Checking in

So, I was checking the syllabus. Of course I have made my adjustments to it and everything, but I figured I have to update my fans on where I am at as the semester comes eerily close to an end.

Schedule (Meetings and Projects)

Week 1: Create Syllabus, purchase books, first meeting with Professor Juhasz

Link to my syllabus post:

http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/syllabus.html

Week 2: Blog Post 1; create personal blog for tracking Independent Study activities

Link to the blog: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/

Link to the first blog post: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-is-this-blog.html

Week 3: Project 1 proposal due, read chapters 1-4 of Video Nation, Blog Post 2

Reading Video Nation: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/what-im-reading-video-nation.html

Project 1 Proposal: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/flip-flopping-syllabus.html

Week 4: Project 1 due on September 27 (extension due to Jewish high holidays); Blog Post 3; Finish reading Video Nation

Project 1: http://parksandrecipes.blogspot.com/

Blog Post: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/parks-and-recipes.html

Week 5: Read chapters 1-3 of Craft, Inc.; Submit proposal for Project 2; Blog Post 4

Project 2: Reflection on the effects of DIY Learning; an online tutorial

Blog Post 4: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-reflection-on-online-tutorials.html

Week 6: Project 2 due; Meeting with Professor Juhasz

Project 2 (online tutorial): http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/reading-old-fashioned-knitting-pattern.html

Week 7: Read Chapters 4-5 of Craft, inc.; Blog Post 5

Blog Post 5: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/parks-and-recipes.html

Week 8: Read Chapters 6-7 of Craft, inc.; Draft Proposal for Project 3; Blog Post 6

Blog Post 6, Reflection on the topics of "Craft, inc.", fan art, legalities, and the culture of online selling

http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-legalities-of-fan-art.html

Yes, I am a little behind. Here was the original plan:

Week 9: Project 3 due; Meeting with professor Juhasz

Week 10: Read and review one book from niche craft books list; Blog Post 7

Week 11: Proposal for Project 4 (Austenland); Blog Post 8

Week 12: Project 4 due

Week 13: Proposal for Final Project; Blog Post 9

Week 14: Work on final project; Meeting with Professor Juhasz

Week 15: Final Project due; Blog Post 10

Updated plan:

Project 3 proposal due Wednesday, November 25

Project 3: Thoroughly review one project or book. This can be made in a video blog (un-boxing/review style video) or in written blog form with pictures.

Project 3 due Friday, November 27. Project 3 will include a review of a craft book and a review of a niche craft book

Project 4 (fan culture) has been completed. Blog post on the legalities and effects of fan culture artwork is already done. 

Watch 'Austenland' or a similar movie and write an online blog review due Sunday, November 29.

Blog Post on Friday, November 27.

Blog Post on Friday, December 4.

Blog Post on Friday, December 11.

Proposal for final project will be posted on the blog by Friday, December 4.

Final project progress update on Friday, December 11.

Final project is due Tuesday, December 15, 2015

WISH ME LUCK!!

The Legalities of Fan Art

Apparently, since this is an academic class, I still have to do work?? :/ What is this madness?

So to start off my research based part of the posts I will be referencing my fan-based craft tutorial blog, Parks and Recipes. 

This blog was created out of my need to connect with Parks and Recreation outside of the TV set. My sister is a huge fan of the show, and for her birthday I bought her two shirts from the NBC Universal Website 

These are the shirts if case you were wondering:

Here is where issues start to come in: Copyright. Parks and Recreation and all its related products are licensed by the NBC Universal company. I learned all about this in my Introduction to Media Studies as well as Learning From YouTube. It is a huge problem for fandom crafters, especially within the online environment.

I tried to avoid these issues. My first step in sneaking around this issue was to put in "inspired by". This suggests that the idea was from the copyrighted work, but the project itself was original and only inspired by, not taken from, the copyrighted material. This is my version of putting "unofficial" in front of my fandom projects.

Update: I messed up. Using "inspired by" does not save you from copyright issues

(https://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/questions/discuss/14552307/)

After a pretty quick google search, I found this wikipedia-type page that details the legalities of fan art and profit. Basically, you can't profit from copyrighted material if you are not the copyright owner. I'm pretty safe in a lot of these terms because I am not profiting from these blog posts, nor will I profit from any type of fan craft I design.

However, once an artist starts profiting off of a trademarked product, they are breaking copyright laws and treading into illegal territory. Even using the name in the title or the tags can result in copyright infringement if you are profiting from the project.

