Category: Craft Friday

NaBloPoMo: Craft Friday

Smattering in progress in Starcroft Tide

November is a pretty great month in my world. I get to celebrate my sister’s birthday. The semester is on the slide to winter break (and students who slacked in October suddenly wake up and try harder). Thanksgiving brings one of my favorite celebrations of the year.

And then.

And then: Craft Friday. A few years back, I declared my rebellion against Black Friday. Instead of shopping, you’ll now find me crafting on the day after Thanksgiving. Want to join in? Over the next two weeks I’ll be sharing resources and ideas. Be sure to tell me about your Craft Friday plans!

Looking for inspiration? Check out my Craft Friday Pinterest board (and ask to join if you want to add to it!).

So, spill. You in?

Craft Friday: Prepping and Provisioning

pieOops! I was so fixed on prepping and provisioning yesterday that I forgot to post! Well, here’s a double dose of Craft Friday tips, then.

Prepping

Get that yarn wound. Wash and prep the fabric. Trace and cut patterns. Dig out the needles, the glue gun, the bag of embroidery thread. In other words, don’t spend precious crafting time on Friday getting your supplies ready. In between zesting oranges for cranberry sauce and rolling out pie dough, take a little moment here and there to do what you must to hit the crafting ground running!

Provisioning

The last thing I want to do on Craft Friday = food prep. I’ve done enough all week, thankyouverymuch! But I also want to have something to serve Craft Friday peeps who swing by to stitch with me…something that is not left overs. Sure, leftovers are terrific, but a little change is, too. Thursday night, after the dishes are dried and the food’s tucked away in the fridge, I’ll toss together a slow cooker lentil stew for Friday’s lunch.

And I have no doubt that the pie leftovers won’t be entirely unwelcome!

Read about Craft Friday’s start here, and check out Craft Friday posts from the last three years!

Want to join? Here are some ways:

Be sure to tag your social media posts #CraftFriday. Are you in? Let me know in the comments!

Craft Friday: Gathering

suppliesIt’s one of my favorite weeks of the year! Thanksgiving is a terrific holiday: who can’t use a little extra dose of gratitude these days? AND Thanksgiving also means: Craft Friday!

Every day this week, I’ll post tips to make your own Craft Friday a fun-filled, productive day.

Today’s tip: Gather Supplies!

Once you’ve figured out what you want to make (check out the Craft Friday Pinterest board for ideas), take a supply inventory–what do you have? What do you need?

Stop by your local yarn, fabric, or other supply store (hey, just a thought–rather than get supplies at a big box craft store, support the indies near you. That’s a total Craft Friday rebellion move!) and get what you need! I placed an order with my favorite fabric shop and have been to Marji’s several times for yarny supplies.

Make sure to print off any patterns that you’ll use ahead of time, too.

Take a gander at previous Craft Friday posts, and let me know what you’re planning to make…unless it’s super duper secret, and you don’t want little pitchers with big eyes to read about it!

Want to join? Here are some ways:

Be sure to tag your social media posts #CraftFriday. Are you in? Let me know in the comments!

Craft Friday Draws Nigh!

craft-friday-collageReady for our annual rebellion against Black Friday? Once I accepted that summer is, in fact, over, (a few inches of sloppy snow like we had last week will drive that point home) my thoughts turned to plotting holiday gift projects. I’ve ordered a few gifts from indy makers, and I’m scouring Ravelry and Pinterest for diy gift ideas.  Gale introduced me to the idea of hygge, and now all I can think is that Craft Friday, especially when spent with like-minded crafters, is as hygge as it gets!

Read about Craft Friday’s start here, and check out Craft Friday posts from the last three years!

Want to join? Here are some ways:

Be sure to tag your social media posts #CraftFriday. Are you in? Let me know in the comments!

Get Ready for Craft Friday!

fabricWe’re only a week away from the rebellious extravaganza that is CRAFT FRIDAY!

