THE FOREWARD
Hi, Hubski!
The original idea behind this series marks today's thread as the first 'Finished Works' thread, a post with a special emphasis on showing off crafts that you've completed.
Judging by the responses over the last month, I think people are more interested in doing weekly updates, announcing finished works as they happen. If there isn't any protest, I'll be doing away with that structure and just hosting craft fair threads in the same format we've been doing.
Happy new year! I hope everyone had a safe NYE, I can't wait to see what 2020 has in store for everyone.
THE AGENDA
Post updates to your projects, announce the beginning of new projects, or just show off what you've done!
THE TAGS
Foveaux, kleinbl00, veen, zebra2, applewood, darlinareyousleepy, elizabeth, Dala, thenewgreen
Didn’t find the motivation to go buy supplies for the embroidery stuff I want to make yet. But in the meantime, I’ve finished this octopus I started more than a year ago. I abandoned the project halfway because I thought I needed to go buy filling for it. But I realized I could just gut an old pillow and complete the project! I’m happy with how it turned out.
he's beautiful!!! i wish i had a badge left over and i wish i had him
Since last we met, I have purchased a $1200 kiln for $500, a $250 3D printer for $250 and a $200 vibratory tumbler for $120. The kiln was far and away the biggest score; it'll happily go to 2000 degrees and had never been used. The lady I bought it from spent the hour it took me to get out there failing to figure out how to turn it on. I got it home, aggressively brushed out the cat dander and dust and ran a burn-out schedule on it to see what the electricity cost. My jewelry instructor, you see, insisted that burn-outs had to be done at night because kilns were so expensive to run. There's no way the shop could afford it. Two. Two kilowatt hours. One five-hundredth of a bitcoin transaction. Twenty two cents. Despite my aggressive brushing, the garage smelled like cat cremation for half a day. Once we crossed 1200 degrees, though, we were done with that. The inside of the kiln is now porcelain white. I am stoked to do some enameling when I line up some other BS. The printer isn't here yet but I've already discovered that the 3d printer community, also known as the "I print warhammer miniatures with tits in my mom's basement" community, will definitely lead you down the garden path as far as cleanup and all the rest. I've probably spent a couple hours trying to figure out what brand of insanity I wish to try first but no actual money has been spent on ultrasonic cleaners or curing chambers or any of that crap. It will have to be spent, for sure, but I have yet to find a solution that doesn't annoy me. The tumbler, meanwhile, should have stainless steel shot in it and will be used to burnish/polish finished castings. Tumblers are magical. Here, look: at 9 this morning these copper turnings were kind of tarnished and dull: But now look: after a mere three hours in the tumbler, they're completely clogged with ground walnut shells! Obviously there is more to learn, and walnut shells are not a medium I'm at all familiar with, but if you don't show your fuckups you're just an instagram whore.
Here is my finished rabbit. I decided it would be better to take it apart, then embroider, then put it back together. In the process, I hit two small snags. First in taking it apart, I cut some non-binding thread that's kind of important for design, but thankfully Dala had some fabric glue to help me take care of that. Then in the process of putting it back together, I realized no matter how much I tried to avoid it, due to bulk, there was gonna be some blue border poking out in a few parts. My wife was a really wonderful sounding board for the decorative embroidery thread part. Not only did she help me pick the shade of brown and green thread that worked best with it, she also patiently listened to my gripes a bit, as well as consulted with me on what was too much or too little. In the end, I lightly only embroidered the grass by adding flowers, the trunk of the tree, and the canopy of the tree (as well as adding the features to the rabbit). I think this really worked for the piece in two ways. By only lightly embroidering it, I avoided it from getting too busy and thereby distracting the eye away from the rabbit, the central part. But also, the parts I embroidered make a bit of a C shape, focused on the left side of the piece, and so the non-embroidered part on the right kind of balances it all out. Can I type embroidered enough? I dunno. I hope the recipient of this likes looking at it as much as I made it. Fingers crossed. For my next piece, I texted a good friend of mine asking them what their favorite American Animal was. I was hoping they'd say "Bear." I was expecting them to say "Bear." They said either "A bald eagle, a mountain lion, or a combination of the two, the Patriotic Bald Gryphon." Sooo . . . I don't know what I'm gonna do. You guys ever look at eagles or giant cats? Those guys have hard to capture personalities and I'm not that good at any kind of art. They don't know they're getting anything yet, so it's gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I'm thinking of leaning towards a Bald Gryphon, just because if I'm gonna mess up, I'm gonna shoot for the moon.
