Nametag for Glenn

As I mentioned previously,  this is the local Weavers and Spinners Guild’s 75^th anniversary. One of my jobs to get ready for the party was to find and print out the nametags I had made for Demoing, quite a while ago, when I was demo coordinator.  This aligns perfectly with one of my goals for this year; to learn the names of more of the guild members.

One of the ways I am trying to do this is by suggesting using nametags. For the party, we seemed to run out of time to get everyone to make their own name tag, but I did have the old weird sheep name tags I had made when I was the guild’s demo coordinator. We used some of them last year for the Sale and Exhibition for vendors and demo people.

I dug through the computer and found an old file with some of the pictures.  After a quick perusal of Google image search, I added to the weird sheep pictures, then added them to the formatted guild name tag file. After a couple of days of work, I had the updated sheep-related nametags printed, cut, and ready to go into lanyards or pin-on tags for the party. This would also allow non-guild members to know who were guild members at the party.

1) Silly sheep Name tags for the Party Sale and Demos

As cute or silly as the sheep theme is, it does not fully represent all guild members as well as making their own personal name tag would. So for the long weekend, Monday social, I suggested we start the personal nametags-making project.

2) Name Tag Supplies: plastic bag with a bit of wool in a few colours. A bag of green wool felt underneath it. dollar store “embroidery” thread, little balls of acrylic yarn, a bag of safety pins, Reece’s peanut butter cups and KitKat mini chocolate bars, a plastic bin with sewing stuff, and a bag with the last of the corriedale bump In white and top black possibly merino wool.

I already have a nametag on my apron (one of the sheep ones and a magnetic needle felted sheep head), but Glenn is unidentified.  Glenn has been attending socials with me since he was released from the hospital in January. This might be his last for a while as he is finally starting a graduated return to work.  I had brought some over-washed green wool felt.  It looks like a pool or billiard table green, that’s been washed. Why someone would want to wash it, I have no idea but I found it second hand and it would either work for miniature war gaming or name tags.  It will make an excellent base to build up colour to make the nametags.

I suggested a landscape.  Glenn said he also wanted to have a train. (He likes those long, math-involved, 18XX train games. The trains are not X-rated!  it’s just that all the various versions of the game are covering the 1800’s involving trains laying track and the stock market. Board Game Geek describes them as: “18xx is the collective term used to describe a set of railroad-themed stock market and tile laying games. The 18xx set has two main branches: the 1829 branch (1829, 1825, 1853, and 1829 Mainline) and the 1830 branch (1830, 1856, 1870, etc).”)  it still doesn’t sound fun to me but OK, landscape with train. Ann kindly gave me about 6 inches of light blue combed top, for the sky, I had white, black and some weird bright green with flecks of orange and blue. I also had a bit of heathered purple with me. I overlaid the white first, it would tone down the billiard table green. Then added the green ground blended with a bit of the purple to tone down the green. As well as a blue sky with a few clouds.

3.1-3.2 ) Covering the billiard table green wool with white then adding the ground and sky. I used the Clover tool to block in the basic colours.

4) The back of the wool base

Off to Google to find historical train silhouettes.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

5.1 a selection of train silhouettes

5.2) the train silhouettes under consideration in various sizes, then cut out to get approval.

-5.3) I thought he would choose this one

I had thought, “smaller train pulling the name “Glenn” behind it”.

Train selected, I printed out a range of sizes and cut a couple out to show him.  Glenn chose the largest one that obscured most of the landscape. I cut out the train and traced around it with a permanent marker. I should have cut out the train to make a stencil but oh well. I placed the train on the background and realized that a black train would overpower the tag.  so suggested a compromise, how about an outline of a train?  With the “Glenn” inside? That was agreeable to him and off I went outlining the silhouette.  I scaled up the train a bit further, so the name would be easily read inside the train.

6.1-6.2) Glenn chose the largest train which I traced with permanent marker, then started to outline in black wool

Next, what font to use? I went through the list available in Microsoft Word (2010 edition, yes I am retro but it still works just fine.) I found four options I liked and thought would work with the train, and then narrowed it down to Lucida.

7) “Glenn” in Freestyle Script, Gulim, Pristina, and Lucida Handwriting

I drew a picture of the name on a card that would fit in the train. Going with Lucida as I like the letter spacing and the curves juxtaposed with the angles. Which I felt mimicked the feeling of the old train. Text isn’t just letters, it’s shapes, spacing and negative spaces and it’s filled with emotional content. Ok, that is likely just the dyslexia compensating for the rest of you telling me that b-d-p-q is not the same letter just seen from different viewpoints. Don’t get me started on the untrustworthiness of u-n-c, w-m-3-E or even t-f depending on the font.

8) Drawing out the letters to make sure they will fit in the space available

Font decided, I worked from the guide and added the name to the tag, by this point it was after 11 pm but I was still inspired so kept going. The N’s wound up to be a bit off, so I blame the lateness and they are a tricky shape.

Well, it has all the letters, they seem to be in the right order, and I didn’t miss any of them (Glenn got both his N’s even if I think the second one is just there for decoration. Look how silly Jann would be with 2 n’s! well, actually, it gives it a bit more gravitas and does balance the weight of the J ……. Maybe I do need a second N too? No that’s just one more letter that could go horribly wrong!!!!)

9) All letters are there and in the correct order! G L E N N

Now I am at the last step, how to attach it to the Glenn. I could add magnets, a broach pin or I could add a lanyard. I think the lanyard would be most practical for Glenn. So where did I put my kumohimo discs and fake embroidery thread (it’s braided so doesn’t actually come apart, so it’s not embroidery thread) from Dollerama.  No clue where the box with disks went. Glenn has been working through stuff in the living room and has moved everything… but I know where some of the dollar store embroidery thread is!! (Bedroom, wicker basket, little plastic bin with sewing stuff.)

I had the remains of a box of crackers so used a glass to make the circle and then messed up the bisecting of the segments. I need to divide the circle into 8 sections. Then cut a ¼ inch in at each section for the yarn to fit in. I have 7 embroidery thread bobbins (in plastic) to wind and I will find one of the big bulldog clips for a weight.

10) Cracker box cardboard with a hole in the centre divided into 8 sections. Plastic embroidery floss holders are my bobbins.

I want the cord to be reasonably thick so it will be comfortable on the neck so I divided the scenes in half. The tags say they are 7.3m or 23.9 feet. That should give me about 8 feet of braid. I will need enough to go around the nametag then up and around his neck. Not more than 4 feet. Just keep braiding until it’s long enough! You would need less if you did not want to outline the tag too. I got comfortable with making the cordage,  watching YouTube then listening to my book and realized I had enough cord and still quite a lot on the bobbins. I guess I can finish it while I listen to another book later.

Before I cut it off I sewed around the tag and got Glenn to try it on. There is enough! So did a bit more tied off and cut the braid. The last bit of sewing is to join the braid to the name tag and then assess it. Hmm, it needs a bit more wool to hide the stitches at the back and a quick touch-up of the front and it will be all ready for next Monday’s social.

11) Border on and length of lanyard adjusted

12) Name tag working correctly at the guild social.

Ok, the tag works at socials, one last test will it work with the Kanata Board Game Group?

13) The name tag works on gamers as well as it works on spinners and weavers!

While Glenn was busy,  I started another little landscape on one of the name tag bases. I was inspired by a friend’s vacation photo and wanted to try it as a landscape, but I will show you how that turns out later.