I got pretty desperate for chocolate during last year’s no-sugar-November, and even the super-dark dark chocolate bars contained sugar. I was lucky enough to run across this intriguing “brewing chocolate” from Crio Bru at one of those shmancy SF corner grocery stores. You were supposed to brew it like coffee, but lacking much coffee brewing experience or equipment, I made it more…

Here are some handouts I made for a code + digital fab workshop at LWHS using Snap! The class description: Computer Fabrication. Learn how to draw beautiful patterns with a few lines of computer code, then turn your designs into jewelry or decorative decals using a laser cutter and vinyl cutter. A couple things made…

I discovered Desmos while subbing a math class. It’s a nifty, nicely-designed online graphing calculator. The students were working on a project where they had to create designs and animations by combining mathematical equations (such as a bicycle and a stick figure dribbling a basketball). I immediately thought “you could fab these shapes!” By which I mean you could use a…

I’m not sure where I got this idea, possibly I made it up! In any case, the “pair programming circle” has turned out to be one of my favorite class activities. It helps students practice working with different partners and in different roles, helps spread individual knowledge around the class in a way that supports the shyer students, and (I…

I took Apparel Construction I (FASH 15A) at CCSF this past fall semester. I couldn’t find much online about the class before taking it, so I wanted to document what we did (bearing in mind that all this might change semester to semester) Course description was: FASH 15A Apparel Construction I (3) Beginning course covering basic…

A miscellaneous stuff-I-made post with some things that were on my camera. Pencil rolls, watercolor tins, little notebooks with watercolored gradient paper, hand warmers. Handsewn kits for friends filled with tiny useful objects. Hypotrochoid trivets made with the Spirogator app. Rendered some gifted beeswax from an Oakland beekeeper, sent these back in return! Elusive teeny…

I love this olive oil granola recipe, but was doing “no added sugar November” and got curious if granola could possibly be tasty without sugar. I followed the suggestion in this recipe to use egg whites for the crunch that cooked sugar usually creates. I didn’t have high expectations and was honestly rather boggled that it…

Tools that are just so beautiful you don’t even care what you’re making! Bernina 731, around 50 years old and still works perfectly. It opens in lots of clever ways to give you access to the mechanisms inside. Only downside is it’s a bit heavy to transport!    

Quick little video of working out the stitch order for a book using the stab bindings app. Just start on any hole, then take any stitch highlighted in green. More on this app here.

I hear and read this question all the time: how do I get my daughters/kids interested in STEM? (for those who haven’t heard this acronym before, it stands for “Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math,” sometimes expanded to STEAM to include Art). I generally agree with most of the advice given: access to interesting, hands on materials,…