Enchanted World Gallery

Love this painter

2010-12-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

Joshua Reynolds. I didn't even know of him until today. I love the way he paints his sitters' attitudes. And the clothes! Wonderful!

Avoid rape by tying rotting chicken to your breasts

2010-12-07T15:31:00.006-05:00

I was reading an article about Langobardian violence (c. 8th century) and came across a mention of Romilda and her...very unfortunate lusting after an Avar prince. Very unfortunate.

Little information is online regarding the Langobardian - Avar war and not much about Romilda. The account is perhaps only mentioned in Paul the Deacon's writings about the history of the Langobards...and there's a good chance that he has the usual biased attitude towards women (all are evil basically)(that whole Eve thing.)

(I found an 'edited for clarity' version on a forum online. Since I cannot ensure that forum does not support racism, I found the original version online (presumably where the forum poster found it since he posted the link at the bottom of his post. :D)

Chapter XXXVII.

About these times the king of the Avars, whom they call Cagan in their language, came with a countless multitude and invaded the territories of Venetia. [1] Gisulf the duke of Forum Julii (Friuli) boldly came to meet him with all the Langobards he could get, but although he waged war with a few against an immense multitude with indomitable courage, nevertheless, he was surrounded on every side, and killed with nearly all his followers. The wife of this Gisulf, by name Romilda, together with the Langobards who had escaped and with the wives and children of those who had perished in war, fortified herself [2] within the enclosures of the walls of the fortress of Forum Julii (Cividale). She had two sons, Taso and Cacco, who were already growing youths, and Raduald and Grimuald, who were still in the age of boyhood. And she had also four daughters, of whom one was called Appa and another Gaila, but of two we do not preserve the names. The Langobards had also fortified themselves in other fortresses which were near these, that is, in Cormones (Cormons), Nemas (Nimis), Osopus (Ossopo), [3] Artenia (Artegna), [4] Reunia (Ragogna), Glemona (Gemona), [5] and also in Ibligis (Iplis) [6] whose position was in every way impregnable. Also in the same way they fortified themselves in the remaining castles, so that they should not become the prey of the Huns, that is, of the Avars. But the Avars, roaming through all the territories of Forum Julii, devastating everything with burnings and plunderings, shut up by siege the town of Forum Julii and strove with all their might to capture it. While their king, that is the Cagan, was ranging around the walls in full armor with a great company of horsemen to find out from what side he might more easily capture the city, Romilda gazed upon him from the walls, and when she beheld him in the bloom of his youth, the abominable harlot was seized with desire for him and straightway sent word to him by a messenger that if he would take her in marriage she would deliver to him the city with all who were in it. The barbarian king, hearing this, promised her with wicked cunning that he would do what she had enjoined and vowed to take her in marriage. She then without delay opened the gates of the fortress of Forum Julii and let in the enemy to her own ruin and that of all who were there. The Avars indeed with their king, having entered Forum Julii, laid waste with their plunderings everything they could discover, consumed in flames the city itself, and carried away as captives everybody they found, falsely promising them, however, to settle them in the territories of Pannonia, from which they had come. When on their return to their country they had come to the plain they called Sacred, [7] they decreed that all the Langobards who had attained full age should perish by the sword, and they divided the women and children in the lot of captivity. But Taso and Cacco and Raduald, the sons of Gisulf and Romilda, when they knew the evil intention of the Avars, straightway mounted their horses and took flight. One of them when he thought that his brother Grimoald, a little boy, could not keep himself upon a running horse, since he was so small, considered it better that he should perish by the sword than bear the yoke of captivity, and wanted to kill him. When therefore, he lifted his lance to pierce him through, the boy wept and cried out, saying: "Do not strike me for I can keep on a horse." And his brother, seizing him by the arm, put him upon the bare back of a horse and urged him to stay there if he could; and the boy, taking the rein of the horse in his hand, followed his fleeing brothers. The Avars, when they learned this, mounted their horses and followed them, but although the others escaped by swift flight, the little boy Grimoald was taken by one of those who had run up most swiftly. His captor, however, did not deign to strike him with the sword on account of his slender age, but rather kept him to be his servant. And returning to the camp, he took hold of the bridle of the horse and led the boy away, and exulted over so noble a booty - for he was a little fellow of elegant form with gleaming eyes and covered with long blonde hair - and when the boy grieved that he was carried away as a captive,

"Pondering mighty thoughts within his diminutive bosom", [8]

he took out of the scabbard a sword, such as he was able to carry at that age, and struck the Avar who was leading him, with what little strength he could, on the top of the head. Straightway the blow passed through to the skull and the enemy was thrown from his horse. And the boy Grimoald turned his own horse around and took flight, greatly rejoicing, and at last joined his brothers and gave them incalculable joy by his escape and by announcing, moreover, the destruction of his enemy. The Avars now killed by the sword all the Langobards who were already of the age of manhood, but the women and children they consigned to the yoke of captivity. Romilda indeed, who had been the head of all this evil-doing, the king of the Avars, on account of his oath, kept for one night as if in marriage as he had promised her, but upon the next he turned her over to twelve Avars, who abused her through the whole night with their lust, succeeding each other by turns. Afterwards too, ordering a stake to be fixed in the midst of a field, he commanded her to be impaled upon the point of it, uttering these words, moreover, in reproach: "It is fit you should have such a husband." Therefore the detestable betrayer of her country who looked out for her own lust more than for the preservation of her fellow citizens and kindred, perished by such a death. Her daughters, indeed, did not follow the sensual inclination of their mother, but striving from love of chastity not to be contaminated by the barbarians, they put the flesh of raw chickens under the band between their breasts, and this, when putrified by the heat, gave out an evil smell. And the Avars, when they wanted to touch them, could not endure the stench that they thought was natural to them, but moved far away from them with cursing, saying that all the Langobard women had a bad smell. By this stratagem then the noble girls, escaping from the lust of the Avars, not only kept themselves chaste, but handed down a useful example for preserving chastity if any such thing should happen to women hereafter. And they were afterwards sold throughout various regions and secured worthy marriages on account of their noble birth; for one of them is said to have wedded a king of the Alamanni, and another, a prince of the Bavarians. The topic now requires me to postpone my general history and relate also a few matters of a private character concerning the genealogy of myself who write these things, and because the case so demands, I must go back a little earlier in the order of my narrative. At the time when the nation of the Langobards came from Pannonia to Italy, my great-great-grandfather Leupchis of the same nation of Langobards came with them in like manner. When he ended his last day after he had lived some years in Italy, he left five sons begotten by him who were still little boys. That misfortune of captivity of which we have spoken included these, and they were all carried away as exiles from the fortress of Forum Julii into the country of the Avars. After they had borne in that region for many years the misery of bondage, and had already come to the age of manhood, although the four others, whose names we do not retain, remained in the constraint of captivity, the fifth brother, Lopichis by name, who was afterwards our great-grand-father, determined (at the inspiration as we believe of the Author of Mercy) to cast off the yoke of bondage, and to direct his course to Italy, where he had remembered that the race of the Langobards was settled, and he made an effort to regain the rights of freedom. When he had gone and betaken himself to flight, carrying only a quiver and bow and a little food for the journey, and did not at all know whither he was proceeding, a wolf came to him and became the companion of his journey and his guide. Seeing that it proceeded before him, and often looked behind and stood with him when he stood, and went ahead when he advanced, he understood that it had been given to him from heaven to show to him the way, of which he was ignorant. When they had proceeded in this manner for some days through the solitudes of the mountains, the bread, of which the traveler had had very little, wholly failed him. While he went on his way fasting, and had already become faint with exhaustion from hunger, he drew his bow and attempted to kill with his arrow this same wolf so that he could use it for food. But the wolf, avoiding the stroke that he cast, slipped away from his sight. And he, not knowing whither to proceed, when this wolf had gone away, and made very weak moreover by the privation of hunger, now despaired of his life, and throwing himself upon the earth, he went to sleep. And he saw in his dreams a certain man saying to him the following words: "Arise! why are you sleeping? Take your way in that direction opposite to which your feet are turned, for there is Italy which you are seeking." And straightway rising he began to proceed in that direction which he had heard in his dreams, and without delay he came to a dwelling place of men; for there was a settlement of Slavs in those places. And when an elderly woman now saw him, she straightway understood that he was a fugitive and suffering from the privation of hunger. And taking pity upon him, she hid him in her dwelling and secretly furnished him food, a little at a time, lest she should put an end to his life altogether if she should give him nourishment to repletion. In fine, she thus supplied him skillfully with food until he was restored and got his strength. And when she saw that he was now able to pursue his journey, she gave him provisions and told him in what direction he ought to go. After some days he entered Italy and came to the house in which he had been born, which was so deserted that not only did it have no roof but it was full of brambles and thorns. And when he had cut them down he found within the walls a large ash-tree, and hung his quiver upon it. He was afterwards provided with gifts by his relatives and friends, and rebuilt his house and took a wife. But he could obtain nothing of the property his father had had, being now excluded by those who had appropriated it through long and continuous possession. This man, as I already said before, was my great-grandfather, and he begot my grandfather Arichis, [9] and Arichis, my father Warnefrit, and Warnefrit, from Theudelinda his wife, begot me, Paul, and my brother Arichis who was named after my grandfather. [10] These few things having been considered concerning the chain of my own genealogy, now let us return to the thread of the general history.

[1] The date usually assigned to the Avar invasion is 611, though some place it as early as 602. Phocas reigned from 602 to 610. If the death of Severus, patriarch of Atjuileia, occurred in 606, the Avar invasion took place after that date, since Gisulf concurred in the nomination of his successor (Hodgkin, VI, 51, note). The previous relations between the Langobards and Avars had been of the most friendly character. There had been treaties of alliance, joint invasions of Istria, injunctions sent by the Avars to the Franks to keep peace with the Langobards and Agilulf had furnished the Cagan with shipwrights for a naval expedition against the Eastern empire (IV, 24, 20, supra; Hodgkin, VI, 50, 51).
[2] I insert 'se' after 'muniit'.
[3] On the river Tagliamento (Waitz).
[4] In Carnia (Waitz).
[5] In Friuli (Waitz).
[6] Near Cividale on the way to Cormons (Waitz). According to others, Invilino (Abel).
[7] The Sacred Plain has not been identified (Hodgkin, VI, 53, note 2).
[8] Virgil, Georgics, IV, 83, where it is applied to the soldier bees. In Paul's quotation 'versant' is changed to 'versans'.
[9] Henry.
[10] Paul has probably omitted some links in his family genealogy. Four generations are very few for the period between Leupchis who came into Italy with Alboin, 568, and Paul, who was born between 720 and 730. It is remarkable too that Leupchis, a grown man in 568, should leave five little children at the time of the Avar invasion in 610 (Hodgkin, VI, 58, note l).

This was copied from Northvegr which seems to be a GREAT resource of histories and literature from the Viking era.

ETA: Okay, okay... follow me here...
How would this be possible? No, not the chicken thing. (Though I've got some confusion about the stinky Lombard princesses winding up married to other Kings.)
What I'm stumped over... the Lombards spoke a Germanic language, the Avars spoke a Turkic language.
...
How would Romilda and this Avar prince/warlord have understood each other?? O.o
Presumably, the Lombards were situated in Italy for some time by this point...how long had the Eurasian (term used by Wikipedia) Avars been invading Europe? Long enough to discard their language for another? Or was multilingualism common back then? I find that surprising...especially since the languages are not related.

Or was Romilda's offer just THAT obvious?

Or was Paul the Deacon just guilty of writing a salacious story of the past?

Hmmmm...

