The Art of Being Crafty

Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.

Albert Einstein

I consider myself a crafty person, even though the word crafty has a couple of meanings and not all of them are complimentary. Merriam-Webster’s first definition is skillful, clever, which is all good. Oxford Languages, on the other hand, is not so nice as the first definition; “clever at achieving one’s aims by indirect or deceitful methods.” The second definition is a lot more to my taste: “involving the making of decorative objects and other things by hand.”

Knit Your Story In Yarn

Tapestry Weaving

Crafting for me is all about creation. I make things that are decorative, things that are practical, things that are warm and cozy and things that are fun for me to do but don’t serve any functional purpose. I also make things that don’t turn out, are incredibly frustrating and take up way too much of my time or are destined to remain unfinished.

One Zentangle a Day

Knitting Modular

But most of all I craft to create calm. In a world that is increasingly scary and stressful, and with so many bright shiny things grabbing for my attention, crafting is something that grounds me. Granted, it’s not always a serene experience, but even when it’s not going well there’s still something creative happening. Ripping out stitches, trying to erase an errant pencil mark, a blob of paint when I wanted a dot – all of these things can sometimes bring forth my R-rated vocabulary. Swearing can be a creative experience too, and rather cathartic, but it’s generally not as rewarding for me as other forms of crafting.

Maybe Swearing Will Help

The Artist’s Way

Crafting creates connections, whether it’s with family or friends, with people you’ll never meet in real life or someone you’ll never know. Creating things by hand takes a special form of energy and a bit of that energy stays with the item and is conveyed to others. Scientific theory backs me up on this. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transferred. I’m aware that many physicists would vehemently disagree with my premise, but science is filled with theories that sounded ridiculous until they were proven to be right.

Just Like Grandma

What If?

Everyone chooses the energy they share with the world. It can make or break, harm or heal. I choose to share as much creative energy as I can, and I’m proud to be crafty while I do it.

-Lori

Create Like a Nerd: The Sequel

That’s right, we’re doing a sequel! There are so many great resources that combine crafting with fandom, that we had to share more. Don’t worry, though – this sequel is just as good as the first.

Get your creativity ready and enjoy more resources that will help you make something nerdy to wear, display, or simply enjoy.

Crafting

Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy by Tanis Gray

Who doesn’t want a Death Star stuffy or a BB-8 blanket? With patterns for all skill levels, you can make toys, home decor, themed clothing, and even knit-versions of movie costumes.

Literary Yarns: Crochet projects inspired by classic books by Cindy Wang

We love a punny title! Get your crochet supplies ready to make a teeny tiny Elizabeth Bennet or an itty bitty Sherlock Holmes. This book has so many adorable patterns, I’m sure you’ll find a classic character you love.

Crochet Wizardry: The official Harry Potter crochet pattern book by Lee Sartori

If you’re a wizard who enjoys crochet, this book is for you. With so many great patterns, what will you pick? The crochet Dobby? The miniature phoenix Fawkes or owl Hedwig? How about a replica of Luna’s purple shawl that looks just like the one she wore in the movie?    

Cooking

A Feast of Ice and Fire: The official companion cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel

This books takes you on a journey in your own kitchen. Learn some medieval kitchen basics, then travel the regions to enjoy “Honeyed Chicken” from the Winterfell, “Quails Drowned in Butter” from King’s Landing, or go across the Narrow Sea for “Tyroshi Pear Brandy.”

Harry Potter Feasts & Festivities: An official book of magical celebrations, crafts, and party food inspired by the Wizarding World by Jennifer Carroll

More than recipes, this book is a treasure trove of resources for the perfect wizarding parties. Add some fun to your party with “Sorting Ceremony Ice Cream Sundaes,” homemade “Harry Potter Temporary Tattoos,” and a “Platform 9 ¾ Brick Backdrop.”   

Outlander Kitchen: To the new world and back again by Theresa Carle-Sanders

The second Outlander companion cookbook is as enticing as the first. It is packed full of themed recipes, like “Claire’s Beans and Sass,” and stunning pictures of the food. Each recipe features the quote that inspired it and many also include a brief historical or nutritional fact about the ingredients.

