Threading Yarn, Writing Code: What Traditional Arts and Crafts Can Teach Us About Programming

I recently started learning a new programming language. Around the same time I also started teaching myself cross stitching. As I was learning both simultaneously, I noticed that there are a lot of parallels between learning a traditional craft like cross stitching and a modern craft like programming. Learning traditional crafts can teach us a lot about how to to approach learning coding efficiently as the techniques and skills acquired when learning traditional crafts are easily transferable to modern crafts like programming.

In this talk we’ll explore the intersection between traditional and modern arts and crafts: How are they similar? How are they different? What can they learn from each other? Let’s find out what traditional crafts can teach us about getting started with programming, motivation, finding the right resources, software architecture and design, debugging, coding style, how to continue once you learned the basics, etc.

Transcript

1. About me...
2. Threading Yarn, Writing Code: What Traditional Arts and Crafts Can Teach Us About Programming
3. This is for you, grandma!
4. Threading Yarn, Writing Code: What Traditional Arts and Crafts Can Teach Us About Programming
5. craft noun \ˈkraft\ 1: skill in planning, making, or executing 2: an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill 3: the members of a trade or trade association
6. What Is Cross Stitching?
8. What Is Coding?
9. Parallels & Differences
10. Creative Process
11. Acquiring Skills
12. Hands-on Work vs. Automation - Human vs. Machine
13. Impact on the World
14. Motivation & Purpose
15. The Process
16. 1) Idea
17. 2) Architecture & Design
18. Architecture & Design
19. Don’t Design Everything to a Tee
20. 3) Tools
21. 4) Resources
22. Best Practices
23. Reusing Resources
24. Getting Started - Mise En Place
25. Find a Starting Point
26. Work Systematically
27. Work Sustainably
28. Unthreading Errors
29. Stay Patient! Take Breaks!
30. Try Out a Craft!
31. TADA!
32. http://bit.ly/anna-cross-stitch
33. http://remote.pyladies.com @PyLadiesRemote
34. http://bit.ly/anna-resume
35. DjangoCon US 2017 August 13-18 Spokane, WA CFP opens February 13 @djangocon
36. Thank you!