Blog
at Martha Stewart
March 03, 2011
Yep, that’s me and Martha Stewart! Meg Allan Cole and I attended MSLO’s crafts episode with some other crafty residents of the blogosphere. The only other time I attended the show I was on crutches with the flu, so this time was markedly better. More pics on CRAFT.
Photo: David E. Steele/The Martha Stewart Show
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T-Shirt Refashion
February 14, 2011
Take a unisex tee from boxy to foxy!
- video on CRAFT
- tutorial on Make: Projects
- tutorial on Instructables
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ASCII Heart Necklaces Available for Valentine’s Day 2011
February 03, 2011
I made nine ASCII heart necklaces for Valentine’s Day 2011. Pick yours up at my Etsy shop.
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New Show! Make: Live
January 24, 2011
I’m really excited to announce a new show I’m co-hosting/producing called Make: Live. Matt Richardson and I bring MAKE Magazine alive with guests both in-studio and via Skype showing off all kinds of maker projects, show-and-tell style, streaming live on the web. The first episode is all about Arduino, with topical shows on soldering and bicycles to follow. It’ll be every other Wednesday night at 9pm EST. We’re broadcasting in HD from NYC (Sternlab HQ)!
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TV-B-Gone Jacket at CES Fashion Show
January 05, 2011
Diana Eng invited me to contribute a garment to the FashionWare runway show – a jacket with embedded TV-B-Gone! Similar to the TV-B-Gone Hoodie, the jacket’s embedded TV remote is activated by a switch along the zipper made from conductive thread, zapping all sets in range. If you’re in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, check it out this Friday, along with other wearable tech by Diana Eng, Alison Lewis, and more.
more photos on Flickr.
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Tron Bag with EL Wire
January 04, 2011
Another successful Adafruit collaboration! Ladyada and I made this EL wire (electro-luminescent wire) tutorial video (on CRAFT) and Tron bag. Her EL photo tutorial is the best one on the ‘net, and this video really shows the (delicate) process of getting the soldering just right. You can get EL wire from the Adafruit shop.
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Hacking the Brother KH-930e knitting machine
November 02, 2010
Limor “Ladyada” Fried and I just finished up a extensive tutorial on hacking the Brother KH-930e knitting machine. We show you how to make your own cable for interfacing with the machine, then how to use it to put custom patterns on the machine without entering them by hand, as I had been doing previously (one excruciating pixel at a time). I made the above tessellating adafruits fabric and the dithering experiment below.
Have questions? Don’t ask them here or send me email, ask in the adafruit forum.
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Quasar scarf
November 01, 2010
Matt Mechtley models his custom emission spectrum scarf, depicting the spectrum for the quasar he’s researching. Lookin’ fab, Matt!
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La Roux Halloween costume
Yep, this year for Halloween I dressed up as Elly Jackson from La Roux.
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Mondrian jacket tutorial on Make: Projects and Instructables, “neo-cameo” laser cutter files on Thingiverse, and I commissioned the leggings from Trendy Love on Etsy.
More photos on Flickr.
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Sock Zombies!
October 24, 2010
A while back for my birthday, Sarah Hatton made me a “sock zombie” plush toy from whatever she had laying around… a tube sock, some red thread, sewing machine bobbins, and some eyeshadow. I made it into a tutorial video for CRAFT’s Halloween series this year.
Filmed less than a week after my invasive knee surgery (pics), here’s a behind-the-scenes pic by Brian Redbeard.
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Grayscale Silicon Scarf
October 09, 2010
Less rainbow-tastic than your average emission spectrum scarf, this one uses shades of gray to depict Silicon’s spectrum, per custom request. I think it came out nice!
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World Maker Faire NY 2010
September 30, 2010
The first ever Maker Faire in NYC was a blast! I gave a demo on my TV-B-Gone Hoodie, taught crafters to change a bike tube and make a headband, and Andrew and Justin helped me vend products in the Craftacular. Hackett wired up the Rascal Cycle so I could scoot my bum knee around the fairgrounds. Dustyn Roberts and I rode the Jet Ponies at about 40mph.
Photos and video by Matt Mets.
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Firefox Necklace
September 17, 2010
My favorite browser, in 18ga. Sterling silver, video for CRAFT. To get the foxy template, check out Tobi Leingruber’s Foxbling on Thingiverse.
I used rubber cement to affix the template to a piece of 18ga. silver sheet, and used a small saw to cut out the shape on top of a jewelry maker’s bench pin, which is that fork-shaped wooden surface you see in the video. Finish it up with files and a lot of sanding using a flex shaft and slotted mandrel. The same flex shaft can be fitted with any number of tools, like the tiny drill bit I used to drill the pendant’s jumpring hole. I got most of the tools and supplies for this project from Rio Grande, who also buys back my scrap metal.
I’d like to put these necklaces into production (and $upport Mozilla, natch), so if you’re interested in staying informed on the project, email me or leave a comment below.