Family Fun

The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook: From Turkish delight to gooseberry fool by Dinah Bucholz

Over 150 recipes inspired by the classic series, including the infamous Turkish Delight. Recipes are grouped by themed meals like “Snack with the White Witch” and “Tea with Tumnus” and feature the quote that inspired the menu.

Star Wars Maker Lab by Liz Lee Heinecke

Make an artistic Interstellar Instrument, experiment with oozing Jabba Slime, or build an Ewok Catapult. Each project shows what supplies are needed, walks you through the process, and explains the science of how it works.

Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious dishes for kids to make with their favorite grown-ups

This family-friendly cookbook is packed with fun, simple recipes! There are so many cute ideas like “Charlie Brown’s Not-Too-Spicy Enchiladas” and “Pig Pen’s (breakfast) Scramble.”

Visit the ideaMill Makerspace

Grab your library card and head to the 3^rd floor of Millennium Library to find the ideaMILL. After connecting with staff, you’ll be able to access high-end computers and software, 3D printers, sewing machines, and more! Find out more at ideaMILL – Winnipeg Public Library.

~Meg

Create like a nerd: Part 1

Are you a nerd? I am a nerd. I am a creative, multifaceted nerd. I’ve designed a Mockingjay dress, made Rosebud Hotel Cinnamon Buns, cross-stitched Yoda ornaments, and learned to play my favourite theme songs. These stories and characters bring me joy and I love using my creativity to express it. Similarly, I love spotting other fans by their pins, scarves, bags, or other symbols of fandom. Do you own any fandom flare? Have you ever made your own?

Whether you’re planning a project or your next meal, try using your favourite book or movie for inspiration. Here are a few resources to get you started. 

Crafting

Star Trek Cross-Stitch by John Lohman

Explore strange new worlds of crafting and make ornaments, stitch wall-hangings, or decorate clothing for any Star Trek fan. This book is full of patterns for classic logos or phrases as well as some humorous designs like the “Trouble with Tribbles” pattern.

Outlander Knitting: The official book of 20 knits inspired by the hit series edited by Kate Atherley

The book is beautifully designed and captures signature looks from Claire’s time in both the 18^th and 20^th centuries. While flipping through to pick your first piece, pause to read one of the short features sharing behind the scenes information.

Harry Potter: Knitting Magic by Tanis Gray

Bulk up your wizarding wardrobe with a time-turner sweater, a Hogwarts House scarf, or one of Mrs. Weasley’s Christmas sweaters. The clear, detailed patterns have both written direction and diagrams to help knitters of all levels make creatures and creations of all kinds. 

Cooking

Doctor Who: The official cookbook by Joanna Farrow

Bite into the TARDIS at your next teatime with this incredibly fun cookbook. Serve an “Ood Head of Bread”, decorate a “Cookie Who’s Who” to honour your favourite Doctor, or get out the fondant to make a dangerously delicious Dalek cake.

Tastes Like Schitt: The unofficial Schitt’s Creek cookbook by Rachel Floyd

I’m obsessed with this book. Relive some the joy and laughter with recipes like “Roland’s Waffles and Fried Chicken with Extra Skins,” the infamous “Lovers’ Curry,” and of course Moira’s family recipe “Fold in the Cheese Aaahnchiladas.”

The Unofficial Ghibli Cookbook: Recipes from the legendary studio by Thibaud Villanova

This illustration-packed cookbook is a lovely tribute to Ghibli Studios with recipes inspired by so many of their great films. You could enjoy “Satsuki’s Bento” from My Neighbor Totoro or try “Calicfer’s Breakfast” from Howl’s Moving Castle. Don’t burn the bacon!

Family Fun

Star Wars Galactic Baking: The official cookbook of sweet and savory treats from Tatooine, Hoth, and beyond

Join the indulgent Dark Side with Imperial Devil’s Food Brownies or make some Resistance Ration Bars with these delightfully themed treats. Quick recipes are marked as “Lightspeed” – how cute is that? 