On the Passing of a Friend

2010-11-08T09:28:00.002-05:00

I stopped crying halfway though the funeral service for a friend of mine. It occurred to me that he was gone and that was that...what was I crying for? I was crying for the rest of us who had him in our lives for too short of a time. I believe that to be self-pity and uncalled for for any real length of time. :) So instead I smile because I had him in my life at all.

I suppose really that the best thing for me to do is remember how to relax, laugh at myself instead of becoming angry, and how to handle difficult people with aplomb...things he tried to teach me. :)

Planning the Maleficent Costume for 2011

2010-11-04T09:18:00.006-04:00

I'll put it here. Putting the info on fb, while good for interaction with others, isn't very smart...I can't search for it. :/

I'm thinking of making a naturalistic Mal. Kinda like a forest spirit. Think about it...there are some things in the forest in the darkness of the night that frightens people. Wouldn't that make sense for Mal.?

What gives me pause though is that, when you think about the movie, Mal. was the epitome of urbanity. She spoke smoothly. The good fairies were dumpy and named after nature. They spoke like country bumpkins. Marked contrast.

SO...how to make Mal a nature spirit?

Maybe I can't. LOL.

I thought about her long lines, the cloak, the dress. I thought of making a feathered collar similar to this.
I thought about making a black feathered cloak, but I think that will be too $$$. I have to price black feathers. I want horns. Here's a crafter that makes horns that might work. I'm not sure if I want natural looking horns or black ones.

I'm trying to figure out the dress. Mal wore robes. The long lines again. I have a silly knit long dress that I will try on again to check fit. Specifically around the bust area. I can't go with any busty outfit and I think for this character that's ok. Fortunately because I have such a small bust, I can expose more of my chest area, making another long line of contrast. Some style ideas: art nouveau (check this photo from last year's Vogue Germany where they did a photoshoot inspired by Mucha's prints), oriental, victorian/steampunk, victorian/cabaret, neo/future (with lights! :D), there are some other ideas but they escape me currently cause I'm damn sleepy.

ETA: You should see some of the art created for the character! Here's a few that caught my eye:

J. Scott Campbell
Stuntkid
Rumors of a Movie :(
Two from RPG.net (one is cute)
Did I say cute? Here's Kinkei's
From conceptart.org
J. Scott Campbell delivers again (with boobage of course)
6nailbomb's (there's the chest line I was thinking of)
I'll leave off with (another cute) NoFlutter's

There's lots more. You can look for yourself.

Mal somehow captured the love of everyone even though she's evil. Perhaps BECAUSE she's evil...and does it so well.

ETA: I knew there was an artist niggling at the back of my memory for this! Aubrey Beardsley! Perfect concept don't you think?

ETA (again): This is unfortunately a second life person but I'm liking the anatomical corset, bone crown, and bone skirt

Organization...

2010-11-01T08:22:00.003-04:00

I really need to get my projects photographed (in progress) and organized online. If I'm going to have an online db and display of my crafts...then I should probably have something to show for all the hours I'm supposedly spending on these suckers. :)

But then too...my whole craft room needs to be reorganized. Or I need a pocket dimension to have room for everything. Yep...that'd be nice.

I still want to work on my tavern idea (The Merry Merlin. Blog is over at LiveJournal). I need to gather more resources. My thought is that even if the Merry Merlin never exists in real life, at least I will have a site of resources collated to help others. :)

What Makes a Good Costume?

2010-10-19T14:48:00.005-04:00

I've been reviewing photos of costumes recently. Mostly Japanese recreations due to the upcoming event my local SCA group is hosting. Of course it's a bit disconcerting to see a westerner wearing Asian garb, but often even western European garb looks 'off' somehow.

I wonder, is it because the person wearing the fancy garb looks like a peasant? Is it their modern eyeglasses, haircut, or make-up (or lack thereof)? Could it be the obviously modern print on the material? This seems to happen ALOT. I'll often see people wearing Japanese garb made of shiny modern fabric with "Chinese" designs of tiny cranes or technicolor bamboo. Whenever I see this fabric I think "Frederick's of Hollywood."

Honestly.

Perhaps it's just that folks should press their newly created garb. I've heard this makes all the difference in the world on how 'finished' a finished garment looks. While this makes sense to me...it's also a bit of a puzzler. Did Vikings have irons? I would think not. So why do wrinkled, puffy-seamed hangeroks looks so damn awful?

Ok, I'll go further down the road to hell...

Body size and shape. Someone shaped like a potato looks odd in a kimono with a tightly wound obi. I'm not against heavy folks wearing Asian garb...but think about the ideal shape of the culture. In Japan, think willow tree, straight-figured, no curves. If you are shaped like a potato, don't try to squish in your waist, wrap the belt carefully to ensure a straight up and down silhouette. Visually, I think it makes all the difference. Or pick a style of garb that suits your shape. I'm shaped like a stick with hips. I'm not about to go for a "traditional" cleavage-showing, tavern-wench style blouse and corset. It's not going to work on me. Even the late period noblewoman's garb with tasteful chest exposure is rather epic fail on me. There's no corset in the world that will shove up my hip fat to rest nicely against the area where my boobs should be!

Have you ever seen garb that is just so splendid and put together that you just gasped (even silently in your mind)? I have, a few times. Out of the hundreds of people I've seen at events...only a few were striking.

I wonder if all the paintings and portraits we have of medieval and renaissance people are more akin to the photoshopped models that adorn modern fashion magazines? When we look at a Bronzino or a van der Weyden, are we seeing only an ideal, unreal figure? In these paintings, everyone's clothing is perfect, their skin is flawless, the fabric colors are vibrant. Whenever clothing from period is discovered by archaeologists, I'm always shocked at how different the articles of clothing are to what I've seen worn in paintings from the times.

I would like to start posting photographs of SCAdians in what I consider exemplary garb. It doesn't necessarily need to be period-perfect, just eye-catching...sublime in some way.

Hopefully, someday I will have garb that is wow-worthy.

I don't mean for it to be that long in between posts!

2010-01-24T19:38:00.003-05:00

Eeek!

I don't feel too terribly guilty however. Since the last post, I've gotten through my first semester in library school, gotten through the Christmas season (complete with visiting child and handmade gifts), working on belated handmade Christmas gifts (LOL), working on a tablet woven band (finally had an A-HA moment), worked on the A&S office (still a long ways to go), and co-ran the 12th Night event. Among other things... :D

As an offering, here is a recipe for hair mist to calm the frizzies. Makes 4 oz.

2 tbsp. aloe gel or liquid
1 tsp. lightweight oil (jojoba, sweet almond, grapeseed, whatever works for you)
a drop or two of essential oil for fragrance if desired
distilled water to 4 oz. mark

Shake before each use.

I used a small measuring cup that had ounce marks to mix the oils and then added clean water up to the 4 oz mark. Then I poured this into the spray bottle.

Note: If you buy organic aloe gel or liquid, it may not have the requisite preservatives to keep it from turning after a month. Keep it in the fridge.
Heavier oils may clog the spray nozzle.
Some people add a teaspoon of glycerine.

ETA: Oops! I meants TWO tablespoons of aloe. BTW, this isn't my recipe, it's available from the Long Hair Community forums. :)

I'm rather fond of Caxton

2009-09-10T10:22:00.001-04:00

After a mention of translating old English on another site, I had to go track down Caxton's preface from one of his books explaining how difficult it was to pick WHICH English to print.

From the British Library

In the preface to the Eneydos he told a story of some merchants going down the Thames. There was no wind so they landed on the Kent side of the river to buy food. ‘And specyally he axyed after eggys. And the good wyf answerde that she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry for he also coude speke no frenshe but wold haue hadde egges and she vnderstode hym not. And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she vnderstood hym wel’ [And he asked specifically for eggs, and the good woman said that she spoke no French, and the merchant got angry for he could not speak French either, but he wanted eggs and she could not understand him. And then at last another person said that he wanted ‘eyren’. Then the good woman said that she understood him well].

As a translator of books which were to be printed Caxton had to ensure that the language which he used was acceptable to quite a wide group of potential readers and buyers. ‘Loo what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte egges or eyren? Certaynly it is harde to playse euery man by cause of dyuersite and chaunge of langage’ [Now, what should one write nowadays, eggs or eyren? It is certain that it is difficult to please everybody because of the diversity and the change of our language]. As far as the social position of his language was concerned Caxton’s solution was to strike what he perceived as a balance but he aimed his language not at rude men but at ‘a clerke and a noble gentylman’: ‘Therfor in a meane bytwene bothe I haue reduced and translated this sayd booke in to our englysshe not ouer rude ne curyous but in such termes as shall be vnderstanden by goddys grace’ [therefore, as a compromise, I have translated this book into an English which is neither too coarse nor too refined, but using phrases which are understandable, God willing].

A very similar video to what I want to do

2009-09-06T19:25:00.004-04:00

Often it is difficult to get everyone together to practice dancing. Something always comes up and schedules often conflict. I thought it would be nice to produce instructional dancing videos so people could learn and practice at home.

I have found a video of Black Nag that is very similar to what I had in mind.

2009-09-05T14:00:00.002-04:00

A 12th Night Long Past

2009-08-06T10:43:00.003-04:00

From Early English Books Online database.

THE Description of a Maske presented before the Kinges Maiestie at White Hall, on twelft night last, in honour of the Lord HAYES, and his Bride, daughter, and heire to the Honourable the Lord DENNYE, their mariage hauing been the same day at Court solemnized. (1607)

AS in battailes, so in all other actions that are to bee reported, the first, and most necessary part is the discription of the place, with his oportunities, and properties, whether they be naturall, or artificiall. The greate hall (wherein the Maske was presented) receiued this diuision, and order: The vpper part where the cloth & chaire of State were plac't, had scaffoldes and seates on eyther side continued to the skreene; right before it was made a partition for the dauncing place; on the right hand whereof were consorted ten Musitions, with Basse and Meane Lutes, a Bandora, a double Sack-bott, and an Harpsicord, with two treble Violins; on the other side somewhat neerer the skreene were plac't 9. Violins and three Lutes, and to answere both the Consorts (as it were in a triangle) sixe Cornets, and sixe Chappell voyces, were seated almost right against them, in a place raised higher in respect of the pearcing sound of those Instruments-eighteen foote from the skreen, an other Stage was raised higher by a yearde then that which was prepared for dancing: This higher Stage was all enclosed with a double vale, so artificially painted, that it seemed as if darke cloudes had hung before it: within that shrowde was concealed a greene valley, with greene trees round about it, and in the midst of them nine golden trees of fifteene foote high, with armes and braunches very glorious to behold: From the which groue toward the State was made a broade descent to the dauncing place, iust in the midst of it; on either hand were two ascents, like the sides of two hilles, drest with shrubbes and trees; that on the right hand leading to the bowre of Flora: the other to the house of Night; which bowre and house were plac't opposite at either end of the skreene, and betweene them both was raised a hill, hanging like a cliffe ouer the groue belowe, and on the top of it a goodly large tree was set, supposed to be the tree of Diana; behind the which toward the window was a small descent, with an other spreading hill that climed vp to the toppe of the window, with many trees on the height of it, whereby those that played on the Hoboyes at the Kings entrance into the hall were shadowed: The bowre of Flora was very spacious, garnisht with all kind of flowers, and flowrie branches with lights in them; the house of Night ample, and stately, with blacke pillors, whereon many starres of gold were fixt: within it when it was emptie, appeared nothing but cloudes and starres, and on the top of it stood three Turrets vnderpropt with small blacke starred pillers, the middlemost being highest and greatest, the other two of equall proportion: about it were plac't on wyer artificial Battes, and Owles, continually mouing: with many other inuentions, the which for breuitie sake I passe by with silence.