With a few years of Craft Friday experience, I thought I’d share some preparation tips:

  1. Make a recipient list: who is worthy of your hand made lovelies?
  2. Get inspired: I love looking through the Craft Friday Pinterest board. Let me know if you’d like to join the pinning fun!
  3. Decide on a craft or two: last year Neal and I made watercolor journals and watercolor kits out of Altoid tins. We spent the entire day in production mode and at the end of it had great gifts to share with some special people. This year I’ll be doing lots of stitching.
  4. Get your supplies ahead of time: I’m putting a call in to my favorite fabric store tomorrow to get my Craft Friday order placed.
  5. Set up a Craft-In: I’ve invited local friends and family to stop by on Craft Friday for a little bit of making. I’m sure I’ll be inspired by their projects!
  6. Prepare good snacks: Once you’re in making mode, you won’t want to stop to fix lunch or dinner. I’m going to make a crock pot lentil stew and have lots of non-messy snacks ready for anyone who stops by to craft with me.

Be sure to check out Mary Lou’s Craft Friday giveaway post! Who knows, maybe pumpkin yarn is exactly the right supply for your Craft Friday endeavors! I’m not sure I’d give away whatever I made with that gorgeous yarn!

Here are a few more ways you can participate:

Twitter (tag related tweets with #CraftFriday).

Join the Flickr Group. Tag your Instagram posts with #CraftFriday

This weekend, I’m making two lists: folks to whom I want to give a gift, and hand made gift ideas. I’ll stash dive and then make a supply list and start shopping at non-big-box stores to gather all the goods I need for Craft Friday.

Let me know if you’re in by leaving a comment. And if you have a blog, write a declaration–you don’t have to spill the beans about what you’re going to make if your recipients read the blog, but how about you share WHY you’re inspired to make instead of shop? We’ll have a Craft Friday Declaration Post Party on Friday, November 27, and I’ll add a link round up here so you can feel the support and love of our community.

2015 Craft Friday

Abingdon shawl by Through the Loops
Abingdon shawl by Through the Loops

Like many of you, I refuse to participate in Black Friday. I don’t like the pressure to participate in rushing around to get “deals” on things no one needs. For a number of years I’ve opted out of the frenzy, and in 2013, I declared that in my world, Black Friday has been re-branded. It’s now Craft Friday!

There’s been a swell of folks who enjoy spending the day after Thanksgiving crafting for loved ones or their favorite charities. I want all of us to feel that swell, to enjoy our community of crafters.

Want to join? Here are some ways:

Pinterest Craft Friday Board  (feel free to follow it, or follow me and ask to join the board if you want to pin on it). Tag your pins #CraftFriday

Twitter (again, tag related tweets with #CraftFriday).

Join the Flickr Group. Tag your Instagram posts with #CraftFriday

This weekend, I’m making two lists: folks to whom I want to give a gift, and hand made gift ideas. I’ll stash dive and then make a supply list and start shopping at non-big-box stores to gather all the goods I need for Craft Friday.

Let me know if you’re in by leaving a comment. And if you have a blog, write a declaration–you don’t have to spill the beans about what you’re going to make if your recipients read the blog, but how about you share WHY you’re inspired to make instead of shop? We’ll have a Craft Friday Declaration Post Party on Friday, November 27, and I’ll add a link round up here so you can feel the support and love of our community.

You in? Yeah, I figured you would be.

 

Craft Friday Link Party

Happy Craft Friday!

I’m excited about the number of us who are crafting instead of shopping today. I knew I wasn’t alone in shunning Black Friday, and I figured I wasn’t the only crafter who spends the day making rather than buying~but, wow! Is it ever exciting to see our revolution take off!

Today, I invite you to write a declaration–post what feels right to you. Maybe:

  • why you’re rejecting Black Friday
  • what you love to craft for the holidays
  • your history of crafting gifts (did you start as a kid? a college student?)
  • your manifesto about crafting rather than buying

Email a link to your blog post to me at pomogolightlyATgmail.com, and I’ll add links throughout the day to this post and share them on FaceBook and Twitter. On Instagram? Take sneak peek pictures of your crafting and post them using #CraftFriday.

To start off the link party, take a look at these terrific posts:

Kirsten from Through the Loops invites you to Craft Friday with a 50% off mitts and mittens gift.

MaryLou explores the magic of making and shopping your stash.

Margene shares that even “selfish” crafters can be part of the rebellion.

Earth Chick connects crafting and gratitude.

Earlier this week I called and ordered fabric from Clementine, and Leah shared that the shop is taking up Craft Friday. Lisa at Flying Goat Farm is, too. What about your local shop?

Oh, my declaration? Of course.

