Friday, 15 August 2008
Fame at Last!
Well after 31 years I have finally found fame in the pages of the Birmingham Post. A reporter recently attended the monthly Stitches and Hos night at the Hare and Hounds and I got interviewed as the "Rebel Crocheter". Well the article has now appeared and not only am I famous, but I've been given a promotion! Now if only I could get one in real life...
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Experiments in felting
I have recently acquired a felting needle and have been itching to try it out, but I lack the incentive, money, or stash space to buy fibres. So, I decided to try a little experimentation...
I had quite a lot of trimmings from the fringing of Project Alison and so I thought waste not want not! I had doubts though, as I wasn't sure that acrylic yarns would felt given that they don't in the washing machine.
I acquired these tiny brushes from a haberdashery stall a little while ago with absolutely no idea what they were actually for, but I thought they might do as mini-carders...
...and they seemed to do the trick as regards fluff creation! I was surprised how much the colour lightened in the process.
So, I set to with the needle, poked myself in the legs a few times (due to lack of sponge) but ended up with a fairly cool one-inch felted ball that I now have absolutely no idea what to do with!
I had quite a lot of trimmings from the fringing of Project Alison and so I thought waste not want not! I had doubts though, as I wasn't sure that acrylic yarns would felt given that they don't in the washing machine.
I acquired these tiny brushes from a haberdashery stall a little while ago with absolutely no idea what they were actually for, but I thought they might do as mini-carders...
...and they seemed to do the trick as regards fluff creation! I was surprised how much the colour lightened in the process.
So, I set to with the needle, poked myself in the legs a few times (due to lack of sponge) but ended up with a fairly cool one-inch felted ball that I now have absolutely no idea what to do with!
Project Alison
Just a quick post to say that Project Alison is now finished after a couple of weeks of trauma and tedium. Despite all this I'm pretty pleased with the outcome and I think she models it beautifully!
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Who am I again?
I get annoyed by online quizzes but yet find them strangely compelling. I'm not being duped into believing the outcomes (I have at least read about the Forer Effect): instead this is mostly to do with a strong desire for work avoidance than any belief in the results. According to the most recent quizzes I have done I am:
I'm not sure exactly what all this says about me other than my great desire for procrastination. I'm already painfully aware of my faults, and so I doubt knowing which Dictator I'm most like will give me any more insight into my personality. I may still give it a go tomorrow though ;o)
- Light pink (what colour?)
- 34% geek
- 62% intelligent
- 58% normal
- Flinders Petrie (Which archaeological theorist?)
- Ando Masahashi (Which Hero?)
- Bettie Page (Which 1950s pin-up girl?)
- The Japanese Empire (Which Empire?)
- Elizabeth Bennet (Which Jane Austen heroine?)
- Apollo (Which Greek God?)
I'm not sure exactly what all this says about me other than my great desire for procrastination. I'm already painfully aware of my faults, and so I doubt knowing which Dictator I'm most like will give me any more insight into my personality. I may still give it a go tomorrow though ;o)
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Conclusive proof that the past exists
As an avid avoider of Timeteam I approached BBC's new archaeological drama series "Bonekickers" with some trepidation. Whoever thought the title up deserves a good kicking for a start.
It has always amused me when tv series appear that are based on a subject I (or others) know fairly well. The most recent example being ITV's Primeval, where animals from past eras pop through anomalies and cause mayhem (mostly in London though - so the majority of us are ok!). My other half being a palaeontologist took great delight in pointing out factual errors ("ooh they've scaled up that arthropod about 120%!"), and even I had a baulk at some of the dialogue - my favourite line being where Cutter (the Palaeo Prof) describes the appearance of cretaceous reptiles as "conclusive proof that the past exists". The boy L ended up writing a rather good review of it in the Palaeontological Newsletter (see page 56) which I would heartily recommend. He suggested I do the same for Bonekickers but, as I pointed out to him, I'd be too embarrassed as it was more likely to show up my lack of knowledge in certain areas...
