Category: Craft

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Workshop: Intro to LilyPad (aka twinkly LEDs edition)

Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board
Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board

Once more into the workshops dear friends! This first workshop will focus on getting used to the LilyPad microcontroller, and getting started programming some LEDs.
(The second workshop will focus on reading data in from sensors. A third workshop will be added if requested. Book your place on them as the posts go up.)

Content;
The first workshop is for complete beginners; an introduction to the LilyPad system, from what the different parts of the board do, to some basic coding, and turning on/off some lights. The only thing you’ll need to bring with you is a laptop with USB port, everything else is provided. (If you want to bring your own LilyPad components that’s great, just let us know when you’re booking and we’ll make sure you have everything you’ll need.)

Important: please bring your own laptop with USB port. Closer to the event you will receive instructions on how to install the programming environment.

Optional materials; Any LilyPad board (preferably the Protosnap), with a handful LEDs, including an RGB LED, and a switch or two.
If you want to play with the LilyPad before buying, Protosnap boards can be provided for the duration of the workshop, but you’ll probably have to work in groups of at least two people.

When: Thursday, January 30th. From 7pm until 10pm.

Where: TOG.

Cost: €10 for non-members, €5 for members. (All proceeds go to support TOG.)

Please register for this workshop through the contact form below the cut.
Fully booked. Please check back for a rerun of the course in a few weeks.

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Christmas at TOG: cookies and crochet

Beautiful garlands of floppies
Deck the halls with boughs of floppies, fa la la la la la la la la la

As we’re well into December by now, we can talk about the C word all we want!  As is tradition by now, the final craftnight of the year will be a sugar-fuelled glitterfest where we try to finish Christmas gifts while raising our blood glucose levels.  By the time your insulin sorts that mess out, the crochet class on Saturday 14th will let you return to the scene of the sugarcrime and see what you recall.

Sugar craftnight kicks off from about 6:30pm in TOG on Tuesday December 10th.  All are welcome, and all sorts of tasty treats are welcome too! There’ll be hot chocolate to wash down the Christmas cookies, and I’ll have some spare felt and sparkles for anyone who’d rather build decorations than destroy their pancreas (of course you can do both).  Coordination of baking will happen through the craft mailing list (anyone can join the list and get regular reminders of craftnights during the year). As with all craftnights, you can just pop down on the night.  Our first craftnight of 2014 will be on January 7th.

Beautiful baubles to hang on your Christmas tree (or to give to someone to hang on their tree)
Beautiful baubles to hang on your Christmas tree (or to give to someone to hang on their tree)

There will be a crochet bauble workshop run on the afternoon of Saturday December 14th from 2:30pm till about 4:30pm. Participants don’t need any prior experience at crochet, and will still make a pretty netted bauble for the tree.  The class will cost €7 including materials (or €2 for members for the materials).  Sign-up form for the class after the break.

 

 

 

 

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Lemon Soap in Dublin

soapOn June 16 1904 in the novel Ulysses, Leopold Bloom got a bar lemon soap from Swenys chemist in Lincoln Place, Dublin. You can still do that to this day. He never paid for his! On Oct 13th 2013, we made lemon soap at TOG…..or lemon and oatmeal to be precise. It’s our first go at soap making, so we’ll have to see how it turns out. Like a fine wine, it needs time to mature now, so we’ll update the blog in a few weeks time. We might want some testers. If it all goes well, we might even do some more. Contact us, if you’re interested in soap making.

More pics here…….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100047873@N08/sets/72157636518667775/

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Workshop: LilyPad Sensors

Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board
Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board

E-textiles, electro-craft, wearable electronics; it’s about taking technology and transforming it around your body, creating symbiosis. Helping technology meld seemlessly into the very fabric of our lives.

Whether you’re looking to augment the human condition or you’re more interested in the romantic ethereal glow of twinkly lights, you have to start somewhere.

Content;
This second workshop is for people who have used the LilyPad or Arduino before. Focusing on input we’ll look at using light and temperature sensors, and accelerometers. We’ll also look at multiplexing, both input and output, and making your own interfaces to connect regular electrical components to your LilyPad circuit.
The only thing you’ll need to bring with you is a laptop with USB port, everything else is provided. (If you want to bring your own LilyPad components that’s great, just let us know when you’re booking and we’ll make sure you have everything you’ll need.)

Important: please bring your own laptop with USB port. Closer to the event you will receive instructions on how to install the programming environment.

Optional materials; Any LilyPad board (preferably the Protosnap), with any sensor you’d like to use.
If you want to play with the LilyPad before buying, Protosnap boards can be provided for the duration of the workshop, but you’ll probably have to work in groups of at least two people.

When: Thursday, October 24th. From 7pm until 10pm. Cancelled

Where: TOG.

Cost: €10 for non-members, €5 for members. (All proceeds go to support TOG.)

Please register through the contact form below the cut.

This workshop has been cancelled. Check back for the rescheduled date.

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Workshop: Intro to LilyPad

Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board
Protosnap LilyPad Arduino Board

E-textiles, electro-craft, wearable electronics; it’s about taking technology and transforming it around your body, creating symbiosis. Helping technology meld seemlessly into the very fabric of our lives.

Whether you’re looking to augment the human condition or you’re more interested in the romantic ethereal glow of twinkly lights, you have to start somewhere.

LilyPad is a microcontroller system, a wearable version of the Arduino microcontroller (and equally as Open Source), with many accessory boards of sensors and actuators. It is designed to facilitate the development of wearables and e-textiles.

Using it is equal parts hardware, software, and craft. All the information you need to get started with it is available online. But sometimes you’d like a kick in the right direction, so we’re holding a series of LilyPad workshops, every two weeks, to do just that. You can sign up for just one, or all of the workshops. Whatever interests you.

Content;
The first workshop is for complete beginners; an introduction to the LilyPad system, from what the different parts of the board do, to some basic coding, getting data in, and turning on/off some lights. The only thing you’ll need to bring with you is a laptop with USB port, everything else is provided. (If you want to bring your own LilyPad components that’s great, just let us know when you’re booking and we’ll make sure you have everything you’ll need.)

Important: please bring your own laptop with USB port. Closer to the event you will receive instructions on how to install the programming environment.

Optional materials; Any LilyPad board (preferably the Protosnap), with light sensor, switches, and LEDs.
If you want to play with the LilyPad before buying, Protosnap boards can be provided for the duration of the workshop, but you’ll probably have to work in groups of at least two people.

When: Thursday, October 10th. From 7pm until 10pm.

Where: TOG.

Cost: €10 for non-members, €5 for members. (All proceeds go to support TOG.)

Please register through the contact form below the cut.

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Craft Night quilt at MakerFaire2013

Dublin Mini Maker Faire logo Dublin Mini Maker Faire 2013 has come and gone. We’ve been recapping a few of the projects displayed at the event, like the Bubble Bird House, and the Twitter Knitter. The Craft Nighters* got in on the action as well, and contributed squares towards a patchwork quilt. The type of squares is varied, including crochet, hand knit, machine knit, embroidery, blackwork, patchwork (meta), and decorative uses of beads, buttons, and googly eyes. Rather than losing some of the detail by making them conform to a strict patchwork quilt, we instead chose a looser arrangement to better showcase the talent and variety of our dedicated crafters.

Crafters quilt at Maker Faire, with Twitter Knitter

* Craft Night happens every second Tuesday from 7pm. It’s free, and open to all crafts. Simply, people show up and work on their projects. It’s great having others around who can help you out if you get stuck/confused, or just to chat with (and find out the best crafting suppliers). Get in touch and come along!

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