The Yarn Spinner
Zoe Ashton-Worsnop crafts old school style by spinning her own yarn. The UK based crafter loves the relaxing and addictive nature of this art. How did she get into this you ask? Zoe explains, “I learnt to crochet about 2 years ago and from there I discovered people like Heidi Kenney from mypapercrane.com and Lexi from Pluckyfluff. I fell in love with their yarns and I wanted to be able to crochet with yarns like theirs but as I was at home with not much money I couldn’t afford to buy any for myself. I met a lovely old lady at a local craft fair who spun and she kindly taught me how to spin on a drop spindle and also gave me two spindles and some roving. ” Zoe has been spinning ever since and her beautiful multi-colored yarn can be found on her site along with pictures of her antique spinning wheel, “Lilian the Louet” (Click on Mango Yarns/Tools). Link.
Chris writes in about this very Maker-friendly exhibit “Nostalgia and Technology: Embracing the New through Art and Design explores the way in which traditional forms and artful designs have been used to introduce revolutionary new technologies into the domestic space of the people of their day. The exhibition begins with a re-creation of a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities and subsequently highlights key moments in the development of new technologies, such as electricity, sewing machines, typewriters, point-and-shoot photography, radios, televisions, automobiles, space exploration, atomic energy and wearable technology. The exhibition ends with a 21st-century mirror image of the cabinet of curiosities, where 17th-century objects have been replaced by their modern counterparts.” 
Brian writes in with the best and only resource I’ve seen that has most of the Head Mounted Displays / VR-Helmets in the market – “No instructions on how to make your own, but if you were going to make your own, you’d probably want to start here…” 
Unmuseum.org has a great history of the first Kong movie including how it was made “Released in the spring of 1933 Kong, the story of an oversized ape captured on a remote island in the Pacific and accidentally released on New York City, was an immediate hit. The quality of special effects exceeded all previous pictures and audiences sat amazed as the giant gorilla chased actress Fay Wray through the jungles of Skull Island, and later the concrete canyons of New York City.” 
A Make reader is wondering about using “Plastex” – “Have you heard of ‘Plastex’? I’m interested in the home casting materials of plastex and friendly plastic – the former, in particular, anecdotally seems like it make have enough structural integrity to actually make useful items from and not just use it for gap-filling repair work as it is sold, yet seems much easier to work with than the entry-bar for other types of molding. I have not experimented with these items on my ‘to do’ list. (actually I did use friendly plastic as a kid – it melts however at high temperatures which could be a liability).” Have any Makers out there used this stuff? I’ve only see it 