Archive-Along Part 1: Zines

Diane has the first post of our Archive-Along series, and she's covering how to archive your best work in zine format. I love this for so many reasons. Be sure to check out the comments that are already brewing on her post to see why I love it so much and how people plan on using this as a chance to connect with some of their non-blog-reading friends and family members (yes, there are a few left!)


Check back here tomorrow for my first post of the series: Using Google Profiles to archive, organize and promote your work!

Kicking off the Archive-Along

Sparked by a simple comment in a chat room a few weeks ago, Diane of Crafty Pod and I have put together a special blog-project on the subject of archiving your online work. The Archive-Along kicks off today, and is aimed at helping you explore various ways to create online and hard copy portfolios of some of your best online work.

Part of what interested me in this subject was my work on covering the STS-130 mission for MAKE. All my work for that project was online, and I wrote some of my favorite stories of my career during that time. And then I started to wonder .... where does all that work go? Hitting "post" sends it out into the virtual cosmos, and while folks read and commented on the stories, once they were out there for a while it just felt like they were kind of ... gone. I thought about how I'll want to share these stories with my kids and grandkids years from now and realized that, unless I was proactive with my archiving, I might not be able to.

Diane and I started brainstorming on the idea of archiving our work, and realized this is a great opportunity to engage the blogging community at-large (and not just crafters!) to share ways to make sure your best work is preserved and to see what other ideas you may be able to offer.

Even if you haven't been "published" on large web sites, it's important to go ahead and start developing good content archiving habits. It's also a great way to have one go-to spot to share your best work with potential publishers. Regardless of your level of blogging, project writing or experience, joining in on the Archive-Along is the first step to making sure your work never goes "poof" with no record left behind.

Over the next two weeks, Diane and I will share tutorials on various methods of creating digital and hard copy archives of your work. We encourage you to follow along and post summaries of your results and experience in the comments here. As you create your online portfolios, be sure to share them in the comments as well. Also be sure to keep up with the main Archive-Along page where we'll keep track of all our tutorials and feedback from participants.

Lastly, head over to the Archive-Along Flickr group and grab an Archive-Along button for the side bar for your blog! We're looking forward to helping you (and ourselves) get more organized, develop solid archiving habits and give all your hard work the care and curating it deserves!

Unicorn Embroidery Thrift Find

Miss me? I'll fill you in on where I've been after I introduce you to one of my favorite thrift finds ever.


Like most crafty folks, I have a love affair with thrift shops. One of my favorite embroidery projects of all time was a thrift find. I love finding stitch kits when I'm perusing thrift stores, and have a couple of shelves full of them in my big book case in my office.


This unicorn find from a couple of weeks ago was a jackpot hit for me. It wasn't in its original packaging, but it had everything else with it.

And, sure, it's cool because it's full of 1980s goodness (it's stamped on the back: 1982) but what was really fascinating is the little palette of threads already set up to start the project.


Whoever had this kit got fully set up to stitch before apparently abandoning the project. All the threads (regular 6-stranded cotton floss, crewel wool and even metallic cording) have all been looped thoughtfully into the palette.


They even methodically marked off all the required threads on the chart.


I'm so curious what made them put the project down....

I'm thinking I'll pick it up for some summer stitching. I've got several other projects in the queue right now, but this bright and cheery piece will be perfect for some poolside stitching.

So where have I been? Mostly working. Keeping up with my three posts a day and social media management over at the dandy CRAFT and keeping up with teaching classes. Add to that kiddos and all the space adventures I've been having, and something had to give for a bit. However, my good pal, Diane, and I have some fantastic stuff in store for you in the next few weeks, so rest assured - the hiatus is o-v-e-r. :)

Stitching Endeavour's De-orbit Map

You know how you have a million project ideas floating around in your head at any given moment? Things you've wanted to tackle for a while, but the timing just seems off? And then - in one blissful moment, your idea meets with the perfect resources and just the right amount of time and you're able to pull it off. Isn't that just one of the best feelings ever?

It's a rare feeling for me, but I take it when I can get it, and I got it last night.

I've wanted to embroider a shuttle's de-orbit map for a long time. The instant I saw one, my brain pinged, "STITCH IT!" which I think is a common occurrence for embroiderers. We see any kind of line drawing and immediately think, "Hey! I could stitch that!"

I particularly love the old school computer display look of the de-orbit maps (thanks for the Wargames reminder, Matt) and just love the idea of the symbolism of such a simple path home for such a complicated vehicle and mission. It seems though, that all the previous missions whose de-orbit maps I've wanted to stitch have never come together at just the right time - with all those magical elements meeting.

I started eyeing Endeavour's de-orbit maps a couple of days ago, and knew that if there ever was a time for me to make this project work, it was now. How could I not stitch the de-orbit map of the first shuttle I've seen launch? I didn't want to jinx her landing, though, by stitching the first de-orbit map only to find that she was delayed or rerouted to some other location. So I waited and held out hope that the pesky weather would clear and I could get to the business of stitching.
And it did. Just more than one hour before she was set to land, she was given the all clear for weather and the go ahead to execute the de-orbit burn that would commit her to landing. I literally jumped out of my chair, ran to my craft room and gathered my supplies. I had one scrap of black fabric, perfect for the background. I grabbed one of my many containers of embroidery floss, and it just happened to have every color I needed. I printed the map, transferred it with carbon paper and was off.