Thus much for the place, and now from thence let vs come to the persons.

The Maskers names were these, (whom both for order and honour I mention in the first place.

1 Lord Walden.
2 Sir Thomas Howard
3 Sir Henrie Carey, Master of the Iewell house.
4 Sir Richard Preston, Gent. of the K. priuie Chamber.
5 Sir Iohn Ashley, Gent. of the K. priuie Chamber.
6 Sir Thomas Iarret Pentioner.
7 Sir Iohn Digby, one of the Kings Caruers.
8 Sir Thomas Badger, Master of the Kings Hariers.
9 Maister Goringe.

(Th. Campion's book does include the music for these songs. I've not heard of anyone reproducing this thing. It might be time to recontact my English Lit prof from Macon State. He studied masques.)

What's been going on?

2009-05-07T11:46:00.003-04:00

I've spent the past half month moving from one house to another. The new place needed alot of cleaning, so I had to do that first. I should be finished with the actual shifting of stuff (books mostly) today.
I've also started working some weekends to make up for any budgetary shortfall.
I also went to Florida this past weekend to visit my daughter for her cheerleading competition (1st place again woohoo!)
I've also been slammed with a similar vile migraine to what I got last year around this time. Still unsure why.
I no longer have inet available at home, only at work.
etc., etc.

Some portrait links

2009-04-01T10:01:00.002-04:00

It's always useful to have more costume reference wouldn't you agree? Or is there such a thing as too much? hmmm.
http://www.marileecody.com/nobilitypics.html

Sock Dreams

2009-03-17T15:26:00.001-04:00

This site/store really rox my what?
*laughs*
Funnily enough, I could use some of the tall, plain socks for garb. Hrm. Easier than making it, cheaper too. *sigh*

Progress. Or is it?

2009-03-16T16:07:00.004-04:00

Sunday was a long day spent goggle-eyed over picking one portrait to emulate (I will use this word more often I think.) I have decided to go with the dress seen in the lower right of this painting by Lucas van Leyden. (Wow! I didn't know the background info on the painting. He was only 14 when he painted it!)

I have the fabric already after a shopping trip to OHCO Warehouse. I have a nice rust fabric for the dress itself, a gold/cream/brown decorated fabric for the first set of undersleeves, and cream fabric for the partlet and poofy under-undersleeves.

Here's hoping it will all work out.

ETA: Yes, van Leyden was a Dutch painter, but you know what...alot of fashion during the 16th was rather interchangeable amongst the different European countries. It'll be fine. :) Maybe I'll make a German hat rather than the veil shown here.

Oh the nerves

2009-03-09T10:04:00.001-04:00

Everything is turned in and on its way (hopefully in the case of the letters) to Valdosta's library school. I have no idea when I'll hear anything.

Snowed in

2009-03-03T15:03:00.003-05:00

It stopped being cool after the first couple of hours. I'll guess that we got about 7" of snow dumped on our house this past Sunday. I'll post pics later.

I am also starting a new project (quelle surprise). Monochrome tablet woven belt. I'm starting with simple squares. 5 s, then 5 z etc. threaded. I would like to progress to weaving letters as seen in the Augsburg belt. (scroll down to no. 1 of Appendix B)

Today is...

2009-02-25T15:43:00.001-05:00

I finally got through the GRE. It's been a tough week over all. Alot of BS and other stuff going on. But one thing I will say, I got through the test. That is a positive.

Another for the persona challenge

2009-02-16T14:55:00.002-05:00

Perhaps I should add embroidery of a different sort? German Brick Stitch

Look! Look!

2009-02-16T10:32:00.005-05:00

I found an engraving from c. 1500 of a woman wearing a short sleeved dress. Nice! Mind you, she looks less than pleased at the antics of the juggler, but that's ok...maybe he's a rude doofus. :D The dress doesn't look too difficult to put together does it?

Hey, Venus is wearing short sleeves too! But she's dressed in velvet. I could wear this couldn't I...especially in those colors. Yummy!

ETA: Well, Venus may just have her poofy sleeves pushed up. But that's ok, the dress is still really nice. So is the other Venus dress, Lais of Corinth. Now that I think about it, that dress would be appropriate for me to make doncha think? ;p (Okay, maybe you don't get it. :D Corin is my middle name.)

BTW, Saltare went alright (I actually had more fun at the ball portion than the class portion) but was not the best choice for a first event since getting horrible migraines. >_<

Well Sometimes Alot Does Go On

2009-02-12T19:12:00.003-05:00

Should I break it up into bits? Or should I just leave it in a spaghetti like mass for readers to untangle?
Hrm.

1. I'm on the road of applying for library school. No really. ACTUALLY applying. I already submitted my app (and money) and signed up for the GRE (doom and more money). I've requested all three letters of recommendation from the appropriate people and they're, well, I hope they're working on them. I've sent both transcripts off. I've gotten my cv and entrance essay written, they just need to be neatened. Now I just need to study like mad to actually pass the damned GRE. Here's hoping.

2. I'm going to try to go out this weekend. Saltare is this Saturday down in Valdosta and I'm probably going. Probably as in I've already made the hotel reservation but still have reservations. ^^; Why? I'm going without Alex...or Ashley. I'm going with Susan who is indeed awesome but I haven't gotten to know too well yet. I've also been encountered "people with the plague (cold)" at work and I am NOT happy about that (living in fear of coming down with something.) So I'm keeping my super-expensive strawberry & vitamin C drink nearby and worrying. I also fear that my time of the month will decide to join the party and that's just not cool. Especially since Saltare is THE dancing event of Meridies. Yeah, that's what I'm going to...and me not even knowing how to dance. ^^;

3. I'm thinking of switching from making the Juno Regina scarf with the silk lace yarn from Spirit Trail Fibers (she doesn't have the colorway listed any longer) to *gasp* crochet. Yeah, I'm wincing from your reactions. :) But here's the idea folks, I saw the actually decent crochet patterns over at MYpicot and thought there might be a rather pretty stole waiting to be made. I'm having some trouble getting the pics uploaded but you can see them here: 2007, 2012, 3017, 3025.

Well, that'll have to do for now. I'm going to snuggle in bed and play Final Fantasy XII or something. YAY for Thursdays! :D

Sometimes I Like My Analogies

2009-01-29T16:42:00.001-05:00

instead of a train of thought, it's more like a hovercraft
going somewhere but definately not grounded

What Depakote Does to Hair

2009-01-26T20:40:00.021-05:00

I've been wanting to post about what I've gone through with my hair for some time now. So here I am, tension headached and cat in the lapped, ready with photos to explain the...hold on, cat has got to go. Hard to type around a furry beast.

My mom decided while I was rather little that I wouldn't have long hair...or hair past my ears for that matter. Yeah, I'm serious. She said it was too thick to brush through, I had a sensitive head, and it made me all sweaty and stinky. *shrugs* For whatever reasons, I had short hair.

When I ~~moved~~ was kicked out, I began to let my hair grow. Yeah, that late. I've got a just above chin length bob in my senior photo.

My hair has never grown fast. It is stupidly thick. And wavy, which tends to pull it up a bit and make it look even shorter. Ah, genetics.

Anyways, blah blah blah. It grew. By the time I got married, my hair was down to my waist. When I had Avalee, I thought (reallll stupidly) "Hey, let me cut my hair off to some utilitarian level...like at my chin!" So I looked like a mushroom again. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't ever lose my baby into my hair (as I had a friend's...that was embarrassing) in fact she loved to grab a lock of my hair and twirl it around and around as she rested. Go figure.

I don't have the energy to scan in any older photos so you all will just have to imagine what all this looked like, it's not hard.

So out sprouted my hair again. Well, sprouted in the way trees do...like live oaks...very slowly.

2005, and played with:

2006, ponytail (from Avalee height):

You get the idea. My hair was thick, wavy, contentiously blonde, and...well...rather attached to my head. So a short time after I move to NE Georgia, I start getting these headaches. Not just any headaches...migraines of rolling around on the bed, I can't cry because that's too painful, Oh My God my head's on fire! Bad.

After some time of hemming and hawing, I go to the neurologist. He can't find a problem (both good and bad news) and puts me on Depakote. He told me I could gain weight and that I would have to have my liver checked for problems. What he neglected to tell me was that the medicine also caused hair loss.

So what does hair loss mean when your hair is of a length most people call "rather long" or "butt length"?

It means that the hair can only "fall" so far before it gets tangled with the rest. It means this:

Severe matting. Oh I cried and cried. Everytime I brushed even a section of my hair I had to empty my frat-paddle sized hairbrush. My bathroom trashcan was half full of hair. I took to wearing my hair in two braids (my hair was so thick, even sections of one braid could be matted by the lightest friction) like this:

You notice I say 'was so thick'? Yeah...

Well, after many tears and some contemplation, I asked Alex to grab his scissors. We took a look at where the hair was getting stuck the most and whacked off the hair to a line just above that.

Before:

After:

Then I noticed that, not only did I sacrifice about a foot in length, I lost at least an inch around. (If I understand correctly, one of the popular ways for measuring long hair is to ponytail it up and measure the circumference. Mine was between 4" and 5", no shit. Now, I'm afraid to check.)

One of the saddest things I think I'm experiencing now (amongst all this other bs) is the people who tell me it "looks so much better now" that I've cut it. Could they not actually believe that someone would not want to cut their hair? I like omg long hair and I enjoyed getting comments from random people who would say "Oh, your hair is so pretty! Don't cut it!" Mind you, I've actually had one older woman pick up my hair and pet it before....and that kinda weirded me out, but it was sweet. I guess it had entered the public domain at that point.

So, where does this put me? Well, I am determined to let my hair grow out again. I'd like to get of the Depakote (now) but must find a replacement in order to deal with the daily migraines. Maybe if I start measuring it monthly, I'll feel some small bit of encouragement. Who knows.

Quick! To the Outdoors!

2009-01-23T14:00:00.002-05:00

It's sunny! I should take photos of my projects while it's nice. brb.

New Stuff

2009-01-22T15:34:00.002-05:00

I picked up two skeins of Misti Alpaca chunky yarn from Main Street this past Saturday. I couldn't stop petting it! Sooooo soft! I agonized for a short time over what I should make with it. I knew I'd be using huge needles and wanted to maintain the loose loft the stuff has. I also knew I wanted something I could snuggle into. So rather than make a scarf, I made a cowl. (Yay, circular knitting!) I just cast on however many stitches until it 'seemed' about right with my #17s and knit away. It is very snuggly. I only used one skein though. The other one awaits! I'm thinking a hat. That way I can pull the hat down around my ears and the cowl up around my cheeks. You'll only be able to see my smiling eyes from behind a fuzzy screen of white. hehehe!

I've also, *gasp*, ordered yarn! For a garment! *gasp, gasp* I picked out some nice stormy blue for the Petersburg vest from Rowan 42 (I think). I...must...learn...correct...gauge. Must, must, must. Arg.

Hey, I'm hungry.

I've been cheating on reading Tale of Genji. I know, beat me with a soba noodle. Instead I've been carefully rereading the first Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn book by Tad Williams. I say carefully cause I've reread this book so much it's literally falling apart in my hands! And I have a sneaking suspicion this is my second copy. *blushes*

I Actually Returned Library Books

2009-01-15T10:58:00.005-05:00

I'd had some of them for nearly a year. Since I hadn't gotten around to scanning and documenting the contents (they were costume and medieval fiber books), I felt I'd had my chance and should release them back into the wild.

