@andy_warb @MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe Hi, unrelated Spark here. sorry could not resist. #MakersHour

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A5: Firstly, I would probably do a little dance because I still feel like a total fraud most of the time but I would suggest to start slow. My projects are becoming more and more “multi-disciplined” and I built these skills up over the past 15 plus years so probably best not to jump straight in. Maybe buy some kits or follow some really well documented guides online. I made a lot of mistakes along the way!

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A4: I’m just about to do exactly this when my new workbench is done - I’ll be combining a 3d printed robot bust with electronics and a microcontroller powered by #EspHome to create a functional desktop robot voice assistant and then giving it a rusty paint job and using it for LLM experiments!

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A3: Usually take a break, walk away and do something totally different. Maybe watch a movie or some YouTube or play a video game.

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A2: For me, it’s the world of Movies. I’m obsessed with recreating movie Robots (lots of StarWars but also many other franchises). I think though, I’m also very inspired by folks on YouTube. Often I will see a maker do their thing and I’ll see a technique or something and it’ll set off a little spark that later connects with an unrelated spark and that becomes an idea! #makershour

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A1: I’m currently wrapping up a three-month project to create an awesome 7-segment display for my office, then this weekend I am moving on to literally making a “maker table” (well, more of a workbench for my home office so that I can finally separate work and fun and not have to keep putting my projects away and also massively increase my storage capacity! #makershour

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe

A5. Suggestions and cautionary advice for learning my craft techniques.

Suggestions: find instructions which are really readable tutorials for a small simple project. Videos may be helpful. Otherwise your public library branch is a good resource. Use crafting supply thrift stores if you have them locally, or try visible mending for material and projects you mostly have in hand.

Cautionary note: if you sew on the bus, have a care to stow currently needed loose articles in a mesh bag or similar, an easy staging area, so that a bump will not send them flying when you were trying to use them.

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe

A4. Double up? I would combine my badge sized card display pockets onto a larger bag or fabric surface to make a changeable display for small embroidery and appliqué works like my hat tags. An "ita bag" of sorts. Or is that three for one?

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A5. Safety gear. Pick anything, attempt anything, but do it safely and at worst you will learn something. :)

Also start with the cheap stuff (both tools and consumables) because no matter how careful or good at planning you are, you will not get the results you want right away.

@kenSwinson @MakersHour too much scrolling and not enough creating is indeed a challenge, and a good thing to keep aware of. I also get stuck fleshing out very detailed or very complex ideas but not getting started on even the simpler parts of making, including learning and practicing the skills I'll need for the complex projects. #MakersHour

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe A4. I have long wanted to combine ceramics and electronics, e.g. to craft a coffee mug with a heating element embedded. I don't think this will be possible until such hypothetical future time when I build my own kiln and don't have to worry about exploding anybody else's stuff. #MakersHour

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe

A2. Inspirations tend to be from bold graphic elements such as warning placards, clean sharp linear designs like natural history book illustrations, and whimsical cuteness or personal interest references like using the Runequest game world's runes. Also Tamsin Bowles' original Weatherpixie art.

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe

A1. As I approach the finish line for my whimsically embroidered fruit picker characters tea towel, top of my list is what to do next as commute bus needlework.

edit: who am I? Jeff, portable project needleworker in the US Pacific Northwest.

Maybe a zipper pull ornament or a pieced appliqué decoration for my project bag or a new series of felt appliqué patches or tags like "B for Balloons" with the red double tailed nautical alphabet flag for "B".

#MakersHour
@makershour

Q4: Double up: If you could combine two of your makes to create a third thing, what would it be?

Perhaps a knitted scarf or shawl with some sweet beaded motifs sewn in? The thought never occurred to me before. :D

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@makershour

Q3: What do you do when you need an alternative boost of inspiration?

I just read. Nothing inspires me more (or gives me another boost of energy) than reading. Or watching YouTube tutorials XD

#MakersHour A5: I think the suggestion I have for anything is: just do it. I don't really have a particular "artform" I work on to be admired per se... I just do a bunch of different things well enough to be useful to me, nothing I've honed to a fine degree of skill. So yeah, just do things... that's it.

Cautionary advice? Nothing specific really, but a key thing is: Don't skimp on the PPE! Be safe. I work with a lot of tools that can take chunks out of you, they should be treated with respect. (I'm yet to majorly damage myself, but I've lost plenty of skin and blood over the years.)

@MakersHour@cupoftea.social @makershour@a.gup.pe