Craft Projects for Minecraft and Pixel Art Fans: Unofficial how to guide 15 fun, easy-to-make projects by Choly Knight

Whether you work in foam, cardboard, or duct tape, this book will inspire you to create some pixelated fun with pages of patterns you can adapt to any material. Will you choose the Crochet Creeper or the Perler Pig accessories? 

Disney Ideas Book by Elizabeth Dowsett

Make a pop-up princess card, a Mickey Mouse notebook, or enjoy an introduction to abstract art with the characters from Inside Out! This book is packed with simple, creative ideas for any age.

Visit the ideaMill Makerspace

Grab your library card and head to the 3^rd floor of Millennium Library to find the ideaMILL. After connecting with staff, you’ll be able to access high-end computers and software, 3D printers, sewing machines, and more! Find out more at ideaMILL – Winnipeg Public Library.

~Meg

Create a beautiful hanging Rainbow heart

This craft is a beautiful way to celebrate Pride and brighten up any space! Here are the steps…

1. Gather your materials. You’ll need: paper in all the colours of the rainbow, scissors, ruler, pencil, stapler, paperclip/bull clip, string, whole punch, glue or tape.

2. Measure and cut your paper into strips lengthwise.

3. Once all of the paper is cut into strips, it’s time to cut them into size.

4. Measure and cut 1 inch off of orange, 2 inches from yellow, 3 inches from green, 4 inches from blue and 5 inches from purple.

5. Using a paper clip, attach the strips of paper together according to size with the largest strip on the outside and shortest strip on the inside.

6. Fold down the other side of the shortest strip of paper (purple). Secure with clip to make a tear drop shape.

7. Side view of teardrop. Fold down the other strips of paper in the same way, securing with paper clip.

8. Fold the remaining strips of paper, continuing the teardrop shape.

9. Once all strips are clipped together, staple them together. You now have one half of the heart.

10. Repeat and make another teardrop shape to complete the heart.

11. Take the remainder of the shortest strip and punch a hole at one end. Place the strip in between the two halves of the heart.

12. Tape or glue the two halves together.

13. Run your string through the hole and hang!

-Kelsey

Knit Fast Die Warm

Most knitters know that once you pick up the hobby it’s like a flashback to the classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles”. You bring just one harmless ball of wool into your house and before you know it you’re swimming in sock yarn, pushing past the worsted weight just to open the refrigerator door.

We have a solution for you: Knitting Book Clubs. The Winnipeg Public Library is now hosting two(!) Knitting Book Clubs starting in October. This is the perfect opportunity to grab a knitting pattern book from your local branch, or download one in ebook form from Freading or Overdrive, and start transforming those ever-multiplying piles of fibre into something both beautiful and useful. Baby shower approaching? Baby blankets are notorious for their ability to swallow up surprisingly large amounts of yarn. Maybe your issue is with single skeins or the remnants from other projects? Toys, mittens, and those teeny tiny adorable socks are perfect projects to use up leftovers while thriftily acquiring a heartfelt and handmade gift.

 

 

 

 

No babies in the immediate future? No problem! There are a plethora of titles in the library that are eagerly waiting for you to take them home and knit away your tribbles – or, troubles. And I do mean that quite literally.   

         

If you’re anything like me, once you start knitting there’s no end in sight. One project begets another and the “just one more row”s, “I just need to finish this section”s, and “I’m trying to pay attention to this pattern, I’ll eat dinner later”s become a regular chorus in your household. If so, I can tell you there is a method to the knitting madness. Just do a quick search online for ‘knitting’ and ‘health benefits’ and you’ll find article after article listing the advantages of crafting and, specifically, knitting. Many of these cite the Mayo Clinic study where seniors who engaged in cognitive activities, such as knitting and crocheting, had decreased odds of having mild cognitive impairment. These activities even served as a buffer against the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Crafting is unique in this way because it involves multiple areas of the brain at once: creativity, visuospatial processing, problem solving, memory, and attention to detail.

