Making your own pasta is an incredibly soul satisfying experience. Tastes wonderful, is pretty messy and you can get the whole family involved.
check out the egullet forums for a very explicit and clear tutorial as well as living venice blog.
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For residents of the US, a three-part program entitled “Craft in America” airs tonight on your local PBS station. I have not seen the program yet but am excited about the prospect of a three-part documentary on craft followed by an associated two-year, eight-city museum tour and a companion book with a prologue by longtime craftsman, craft advocate, former president of the United States and personal hero of mine, Jimmy Carter. For those of you who do not live in the US or who miss the program, the website offers a DVD and links ot other resources. There’s also a preview of the program that can be seen online.
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Just over a year ago in April 2006 at Beaconsfield in northern Tasmania, a mine accident killed one man and trapped two more. They were underground for days – the first joy of finding, five days later, that two had survived became a long wait while their colleagues found a way to get them out safely. They were trapped over half a mile or almost a kilometre underground – 925 metres. It was two weeks (or 321 hours) after the mine collapse that they walked free and put their name tags onto “safe”. That afternoon was the funeral of their colleague who had not survived the initial rockfall.
Later in the year, a ‘close-knit community knitting’ project began, to knit a scarf 925m long. You can read the ‘seed’ story, from the ABC (Australia’s public broadcaster) here. People were invited to contribute small sections, to be joined together, their work symbolising the careful work of the many people involved in the rescue.
As the picture above shows you, many people started knitting. There were knitting days in the town, and contributions from farther afield (Tasmania, other Australian states, overseas) – read more here.
On the first anniversary of the accident, the “Close-Knit Community Scarf” was unveiled by local schoolchildren as part of the ceremony.
It is astonishing how many ways the work of our hands can serve to unite, to remember, to draw us together as human beings and people and communities. This is just one. The many AIDS quilt projects around the world are another, and the list of the multifarious possibilities, often beginning as the “what-if?” thought of one or a few people, is long and wonderful and humbling and grand. The value can be as much, or more, in the process as in the product, and about patience and commitment, not just skill.
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Whiptips craft advice column for readers to ask questions or offer advice by leaving comments. Whiptips archive here. Questions to whiptips@gmail.com.
After watching my photography evolve over the past year my husband got me a fancy DSLR this past Christmas. I love it. But, I don’t love the strap that came with it that so blazingly advertises the maker of the camera. I’d love something more “me” and unique. I’ve done some searching and haven’t found many options to buy ones from independent crafters. I’m wondering if any of the readers now of some good indie artists that sell such things or know of any good tutorials for making one yourself. Alternately, are there any tips they have for covering the one that came with my camera?
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Making your own felt is a very satisfying and fun process. You can get the kids involved, experiment with your design and do it at home with very limited equipment. give it a go with this excellent tutorial and another one here.
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