On New Year’s Eve, Sharona jokingly told a friend that my goal for the coming year was to teach our entire campus to crochet. That got me thinking–what are my maker-related goals for the coming year?
We’re looking at making changes to how we run our library’s maker program, this semester. We’re hoping to ramp up our Maker Tracks, including bringing in volunteer track leaders from the IT department and other locations around campus. We’re also changing how we run maker events in the library. Sharona is using her position as advisor to the student Maker Club to encourage them to hold regular, open meetings with all the library’s gadgets and supplies. We’re really excited to see where student ownership of the events will lead things. We’re also hoping to have bigger (albeit fewer) librarian-run maker events. I’m not sure what those will look like yet, but you can bet it’s going to be fun.
So with all of that going on–what goals do I have? Lots! I want to:
- Lead another library Maker Track, and try to overcome some of the difficulties I encountered last time.
- Try tablet weaving. I had never even heard of this until recently, but there are some gorgeous projects on Ravelry using it. I wonder if I could turn this into the Maker Track I want to lead, and maybe include some time looking at historical examples?
- Up my knitting game and try out color work. I have a couple of books–this and this–and I’m excited to get started!
- Learn more about the history of needlework. I recently came across a book in a secondhand store that has me itching to learn more.
- See if I can get our student Maker Club interested in visiting any of the fiber festivals in our area. The CNY Fiber Festival is after most students have left for the summer, but maybe I can find a different festival at a better time.
- Check out my local(ish) knitters’ and/or weavers’ guilds. My grandmother has a lifetime membership to her local weavers’ guild, and she’s been telling me that I really should see what options I have near me. It’s about time I listen to her. Some quick Googling has turned up the fact that these guilds often have equipment you can borrow or rent on the cheap, plus libraries on their craft. And of course there’s also the opportunity to learn from others who share my interests. How could I say no to that?
I’m sure I’ll come up with plenty more goals along the way, too. How about you? Any exciting maker-related goals for the coming year? Drop me a comment, or tweet @makerbridge. I’d love to know what you’re hoping to get up to!
Image Credit: “Happy New Year 2017” by Christian Kothe is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
