Handmade Nation in a City Near You

Handmade Nation, the 2009 documentary about the rise of DIY crafting, is still making it’s way around the country with premieres in more than 20 cities still scheduled. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the upcoming screenings on their blog.

First-time filmmaker Faythe Levine takes crafting seriously. So do the 80-some people she interviews in her well-crafted (pun intended) documentary about the growing art community that coheres around a belief in DIY skill and resourceful creativity. Many members of the indie crafting community spent their childhoods at flea markets, yard sales and thrift stores. Levine journeyed 19,000 miles around the country to discover what these crafters are up to today: selling mittens as band merchandise, knitting sweaters around street signs and networking with each other online, in stores and at craft fairs. This is a compelling look at the exuberant world of contemporary crafting.

Here are some of the upcoming events for September and October. Check out the Handemade Nation blog for more information on locations and times, plus more cities.

September 25-27th: Birmingham, AL
October 1st: Door County, WI
October 7th: Stadtkino, Vienna
October 11th: Tulsa OK
October 10th & 11th: Seattle, WA
October 24th: Norfolk, VA
October 25th: Huntington, NY

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The post over at The Crafty Mummy has the click-baity title of “Is there a right or wrong way to cross stitch?” Of course the answer is no. As with any other craft, as long as you are happy with the results you’re doing it right and no one should try to convince you otherwise.

That said, there are things that you can do to make your cross stitch a little better if you aren’t totally happy with the way your projects are looking. They might not be considered the “right way,” but they are important things to think about and if you want to deviate from these “rules” at least you’ll know that you’re doing it.

You can head over there to read all the tips, but it’s things like making sure your stitches are all going in the same direction (meaning you stitch the bottom legs of a row all in the same direction, then work back and stitch all the top legs in the same direction). You wouldn’t think something like that would make a huge difference until you don’t do it and then you can’t unsee it.

Most of things things aren’t rules so much as they are reminders to be consistent in what you are doing as you work a project. So however you start doing things like stitch direction or the number of strands of floss (I might even add using a hoop versus not, since the hoop can stretch the fabric and change the tension of the stitches a bit) you should continue in that way throughout the project in order for it to look its best.

Head over to The Crafty Mummy to read the rest of her list, then come back here if you have something to add. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: The Crafty Mummy]

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