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Open Retail
July 22, 2010
Tonight I’ll be part of a panel discussion at Eyebeam called Open Retail:
Moderated by Dustyn Roberts, Eyebeam
Disscussants: Bre Pettis, MakerBot; Giana González, Hacking Couture; Becky Stern, CRAFT and MAKE Magazines, Sternlab
Using Re:Group exhibited projects MakerBot and Hacking Couture as a point of departure, Open Retail will explore the intersection between the engineering and fashion industries, and the ways in which open source practices are influencing them both. Eyebeam resident artist Dustyn Roberts (engineer and author of the forthcoming book, Making Things Move) will moderate a discussion with Bre Pettis (MakerBot), Giana González (Hacking Couture), and Becky Stern (associate editor for CRAFT and MAKE Magazines, Sternlab), which will consider how newly emerging open hardware licenses might help spur innovation and counteract draconian patent laws, while also building sustainable business practices. Conversely, the lack of copyright in fashion has resulted in an industry focused on branding and closely guarded trade secrets. But how might the absense of copyright (or conversely, open licensing) be turned into a strength rather than a liability in product development?
Open Retail panel
Thursday, July 22 2010 7:30-9pm
Suggested $5-10 donation
Eyebeam Art + Technology Center
540 W 21st St. New York, NY
Also live streamed
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Machine-Knit Bags
July 12, 2010
I can’t stop iterating color combinations on my knitting machine! These drawstring bags are padded to house fragile things like potions, cameras, and other inventory.
Available on Etsy or Makers Market. Custom orders welcome!
All patterns by Nathan Rosenquist.
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Hydroponic Herb Garden
April 21, 2010
I set up a hydroponic herb garden for my latest CRAFT Video, and had blast doing so. It’s fun and just my kind of geeky to maintain the proper pH and nutrient levels, all the while nomming delicious home-grown herbs. I had a bit of a scare with my arugula at first (it went into shock from the transplanting), but it’s all good now. Lots of pictures are on my Flickr, and don’t forget to go check out the video and the herb risotto recipe I made to go along with it.
Thanks to Nathan for filming, helping, and taking most of the photos. Thanks to my friends at General Hydroponics for their advice and guidance!
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Flying Diamonds
Flying Diamonds
Cotton and conductive threads and electronics components including a LilyPad Arduino on vinyl
2010
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Emission Spectra Scarves
February 11, 2010
These Emission Spectra Scarves are lovingly machine-knit from black and colored 100% cotton yarn. They measure about 6.5 feet long and 7 inches wide.
Price varies with pattern complexity. Limited stock below or email to custom order.
Pictured above is Limor (Ladyada) Fried wearing Silicon and Matt Mechtley sporting a custom quasar.
More photos at my photoset and adafruit’s Flickr.
This scarf was originally Amanda Wozniak‘s idea.
Download patterns to make your own! Thanks to Bryn Davies for the Spectra Pattern Generator Python script. Patterns below are for machine knitting or teeny needles, but you can generate a pattern based on your knitting gauge at Bryn’s site.
Silicon [PDF]
Gold [PDF]
Manganese [PDF]
Mercury [PDF]
Iron [PDF]
Tungsten [PDF]
Uranium [PDF]
Molybdenum [paginated PDF | one long list PDF]
Lead [PDF]
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Fatlab hoodie
January 28, 2010
The fffffat crew is meeting up in Berlin next week for Transmediale. I can’t make it out, but I did make a tutorial for fffffatting up your hoodie, so the gang can roll in style without me. I’ll be missing you guys!
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<3 Necklace
January 25, 2010
Many of you requested I make smaller version of my hollow form <3 necklace, so here it is! New stock will be available for holiday 2011, email me to be added to the notification list.
This 1.5 inch tall Sterling silver pendant is handmade from 1mm thick sheet and tubing, depicting the internet-savvy sentiment <3, an ascii heart! Appropriate for showing your geeky ladyfriend how much you care. The < and 3 dangle freely, dancing near each other with the wearer’s motions. Available with a 19 inch long sterling silver curb chain. Finished with a sterling clasp and packaged in a jewelry gift box.
If you want to make one of your own, here’s the template I used to pierce the shapes:
Here modeled by Kio Stark.
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Felt Control Panel
December 29, 2009
I’m working on some felt electronics, this time pushbuttons in addition to knobs. Moxie taught me how to needle felt, which makes it easier to form a dense defined shape than with wet felting. I first make little marshmallow-shaped cylinders, then bore a hole and insert the button or knob. A few more pics are at my Flickr.
If you’re interested in a custom order, submit a request at my Etsy shop.
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LED sewing kit Jawa dolls
December 15, 2009
Betty made these Jawa dolls with LED eyes using my LED sewing kit, aren’t they awesome? She offers a free pattern, too! Open source crafting!
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LED Sewing Kits
November 21, 2009
LED sewing kits are back in stock! Available in white, warm white, yellow, green, blue, red, and PINK!
Use this kit for enhancing your needlework project or garment with lights. Stitch it up with my free tutorial.
The kit includes:
- 1 sewable battery holder
- 1 CR2032 coincell battery
- 7 feet of conductive thread (enough for one or two projects)
- 2 5mm LEDs
- 1 metal snap for creating a switch
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Open Source Embroidery at MOCFA opening tonight
October 01, 2009
The Open Source Embroidery exhibition featuring my LilyPad Arduino Embroidery has traveled from Sweden to San Francisco, where it will be on display at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art until January 24. Check out the interview with curator Ele Carpenter on Rhizome.
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Flickr
