The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Avedaggio:

That is wonderful! What a fantastic keepsake. And the pattern of stitching is really cool! That's one of my favorite things about quilts-- seeing the more subtle patterns. My folks have a quilt that is a scene of a lake and mountain, impressionist-style. The stitching on the lake is wavy, the stitching on the trees framing the lake is narrow and long, like pine needles. I cannot remember how the sky and mountain were done, but it is a lovely piece.

For others who like geometry and math in their crafts, I would direct your attention to Woolly Thoughts' Etsy site. Their website is www.woollythoughts.com, but at the time of posting their website was down for maintenance. For those of you who have Ravelry.com accounts, you can see their projects here.

As for my own blanket-related creativity, in June I completed a handspun, handwoven and hand-stitched blanket. It's 70 by 80 inches(Here's a shih-tzu for scale--her name is Mulan), and everything but the warp was handspun on my spindles by me. I am so thrilled with how it came out-- some people who have seen it likened it to Saori free-weaving, which I had never heard of before, but I guess that's what I did. My little Schacht Rigid Heddle Loom is only 20 inches wide, so I made the blanket in 2 long strips, cut them in half, secured the cut edges and assembled. While I was weaving, I put small curly and crimpy locks alongside the weft, and that added so much fun to the texture. Of any spinners and handweavers are interested, this Flickr photo has mouse-overs that detail dyers and fiber sources. Here's a shih-tzu for scale (her name is Mulan).

I've entered that blanket into Schacht's I Made it on my Schacht! contest celebrating their 40th anniversary. The submission deadline has passed, but on September 14th, the finalists should be posted at that same link.

In other creative news, last week I spin, felted and beaded (and belled) a headdress sort of thing for my friend who wanted something special for Burning Man. Pictures don't do the final product (8 hours of spinning/felting/beading and 3 hours of tight braiding) justice.

Enough self-promotion. What else have you wonderful people been making?

Does anyone here know how to dye fiber (of the wool and cotton varieties) with indigo in its powdered form? The only tutorials I see online are done from the freshly harvested leaves of indigo plants, and I haven't the resources to grow it myself. However, the apothecary next to my place of work has a jarful of powdered indigo with other powdered natural dyes for sale by the ounce--and unfortunately with no directions, ratios, or anything else I need to use it.

So, I turn to you. I know there are other handspinners here, and fiberarts mesh nicely with dye-arts. Can anyone help?

My opinion of Amazon just increased, having read this apology. Do you think that they learned something from the fustercluck a few months ago regarding GLBT books, etc? I wish more people and organizations would behave like this-- standing up and owning their mistakes. It would make me feel like there's hope for humanity (and yes, it's all about me and how I feel).

I have nothing to say about owning data, but I look forward to reading the discussion.

Paula @ 23-- You reminded me of what we did when I was 9 and my little cockatiel died. We had a big vegetable garden in my parents' back yard, and we buried Diamond, with his favorite bell toy, where the tomatoes grew. We joked that the next summer we'd find tomatoes with yellow crests and orange cheek spots on them.

Re Thai restaurants-- One recently opened right next to Nicole's favorite coffee and wifi destination. The sign, though, had been up for months, right above the tantalizing (and after a few months, very frustrating) "Opening Soon!" sign. Now that it's open, we have to find time to go there!

I just had a thought--how about a Making Light Ravelry group? Would anyone join? Great way to share projects and patterns. I group? Would anyone join? Great way to share projects and patterns. I love Ravelry.

K. C. Shaw @ 69-- It's too late for this now, but when sinners are asked to spin up most dog fur, especially stuff with really short staple, they blend it with wool. This makes it much easier to spin and, in the case of wirey hair, more comfortable. What about plying it with something a little softer? That would give you the twist relaxation you want, and more length.

For Christmas my folks gave me a couple pounds of groomed fur from their Shih-Tzu (or, should I say, Sheep-Tzu) Mulan that I am in the process of carding into rolags. Mulan's fur is 9 inches long (no need to blend with anything), and we've had it spun before (by a professional, before I started spinning), and it makes beautiful, soft warm 2 ply. I knit my mom a lap blanket out of the stuff they had spun for me.

I heard that the reports that he was beaten were false, and that he has spoken with his brother, who had spoken with reporters, and said he was just fine. I believe this was from the CBS evening news.

Having said that, the post about this fellow being a Jester figure is very interesting to me. Maybe the people who are blowing the incident out of proportion, whomever they are, are just doing so because they think they have to. I mean, 'oh my god, they threw a shoe at the guy who can bomb us" or something.

I wish Bush had caught it, and tossed it back. No, wait, that would have been seen as a big 'F U' to everyone... Maybe caught it and just set it down, made a note for the person who had misplaced his shoe to retrieve it by the podium after the news conference.

