I feel that it’s time for me to make a Progress Report on the status of my Maker work this summer, partly to see how I’m doing on my own challenge (Make Ten Things according to certain rules), and partly to serve as a look-out on what I’m Making, and what progress I’m making toward my own goals.

1. Books: the book blocks are done; the next step is long-stitching them or coptic-stitching them into a book.
2. Wooden Box: a progress report, and the completed work. This one is Done.
3. Gaming Maps. I’ve made several such maps so far.  Three, in fact: one, two, and three, plus some from before the camp started.  Oops.  I’ve not posted the third yet, have I?  Something to work on, once I get it scanned. August 1: For the moment, I think this one is done.
4. Paintings — So, I don’t feel that this particular Maker challenge is complete. There are about eighteen paintings in this collection, and I’m not done with any of them yet. Ugh!  But I feel that I’ve made good progress on them, and I’ll continue to make progress on them in the weeks ahead.
5. Red Tunic — I’ve made this, but not reported on it yet.  Part of the reason I’ve not reported on it is that the pictures of it are hideous, and I’m not sure what to do about that.  I don’t like the pictures at all. This one is Done.
6. Linen Bag — This one is Done.
7. Cardboard Machine— I got one gear assembly working after a false start. Can I add a second one? Not without building the whole thing again, I think; or radically re-building it.
8. Origami/Paper Engineering— One of my goals for the fall is to be able to teach a class on paper engineering, possibly including some of the cardboard machine work, and also some origami (folded paper), some kirigami (cut paper), and multiple pieces of paper layered to form boxes and structures like the Paper Roller Coaster people. But I haven’t really done that much about it.   I’m currently working my way through a kit of origami folds.  There’s a booklet that comes with the box of paper with twenty-five traditional folds, from chairs and tables to water bombs to the crane fold.  I’m trying to make each fold three times, and that may be my origami kit project for #8.  More on that sometime soon (Update1, Update 2, Update 3). I’m treating this one as done.
9. Scarf — I finished this scarf over the weekend and the following days.  It was my test to see if I have the patience to make a Doctor Who scarf, a la Tom Baker.  The answer is, I don’t think I do have that much patience. The thing was wearing my arms out long before I got it to twelve feet long, much less fourteen.  But I have it in mind to do a color replacement, of the Doctor’s colors for the hues of the planets in Hermetic magic… and then I can be the Astronomer instead of the Doctor. 🙂 Maybe.  I still have to write about the scarf, and photograph it… but it’s intended as a present for someone, so I’m delaying on this one. This one is done.
10. And this means I have to find one more project.  I wonder what it will be…

Oh, and there was something about Making three things of the same material. While I’ve now worked with linen three times, I’m not sure that I can count that.  And I don’t think I can count the gaming maps as one, either.  But I do think that the gaming maps, and the origami, and the cardboard machine, probably count as three exercises or trainings in “Paper” as a material; if I add in the book-binding projects, I’m probably over the top in terms of working with paper.  Progress.

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