Of course I couldn't leave the library without a few more. *laughs* I grabbed the Waley translation of Lady Murasaki's 'Tale of Genji.' It was surprisingly narrow. Waley was honored for keeping to the spirit of the novel rather than the letter (which is always a toughy when translating Japanese), so I picked that one out of the selection here. I'm also doing it to celebrate the 1000 year anniversary (a bit late but whatever) of the book. http://genji1000.jp/english/

I also grabbed (not easy to find here surprisingly) a "learn French on your own" book. I actually, much to the derision of my bf, want to learn this language...at least for reading purposes. The book insists that the student not, absolutely not, use the book without a teacher or the records (it's from 1943) that go with it. I'm being all rebellious and stuff I guess. I can't really use my copy of the Rosetta Stone due to the hyper-sensitive hearing issue and accompanying migraines. Besides, the drawn out, stilted, overly neutral nature of the voices gets on my nerves.

Well Dang!

2009-01-14T10:43:00.004-05:00

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I just got rid of (a lung) my chest cold a few days ago. Now I've got the migraine from hell. Figures huh?
On a positive knitterly note, I worked on the Chain Socks some last night while watching the last few episodes of Avatar Season 1 (that show is GOOD!) and half an episode of Rock of Love Bus (that show is a train wreck). I have turned the heel and rejoined everything so that it's just circular from here on. yay!!!!

ETA: So I stomped (quietly) over to the office next door to investigate the constant loud banging noises I'm hearing. Turns out they're working on the window over there in order to fix the ladybug infestation problem. I didn't have any way to stop the noise but did manage to give the evil eye.

DEATH to all Plague Bearers!

2008-12-23T14:09:00.002-05:00

Ooooooh, I get so mad when sick people come in to work anyways. I think it's extremely inconsiderate. Especially now when it's holiday season and I have only 1 week to spend with small child. She wants snow, I figured the closest I'd get is just taking her to the mountains and hoping for something white on the tops of them. I certainly don't want to drive in the stuff, don't know how. Gatlinburg is looking likely. Seems they have some neat stuff to do there and I just drive straight up 441 through Smokey Mountain Nat'l Park.

But it really depends on whether my vague feelings of unease (read: achy, sniffly, sore throaty, cranky) turn into a full blown cold. Damn you people!

2008-11-25T16:23:00.002-05:00

To the Persona A&S list I'm adding Read some German folklore. Seems that Percival hath defeated me...at least for now. :D So instead I'm wiki-ing Frau Holda. Much more interesting so far.

Nothing is ever perfect

2008-11-06T08:49:00.003-05:00

Phrase of the week, that is.

Anyways.

I'm thinking of added a "persona-in-a-box" to my A&S 50 list. If I understand correctly, the persona box contains plenty of info on a region and time period to get someone set with a basic persona. Kinda like ready-to-wear versus couture. hahaha.

I'm feeling miffed and cranky over the "if a saint wears it in the painting, the costume is allegorical and therefore not historically accurate (read: wearable)". Most paintings are religious in nature so costume reference is really thin otherwise. I could say that the portraits of royalty would be right out also as that is not reflective of the norm. *sighs* I could just ignore what 'they' say, but it's difficult.

Post Viking Games

2008-10-21T13:10:00.002-04:00

The event went rather well actually. Very different for me. I really liked the fact that there was no oh-so-boring afternoon lull after the fighting. There was alot going on all day. I even managed to get 2nd place in the speed inkle weaving contest. Drake garnered 3rd place since it was his second time weaving, he was the only kid, he had a good time, and he actually did pretty good. :)
It was kinda nice to not stay overnight I have to admit. Less to pack and worry about.
I danced. Yay. My toe reminded me that it was indeed broken shortly afterwards though.
And I'm beginning to believe we are cursed to get a flat tire if we go to that event. ARGH.

I'm planning Christmas presents now along with Halloween costumes. What a mix. Well, I guess it isn't all that far-fetched since the stuff will be purchased at a fabric store.

More later.

We always do this to ourselves

2008-10-15T17:01:00.005-04:00

A couple days before an event, our local barony's event, and we're getting stuff sewn and ready to go. Not 'finished', started. *rolls eyes* We have a real knack for procrastination...or taking on too much, or both. Probably both.

The event is called 'Viking Games' in honor of the Olympics and, well, vikings. Some of us like to call it the "not-Danelaw" event since that is what our fall event is usually called. The schedule is actually pretty full of some nifty things like themed fighting (longship battles), crafting sprints (speed drop spinning), poetry contest, mead contest, "throw the rings around the giant's fingers" kids games and more. Here's the link http://www.brynmadoc.org/Viking-Games1.html.

I'm not sure how many attendees we'll get because, I'll be blunt here, the Meridien Army rudely decided to make Panhandle Skirmishes a kingdom level event by "encouraging" every fighter to go. Whatever.

Do I sound cranky? Not surprised. Seems I go on the rag whenever we have an event. I'm not kidding, at least the past three have been that way. Then too, I'm on a 28 day cycle and it lasts for a week...not including the lovely pms I get. /nasty personal info.

Tonight I get to draw and paint my "viking style" banner to use for hall decoration. I'm in charge of that bit, so I should make sure I make one right? We need to ensure everyone's garb is in order. Alex has to make and paint a shield. I have yards of trim on my inkle loom that I don't want to lose, but I need the loom for the competitions.

Speaking of inkling, I taught Drake the basics of inkle weaving the other day and he really likes it. Cool!

Inkling along

2008-09-29T11:43:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure about the awards.... It seems I misread the design and purchased enough gold thread for an inner stripe. Well, as I'm sure you can deduct, it's the OUTER stripe (and with it the weft) that is gold. Can I hear an "EWWW." No matter, I'll pick up some gold crochet cotton soon. I've been relearning how to inkle weave anyways and am rediscovering that maintaining even sides is a bitch. phooey.

The OTHER Challenge

2008-09-22T13:59:00.002-04:00

Yes, technically I'm doing two challenges for A&S 50. One is the German persona bit I've already mentioned (having trouble with :\ ) in a previous post. The other is making 50 bits of award stuff for Meridies. One big hurdle I jumped recently was contacting the Bagatelle herald and asking what I could do and how. I've got a little bit of information and will attempt to weave bands for two awards, the Meridian Majesty and Sovereign's Pleasure. I think those are the two woven award regalia thingies. Heee.....

Finally

2008-09-16T23:30:00.007-04:00

I got my photos uploaded from the camera. I even resized some of them for the blog. Woot! I'm not feeling so ambitious as to give you photos of my knitting wips or the copious amounts of art I've collected for costume and crafting reference. Instead I'm treating you to pics of the fambly.

From the left: little girl I don't know, Avalee, Griffin (Alex's middle son), Drake, Nicky

My hair and makeup committee: Hester (grey) and Persephone (on toilet)

Oh yeah, Alex and I at Ruby Falls.

If I was turning Japanese...

2008-09-09T09:23:00.004-04:00

Sorry if the song is now stuck in your head. *grin*

For the A&S50 challenge, I have to admit I'd have a much easier time coming up with stuff to fill the challenge list persona-wise. I'll make a list here just because.

1. make outfit for a low caste person, for bad or hot weather.
2. embroidery
3. shibori
4. calligraphy
5. kumihimo
6. make a better heian era garment (this counts for alot, but i'm just lumping it together for simplicity's sake.)(The super simple version that you see in the photo above is minus the two blue-green layers. It was just too dang hot.)
7. make a better kamakura era garment (counts for a couple too, unless I cheat like I did last time *grin*)(Kamakura in this instance=my Heian minus all layers but the bottom kimono which was tucked into my hakama.)
8. go ahead and make that yayoi (i think this is the correct period) era garment i want.
9. learn how to walk and move correctly
10. recipes
11. learn to recite poetry of the time
12. paper making
13. weaving
14. read more accounts from the time
15. read noh plays
16. read kabuki plays (eh, it's pushing the "time limit" but so what)
17. dances? these would be hard to find.
18. learn more about the religions
19. archery
20. study the weapons
21. study more on the siege equipment
22. learn more about the armor
23. oh yeah, learn more japanese... :D

Actually planning my Persona challenge

2008-09-08T15:37:00.005-04:00

1. Do the persona questionnaire found here (link later.)
2. Research the coins of the time
3. Research trade and guilds
4. Figure out if she would have read Tristan, Parcival, or the Nibelungenleid and read those.
5. Weave some belts.
6. Learn at least a bit about Opus Teutonicum.
7. Figure out the garb and make some. (This will be broken up later.)
8. Learn the writing style used at the time.
9. make the neat purse I've seen in many paintings.
10. shoes of course
11. Learn more about calligraphy by Heinrich Rüdinger and illumination by Albrecht Glockendon as seen in the book 'Geomantie' (Geomancy) - Codex Palatinus 833 Germanicus. 'cause oh my god!!!!

An Account of a horrid and barbarous murder

2008-09-03T09:16:00.004-04:00

AN ACCOUNT Of a Horrid and Barbarous Murder, COMMITTED On the Body of a Young Person supposed to be of a good Quality in the Fields beyond Whitechappel-Church, in the Parish of Stepny commonly known by the Name of Tom-turds Field where she was found, on Munday the 16th. of March, her Throat Cut, and several wounds upon her Body, which was there left stark Naked in one of the Pits belonging to the Field.

DId we not by the too often repeated Instances of this kind behold the Barbarity of Man's Temper, when left of God Almighty, we should be more Astonish'd at the Bloudy and Savage Cruelty in the following Relation, which is enough to draw Tears from the Eyes of the most Unconcerned, and raise Pity in the Breast of the worst of Men: But not to detain the Reader with too long Exordiums, I shall proceed to the Story it self:

In the Fields beyond White-Chappel Church, commonly called Tom-turds Fields, some Children were on Munday the 16th of this Instant playing near the Pits, and one of them casually striking his Ball thereinto, the Lad endeavouring to reach the same with a Stick lit upon a Foot as he concieved it, and so it proved true, of a Person that had been there Murdered; whereat calling his Companions they came about it, and the Croud increasing, they quickly pull'd the Carkass to the side of the Pit, and by that means perceived it was the Body of a Young Woman strip'd stark Naked, except the Lyning of an old-Gown to Cover her, and on her Right Leg a Mans Stocking and Shoe; she was Bruised all over her Body, and had several Wounds which were seen thereupon; to wit, one in her Right Breast, another upon the side or her Right Eye, and another in her Throat, which was cut half through, with several other Barbarous Gashes in several parts of the Body, The Person is as yet unknown, but by the Conjectures of most Persons that have viewed her, she is supposed to be of some Quality, and the rather for that she hath a very Clear Skin and soft Hand; she seems to have several good Features, and is as supposed not above the Age of 16 or 17 at most: on her little Finger of the Right Hand she had a Cornelion Ring, but how long she hath lain in that Place is not yet known, tho it cannot be very long, for that her Wounds are fresh.

And upon the removing her from the Pit where she was first found, to Mile-end-Green at the sign of the George, where her Body now lies, she Bled a fresh: The Field where she was, hath been always looked upon as very Dangerous for Passingers, after Night is shut in, and several Persons have been there Robb'd, but the Barbarity of this is hardly to be Parralleled, not only in Relation to her Sex, but also her Youth; And how Malice: it self should be so Trancendently wicked in the perpetration of so Horrid and Abominable a Murder, it can scarce enter into the Breast of Humanity to Imagine: Murder in any degree hath been always lookt upon as the most Crying of all Sins, and seldome is it that the same scapes Unpunnished, the Vengeance of the Almighty pursuing the Criminal generally to hss Punnishment even in this World, much more may we hope that in so Horrid an Instance as this is, where neither Beauty nor Youth could work Compassion on the obdurate and Cruel Hearts of Accursed Perpetrators thereof, that in God's good time the same will come to a Discovery, and the Criminals to their deserved End: Which that the same may come to pass, is the Prayers of all good People, who cannot but upon sight thereof compassionate the poor Innocent, and look upon the Authors of this Tragedy with more than common Detestation.