Good luck out there...the issues are murky and big companies can be cruel in regards to personal work with their trademarked symbols. In the end, these companies are after profits and they can and will shut you down for entering their territory. Tread carefully.

Further Reading:
 https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/05/13/the-messy-world-of-fan-art-and-copyright/

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2044685/i-almost-got-sued-for-knitting-a-firefly-hat-the-legal-risks-of-pop-culture-fan-art.html

http://www.craftsandcopyrights.com/faq.html

Parks and Recipes

Hi all!

If you remember way back to my first project, I worked on a fan-based online tutorial. It was based on Parks and Recreation, and was a blog of recipes inspired by the show. Just wanted to keep my followers (both of you... :D) in the loop about that. I am updating the blog and my attempt at a video tutorial will be for the most recent recipe. Stay creative!

parksandrecipes.blogspot.com

Reading an "old fashioned' Knitting Pattern with DIY Learning

I am super excited because today I will do starting to knit my second sweater! It's a big undertaking but I have my yarn and my pattern. This pattern is from a magazine that I love, not only because it's named "Rebecca" but also because their patterns turn our quite nicely. I made a scarf over the summer from a "Rebecca" pattern and it was very simple and ending up looking really pretty.

However, knitting patterns are notoriously difficult to read. 

So, today I am going to walk you through this sweater pattern and how I do my online crafting research. I could do this for every part of the pattern, but that would make an unnecessarily long and rather repetitive post, so I will just be showing you the basics of my online craft searches and how ridiculously simple it can be to clarify your crafting confusion. 

Title: Raglan Sweater in Half Fisherman's Rib

I want to know what a raglan sweater is, what it will look like, and what makes it different from knitting other kinds of sweaters. A quick google search should fix that.

Interesting. I am now curious about the sleeves, because they have a different style than the ones I am used to. I can skim this article from craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/article/understanding-raglan-sleeves

Also, I have never heard of half fisherman's rib before. I'm going to google that. 

My Google search came up with an explanation right away. Simply clicking on the images tab will show me some examples of what this stitch may look like. 

This image search can also help influence my color and yarn choices. Different types of yarn and different colors of yarn will look different, even if you are using the same stitch. This can show me the basic design without my knitting an entire swatch. 

Finally, YouTube:

I hope this post gave you a bit more insight into how the online environment can really benefit the average crafter. Feel free to comment if you have any questions and as always, stay creative!

Rebecca

A Reflection on Online Tutorials: Knitting Edition

What is DIY Learning? That is what I created this class to discover. I have thought about it a lot in the past few weeks, and started noticing that a lot of things I take for granted are a result of online learning.

For example, let's take knitting. I am a huge knitter. I just finished my first sweater, which I am very proud of. When I tell people I knit, they always comment on how "cute" or "sweet" it is. Yes, I know knitting is mainly thought of as an activity grandmothers do to pass the time in their rocking chairs. But there has been a lot of research on the effects of knitting on mental health plus my friends and family are always really touched by my hand-knit gifts.

I have been knitting for a little over a year now. To be fair, I learned the basics of knitting in elementary school when my mom started knitting. But once my mom had made about 15 scarves and could not seem to follow the VHS tutorials she stopped knitting, and so did I.

My best friend Rachel, on the other hand, started in third grade and has been knitting ever since. Instead of late night high school parties she spent her afternoons at her local knitting store, where she was the youngest member there by several decades. She tells me how these women, retired or stay at home moms, spend their lives at the yarn store, sitting at the table, buying yarn, and getting help from more experienced knitters.

Rachel has been knitting for over a decade. I have been knitting for a year. Here's the paradox: Rachel comes to me when she needs help. Why? Because ironically I know different skills and I am not afraid to learn a new technique.

This, I think, is why online learning appeals to me so much. It has made me more adventurous and less fearful of failure.

A particular example of this is with the knitting technique of learning to cast on. There are multiple ways to cast on to start your project, and almost every educational knitting book has a diagram or explanation. But teaching yourself a new skill is not a "one size fits all" deal, especially with creative minds. My mother could not figure out how to cast on, and always had the woman at the craft store start her project (I assume she annoyed customers in line more than once). She had beginner knitting books and a few VHS tapes but still, it's a hard technique to learn without a specialized lesson.

A quick YouTube search shows me:

If you have specific problems, there are videos for that

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. I will hopefully be adding another soon. Here is my personal favorite cast on video, but feel free to find your own lesson that works for you. Isn't that what online education is all about?

Stay Creative,
Rebecca

Future Video

My first video tutorial will be based off this project I made a few days ago:

Stay tuned!