Workshop: Basic Hand-Sewing

There are many reasons you might need to learn how to sew. Maybe you’ve noticed that it’s only a month until Hallowe’en and you need to get started on a costume. Maybe you need to work on costumes for a short film or play you’re a part of. Maybe your favourite top has ripped, or popped a button, and you need to fix it. Or maybe it’s part of a greater plan to learn how to make and fit your own clothes (and so freeing yourself from the shackles of fashion trends).

Well, now’s your chance. We’re running a basic hand-sewing workshop; Tuesday, October 11th, from 7pm to 10pm, in TOG. We really will be covering the basics, from threading your needle, to finishing with a knot. You’ll learn straight-stitch, back-stitch, and overcasting. Then we’ll work on a little project so you can practice your new found skills.

Full disclosure; I’m not an expert, but I can help you get started if you need it. This class is most definitely for beginners, if you’ve sewn before you will be bored.

There are only 6 places, to make sure everyone gets enough attention, so sign up sooner rather than later! It is free, if you bring your own materials. If you don’t have any materials some can be obtained for you, for cost. Meaning, for €10 you’ll get pins, needles, thread, and assorted other useful bits and bobs you’ll need to sew that you get to keep.

Cost: Free! If you bring your own supplies. Otherwise supplies can be bought for €10.
Materials: Pack of hand-sewing needles, needle threader, wheel of pins, thread, etc.

Date: Tuesday, 11th October.
Time: Between 7pm and 10pm.
Place: TOG space. See: http://www.tog.ie/location/

So if you’d like to attend please use the form below. And if you’ll need to buy materials, please make sure to mention it!

Class: Introduction to Programming

Are you curious about programming? Ever wished you could write your own scripts to automate repetitive tasks, or for fun? Or been interested in understanding how an application works (and why there are always bugs in the software you use??). Tog is running a new class on learning how to program, for complete beginners with no previous programming knowledge.

The course will cover basic programming skills, which will also give you a better understanding of how computers work. We will be using Python, an excellent learning language because it is simple yet powerful, and extremely readable. At the end of the course you will know how to write simple programs, and you should have enough understanding of the basics to move on to either more complex programming tasks in Python or learn another language if you wish to.

The course will begin on October 20th and will run for 5 weeks every Thursday from 7.00pm to 9.30pm. The cost is €40 for non-members, and free for members. The class size is limited to about 8 people, for a relaxed atmosphere conducive to learning.

If you are interested in attending, or have any question about the course, please use the form below or leave a comment — we’re happy to answer any query! You must sign up if you want to attend, space is limited.

Please note that this is a course for complete beginners, who are not yet familiar with the usual syntax for programming. If you’re a programmer interested in picking up Python, you should keep an eye out for our crash courses!

(Update: We’re full! You can still sign up to be added to the waiting list, and be notified if a space frees up.)

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Hacking @ Electric Picnic

We had the pleasure of being invited to form a temporary hackerspace at the Electric Picnic music & arts festival. We set up our hackerspace with the help of members from TOG, Milk labs and 091 labs in the Mindflied area of the Picnic. We made our home in the Ingition Stage sharing the tent with the Science Gallery. Over the weekend we had a host of interesting people dropping by with over 200 people learning to solder.

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LaTeX workshop

Tog will be hosting an introduction to LaTeX workshop, kindly taught by Triona O’Connell.

During the first part of the workshop we will learn about LaTeX in a hands-on fashion: the syntax, how to build a file, how to debug when a problem occurs, etc.

The second part will be about trying things out with Latex, and attendees are also welcome to bring files they’re having trouble with so we can look at fixing problems.

When: Wednesday, September 21st, from 7pm to 9pm
Fee: 3€ for non-members, free for members. Please register using the form below!

Attendees should bring their laptop.
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Pinhole Photo Workshop

We had some fun yesterday with pinhole cameras made from soft drinks cans. A bit of trial and error was order of the day. Exposures ranged from 5 seconds to 10 minutes.

We also recovered a long-term pinhole camera which has been mounted high-up in TOG’s yard, and exposing for several months. Unfortunately it got a bit wet inside at some point which damaged the paper slightly, but you can still clearly see the tracks of the sun and the outline of the roof. Check out the gallery soon for more pictures.

TOG Yard long-term pinhole
TOG yard long-term pinhole camera
TOG common room
TOG common room

Pinhole Photography

Question: How do you take a picture using an empty drink can?

Answer: By joining us at TOG for a quick pinhole camera workshop, on Sat 27th August as part of Irish Hackerspaces week.

A pinhole camera is probably the simplest camera you can have. It doesn’t even need a lens. It can be
any made from almost any light-tight box that you can think of, and it
can produce an image on photographic paper or film. We’ve made some
pinhole cameras already for you to use, but if you’re feeling
adventurous, you can always bring your own.

 

There’ll be 2 sessions, one at 11:00 and one at 15:00, with 5 places per session. After loading your
pinhole camera with a piece of photo paper, you can take a picture with
it, then develop it in TOG’s darkroom in about 2 minutes. Have a few
attempts and see how creative you can get.  Cost of this workshop is €12  and all proceeds go to support TOG.

This workshop is part of Irish Hackerspace Week.

Sign up by using the contact form below.

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