a semi-dedicated set up for this.  It does not take a lot but if it means just plopping it down and snapping the shot, it will help you meet your deadline.
• Pack your work up well so it is delivered in the same condition it left your shop.  If possible, add a little pizzaz somehow.  Let your work be like a present to your client who wants to be as excited about it as you are.

 I have failed to do all of these steps at one time or another. I was disappointed in myself each time.  Take it from someone who has been there, this time 100 times, these are not hard and the effort will come back to you many fold.  Right now, I'm imaging 100 mermaids.  Yes, it'd definitely worth it.

Note:  I left the sequins off the production version.  Although they would have been fine for the five year olds they were intended, I was concerned about younger kids getting their hands on their big sisters tiara!  My client liked the finished ones even better than this prototype I showed her.

Little Alters Anywhere

I had my first class.  It was a small, slow start, but I really enjoyed myself and the brave soul who decided to come to my class that I called "Little Alters Anywhere".  I made mine as a reminder of what I'm trying to do with my classes.

As mentioned earlier, I was laid off and consider myself in some ways unemployed.  I went to a  thing run by the NY Public Library about the stress of being unemployed long term.  I met many people unemployed for over a year.

The presenter didn't really handle the stress described by the audience and just pitched the standard job hunting techniques and was pretty un-empathic about it too.  I actually started feeling rather anxious about it all and was dismayed at tears welling up.  I tried to blink them away but as usual that didn't work.  I wondered how many others there felt the same, and it's been only a couple of months for me.

I felt even more ashamed of myself for feeling so upset compared to so many others I sat with.  Searching for a tissue I found the box I'd made earlier that day.  I was surprised by how much comfort it brought me.  It even stayed with me when I woke up this morning hopeful and ready to get to work.  I thought this class up for everyone else.  It looks like it helped me out as much as anyone I had hoped to reach.

My Very Own Fairy Godmother

I made this purse to go to a black tie event.  I had a dress, but that was it.  I needed accessories and fast! And of course, I had no money.  When the person taking me called and asked what I was doing and I told him, he said it sounds like I am being my very own fairy godmother.  At the time, I was impatient with him.  I think I was more than anything, disappointed at having to be my own FGM, again, as usual.

What did he know, he just had to come home jump in the shower then his tux and was ready.  He was a pretty sweet guy though.  And we had a great night out.  He made  me feel like he was the most lucky man there.  I realized the real work of an FGM isn't for me but for everybody.

So, to the nuts and bolts of it, for I can tell you, there is absolutely NO magic involved.  All that's needed is an ability to take what's on hand, okay, keep good stuff on hand, and when needed, know what to do with them.

Earlier, I had been to Bendel's on some retail therapy.  Looking is free!  In a catalog lying on a table was a picture of an evening purse that captured my imagination.  They were giving them away so I took it home.  I liked it so much I'd ripped it out and saved it.  I wondered what it would be like to have such a thing, to have an event to bring it to.  What must it feel like to have that look back over my shoulder?  I wanted to be her, not a super model, just someone capable of drawing the kind of attention I felt toward that picture.
I got out the picture, collected stuff, cleared off my worktable and set to work.

All told, a little bit of shopping in the garment district and an hour or two of work and it was done!

I was worried that everybody would see through my DIY make lemonade from lemons getup (I'd made my dress too but that is for another post) to only to find that I was one of the best and most envied women attending.  It was a bit scary, actually.  It turns out they were all intimidated when I told them I was a costume designer and heard about some of the things I'd worked on.  So I fessed up and told them it was all fake, I made it myself because I was a broke working artist.  They changed from being envious to admirers. I smiled to myself and thanked my FGM.  I should have trusted her all along.