LONDON Printed by George Croom, at the Sign of the Blue-Ball in Thames-street, over against Baynard's Castle. 1684

(from Early English Books Online; actual text held at the Bodleian)

Okay, so I found this the other day while perusing the EEBO database for cool things. Not that murder is cool of course....no matter how old.
I did find some things rather interesting, striking even, definately telling, about the account.
Such as:

-She had to have been killed shortly before being found if she bled again upon transporting.
-No mention is made of a search for perpetrators, calling for constables, or anything legal at all.
-Why on earth did she have on a man's stocking and shoe? How were they different from women's shoes?
-The carnelian ring keeps it from being a robbery (unless the ring was added later to 'show' that the girl was of gentle birth).
-What was she doing back there?
-You mean to tell me that Whitechapel was a bad neighborhood for over 200 years??! (Also scene of Jack the Ripper murders fyi).

Master of the Legend of St. Lucy

2008-09-03T07:58:00.003-04:00

You can find more paintings online. Let me know if you find a link to the legend of St. Nicolas done by this guy. I flipped through a book that included a painting of some crazy guy beheading 3 other men. But the dresses were awesome. :D

Snooze my friends! Snooze!

2008-09-02T08:55:00.003-04:00

That's about how I feel this a.m. I do indeed have other things to do right now, which prevents me from writing much here....and I have many things travelling in the brain which prevents me from doing much of what I should here.

another great line

2008-08-28T13:48:00.002-04:00

English doesn't just borrow words from other languages. It follows them down dark alleys, hits them over the head with old bottles and rummages through their pockets looking for loose grammar.

true, so true

2008-08-26T11:09:00.002-04:00

"I think people need to remember that just because your life is full of friends, doesn’t mean that there aren’t worthwhile people still to meet."

This is an awesome sentence.

Oh sure, I have time for this rolls eyes

2008-08-05T11:49:00.002-04:00

At least for the next moment...
I'm hungry, it's almost lunch time.
It's been a month since I've last posted and all I have to say really is that I have about 80% of Avalee's knitted bear done and have to finish it completely by Sunday.
Ahh!

UGH!!!

2008-07-09T15:33:00.003-04:00

OH MY GAWWWWWWD!
Who's bright idea was it to settle in Georgia?? The typical $%&#* Georgia summer has finally happened. Nothing but 90+ temps with 90+ humidity. Nothing to do to go outside, see the haze, drip with sweat that won't evaporate, and attempt to suck in oxygen through air laden with water molecules.
Forget it!

A Need for Museum Links?

2008-07-03T13:51:00.004-04:00

I think so.
Musee de Cluny.

Check out the 'Everyday Life' collection especially. Real neat stuff in there. Like the German napkin holder.

When I next misplace a book

2008-06-27T15:11:00.002-04:00

this is the best response ever...
"my copy of the book is currently being digested by the house." -Richild la Gauchere posted on the Florilegium.

1972 computing - look out!

2008-06-26T15:07:00.002-04:00

R says:
see, I looked for it yesterday and it wasn't there, and I wanted to see if we had it because Marie gave me an issue that was a gift, and even though holdings says we don't have it there's an item record for a duplicate copy
R says:
and it had a repo flag in it but Paul says it's not at the repo either
R says:
thanks for checking anyway
kelsie is here says:
hell, lots of titles were cancelled a while back and are still being rec'd for free (even though we paid for them before)
kelsie is here says:
its not unusual
kelsie is here says:
many go thru acquisitions.
R says:
the issue is from 1972
kelsie is here says:
wtf?
kelsie is here says:
did you want me to check for bound copies?
R says:
someone donated their copy to the Library and Acq thought we didn't have it because it wasn't in holdings
kelsie is here says:
oh
R says:
hmm, I don't think any are bound because each issue has an item record
kelsie is here says:
*shrugs* weird
R says:
maybe someone marked them with the wrong call number
kelsie is here says:
so we used to carry it but don't now...and its not bound...
R says:
the last time someone messed with the record was in 2005
kelsie is here says:
oh
kelsie is here says:
does it have a number?
R says:
if Acq had thought to check the item records instead of the holdings (because some of the older things are not in holdings) they would have seen there was already an item record for that issue
R says:
and it would have been their problem inatead of mine
kelsie is here says:
...
kelsie is here says:
*laughs*
R says:
instead
R says:
I think it's 1972 no.1
kelsie is here says:
i still dont get why it went to you anyways.
R says:
it's on the problems periodicals shelf if you want to see what it looks like
kelsie is here says:
i saw
R says:
I have to bind it, that's why it came to me
kelsie is here says:
ok
R says:
but if we alreayd have a copy then we don't need this one
kelsie is here says:
wouldnt it need to go to cataloging first or something....yeah
kelsie is here says:
maybe we have two copies already? hahahaha
R says:
we do have another copy in the Ga Room
kelsie is here says:
saw that
R says:
hmm, maybe someone accidentally transferred the stacks copies to the Ga Room
kelsie is here says:
they may have only 1971
R says:
I should check
kelsie is here says:
the 1972 - 1 copy is definately here in the stacks ^^;
R says:
ok, none of the missing ones are up there
kelsie is here says:
over at the ga room?
R says:
yeah
kelsie is here says:
the one here in the office is in pretty shitty shape
R says:
lol
kelsie is here says:
heh
kelsie is here says:
i'm grumpy at them cause they fell on my head
kelsie is here says:
but then i was a dumb ass and didn't grab a step up.
R says:
wait, you found a copy in stacks?
kelsie is here says:
yeah
kelsie is here says:
along with all its evil buddies
R says:
oh good, so they were there after all
kelsie is here says:
yeah, it wasn 't YOUR head.
R says:
ok, that solves that
R says:
thanks for checking for me!
kelsie is here says:
sure np

Argh!!!

2008-06-26T10:02:00.002-04:00

I hate not knowing where the security cameras are located at work...I never know where I can pick out a wedgie! :p

silly props

2008-06-26T08:19:00.002-04:00

Someone here at work nominated me for Good New Staffperson.

Kelsie Crawford - Serials

As her co-worker, I have been happily humbled and mightily impressed by Kelsie's ability to learn and master the duties of her position in record time. She works hard and fast and yet maintains a high standard of accuracy and attention to detail. She sticks her neck out and dares to propose new ways of accomplishing things and has already been an agent of several positive procedural changes. Simply put, the woman is smart as all-get-out and a true asset to the department

wow

2008-06-20T09:08:00.006-04:00

I had a discussion last night with Alex about socializing and other stuff. In a mopey mood today (and freakishly tired), I snooped in on some people I used to hang out with. Wow, some things change and some things really don't. I mean really.

I need to set up a topic and research it to keep my brain working. Not sure what I should do though. I usually think of something and then dismiss it or worse, forget it. Recently I've thought of:
-viewpoints on suicide from official documents (ecclesiastical and political) and diarists in pre-1800 Europe, especially (depending on the number of sources)the views across the classes
-the reasoning behind 19th impoverished Ireland turning to crocheted fancy-work as a means of income and the acceptance of the art as a hobby for wealthy young women shortly after
-any connection existing between medieval Germany being the center for women's religious ecstatic visions and then later the center for the Reformation
-parenting practices pre-1800 (that might be a hoot)
-medieval Ethiopia and its attitude toward surrounding areas in Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

That's all I can think of for now. I'm soooooo tired.

Sniffle Attack!

2008-06-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

Dang.

I'm going to paste some interesting comments from the Annoyed Librarian blog here later. It ties in to a conversation Alex and I had over the current generation of "all chiefs, no indians". This is really relevant to me because I have a decent job that isn't going away and comes with decent benefits. The pay is not good but is more than I've made previously, ever. I am surrounded by people who are opposite what I'm used to at retail stores. Here, it's 'slow down, don't expect anything to move or change quickly.' But I feel, well, small. Kinda like I'm hit with 'this is IT? is this all my life amounts to right now?'

Not up to speed

2008-05-24T10:18:00.003-04:00

Wow, it appears (after having perused numerous blogs and ravelry people pages) that I am in fact a very slow knitter. Boo! Even while I was focusing on the needlework, not much was produced.

I'm about to wrap up the first sock. The bear is maybe 1/4 done. The shawl barely started. Eeek.

But then too, I come home from work and about collapse from exhaustion.

Things are always more complicated than they seem

2008-05-22T09:31:00.003-04:00

I've read a recent blog post about feeling frustration over the push to send aid to Myanmar/Burma and China while people are suffering in America. Technically I agree with the feeling. However, please do not gripe about the rising cost of living here while people in underdeveloped/unevenly developed areas have ongoing or sudden complete lack of food and shelter. Other countries now expect the U.S. to step in when disasters strike, if this country doesn't...what will happen? Do you really think withholding assistance would have no repercussions? Do you remember what outside sources sent help to the Gulf area after Katrina? I don't (but of course I'll be checking on that later.)

My opinion: We are an extremely affluent nation and wouldn't know what to do if struck by another lengthy depression. Especially with the lingering feeling that country-wide mobilization for war is passe.

More later.

OOoooh! It's cold again!

2008-05-14T08:41:00.001-04:00

While I'm annoyed that I had packed away my blankets and what have yous, I'm thrilled that cool weather decided to take another swing at my area. It's been something like four days in a row! Wow!

Taken from the May issue of Computing Reviews

2008-04-29T09:53:00.003-04:00

When people did help they were given a flattering name. They weren't called "Wikipedia's little helpers," they were called "editors." It was like a giant community leaf-raking project in which everyone was called a groundskeeper. Some brought very fancy professional metal rakes, or even back-mounted leaf-blowing systems, and some were just kids thrashing away with the sides of their feet or stuffing handfuls in the pockets of their sweatshirts, but all the leaves they brought to the pile were appreciated. And the pile grew and everyone jumped up and down in it having a wonderful time. And it grew some more, and it became the biggest leaf pile anyone had ever seen anywhere, a world wonder.
-Nicholson Baker "The Charms of Wikipedia," 2008

Here and not there, certainly not everywhere

2008-04-19T08:59:00.002-04:00

Due to fears of severe headache, I'm hanging out for the weekend at my house while the others are at Dreamstone. It sucks.

I don't have a vehicle so I can't just go somewhere.

I could clean the house....woot. *rolls eyes*

I've kinda shelved the Juno and the Bear due to headachy-frustration and going back to work (definately put a dent in my knitting time ;p). Instead I've pulled out the sock of never-endingness and worked on it. I'm now to the foot, the end is in sight! Yay! The thought of making another of these is just ugh. But that's why I bought the 2 at a time sock book right?! Next time, size 2 needles no matter what. :D The sock certainly does feel good to squish, so that's keeping me going.

I must say, I really have new-found respect for photo-bloggers. I just don't know how y'all have time to take all those pics, resize them, and post them. Maybe you just get into the habit at some point and it gets easier and faster. *shrugs*

Due to the shut-down of MagKnits and the realization that Interweave pulled many of its patterns recently, I've decided to go through my many bookmarked online patterns and save them. Somehow. My computer is already bogged down with the number of pdfs and pics I've saved over the years. This will be a major undertaking. Ideally, I'd like to print them all out and put them into a binder, but I fear for my printer and my wallet if I did that.

