She's Crafty | Macramé

According to a few craft blogs, macramé will be making a big comeback in 2015. Macramé is one of those classic crafts that's never really out of style yet seems to go in and out of mega-popularity in regular intervals.

This is macramé.

Macrame by decor8 holly. Some Rights Reserved.

Turquoise Bead Bracelet by sunlizard. Some Rights Reserved.

You know, just in case you have never come face to face with a friendship bracelet, macramé purse, hanging plant-holder, choker, or more macramé owls than you ever thought possible.

The neat thing about a classic craft becoming popular and trendy is that more books might be written, classes might start to popping up, and those who jumped on the macramé band wagon the last time will most likely feel their interest renewed and bring their experience along with them to share with beginners.

I haven't macraméd (is that a word?) in quite a few years. The last time I tied a square knot I was making bracelets out of waxed cotton cord with fun art glass beads. Now that I have reminded myself that macramé exists I do find myself intrigued in a few new projects.

The YouTube channel Macrame School features many wonderful video tutorials that show viewers from start to finish, and through every knot, how to make beautiful macrame jewelry. I'm a sucker for jewelry and found two necklaces that I can't wait to make. It helps that the videos are well made and surprisingly relaxing! The music is soothing and although there is no dialogue, the video is shot and edited in a way that makes the tutorial easy to follow. There are so many videos to watch from this channel I could easily get sucked in for hours.

I'm excited to see what renewed interest will bring to the macramé craft. What trends might surface. For now, we just have to wait and see if the trendsetters and crafty forecasters are right.

Or...

We can have some fun, make some trends, and blaze our own trails!

Happy crafting!
Malia

Learning | More Bad Ideas for Bookmarks

I had to laugh when Panteha blogged about the person who marked a page in a library book with dental floss. I shudder to think about how many germs there may have been on that thing. 

Bookmarking with a cat is highly impractical. Photo courtesy of QuinnDombrowski's photostream on Flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

I have worked in libraries for decades now, and I continue to be shocked at the things people use for bookmarks in library books. How do I know about this? People forget to take their bookmarks out of their books before returning them in the bookdrop. Sometimes we even find books on the library shelves with bookmarks still in them.

Panteha makes a good point. You should never put something that may have been in a person's mouth in a library book. Things like bandages and facial tissues are just as disgusting; don't use those, either. 


I would also like to discourage people from bookmarking with items that may be of value to them.

Over the years, I have either seen or heard of books marked with the following items:

• Checks or paycheck stubs
• Bills
• Letters
• Greeting cards
• Credit cards
• Identification or insurance cards
• Currency
• Income tax forms
• Personal photos
• Poems
• Art work
• Love notes
• Report cards
• Homework assignments
• Shopping lists
• Recipes 
• Straw wrappers
• Candy wrappers

We try our best to let the customer know if they dropped something of value in the bookdrop. But sometimes we are unable to be sure which book it fell from, and there isn't enough information on the item itself to help us know who to contact.

It's especially frustrating to find lovely wedding pictures or portraits of loved ones. I wish extra hard that the customer will remember that they used them as bookmarks, and ask the library if it is in the lost and found.

A few years ago, a photograph of a pig on a leash turned up in our bookdrop. This was clearly not a random pig. It may have been a pet or 4H project. In, other words, it was clearly "SOME PIG!" I couldn't bear to toss it in the trash after it languished on our Lost and Found shelf for three weeks, so I have kept it at my desk. I have nicknamed it Wilbur, after the pig in E. B. White's classic, Charlotte's Web. 

I know what it's like to suddenly find yourself in need of an impromptu bookmark. I often use library receipts, or those annoying subscription cards that fall out of magazines. I have even used old envelopes or scratch paper for that purpose. Post-It notes are another great idea, because they don't fall out of the book easily, and can be moved from page to page without damaging the book.

What do you like to use as bookmarks, besides bookmarks?

Some people like to make their own bookmarks. Here are two books that give instructions for making them:

Step-by-Step Papermaking



Let's Knot: a Macramé Book