Tons of Tshirts!

Hey all, hope you're not melting too badly in the heat and humidity. You can check out a previous issue of the newsletter for some good tips on staying cool without AC in this sort of weather. While we wait for the heat to break, here's the news from the Commons this week:

Events on the Horizon:

• We're doing another round of tshirt printing down at the Market this Saturday from 10am-2pm. Bring your blank tshirts, tote bags, or other flat fabric objects and we will print the Montague Commoners logo onto them! Anyone who helps out for at least an hour will get to take home a free tshirt of their choice.
• On Tuesday, Sept. 8th from 5-7pm, Common Ground is hosting a presentation on Media Literacy. We'll learn from librarian Laura Abramson about how to verify claims that you see online. As more and more of the internet is overrun by clickbait, AI slop, and propaganda, research skills are becoming more and more important to daily life.
• On Tuesday, Sept 15th from 5-7pm, Reviving Our American Democracy is hosting a forum on our local recycling system. Jeff Auch will be talking about programs within the City of Montague, Sarah Cooper will be talking about what's going on at the Muskegon County level, and I'll be talking about all the different material-specific programs Montague Commoners runs, and our plans for expansion next year.

Tshirt Printing Round 1

We had quite a successful first round of tshirt printing on Saturday. I didn't get a count of how many shirts we were able to print, but it was at least in the "several dozen" range. These are shirts we've been collecting from local thrift shops as well as the Goodwill Bins in Muskegon. Not only does this reduce costs and environmental impact, it means that we have a really wide variety of shirts available. We've got everything from high-vis tech fabrics to cotton sweatshirts to rouched tshirt dresses.

I aimed for a 50/50 mix of printing on the front and printing on the back. The shirts with the logo on the back will get additional hand-stenciled designs on the front at some point in the future.

We had to stop about half-way through our tshirt supply, because ink started to creep into places on the press it didn't belong, and it started to leave smudges on the shirts. I was able to get the screen washed out thoroughly enough for another round, but the tape on the sides needed to be reinforced before we could do another round, so that's going to happen on Saturday. That means you've got an extra week to bring things that you'd like printed, and to come learn more about the printing process, so if you weren't able to join us last weekend, you haven't missed your only shot.

Plastic bag experiments

In between other projects this week, I've been experimenting with a new technique for making baskets out of plastic bags. It's a bit on the slow side, but it makes a nice sturdy material, and it's a good way to use up bags that are too thick for turning into plarn.

I also broke out my spinning wheel for the first time in a few years to see if I could ply traditional plarn into something stronger and easier to work with. Turns out it's a bit tricky to get the stiffer-than-wool plarn to go through the internal mechanisms of the wheel. It tends to kink up and get caught on the various loops and tubes. I might be able to overcome this with a little practice, but I'm also on the hunt for a nice big drop spindle to see if that simplifies things.

Recommendation Corner

This week, I'm recommending the TV show Rutherford Falls. It's a sitcom based in a small northeastern town starring Ed Helms and Jana Schmieding. If you liked Parks and Rec and/or Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls is basically what you'd get if those two shows had a baby. Ed Helms plays Nathan Rutherford, the curator of the town museum and last local descendant of the town's founding family. Jana Schmieding plays Reagan Wells, the curator of the local tribe's cultural center, who's stuggling to re-integrate with her community after going away for grad school. The supporting cast includes Michael Greyeyes as Terry Thomas, the CEO of the local casino, who is one of my favorite TV characters of the last decade.

Season 1 is available through a few different streaming services, but season 2 is exclusive to Peacock for now. If you don't have access to Peacock, come talk to me at the Market and I'll do my best to hook you up.

This Week's Nails

You made it to the end of the newsletter, so that means you get to see this week's nails! This week's background polish is a little tricky to photograph, because it's got a dramatic duochrome shift that makes it look like a nearly gold green from some angles and nearly a blue green from others. Come hand out at the Market if you want to see it in all its glittery glory 😉

Stay safe through the thunderstorms, hope for cooler weather on the other side, and if I don't see you around town I'll see you back here next week.

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