Georgia's spring

2008-04-11T12:52:00.002-04:00

really...almost 20 degrees drop between today and tomorrow. Right now it's about 80, but it feels warmer. Tomorrow, high of upper 60s. No wonder people are so sick. Well, besides all the allergy inducing yet pretty flowers that are blooming right now.

The most frustrating thing about knitting is...

2008-03-30T09:56:00.002-04:00

there is no one way. You'd think that'd make it easier. And sure it does to dome extent. But if a pattern is designed with the stitches, say, twisting just so...my stitches may not come out twisting just so. It was a bit of a surprise to discover the other day that I've been purling 'incorrectly' all this time. I had to watch knittinghelp.com's video over and over to see what was off between what she was doing and what I do. After some research, it seems I purl like Annie Modesitt's Combined Method, I scoop the yarn rather than wrap it...clockwise rather than counter-clockwise I think, but knit western continental like normal (I'm beginning to wonder.) What this means is that my purl stitches don't twist like they should...maybe. I can't tell the difference. On the combo knitting info site, knitting in this way means you should swap your decreases...k2tog instead of ssk etc. But my dragon scale gauntlets look okay. I will eyeball them again however just to check.

I'm only making a fuss about this because I am attempting to make the Juno Regina and I want it to look good when I'm done. I am not having much luck finding info on how to work yarn overs either. Heh. God forbid someone be book taught. *g*

All This and Headaches Too?

2008-03-21T11:32:00.002-04:00

I'm beginning to think they will never end.

Anyways...

I'm officially in over my head!
I'm working on the Secret of Bad Nauheim shawl 'cause a secret shawl just seems really cool.
And on Juno Regina with the really nice but lighter than I expected Spirit Trail silk.
And on the xxxxxx for xxxxx's xxxxx even though it's xxxx. But it's gone thru alot of redesigns.
And on Avalee's teddy bear, which I'm called B.B. Bear (for Bright Blue Bear cause...dang that yarn color!).
And on the socks. But I think they are the wrong size and I don't believe I have enough yarn for both at the rate I'm going through it.

Secret of Bad Nauheim and Slow Bee

2008-03-06T12:52:00.013-05:00

I should collect the info I get through the Yahoo group...

Yarn amount (SB) "what about math? ;-)) 300g are 3 skeins of yarn, each is 950 yards, would be a total of 2850 yards. One yard is about 0,9144 meters, if you use all 3 skeins this would be in meters 2606 meters.
I have done the "Dem Fischer sin Fru" in the longer version and used 280 grams. The smaller one was 225 grams. As the skeins have a weight of 100g each, you will need three of them to make the shawl. The bigger shawl would need 2660 (2430 meters) yards the smaller one 2140 yards (1960 meters).
But the amount of yarn also depends on the pattern, so you cannot calculate exactly how much it would be."

Yarn type/color/theme clue (SB): "o.k..... I don't want to reveal too much of the theme of the shawl, but those who might have expected fire and flames as we knit in summer are on the wrong track.... when it is hot outside, we must have something cold on your needles.
We can start over in May with the shawl and knit during summer. At this
point of time the "Secret of Bad Nauheim" ist finished and you will have
enough time to get yarn and accessories.
I suggest a solid colour for the shawl and also a cold colour. Mine is made
vom undyed Merino lace, 950 yards per 100g. Or you may use a very light blue
and of course any cold colour you like.
You will need a crochet hook size 14 US and lots of beads (I don't know the
exact amount at the moment), size 6/4mm
"as far as I remember my beads had been size 6 when I bought them... maybe I am wrong, I took the measure and it is 3mm maybe it is size 8, but some of them are so small, that I can hardly get them on my crochet hook and over the yarn, so 4 mm would be easier to handle. And yes... they can show and "sparkle""
"no spring.... maybe the last leaves from autumn...."
"I would recommend www.colourmart. com. I'm going to use a multiple
strand of cashmere/silk, not sure what color though. I have several
options already waiting to be used ;-) Very reasonably priced and
shipping IS included in the price."
"even as pink and violet are listed on this webpage as "cold colour" it does not go with the theme of the shawl. You may use white or natural yarn, light blue or dark blue, but not teal . Dark violet may also go with the pattern. And if you like black it would be fine."

yarn type/color/theme/stuff (SBN): "any colour would be fine."
"I would choose the Zephyr 2/18. It is such a lovely yarn"
"nadelstarke-3.5mm" I'll guess that means needle size.
"you can use any kind of yarn for that shawl, as the pattern is a modular design which can be adjusted for several sizes. The swatch is about a third of the pattern in the width and I have knitted the pattern twice to get the width for the shawl. You can also divide the pattern in the length one time to adjust it to your favourite size. I think we don't need to talk about the total length at the moment, if you come close to my swatch with yours the remaining parts will also fit. I have knitted the whole pattern 3 1/2 times for the length and you need to add about 18-20 cm for the border. The shawl has a finished size of 178 x 78 cm if you follow my pattern. If you want to change something I can assist you calculating it.
I have knitted the shawl with Merino Lace 950yards per 100g and size 3,5 mm. You will need pretty close to 200g but I would suggest to be on the safe side, that you get 3 skeins of yarn."

"for Slow Bee it is approximately 2,850 (3 skeins of the 950yards) And
Secret of Bad Nauheim is approximately 1900 yards (2 skeins of the 950
yards)"

How to Knit with Beads "for all who don´t know how to knit with Beads here are some Instructions http://www.jonesclan.net/ms3.htm (english with video)

Is this true?

2008-03-04T13:45:00.002-05:00

Alle Kunst ist umsunst Wenn ein Engel auf das Zundloch brunzt. All skill is in vain if an angel pisses down the touch-hole of your musket.

The foolishness of wanting a certain house

2008-03-03T09:45:00.004-05:00

The house we are in now is a typical mid 80's ranch. 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a bonus room. It's mostly ok, but there isn't a usable yard, we're on a rather busy road, and we are tight for space. So, out we go into house hunting land again. It's a scary thing, not knowing what you're actually gonna get with a house, what problems it has and whatnot, and collecting the upfront costs of the deposit, moving truck, and transferring utilities. But we've got 2 full time kids and 2 part time kids and we don't have a YARD. So...

It's hard to search for rentals online for places other than major cities. It's even harder when you want to rent a rather large house for a low amount and have it be in a quiet, safe neighborhood with decent schools.

What do we want?
-at least 3 bedrooms with a bonus room or basement. Preferably 4 rooms with a basement. We have what I call the elephant in the room, the full-sized air hockey table we got this christmas.
-MUST be quiet.
-must have a yard good for playing in
-must have functioning a/c in every room
-must have decent schools and after school care of some sort
-can't be too far from the university. I'm putting this at about 20 minutes tops.
-We'd prefer to be close to our friends for mutual support.

The house doesn't have to be pretty or new. I'd prefer it to not be falling over or leaky. I'm really okay with it being out in the sticks.

I did find a few online believe it or not. But our house searches often lead to much hilarity due to our getting lost and the house being rather weird.

There's one posted on craigslist. It's out on the other side of the next town over. The google map directions don't seem to match the roads we took. Pavement seemed to end a road or two before the one the house is on. But the house! It's next to a farm. There's one house kind of behind it and another house down the road. It's old. Very Public Works Administration if you know what I mean. If it was just me, I'd be moving in already. It had it's own yard. It faced a large horse pasture and some woods. There's lots of windows. Lots and lots of windows in the kitchen. The floors were all wood except in the kitchen where it looked like linoleum tile. It had two stories. The stairs had a cubby underneath with two doors like a pass through. There's a wide, open porch all down the front of the house. There's two front doors, one on each end of the front of the house. There's a screen porch out back, about as big as a walk in closet. It looked like it had a formal dining room, two living room things, a bedroom, and a bathroom off the kitchen that had a claw foot tub. The place was SPOTLESS. Unfortunately, the floor in the kitchen had a bit of wave motion going on and we just aren't sure if the rooms are big enough. The fireplace was blocked off. And after it was pointed out to me, I don't remember seeing any closets. But the view, solitude, age, and airiness of the place was really danged appealing. We might still take a look inside for shits and giggles.

The other place was south of our town. South by another town or two. It felt further out than the first place, but it's hard to tell. We drove past it a couple times before we realized you couldn't see ANY of the house from the road. We did find the driveway. It had a metal gate across it. There was a goat farm to one side. There was a goat wandering the drive way. :) It happens to be managed by the property people we're with now, so we may take a look at it.

I'll just keep envisioning myself knitting on the chairs on the front porch of the first house. Looking out over the pasture and day dreaming.

why not?

2008-02-21T15:52:00.001-05:00

Hell, I know my lolcats aren't very funny, but they're mine dammit.

moar funny pictures

Sucked in to the geekiness

2008-02-15T13:24:00.001-05:00

Ideas

2008-02-15T09:41:00.002-05:00

I rescued a raffia-covered chianti bottle yesterday. It was offered as a vase for yesterday's flower sale, but the organizers didn't want to use it. I was shocked! I thought it perfect for a handful of daisies. It made me think of rivulets of candle wax and eating pizza over a checkered plastic tablecloth. Ah, good times. So as it was about to be tossed, I grabbed it and ran back to my desk. So now I have an empty wine bottle on my desk. How appropriate. :) I am considering making it into a little lamp, complete with fake candle wax drippings. *grin*

Another idea that hasn't left my head in a while is a sweater with an over the shoulder cable. Up one side of the body, over the shoulder (no seam preferably), and down the back. Crazy huh? It'd be upside-down on one side or the other. I'll have to figure this one out to cut down on the obsessive bit.

Oh dear, what'd I do?

2008-02-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

Two counts of ODWID...

1. Snartemo pwns me again! Somehow, even though I pulled an extraordinary feat of reassembling the out-of-whack tablets after Sunday's free for all in the trunk of the car, my tablets snuck out of order while I watched Alex play Windwaker. *grumbles* I'll have to unweave, for the third time, a length until the band is no longer fucked up.

2. Well, shit. I walked up the stairs to the 5th floor to search for a book. Not a big deal, I've been trying to walk up and down the stairs a couple of times a day to exercise. Big deal, doing it while faint from hunger leads to OMG headache and faintness. Dammit. I may need to go home. Hell, everyone else is already at home. *laughs* The plague seems to be sweeping through my office. The few that are here thought maybe it'd be best to list those present rather than those absent on our chalkboard.

Snortemo!

2008-01-28T08:02:00.000-05:00

I'll have to take a picture of my band thus far. It was quite a bit of "wha?", ALOT of "#$^*@@!!", and finally a small "oh."
I really like the faster warping system. No more finding out you misthreaded something part way through your work.
It's a bit of mental exercise though, keeping track of what color is "up", which way to turn which card, and what row you're on (especially if you've only got one repeat of the chart mapped out.) Currently, I've got the pattern memorized as (for example) "next row: two (and the edge) forward, one back, one forward, one back, one forward, two (and the edge) back." etc. This is a problem if I've made a mistake on the turning of one card. If one of the top two colors is the color "up", I can't tell if I turned it the wrong way until i continue weaving. ^^; I'll figure it out.
I'm really looking forward to teaching myself how to use 's' and 'z' threading to spell out letters as in that south German belt (I'll get a picture.)

pbbbbblltttt!

2008-01-10T07:50:00.000-05:00

"The trauma these people have undergone is unlike anything that has occurred in the history of our country." - stated Daniel Becnel, Jr., a lawyer who said his clients have filed more than 60,000 claims, said measuring Katrina's devastation in dollars and cents is a nearly impossible task. (from Yahoo news)

Umm, is it unlike what the victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake went through? They had issues of police misusing dynamite to create firebreaks and subsequently blowing up more of the city. There were riots then too, along with temporary housing for the displaced.