We have a small door in our bedroom wall that leads to the attic. As we are low on storage space, I decided to build a cubby, enclose part of the attic, and push the entry back. I added the light. I finished yesterday. My daughter was instantly attracted to it, and begged to be allowed to sleep in it last night. Maybe on a weekend. It isn't heated or well-insulated. Kids love cubbies.
Don't mean to be a party pooper or a nervous Nellie, but you'll want to keep an eye out for bats. While there's a lot of conversation going on about the degree of rabies occurrences in bats, they are indeed a vector and they love attics like spiders love basements.My daughter was instantly attracted to it, and begged to be allowed to sleep in it last night.
Oh totally. That cubby is completely sealed with caulk (and the door with foam strip). My wife and her friend went in together on a fixer-up rental, and just after closing, found the pregnant tenant had been bit by a bat a couple of weeks prior. The tenant got shots of course, and everything was fine, but I know they are in every attic. Actually not long after moving in our house I got one in a mousetrap. I didn’t know peanut butter would interest a bat.
I originally posted a live video of me looping some guitar parts. I took the general rhythm guitar part and wrote and recorded this full song today. It's a bit of a mess but there are aspects I like. It's a WHOLE lot different than the original loop. Original: Finished song: I think I may prefer the original.
I have to preface this with- I usually clean up and reorganize behaviors and patterns around this time of the year. Also. The implications that my situation is stable right now is in fact minutely understood by many parties in my life, including myself. No matter how many nice things or properties that are accumulated- If the attention isn't there, then it can wither and disappear. I don't have much to say at the current moment as this is the most free time I will and have had for others in quite a bit since the holidays have started. I just got back from the beach. While I was out of my home town, I reached out to some old friends. I felt the need to make amends. I considered it a project for a bit, actually. In my head, I built up all these different requirements and price points until I could make up for the fact of ditching my old life and chasing the addiction of "more." I picked that up from a person from a hall. I don't talk about the programs I am in, in here, and I wish I could, but I always get worried about what is considered okay and not okay around this space and others. But I have learned more about myself from it. I am making it a point to get an actual therapist again. But, most importantly, when I reached out to my old friends- I found out that they are actually in my home town and around where I reside. Not only that, but I told them I am an alcoholic and that I am sorry for... well... 4 years is quite a long time. I almost put off talking to y'all here too- but I felt otherwise when I saw an AA posting on here. I think that this alcove of people makes me feel safe. I've picked up reading a book. It's Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules For Life. Do you know what a bodhe tree is? I really should take a picture of my tree. My Sacred Fig named Assantha. The poor thing has been part of my attempt at gardening. It started with leaves and about 3-5 fruit. Unfortunately, it has been subjected to the winds and frigid temperatures much further north than it was picked up from. In fact, it is in a pot and ready to be moved if I move. And I believe that my fiance and I will be this year. Also, on a tangent, I discovered a man who wore a wooden bodhe necklace and it was a couple generations from the original tree that supposedly Buddha was Enlightened under. Lastly, I am also starting to pick back up on writing. It's been cumbersome, but I have been really accumulating a body of work on my devices. I'm also marking up anything I feel like I I too- Books, stray papers, journals, moleskines, composition books, whiteboards... Which is good. That means I can really dig down deep and get something fun from it. I'm for structured project posts this year! But I do have to go for now. Feel free to reach out- I'm very excited to share pictures of my projects, but it is what it is and I do need to get to sleep. Cheers!
It's a good place with good people. We have the benefit of being pseudo-anonymous, but it's a community where people can let the mask drop every now and then, if they want. I've posted some emotionally overloaded things here before - stuff I later realize was much simpler than I thought, and oftentimes thoughts that I cringe at once I'm past them. Hubski is a fairly non-judgmental place, though, and I'm always comforted knowing that people are (usually) putting thought into their posts and comments. I think that's validating. Take some pictures today, post them in this week's thread when it goes up!I almost put off talking to y'all here too- but I felt otherwise when I saw an AA posting on here. I think that this alcove of people makes me feel safe.
I'm very excited to share pictures of my projects