Two weeks ago, in the wee hours of a chilly Monday morning, I was in the press room at Kennedy Space Center, waiting to see if Endeavour would be given the all clear for weather and a "go" for launch. They'd gone back and forth and back and forth, and the speculation, coupled with the increasing crowds and noise in the press room, started to get to me. I bundled up, grabbed my laptop and escaped to the water's edge at the press launch viewing site, with the giant countdown clock just behind me. It felt so nice to break away and soak in the moment, with very few people around me. It was a privilege to sit there and watch Endeavour on the launch pad, knowing her crew was busy inside hoping just as hard as I was that they would be launching soon. I was so glad I took the time to escape and quiet my surroundings so I could focus on what was going on.
I felt the same way last night. As soon as Endeavour was given the "go" to land, Twitter went haywire - all abuzz with racing comments and recap of what was happening on NASA tv. And while I adore Twitter, stepping away from it for one hour to stitch and listen to the soothing (to me, come on, I'm a dork!) chatter of Mission Control was one of the best things I could do.

I kept the project small - about 5 inches square - and stitched as fast as I could. But you know as well as I do - you really can't rush stitching. And you can't multitask with it either. So I stitched and stitched and stitched. And just as I was getting to the part of stitching the flight path, Endeavour showed up on the screen as a little red triangle, slowly (well, actually pretty darn fast) going down the same path I was stitching.
With just under 10 minutes to spare, I completed the stitching and was able to sit back and watch her landing with a giant smile on my face. (and, yeah, tears streaming down my face)

As I looked at the piece this morning, I can see its glaring imperfections. Uneven stitches, could have worked the final bits of the flight path in a more interesting way, didn't have time to stitch in all the numbers, but I don't care. I'm so glad I jumped up and forced myself into a project. It took me less than an hour to complete something I've been thinking about doing for almost a year.

Image courtesy collectSPACE

What can you whip up tonight?

Gone Spacing

Crafting is still happening (in fact, I've even been teaching in the midst of all this space craziness!) but I am knee-deep in the bliss of STS-130 so I'll report back on the classes and astronaut embroidery update soon!

Want to join in the mission fun? Follow me on twitter!

Embroidered Peg Board & a look at my craft space

Over on CRAFT, we're just wrapping up one of our most fun and most popular series: Make Space For Crafting. During the last month, we've featured numerous craft spaces of some of our favorite crafty peeps as well as loads of tutorials and projects that are perfect for organizing your own craft space. I love that we've had spaces from tiny craft closets to vast, gorgeous studios, and projects that range from fast and easy to more elaborate. I highly recommend checking out the complete series archive.

I just posted up a peek inside my craft space last night. Mine's not completely finished - I still have some art to hang on the walls and a curtain to hang over my closet and roman shades to make/purchase/hang, but it's getting there, and I love it oh so much. Having my own space - especially since I work from home - is so important. I can go in there and really feel comfortable and inspired to work. Love that.

One of my favorite things in my craft space is my peg boards. Peg boards are one of the handiest organizational tools around, and I decided to gussy mine up with some embroidery with yarn. I love having over-sized embroidery stitches up on my wall.

Check out the piece and more pictures over on my Flickr stream. Do you have any favorite craft spaces to share? Any tips of your own? Let me know in the comments. Our main Make Space for Crafting series may be over, but with response as great as we've received, we're working on ways to keep it alive in some form.

Astronaut stitching in progress

In a few weeks, I'm teaching my first session of Hand Embroidery II over at the Stitch Lab. As part of the class, we'll work on transforming a photograph into an embroidery pattern. I wanted to stitch up an example for the class, but wasn't sure what picture to use. I decided I wanted something space-themed (remember the Space Geek side of me?) so I started to dig around on the Great Images of NASA web site and found my inspiration pretty quickly. It's not too hard to be inspired by the amazing wealth of images over there.

I have to admit, this is one of the most difficult pieces I've ever set to work on. It's not necessarily a complicated piece, but there are tiny details and lots of parts that need to be stitched just right so they make sense. Stitching faces and eyes is hard! Those eyelashes? That's stem stitch in one strand of embroidery floss. Sure, to the classically-trained hard core needle artist, that's nothing big, but for someone who generally sticks with basic patterns and pre-fab designs, this is a step up for me. I'm feeling a bit out of my element and intimidated and a bit concerned on how the piece will turn out.

I'm not usually this way. I'm queen of "Don't worry about perfection, just have fun!" So what's changed?

I guess I'm just looking for a challenge and wanting to see something big all the way through. I may not like to admit it, but I tend to be a shortcut kinda gal. I get fired up about something and then peter out a bit when things get tough. I'm enjoying the idea that this piece is forcing me to overcome that.

And on the subject of space - I have another adventure that is exciting and thrilling and pushing my comfort zones a bit. I'm covering the launch of STS-130 Shuttle Endeavour for MAKE magazine. I can't believe my luck, and I'm looking forward to soaking up as much fun, information and as many opportunities as possible out of the next two weeks. You can keep up with my coverage over on MAKE, Twitter and Flickr. Hope you'll come along for the ride!

So what are you doing that's challenging you these days? How are you staying motivated to keep up even when you're intimidated and feeling a bit out of your element?