Or the 1900 Galveston hurricane perhaps? Between 6,000 and 12,000 died then and, as stated in the wiki article, "The bodies were so numerous that burial was not a viable option. Initially, the dead were taken out to sea and dumped; however, the currents of the gulf washed the bodies back onto the beach, so a new solution was needed. Funeral pyres were set up wherever the dead were found. In the aftermath of the storm, pyres burned for weeks. Authorities had to pass out free whiskey to the work crews that were having to throw the bodies of their wives and children on the burn piles."

1918 Spanish Flu where "in the U.S., about 28% of the population suffered, and 500,000 to 675,000 died?"

or, heeeeeyy, what about the American Civil War? Yeahhh, no trauma there....

As for Hurricane Katrina, just over 1800 people died in very frightening example of a natural disaster separating the haves from the have nots. My guess as to why the news plays up this as the OMGBFD disaster in U.S. history is the $$ involved. The value of many of the buildings is beyond price due to their historic or sentimental value. What the economists point out is the value in revenue that was/is lost due to the destruction of businesses and other economic venues. To me, that's all fake worth, numbers that are just that, only numbers, not a price tag.

What the yahoo article tells me is that this lawyer needs to actually think before he makes a statement of such overt stupidity and that Yahoo news is (like many other news agencies) fine with using statements like these to gain popularity and is too lazy to call it out as the idiotic claim that it is.

Onwards into 2008

2008-01-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

I have to wonder if the UGA library counts on people like me checking out a number of books for extended periods of time to free up space on their shelves. I actually returned a few books today. I hold to the 'one in, one out' philosophy with library books, but not my own. Is that bad? :p

Again I've shifted from working on the Dragon Scale gauntlets to some other knitted project...yet another hat. I got alot done while watching the LSU-Ohio game. Football + knitting = quickly completed project. Unfortunately, I got one hell of a tension headache from it. I blame the purl stitch.

I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions. Silly things. Too easily scrapped. And I would too. Cause I've got too many I could make. Sheesh. I've thought about doing the Annual Cleaning Grand Plan (minus the Christianity of course), but it seems a bit daunting. But the house needs it. I've got drawers full of crap collected over 10-15 years ago and never cleaned out. Seriously. T_T
I also hope to read one journal article at least every couple of days. If I want to improve my writing skills and understanding of my chosen field, I gotta read the articles. Haven't started yet, which isn't a good sign.
I also need to study for the GRE so I can go to graduate school in the fall. If I don't I'm gonna get PWND by the math section.

NOOOoooooo!

2007-12-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

The cats believe my alpaca yarn is an animal they must hunt and carry off. I've saved my yarn a few times but the cats did some real damage a few days ago. I had put my gauntlets and yarn away in my knitting box, but didn't zip the lid. Alex found it later. The needles were not near the yarn any longer. T_T I frogged a few rows and replaced the needles. I haven't yet checked to see where I'm at in the pattern...dunno if I want to.

Oh no!

2007-12-24T08:33:00.000-05:00

From the time of a lack of knowledge to the (ongoing) time of lack of money, acrylic yarn has been the staple of my small stash. When others felt my yarn or projects and said "It's a bit scratchy", I looked at them like they were crazy or way too picky. It seemed soft to me! Well, I bought 2 balls of Baby Alpaca yarn by Alpaca with a Twist the other day to make me some Dragon Scale Gauntlets. DOOM! I started the pattern, complained about the slippery-ness of the yarn on my new addi turbos, and finally got a few inches completed. Then I set it aside to return to a hat I was making for Alex's youngest. DOOM! (even though I already said that) The acrylic that I had previously knitted/crocheted up happily felt like sisal rope!! I told myself "Shame on you!" for wanting to make a hat from this stuff. T_T

I am convincing myself that I can skip the cheap acrylic from now on because the nicer acrylic costs about the same as cheaper good yarn. Ok, I know that I get alot more of the cheap yarn for $6 while I get a small bit of the nice yarn for $7, but I've got to convince my brain it's needed.

pwnd by NORO

2007-12-13T16:14:00.000-05:00

What am I to do with my Kureyon? I'm attempting the Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style...again. Why does it keep coming out so frigging HUGE? ARG!

Library fun

2007-12-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

Best 'Renew Your Subscription' message I've seen yet:
"Don't Let Your Ancestors Down!" - Augusta Genealogical Society newsletter

Christmas means crafts

2007-11-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Well, actually it's 'no money means crafts.' ^^; It's a good thing my friends have let me use their stash for supplies too. I've got nothing but many rolls of acrylic yarns. (And not enough time to crochet anything.) So far I've attempted crocheted snowflakes (takes too long), crocheted stuffed robot toy (takes too long, but I may finish it in time), soaps (not enough time, didn't even start), and now...felt food.

The daughters (mine and Ashley's) are getting a dinner's worth of play felt food. Avalee is getting a bento box. Morgan is getting a lunch/tea set.

I'll post pictures soon.

A late update

2007-11-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

Damn but I've been sick too long! Just before I left Florida on Oct. 28, I caught a cold. Sucks, sure, but I've still got the damn thing! Well, sort of. I've got that lingering cough that's really, really bad. Just like the past two times I got a cold! No, I haven't been to the Dr. What could he do?

I've determined I have crafting ADD. Definitely. I made the two Monmouth caps for the boys for Danelaw. I've been working on a fair isle Christmas stocking, but after the third time of frogging the pattern, I've set it aside. I've starting the much easier task of crocheting snowflakes for gifts. I can finish a small one in a short time so I don't fear having them done by Christmas. Mind you, I've not worked on another one in nearly a week... ^^; Last night, I was even too exhausted to play a video game!! And that's saying something!

I was SUPPOSED to be resting...

2007-10-22T18:33:00.000-04:00

instead, I made a hot wheels town playmat on 2 yards of fabric. *shrugs*
Places I included:
Farm with pond, geese, barn, cow, dog, vegetable garden, and shed
UFO with alien
Hospital
Police Station
Airport with helipad
Mall
Fast Gas gas station
Greg's Groceries
McDonald's
Post office
Pete's Pizza
School
5 houses
Haunted house with ghost
Persephone's Pet Store and Vet
Park with nature trails and playground
and of course the two and four lane roads, stop sign, and traffic lights.

A Day at Work - edited to protect those involved

2007-10-09T16:45:00.000-04:00

kelsie is here says:

oh NO!!!!! there's a note in most of these things stating that **** wants them INCLUDING ALL EARLIER PRINTINGS!!! oh noes!!!!

*** says:

so, is that a problem?

kelsie is here says:

...

*** says:

i fthey are sending all that anyway?

kelsie is here says:

i'm asking for a BAJILLION bajillion now...rather than just a bajillion back issues. doom

kelsie is here says:

who knows what they put in the boxes.

kelsie is here says:

maybe a rubber chicken for all i know

kelsie is here says:

snowglobe of atlanta

*** says:

okay, lets just look the the stuff when it comes and worry about it then

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

hell NO am i composing this big ass list AGAIN

kelsie is here says:

you crazee?

*** says:

not again, just put it

kelsie is here says:

do you have any idea of how high my claim stats will be for today. YEEHAW

kelsie is here says:

*** says:

you'll be our receiver

kelsie is here says:

hellz yes

kelsie is here says:

theres something like 50 issues a year!

*** says:

keep a copy of the list of issues you are claiming

kelsie is here says:

though i must admit, i probably should sit on this thing until i get the definite final answer from ****

*** says:

yes, i agree

kelsie is here says:

it's alot of $$ for toilet paper...i mean, these back issues

*** says:

lol

*** says:

plus, shouldn't we wait to see what is in the boxes before you go claiming more?

*** says:

maybe the things we need will be in there?

kelsie is here says:

she's not going to send the boxes

kelsie is here says:

not till i say sure.

*** says:

so run this all by **** and see what he says

kelsie is here says:

can't till tmw at the earliest

kelsie is here says:

he's out

kelsie is here says:

i called

*** says:

so it can wait a day

kelsie is here says:

do you really think i'd claim enough newspapers to make the atlanta skyline in paper mache without asking first?

kelsie is here says:

...

kelsie is here says:

can i at least count half of em today...

*** says:

maybe if you are under the influence of a migraine?

kelsie is here says:

i'm always under the influence of a migraine

kelsie is here says:

makes me crazeeeee

kelsie is here says:

i'm gonna turn into a zombie

*** says:

maybe it is the weight of your hair

kelsie is here says:

instead of eating brains, i eat back issues....mmmmmtasty

*** says:

then what are we doind recycling?

kelsie is here says:

it could be my hair, but i'll suffer the rest of my days instead of cutting it

kelsie is here says:

you don't wanna see me with short hair. truly frightening

*** says:

what about long layers?

kelsie is here says:

ah, the recycling bins are just full of regurgitat....i mean...you don't wanna know

kelsie is here says:

layers? my hair is freakin layered!!!

kelsie is here says:

HAHAHAHAHA

*** says:

kelsie is here says:

really

*** says:

no it isn't

kelsie is here says:

yeah it is

*** says:

looks one length to me

kelsie is here says:

trick of the eye. my hair is smart

kelsie is here says:

it plots to take over the world

*** says:

like william shatner's toupe?

kelsie is here says:

starting with the office of one *****...i mean...um

kelsie is here says:

yeah like his toupee...thats how they got the tribble episode doncha know

*** says:

according to robot chicken, it saves the world every night

kelsie is here says:

oooh...what a death match...my hair vs. shatner's toupee

kelsie is here says:

my hair would SO win

*** says:

you know it

kelsie is here says:

yeah

*** says:

it is prettier, anyhow

kelsie is here says:

don't complement it...it just makes it worse!

*** says:

sorry

kelsie is here says:

i do actually get a person every so often who says 'i'm sure you hear this all the time, but your hair is so pretty!'

kelsie is here says:

my favorite though is 'your hair is long!'

kelsie is here says:

i mean

kelsie is here says:

that's a real no brainer there

*** says:

i got that a lot when mine was that long

kelsie is here says:

but i do turn to them sometimes and say, 'nah, i don't think so.'

kelsie is here says:

when did you cut your hair?

*** says:

January 2004

kelsie is here says:

just got tired of it?

*** says:

yeah, it was giving me headaches.

kelsie is here says:

...

kelsie is here says:

no comment

*** says:

kelsie is here says:

wow...11 vols worth of one of them...let's see 11 x 45 is what?

kelsie is here says:

no, 11 x 50

kelsie is here says:

maybe 52 even

kelsie is here says:

hehehe

kelsie is here says:

oh yeah, back to the lady...she wants to ship them all rather than bring them by.

kelsie is here says:

i don't remember if i mentioned that or not

*** says:

uh, ok i guess

kelsie is here says:

hmmm...

kelsie is here says:

wow a rough estimate on the number of missing issues is just over 1500

*** says:

kelsie is here says:

yeah

kelsie is here says:

in the note it says that **** wanted earliest possible issues. some of them were on v. 11 when we started the subs.

kelsie is here says:

god, i've just wasted a chunk of time compiling this gd list...ah well

*** says:

yes, but you will remember it for years to come

*** says:

(old biddy voice)" I remember back in 07, that derned ..."

*** says:

it'll be one of those stories you kids wish you would stop telling them over and over again

*** says:

once you lost your short term memory

*** says:

you know, the memory that reminds you that you told your kids that story a gazillion times!

kelsie is here says:

at least i'll still have my hair

*** says:

if you don't have to have chemo

*** says:

while they try to kill the thing that is killing all your memory

kelsie is here says:

it's my hair, it's guilty of everything

*** says:

see, it all goes back to the hair

*** says:

i need tea

kelsie is here says:

yikes! did your cold medicine run out?