But the benefits do not end there. Knitting has been lauded as the ‘new yoga’ and there’s a certain amount of truth to it. Crafts such as knitting can have profound meditative effects.  A CNN article from earlier this year cited psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s flow phenomenon – those moments where you become so completely absorbed by an activity that everything else falls away. Many knitters cite the hobby as an excellent way to numb pain, relieve anxiety, and cope with depression, among many other disorders.

From the leading ladies of the golden age of cinema (think Lauren Bacall lounging beside Humphrey Bogart) to contemporary celebrities like Ryan Gosling, Kate Middleton, and Nicholas Hoult, knitting has mass appeal for good reason. So what are you waiting for? Grab those empty needles, or that UFO (UnFinished Object), and your library card. Mosey on down to the library or call to register your spot in one of our Knitting Book Clubs:

• Fort Garry Library’s Knit Lit runs the third Tuesday of the month starting Tuesday, October 21^st at 6:30 pm. Call 204-986-4918 to register.
• Louis Riel Library’s Knit Night runs the first Thursday of each month starting October 2^nd at 6:30 pm. Call 204-986-4573 to register.

Besides, winter’s coming and your dog could probably use a cozy new sweater…

Laura

Battle the Boredom Bug this Summer!

Teenagers.  If you’ve got one in your life, you know that the years between Barbie Dolls and bar hopping can be a tough stage in any adolescent’s life.  Heck, it can be a tough stage for anyone within a 12 foot radius of that adolescent.  Unpredictable moods, incomprehensible behavior, and oh the attitude.  But it’s not all angst and arguments.   In fact, there may even be moments when you are truly inspired by your teen.  After all, this is the next generation of thinkers, artists, scientists, social activists and entrepreneurs we’re talking about.  And yet, that old familiar refrain comes creeping back every summer, mere weeks after the last exam is written:  “I’m bored.”

Cue the library.  This summer, we’ve got fun on lockdown.  And when it comes to teens, we’ve got more than enough to keep them busy — no matter kind of teen you’ve got on your hands.

For the Book Lover!

This year, we’ve taken our Teen Summer Reading Club online, which means that our club is in session 24/7, all summer long.  To sign up for the club, just visit wpl-teens.winnipeg.ca, and tell your teen to register using their email address.  They’ll receive a weekly e-newsletter featuring quizzes, book picks, teen event listings and more.  We’re giving away great prize packs every week!  Teens can also enter our online summer contests by sending us their best photos/artwork, top ten must reads, short stories/poems, and book reviews – all of which will be posted on our website!  The best of the best in each category will also win a great prize.

For the social butterfly, we also have a few Teen Book Clubs that meet all year round to discuss some of the library’s hottest reads.  What a great way to make new friends, and discover some fabulous new books!

For the Go Getter!

If you’ve got a perennial go getter on your hands, why not encourage them to do a little volunteering?!  At the library, we’re always looking for teen volunteers – and summer is the perfect time of year to cram a bit of experience onto that resume.

This summer, we’re looking for teen volunteers to help out with Family Literacy Fun Days.  Volunteers will assist families with young children at activity stations, doing things like playing reading games and making simple book crafts.  So much fun! (Call 311 for more details).

We’re also looking to recruit a few new members to our library’s Youth Advisory Councils.  As YAC members, teens do things like plan and run teen programs, read and review books for the library’s newsletter, write blog posts for the library’s teen website, and provide feedback on design decisions for the library’s teen areas.

For the Teen Techie!

If your teen loves technology, we’ve got an awesome 3 day teen tech workshop that will cover basic and advanced techniques in photo editing using the open source GIMP software (GNU Image Manipulation Program). They’ll learn some cool application techniques such as creating animated gifs and best-practices for photo blogging.  (More info to come in our July/August newsletter.)

Or, get set for beachfront ereading, and let our staff show your teen how to effectively browse the eLibraries Manitoba eBook collection and get the most out of this free service!  They can fill up their iPad or eReader with free eBooks from the library, and never again be without a good book in their pocket. (Check for more info in our July/August newsletter.)

