No-Sew Fleece Pillows

Saturday December 6, 2014: 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Adults, Teens And Youth (Grade 3 And Up)

Get Twiggy With It

Thu, 07/10/2014 - 1:23pm by manz

Are you pumped for this weekend’s big program Wooly Woods Crafting With Anna Hrachovec (of Mochimochi Land)?! Teens & adults will wrap twigs with yarn to make beautiful sculptures, as well as knit tiny creatures to live on them. Yes, twigs! Let me tell you, I know from experience that wrapping sticks with yarn is addicting, and the talented Anna takes it up a notch.

If you’re inspired to find more twig action, I recommend the book Super Simple Twig Projects: Fun and Easy Crafts Inspired By Nature. It's just that. A small youth-oriented book with some easy projects made of collected sticks and twigs. It goes over what supplies you’ll need to make things like trivets, dream catchers, baskets, vases, tiny rafts, and more. The question is: What if you wrap the twigs with yarn before you craft with them?

Fuzzy Spiders and Glittery Webs

Wednesday October 15, 2014: 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Grades K-5

Paper Ornaments

Thursday November 13, 2014: 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Grades 1-5

Yarn Bomb Zone

Sun, 06/08/2014 - 3:44pm by manz

This past weekend the outdoor garden at the downtown branch was yarn bombed to celebrate International Yarn Bombing Day! Patrons learned how to knit at a library program and took their creations outdoors to create a bit of whimsy. I’m not sure how long the exhibit will stay up, so check it out the next time you’re downtown!

If you’re curious and want to learn more I recommend Yarn bombing: the art of crochet and knit graffiti by Mandy Moore. The book talks about the birth of knit graffiti and all it encompasses. It’s a great read for the crafters out there, whether you knit or not.

Bibliocraft - A Crafter/Library Lover's Dream

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 12:15pm by nicole

An honest question here: Do you love your library? If you're here, on this page, reading this, then I can pretty much guess that you do. I'm not surprised; your library has so much to offer! Books, and games, and science-y things--and now, for all of you library-loving crafters out there, a book that can help you combine your crafting talents and your undying love of all things LIBRARY.

Bibliocraft. How perfect is that? A book that tells its reader all about how to harvest crafting inspiration from the endless potential on the library shelves. It starts you out slow and steady, walking you through some library basics, like how to find what you want in a library catalog and some important points about copyright in library books.

And then it gets real. Part 2: THE CRAFTS.

The rest of the book is a smorgasbord of amazing projects inspired by library resources like, oh, perhaps, the ones you might find here. Historic watermarks transformed into pillows, Japanese family crests turned into coasters, votive holders, pendants made from quilled paper, and, my personal favorite, instructions for making a pocketed kitty-kat apron. With...wait for it...additional instructions for making actual knitted kittens to put in those pockets. Because why not?

You had me at "kitties", Bibliocraft.

And don't forget, along with this biblio-gem, the library has dozens of other awesome craft books and crafting programs, so make sure to check them out! (...see what I did there?)

DIY LED Origami Light Garlands

Saturday July 19, 2014: 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Adults And Teens Grade 6 And Up

Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun

Fri, 05/16/2014 - 3:05pm by manz

Summer and no school is just around the corner, and this giant book is full of ways to keep you busy with a variety of subjects. While the book features "serious fun," it's written more on the funny side. It has a great cover and great illustrations, which totally nudge me to like certain books more.

Unbored gives you big ideas and how to start them, including how to grow a science garden, make your own games, zines, and LED graffiti You can also learn how to perform kitchen experiments, blog, fix your bike, and lots more.

The book also features some fun lists! Including a list of banned books you should read, secret history of young adult novels, best ever sports movies, best ever stop-action movies, best ever animal movies, best ever DIY fiction, and the best ever clean hip hop songs.

There’s also informational bits thrown into the book. Learn some weird facts about condiments, or browse a list of kitchen cures, and learn how to train your grownup to be a ninja.

UNBORED! That’s what you’ll be at the end of the book. Be sure to check out the book preview to see examples of what's inside. And check out the awesome website for the book! There is a TON of great stuff to look at.

Beginning Crochet Class

Tuesday July 15, 2014: 6:00pm to 8:45pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
Adults And Teens Grades 6 And Up

Shrinky Dink Sun Catchers

Monday July 14, 2014: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
Adults And Teens Grade 6 And Up.