*** says:

pretty muich

*** says:

much

*** says:

god, i can't type

kelsie is here says:

ugh

*** says:

well, it only lasts about 4 hours

kelsie is here says:

you sound like a =the living undead

kelsie is here says:

...

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

HAHAHAHA

kelsie is here says:

i meant the living dead

kelsie is here says:

duh

*** says:

BRAAAAIIIINNNNZZZ

kelsie is here says:

sheesh

kelsie is here says:

i blame the migraine

kelsie is here says:

ok, the other mag is 11 bux an issue roughly

kelsie is here says:

you want me to dup the cheap one and give the other one to you?

*** says:

how much is it?

*** says:

the other one?

kelsie is here says:

sheesh, shows how much i matter to you...

kelsie is here says:

11 dollars an issue roughly

*** says:

if you had as many different issues going on all at the same time, it would be a miracle you could remember your name

kelsie is here says:

$$ a year cause their rate went up

*** says:

just dup them both

kelsie is here says:

*** says:

im feeling selfish

kelsie is here says:

we ALL have issues here...we're in the periodicals dept for cryin out loud

kelsie is here says:

it's ok for you to be selfish

kelsie is here says:

you need chicken noodle soup, a hot bath, and lots of dumb tv time

*** says:

no, i meant in not wanting to see if pub wants issue back

kelsie is here says:

oh, ok

*** says:

i wish i had tv this past weekend

kelsie is here says:

you don't have tv either?

*** says:

no. i guess i shouldn't try to do yoga tonight

kelsie is here says:

no sheesh, no yoga. rest get better. remove cooties

*** says:

i guess we are oddities not having that connection to pop culture

kelsie is here says:

um comma comma

*** says:

coma? i'm in a coma

kelsie is here says:

its alright, i get more than enough from

kelsie is here says:

i meant that i left out some needed commas

*** says:

i've been left out in a coma

kelsie is here says:

sounds like you're drowning in the sea of congestion!

*** says:

snot, the original rubber cement

*** says:

got an empty bottle?

kelsie is here says:

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

*** says:

my tea is cold

kelsie is here says:

you never drank your tea?

*** says:

i got distracted

kelsie is here says:

yeah, coughing

*** says:

lol

kelsie is here says:

wow, the american taxation association just sounds vicious doesn't it?

*** says:

sounds toxic

kelsie is here says:

taxing at least

kelsie is here says:

*** says:

groan

kelsie is here says:

heh sorry

A surprise

2007-10-05T12:24:00.000-04:00

While getting ready for work this morning, I browsed my bedroom bookshelf. To my great suprise, I found every single Anne of Green Gables book except the first one. I really thought they were down at my dad's house two hours away! Since I've not been able to find the time to go to the city library, I hadn't started reading for the Anne of Green Gables Read & KAL. I grabbed the one copy here at my work and started reading it during lunch. I didn't remember all the knitting, except Anne's messed up sock (how could anyone forget that scene?). Here I am barely into the beginning and already two people knitting!
I've discarded the 1895 leg o' mutton blouse in favor of the Aran sweater concept. But boy is it beating me. I've started swatches three times now. All of them were no good. I've looked through Mary Thomas's Knitting Patterns book, two of Barbara G. Walker's knitting patterns books, and all of my magazines for ideas. Nothing is just right and most of the directions are beyond my novice knitter's grasp.

Early Monday

2007-10-01T08:13:00.000-04:00

Wow! Is it really October already?? It just doesn't seem right...

Recently I've finished:
trial Birka tablet woven band
inkle woven belt
my donations for the LSA afghans of never-endingness

I have been working on:
IWK Concentric Vest
1895 Ladies' Blouse knit pattern
Aran Fisherman's Sweater

The last two are for the Anne of Green Gables KAL. No, don't think I'm going to make two things for it...I'm going to pick one from the two.
I'll post pictures soon.

Too Busy!

2007-09-17T14:46:00.001-04:00

What am I doing??!
--Those danged squares-of-doom for the Library Staff Association's benefit blanket (maybe pillow at this rate).

--The Concentric Vest from the Fall issue of Interweave Knits.
--Tablet woven trim from a Birka pattern. It must have taken me 5 hours to warp that sucker! And of course the cats HAD to help.

What all should I be doing?
--Well, those danged squares...
--Hat for each child
--Calcifer (from Howl's Moving Castle) stuffed doll for Avalee
--Striped blanket for Avalee
--Halloween costumes (two Jedi and a devil, I'll let you figure out who's what.)
--Sweaters for the guys
--Rug for small bathroom

Squeeal!

2007-09-14T11:12:00.000-04:00

Quietly of course, I'm at work. Lisa dropped off three books for me this morning. She's says they are presents, but I can't actually have them. They belong to the library. Tough for me! All three are bibliographies from the early, early 19th century. Two are foreign and not very eye catching, but the third! *laughs* The third is the 1806 version of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum by Pope Pius VI. At least I think it's Pope Pius the 6th. I never took Latin, I just guess.
And who is among the banned?
Dante, Erasmus, l'Antechrist...
What a shopping list...
:D

Projecto Speedo

2007-09-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you've got a birthday party for a friend's 3 year old planned last minute for the next day? Design and make a knitted hat using techniques you've never tried before of course!

I used the off-white Pound of Love yarn I had remaining from the previous week's last minute baby-shower blanket (*rolls eyes* I'm a glutton for punishment.) and some lovely dark burgundy soft acrylic of who-knows what brand I had in my stash.

I had seen the square top n' tassles hats before online and thought they were so cute. I found a simple pattern at MAG knits called Sprout.

The only things I kept was the cast on of 80 stitches and the needle sizes. I winged the rest.

My Firsts:
--Finished knitted wearable item (hat)
--Circular knitting finished object
--2/2 rib
--Fair Isle
--Chart for Fair Isle (no matter how simple, I drew it and made it fit the number of stitches.)
--3 needle bind off
So the only bits I've done before were the stockinette stitch and the tassles. :D

My Errors
--"But Where'd the Stitch Go?" I'm not sure what happened but, at the end of the first or second patterned row, I had one fewer main yarn stitch that I should've.
--"Where'd THAT Stitch Come From?" To confuse me further, when I went to bind off, there was one extra stitch. I just knitted the last three together so there wouldn't be any obvious decrease.

Rough instructions for Heart Fairly Isle Belled Pillowcase Kid's Hat
Age 3-7ish
I used size 5 12" circular needles for ribbing, 7 for rest of hat
Cast on 80 stitches
Join for circular knitting, place marker
2/2 rib for 6 rows
Attach contrast color, knit one row
Pick up main color, knit one row
Follow standard Fair Isle practice of weaving. It's basically dropping last used yarn and picking up new yarn from under previous yarn. Next time you drop last used yarn, bring new yarn over it.
Knit 5 in main, knit 1 contrast, knit 5 main (repeat) I suggest weaving contrast yarn in between the 2 sets of 5 main.
Knit 3 main, 3 contrast, 3 main (repeat to marker)
Knit 2 main, 5 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit 1 main, 7 contrast, 1 main (repeat) Again, I suggest weaving the main yarn 3 stitches into the 7 contrast color.
Knit 2 main, 2 contrast, 1 main, 2 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit main
Knit contrast
Knit main for 7 inches
Divide work by putting 40 stitches close to each needle and pulling cable out between. This way the needles are parallel to each other.
Manage to turn the whole thing inside out.
Perform 3 needle bind off across top.
Make tassles by wrapping contrast yarn 25 times lengthwise around a credit card or other suitable stiff cardstock. Use 6" yarn to slide under loops and tie in double knot. Cut bottom of loops. Use another piece of yarn for shank, wrap tightly around tassel, tie. (I used tricks learned by doing kumihimo tassles and monkeying around with a crochet hook. I doubt I can remember what all I did to fasten everything.) Trim ends even. Put another length of yarn through tassle top. Knot in middle leaving equal lengths hanging off. Use crochet hook to pull the ends of this piece through the corners of hat. Leave about 1/4 of an inch between the top of the tassel and the hat for better dangling properties. :) On inside, knot 2 or 3 times. (Here, I pulled these ends back to the outside, knotted it again, went BACK inside and again knotted the heck out of it.) Trim ends to be only about 3/4" long.
I also added two small bells to each tassel by using the long lengths left over from the first knot around the tassel. I threaded (with thread) the tiny loop on the bell, pulled a loop through, evened it so the bell hung in the middle of the yarn, pulled the free end through the loop, tightened it, then did some more monkeying around with the crochet hook to fasten it to the shank. The bells did not fall below the ends of the tassel for safety and aesthetic reasons.

This is a quick gift. I know, I finished it in about 6.5 or 7 hours. And that's with me not knowing what I was doing!

The model is Nicky who kindly offered his head for sizing purposes. :D

An Obsession

2007-09-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

Is it so wrong to love old books? While enduring the too long new employee orientation at the library, I got to visit the rare book room again. It's just a breeze through tour, nothing in depth. I don't actually get to touch anything. When asked if anyone had been into the area previously, I answered with "Yes, I love old books. I keep coming back when I can. One day I will make it to the other side of the glass wall." I think I scared people.
We made it into the reading area. I saw a 16th century book on a table and made a beeline for it. I can't help it. I didn't touch it, but I stayed near it as long as I could.
Like an addiction.

Enchanted World Gallery

Love this painter

Avoid rape by tying rotting chicken to your breasts

On the Passing of a Friend

Planning the Maleficent Costume for 2011

Organization...

What Makes a Good Costume?

I don't mean for it to be that long in between posts!

I'm rather fond of Caxton

A very similar video to what I want to do

A 12th Night Long Past

THE Description of a Maske presented before the Kinges Maiestie at White Hall, on twelft night last, in honour of the Lord HAYES, and his Bride, daughter, and heire to the Honourable the Lord DENNYE, their mariage hauing been the same day at Court solemnized. (1607)

What's been going on?

Some portrait links

Sock Dreams

Progress. Or is it?

Oh the nerves

Snowed in

Today is...

Another for the persona challenge

Look! Look!

Well Sometimes Alot Does Go On

Sometimes I Like My Analogies

What Depakote Does to Hair

Quick! To the Outdoors!

New Stuff

I Actually Returned Library Books

Well Dang!

DEATH to all Plague Bearers!

Nothing is ever perfect

Post Viking Games

We always do this to ourselves

Inkling along

The OTHER Challenge

Finally

If I was turning Japanese...

Actually planning my Persona challenge

An Account of a horrid and barbarous murder

Master of the Legend of St. Lucy

Snooze my friends! Snooze!

another great line

true, so true

Oh sure, I have time for this *rolls eyes*

UGH!!!

A Need for Museum Links?

When I next misplace a book

1972 computing - look out!

Argh!!!

silly props

wow

Sniffle Attack!

Not up to speed

Things are always more complicated than they seem

OOoooh! It's cold again!

Taken from the May issue of Computing Reviews

Here and not there, certainly not everywhere

Georgia's spring

The most frustrating thing about knitting is...

All This and Headaches Too?

Secret of Bad Nauheim and Slow Bee

Is this true?

The foolishness of wanting a certain house

why not?

Sucked in to the geekiness

Ideas

Oh dear, what'd I do?

Snortemo!

pbbbbblltttt!

Onwards into 2008

NOOOoooooo!

Oh no!

pwnd by NORO

Library fun

Christmas means crafts

A late update

I was SUPPOSED to be resting...

A Day at Work - edited to protect those involved

A surprise

Early Monday

Too Busy!

Oh sure, I have time for this rolls eyes