Anyway, I've only seen episodes 1 & 2 so far but it does amuse me how random archaeological facts are crowbarred into the dialogue. "Stand in or away from the trench, not on!") shouted at a postgraduate (soon to be full time team member) who really should have known that in her first year undergraduate. Wafflings of Pitt Rivers' classification systems and, my particular favourite and very close to my own heart: 'Dolly' (the loveable drunken old pervy prof) waving a magnetometer at some female students and demanding they remove their underwired bras. This is something I have done on a few occasions but sadly with less panache. You've got to love it! It's utterly ridiculous, is kicking up a storm on the Britarch mailing lists, and is clearly attempting to appeal to the Da Vinci generation, but I have to admit I'm kind of enjoying it. Just as a guilty pleasure you understand... I may try out the Bonekickers Drinking game for episode 3.
It has always amused me when tv series appear that are based on a subject I (or others) know fairly well. The most recent example being ITV's Primeval, where animals from past eras pop through anomalies and cause mayhem (mostly in London though - so the majority of us are ok!). My other half being a palaeontologist took great delight in pointing out factual errors ("ooh they've scaled up that arthropod about 120%!"), and even I had a baulk at some of the dialogue - my favourite line being where Cutter (the Palaeo Prof) describes the appearance of cretaceous reptiles as "conclusive proof that the past exists". The boy L ended up writing a rather good review of it in the Palaeontological Newsletter (see page 56) which I would heartily recommend. He suggested I do the same for Bonekickers but, as I pointed out to him, I'd be too embarrassed as it was more likely to show up my lack of knowledge in certain areas...
Anyway, I've only seen episodes 1 & 2 so far but it does amuse me how random archaeological facts are crowbarred into the dialogue. "Stand in or away from the trench, not on!") shouted at a postgraduate (soon to be full time team member) who really should have known that in her first year undergraduate. Wafflings of Pitt Rivers' classification systems and, my particular favourite and very close to my own heart: 'Dolly' (the loveable drunken old pervy prof) waving a magnetometer at some female students and demanding they remove their underwired bras. This is something I have done on a few occasions but sadly with less panache. You've got to love it! It's utterly ridiculous, is kicking up a storm on the Britarch mailing lists, and is clearly attempting to appeal to the Da Vinci generation, but I have to admit I'm kind of enjoying it. Just as a guilty pleasure you understand... I may try out the Bonekickers Drinking game for episode 3.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Designing my own crochet
Well, it was only a matter of time! I've been inspired by a knitted cardie I've seen to attempt to turn it into a crochet version with some amendments...
The fabulous original pattern is the February lady sweater (which itself is a grown up version of a baby-pattern).
As I can't do gull stitch in crochet I'm going to go old school and attempt crochet CABLES!! I've never done it before so am very keen indeed. Trouble is that I still have two UFOs (unfinished objects to any of you non-wool fiends), but I've also seen the perfect yarn for it in Flabberdeen in "Wool for Ewe" in Rosemount. Cue a very poor sketch...
I'm off work for a while so I'm going to use the time to a) finish the UFOs and b) start this little number. If it's successful I'll post the pattern on here and on Ravelry. I might even attempt a version in crochet symbols. I'm a glutton for punishment clearly, as well as a huge geek ;o)
The fabulous original pattern is the February lady sweater (which itself is a grown up version of a baby-pattern).
As I can't do gull stitch in crochet I'm going to go old school and attempt crochet CABLES!! I've never done it before so am very keen indeed. Trouble is that I still have two UFOs (unfinished objects to any of you non-wool fiends), but I've also seen the perfect yarn for it in Flabberdeen in "Wool for Ewe" in Rosemount. Cue a very poor sketch...
I'm off work for a while so I'm going to use the time to a) finish the UFOs and b) start this little number. If it's successful I'll post the pattern on here and on Ravelry. I might even attempt a version in crochet symbols. I'm a glutton for punishment clearly, as well as a huge geek ;o)
Monday, 7 July 2008
From sack to shirt...
Just another quick revamp. This time it's an oversized dress/shirt I got from a charity shop for about £2. All I did was shorten it and take in the sides to make a really comfy casual shirt. I'm really pleased with it, particularly as it took less than an hour on Sunday afternoon in front of the tellybox.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
It's not exactly a smart outfit but dead good for lazing around and pairing with jeans, etc. Also, I have a large enough piece of the fabric left over to do something with - maybe a bag or something else small... Any suggestions? :o)
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