It’s been a dozen years since I last shopped on Black Friday. Most years I’ve visited family or friends, spent time knitting or sewing or crocheting, or written the first of my holiday greeting cards. The rejection of Black Friday didn’t start off that way; different priorities begged my attention, and I obliged. I’m relieved, though, not to feel the compulsion to get the best dealor beat the crowds.

This year, it seems more important to me to craft conscientiously on 11/28. I detest that some big box stores start Black Friday on Thanksgiving day. I’m baffled by the need and desire to shop on a day set aside for gratitude. The things don’t matter. People matter.

And crafting is a way for me to honor the people I love, to offer them something beautiful, to step away from crass consumerism. I like to buy my supplies from indy merchants, and I like to focus my mind on the person for whom I’m creating as I knit or paint or stitch. It matters to me that layers of love and good wishes are built into whatever I’m creating.

So for me, Craft Friday is about pushing back against what the commercials urge me to do. It’s about thoughtfulness and mindfulness. It’s about fun. It’s about the people I love.

Thanks for reading my declaration. Be sure to share yours! Viva la Craft Friday!

Provisioning for Craft Friday

On Friday I posted a few of my favorite supply sources. Today I want to talk about another way to get ready for Craft Friday. My plan for the day looks like this:

  • Get up.
  • Stitch for a while.
  • Eat breakfast.
  • Hike with the mutts so they will snooze away the rest of the day.
  • Eat lunch.
  • Craft. Craft. Craft.
  • Eat dinner.
  • Craft a while longer.

Notice a pattern? As much eating as crafting? The crafting must be fueled, right? To facilitate the fueling without impeding on crafting time, I’ll make food ahead of time. I’m not cooking for Thanksgiving, but I’ll be cooking for Craft Friday–making cranberry sauce to put on grilled cheese (Try this. Seriously.) and simmering up a pot of tomato soup. I’ve got a jar of salsa my brother’s girlfriend gave me that will add a taste of summer to lunchtime nachos. And if I’m lucky, my hosts for Thanksgiving might send me home with a few leftovers to enjoy the next day.

Craft Friday: Gather Supplies

A favorite aspect of crafting gifts is gathering supplies. Once I have my ideas list together, I read patterns and tutorials and rummage through my stash. Once I determine what I still need, I turn to a few of my favorite shops:

Art supplies–Jerry’s Artarama. Last Friday Sara and I enjoyed testing out pens and examining papers, and I’m all set to make many of my gifts.

Fabrics, felts, and notion–Clementine. If you’re in Maine, this darling shop is worth a visit. Otherwise, well, you can get helpful and friendly service by phone.

Yarn–honestly, don’t you have a local yarn store? If you want truly special yarn, take a gander at Starcroft’s offerings.

Where else do you suggest for supply gathering? Do you have your supplies ready for Craft Friday?

Next week I’ll post a link party with your declarations about your own how/why you’re participating in the rebellion. Be sure to join in the fun here, too:

Pinterest Craft Friday Board  (feel free to follow it, or follow me and ask to join the board if you want to pin on it). Tag your pins #CraftFriday

Twitter (again, tag related tweets with #CraftFriday).

Join the Flickr Group.

Craft Friday: Project Ideas

IMG_5115I figure there are two approaches when crafting holiday gifts:

1. Consider each recipient with care, study shelves of books, search Ravelry, linger around Pinterest, and make a list of dozens of possibilities for each person.

2. Decide what you want to make and make a version for each recipient. Hats are good for that. Mittens. Socks. Scarves. Good, pragmatic gifts that everyone can use.

I won’t judge your method. I will try to appeal to both approaches in this project idea link list:

1. Fringe Association’s Mitt List and Cowl List

2. Accessories board put together by Clementine (world’s loveliest fabric shop & haberdashery–they ship! Just give those sweet ladies a call!)

3. Sew Mama Sew’s Handmade Holidays posts

4. Ravelry’s Indie Design Gift-a-long gets you 25% off loads of patterns

5. Romi’s Great Oddment Knitdown

6. Ysolda’s Knitworthy

7. Creativebug brims with projects and excellent instructions.

8. Through the Loops hats (or anything Kirsten designs!)

9. HodgePodge Farms’s Wingfeathers crochet shawl.

10. The Craft Friday Pinterest board (ask to join it and pin along with me!)

Get ready for Craft Friday and share your favorite places for inspiration.

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