The Premier Cincinnati Hackerspace

Written by Lisa

Do you need a gift for a fiber artist in your life but don’t know what they might want? Here are some ideas of tools, supplies, etc. to help level up their crafting.

Book light that wraps around your neck: Any

Extra light always helps you to see your project especially if working with dark yarn or in a dark location where eye strain can take its toll. A handy gadget to toss in a bag for long, holiday trips!

Little snip scissors: Any

You can never have too many pairs of scissors. Stork shaped are classic, but they come in all different shapes and sizes. Some small scissors have caps or sheathes to protect your projects and hands from accidental stabbing.

Scissors Sharpener: Any

This device is basically a knife sharpener for scissors helping keep your cuts precise and clean. You open the scissors, put them through the holes, and then cut down a couple times to resharpen your scissors. Sharpeners can be paired with fresh fabric scissors as an apology for using fabric scissors on wrapping paper.

Reusable Lint Rollers: Any

When working with fiber of any kind you will inevitably end up with strands of it in places you don’t want it. Reusable lint rollers help get fibers from your project or furry friend off your clothes, project, chair, etc.

Nice fabric tape measure: Any

Tape measures are never where you think you set them down last and measuring your project is always important. Looks for one with both inches and centimeters, with high contrast between the background and numbering. Tape measures can warp over time so it is important to check their accuracy every now and then.

Project Bags: Any

Help keep projects and supplies organized and contained. It can be a tote bag with a quote from their favorite book, a zipper or snap pouch with multiple compartments, mesh or vinyl pouch that allows you to see what project is inside, a sewing box, or anything in between. Just consider what size project they generally work on. Project bags are an excellent way to keep your project safe from small, hairy yarn taste testers.

Magnetic Needle Minders: Hand Embroidery, Cross Stitch, Mending

These hold your needle to your work, made up of a decorative top glued to a magnet and a second magnet to go on the back of the piece. You can buy from craft stores or make your own by turning pins into needle minders by taking off the pin back and gluing a magnet to the back.

O-shaped spool keepers: Hand Embroidery and Cross Stitch

These silicone spool keepers look like an O or a spiral and can be used to keep extra fabric neat and out of the way when stitching using an embroidery hoop. Nothing can break a heart like an errant snag on a fiber artist’s project, save them the tears!

Speed Weave Loom: Any

This mini loom can be used to repair or add to pieces. Great for adding visible mending patches as visible mending has become more popular and learning a skill that has been around for decades.

Point protectors: Knitting

These point protectors keep your project on your needles when you must set your project down and come in simple cones and fun shapes. Losing half of your stitches during a 205 stitch cast on can cause any fiber artist to fall into a rage, save your favorite knitting fiber artist some stress.

Safety Eye Tool: Crochet or Knit Stuffed Creatures

This 3D printed tool can make attaching safety eyes much easier. Safety eyes are plastic eyes that are added to stuffed projects by poking the shaft on the back of the eye through the stitches of your project and securing it with a plastic washer that catches on lips on the back. Securing the washer can be hard on your hands and having a tool can help immensely. Note that this is a more specific tool and should only be given if you know the crafter attaches plastic safety eyes to their projects.

Yarn Bowls: Knit and Crochet

Wood, ceramic, or 3D printed, yarn bowls can help keep your yarn contained, keep your tension even, and they look lovely when not in use.

Hemming Clamp: Hand sewing

Hemming clamps are used to hold your work under tension when stitching a hem or seam. This device clamps on a table or solid surface to help speed up hand stitching.

Gift Card to a Local Yarn, Fabric, or Craft Store: Any

Let them choose their own gift! They know what they have and what they want, so support local businesses and let your crafter have free reign to pick out what brings them joy.

Hamvention is fast approaching! Ham radio fans converge upon Dayton to brave the sun, rain, and nerds to broadcast their radio knowledge. A decent portion of our members have ham radio licenses and are annual visitors to Hamvention. We're ready to ham it up, here are some of our members' best tips for optimizing your trip to Greene County Fair and Expo Center!

Come with a list of what you're looking for and be at peace with the fact you will not see all of the outdoor flea market. - Brian

Hamvention has indoor vendors as well as an outdoor flea market. While you can play out your indoor route pretty easily, the flea market has way more vendors and can be overwhelming. Come with a plan AND cash!

Bring a backpack and lots of water. - Ryan A.

Walking the grounds can be exhausting in the May sun and extra storage may be required if you find a great score (which you will). Staying hydrated and unburdened is a huge part of having an enjoyable time.

It's going to rain, bring appropriate footwear and a rain jacket. - Drew K.

Rain at Hamvention is just a given due to it occurring in Ohio in May. The fairgrounds can handle some mud but can you? Make sure to bring stuff you don't mind getting muddy and wet.

Wear tan cargo shorts, a t-shirt with a radio manufacture's logo on it & a baseball cap and you will blend in seamlessly. - Ryan A.

Every subculture has a uniform and ham radio is no exception. Cargo shorts do double duty as part of the uniform and holding your flea market scores. What's in your pocket? A Meshtastic node? Some vintage tech? A kitschy ham sticker?

Our members will be out and about at Hamvention! Will we see you there?

Hive13 is excited to announce that we are expanding our membership structure to include the newest tier of membership, apiary members.

Since our space began in 2009, we felt like our student, standard, and cornerstone memberships were able to cover the populations that would be in the space. It was brought to our attention last night via prophetic dream that we were missing a very small-in-size demographic that we could welcome into our space. After an emergency board meeting, the apiary membership was born!

What is an apiary membership?

An apiary membership is $2,000 a month through Paypal and has all the same rights/responsibilities as other membership tiers but allows for one indoor beehive! Beehives will be evenly spaced throughout Hive13 as to best encourage cross-pollination of wards. Apiary members will be expected to manage their hive accordingly, making sure each bee is certified before using certification-only equipment, that the bees are cleaning up after themselves, and that the bees put the toilet seat down and wash their (many) hands after using the bathroom.

"Y'know, I never thought that leadership would be so excited about apiary memberships but I feel so supported in the space," said newest apiary member, Michael with a B, "Having thousands of bees with me at all times to help carry things, give insight to how to use tools, and to dance with has really improved the community feel."

Many, many members agreed with Michael with a B as we asked him for commentary. Dave Bee chimed in, "Pollinators have a lot of value to our space. They have great horticultural knowledge but also a collaborative mindset."

Adjusting to these thousands of new members in the space has been complex but has built new, hexagonal support structures throughout membership. Barry B. Benson was able to re-run our electrical cables with his buddies and they were simply buzzing with excitement.

"Hive13 really expanded my knowledge, I never thought I would learn electrical skills," Barry remarked as he wiped his proboscis, "My jazz band takes up a lot of my time so it's good to get out of old habits and into some new skills."

If members have questions about this new membership tier and what it entails, we encourage them to reach out via their local meadows and touch some grass.

Just announced! Join us next week for a Tuesday Talk by member Dave Schwinn on the highs, lows, and hisses of caring for Madagascar hissing cockroaches as a maker.

From Dave:

Here are Melania and Stormy. They are Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, or Hissers. Come meet them and learn some fun factoids about roaches and keeping them as pets. The discussion will also include some of the electronics projects that I am working on in order to give them a comfy place to live.

Next week, join us for our Tuesday talk with member Adam Simoyi! You may know his work from Gun4IR, OpenFIRE, and a deep love for the arcade machines in our space. Get ready and hyped for an unserious approach to the ups, downs and curveballs of creating and contributing for open source spaces.