Right. Out of current news and back to Achaemenid machtkunst. Huzzah for take-home finals.

While there's Middle English in the air, would anyone like to talk about why Chaucer squishes the women in his 'The Legend of Good Women"? Is the whole poem an ironic monument to bad reading (as in, people reading only on a surface level)?

Just got that final paper back and had a discussion with my prof about it. BTW, if anyone thinks that Chaucer is easy, they're not thinking hard enough. :P

You post this now? Right before FINALS??!

*covers computer with books and translations*

At present, my nerves are focused completely on my thesis defense which happens at 2 pm. After that, though, I'll be with the rest of you.

Steve @ 3:

Don't forget about the Templars and Bavarian Illuminati.

good lord, a post in triplicate... I am so sorry. *hides*

Taking a break from translating Sallust, I happened upon this--in a Ravelry thread of all things--the current political race in the style of Julius Caesar bellum gallicumque. Here's an excerpt of the article :

"Cum Quirites Americani ad rallias Republicanas audiunt nomen Baraci Husseini Obamae, clamant "Mortem!" "Amator terroris!" "Socialiste!" "Bomba Obamam!" "Obama est Arabus!" "Caput excidi!" tempus sit rabble-rouseribus desistere 'Smear Talk Express,' ut Stephanus Colbertus dixit. Obama demonatus est tamquam Musulmanus-Manchurianus candidatus -- civis "collo-cerviciliaris" ad ralliam Floridianam Palinae exhabet mascum Obamae ut Luciferis."

Sloppy Latin is decidedly easier to translate than the real stuff.

(my internet has been on the fritz, so please accept my sincere apologies if this is posted more than once!)

Taking a break from translating Sallust, I happened upon this--in a Ravelry thread of all things--the current political race in the style of Julius Caesar bellum gallicumque. Here's an excerpt of the article :

"Cum Quirites Americani ad rallias Republicanas audiunt nomen Baraci Husseini Obamae, clamant �Mortem!� �Amator terroris!� �Socialiste!� �Bomba Obamam!� �Obama est Arabus!� �Caput excidi!� tempus sit rabble-rouseribus desistere �Smear Talk Express,� ut Stephanus Colbertus dixit. Obama demonatus est tamquam Musulmanus-Manchurianus candidatus � civis �collo-cerviciliaris� ad ralliam Floridianam Palinae exhabet mascum Obamae ut Luciferis."

Sloppy Latin is decidedly easier to translate than the real stuff.

Taking a break from translating Sallust, I happened upon this--in a Ravelry thread of all things--the current political race in the style of Julius Caesar bellum gallicumque. Here's an excerpt of the article :

"Cum Quirites Americani ad rallias Republicanas audiunt nomen Baraci Husseini Obamae, clamant �Mortem!� �Amator terroris!� �Socialiste!� �Bomba Obamam!� �Obama est Arabus!� �Caput excidi!� tempus sit rabble-rouseribus desistere �Smear Talk Express,� ut Stephanus Colbertus dixit. Obama demonatus est tamquam Musulmanus-Manchurianus candidatus � civis �collo-cerviciliaris� ad ralliam Floridianam Palinae exhabet mascum Obamae ut Luciferis."

Sloppy Latin is decidedly easier to translate than the real stuff.

like liveblogging paint dry? Or you could liveblog my worthless German class.

Lizzy @ 73-- Apparently the right wing got wind of that survey first, and they've been flooding it with 'yes' votes. I've done my part; now spread it to every reasonable person you know.

*scratches head* I'm confused (situation: normal). Why is the Twitter feed a bad thing?

The absurd mental image of geographical features bouncing around really makes me wonder what the original text read. How amazing would it be if we could look at, side by side, every copy of the Old Testament wherein there were changes from the one previous to it, and see the transformation? Even if the core message, the 'real meaning', remained unchanged, it would be fascinating to see the words.

Of course, that would only work for scholars who could read Aramaic and Hebrew, then Greek and Coptic, Church Latin, etc... It would also be fascinating to me to see what was lost and gained in translation.

But wouldn't it be cool?

I started writing a response to Paula and stopped, erasing the whole thing because I realized how tense and angry and hurt I was becoming, just thinking about past interactions with my family.

So, for a different approach: I'm cherishing time today with my friend-kin John and Niki, watching the Saint's game even though I have no interest in football, but because I love them and enjoy time with them (Also, she has a bucket of live crawfish swimming in her refrigerator, and I want some of that crawfish boil!). I will also celebrate that I am increasingly able to spend time with my father and talk to him about my future without feeling like a disappointment.

I can celebrate how far I've come in my relationship with myself and my family, and that I'm continuing to make progress.

It's, perhaps, a bit more self-centered than the community had in mind when they made up this holiday, but it's where I am now, and instead of thinking of how I don't fit the mold, I can see how I do, and I like that.

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