For the Creative Cat!

At the library, crafty is our middle name.  And if your teen has even a hint of Martha Stewart underneath that backwards ball cap, you’ll want to tell them about our craft workshops.  We’ll have them doing everything from making their own jewelry to sewing a mini felt mascot.  All free of charge!

For something a little bit edgier, but equally creative, check out our Piecebooks Program, led by Graffiti Gallery.  Piecebooks are a classic method for urban artists to share and collect artwork, and this summer, teens can learn urban art techniques, including urban writing, stencilling, and marker techniques as we create one of a kind works of art!  At the library?  Yes, at the library. (Again, check our July/August newsletter for details.)

So before the thought even comes to mind, battle the boredom bug this summer, and encourage your teen to participate in a few of the library’s many programs!  There’s bound to be something of interest for your teen!

Lindsay

Things you can’t do with an e-reader…

Last year, Bloomberg Business Week printed a story about a man who began having rather apocalyptic nightmares after his son was born. He envisioned the bookshelves in his compact Japanese home falling on his new baby, burying the child in books. So he did what any prudent parent would do: he bought a scanner and converted his 850 books into PDF files.

 Now, you may be gripped by New Year’s resolution-induced clean-ups, or perhaps you are still enamoured with your new e-reader. But if you find yourself with extra books on your hands—the old-fashioned kind, with pages and covers—there are a few ideas for what to do with them.

The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life by Lisa Occhipinti offers an array of  projects for old books. These accessible crafts range from shelves constructed from books to wall decorations made by folding book pages. Some highlight books as a form, and others capitalize on the monochromatic appeal of the printed book page. Perhaps the most ironic inclusion is a Kindle book holder, described on Amazon as being for “those who want to replicate the sensation of holding a “real” book.”

Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book by Jason Thompson edges from craft into art with a similar approach to the same medium. The gallery section of the book highlights some beautiful works, including that featured on the book’s cover: a dress made of telephone book pages.

One artist frequently highlighted in exhibits or publications dealing in book art is UK artist Su Blackwell, whose detailed artworks are fascinating in their meticulous detail. Her gallery shows intricately-cut book pages assembled as sculptures. Perhaps the most clever ones use books as both subject and medium, such as those featuring scenes from Wuthering Heights or Alice in Wonderland.

 Another artist highly accomplished in the realm of paper art is based in Scotland, but remains anonymous. In spring 2011, a librarian discovered a small, detailed paper sculpture of a bird’s nest and eggs. It was accompanied by a note, saying”This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas…” By November, a total of ten such sculptures had turned up at libraries and museums in Scotland. The final note said that the sculptures were thank yous for the kind of “special places” where they had been left.

If perhaps you are not ready to part with your books in such a permanent way, two older books highlight some storage choices. Living with Books by Alan Powers has a range of appealing ideas, including the highly impractical (and dangerous) stacking of books along the edge of a staircase. It also includes a whimsical “coffee table book table”, comprised of glass sandwiched between–yes, coffee table books. While more traditional in its approach, House Beautiful: Decorating with Books by Marie Proeller Hueston does feature a dramatic, three-foot pile perilously wedged across the full expanse of a mantelpiece.

Books Make a Home: Elegant Ideas for Storing and Displaying Books by Damian Thompson can provide some further storage ideas. Whatever style of home you prefer, books can add something to your interior, whether they are the honey-coloured leather covers lining your Italian villa, or the identically slipcovered tomes in a modernist condo. (Does anyone except designers actually do this?) In a great variation of the recliner with pockets for the remotes, this book features the Biliochaise, where you can surround yourself with five linear metres of your favourite reading material.  

In the end, there is a solution for the Japanese man who consolidated his collection but might miss the ambience his books provided. A designer has come up with wallpaper printed to look like an array of bookshelves. But given the design’s sagging shelves, homeowners may never be free of their nightmares about collapse!