TV, Gaming & Tatting

TV: I have now seen 2 episodes of the TV show Justified. For those who haven't seen it, or the ads for it, it's about a US Marshal who gets sent back to Kentucky, where he grew up. The reason he got sent there? He gave someone associated with a drug cartel 24 hours to get out of Miami. When the man showed no sign of doing so, he met the man at the restaurant where the 'gent' was eating. The man drew his gun and the Marshall, Raylin (sp) Gibbons shot him. “It was justified.”

After two episodes, I have to say, in my opinion, they have really captured the flavor of the south. The woman, tired of getting beat up by her husband who fixes his favorite meal and while he's eating, she pulls out his deer rifle and shot him. Maybe that happens in other part s of the country, but it seems really Southern to me.

Gaming: The Pathfinder GM screen that I ordered from Paizo arrived. Wow, that spud is sturdy. Pick up your average, glossy cover hardback book (you may have to go to a game store to find one). The GM screen is two hardback covers hinged, to make 4 pages of helpful charts and tables. The obverse side, the side facing the players, have the iconic character portraits from the core rulebook. I'm just trying to figure how geeky it is that I can name all but one of the character classes from sight alone.

Tatting and Reading: I tatted a single butterfly yesterday, because I was busy reading a mystery. I don't know if I like it yet. It's a PD James mystery. I like the tv movies made of her books, but I'm not certain that I like the book. Perhaps, I simply haven't read far enough.

I started another TotusMel cameo pendant. This time I'm using Red Heart size 20 in green. Considering my previous experience with this Red Heart thread, this might be an exercise in frustrations.

Gaming & Craft links

I manage to tear another nail today. Don't wince, it didn't go down into the quick. It's just 1/3 the length that it used to be.

I also finished (minus the charm/bead center) the TotusMel cameo pendant with beads.

Fun links
combat tracker for 4e D&D
A wonderful steampunk clothing vendor
Adopt a word site
transform an old book into a new journal
I found a great site with blank postcard templates & now I have lost it. Bummer.

And just cause, here's a cloudy dawn picture.

Great Weekend

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but I did get a couple things done. What made it a great weekend was some fun gaming (D&D 4e, mini campaign thing) on Sunday and then taking Dave M out, quite belatedly, for his birthday. Plus, I finished that pair of grey wristlets that I started after Christmas.
[placeholder]

I made another Kiva loan today. This is my 8th one. Four of them are already repaid & two of the are about 80% repaid. I'm on two Kiva teams, UNC & eTatters.

Very interesting article for writers, on writing the Other (racial, ethnic, gender, etc).
Fantastic photographs of insects
These headbands look interesting & maybe they wouldn't tear my hair like so many headbands do.

And thanks to Craftzine, I'm collecting lots of neat projects.
Here's one for a fabric covered portfolio.
I never thought of this, an egg cozy; simple project & cute
Looking for new & unusual ways to wrap presents? I really like the woven magazine page wrap.
Light transmitting concrete? What will they think of next?

Tatting & scratchies (pictures)

Here's the edging that I did. I'm not happy with how it turned out. I think that if I don't join the points, it will look better. I didn't make those picots long enough. It's an antique pattern that I found on-line. Of course, now I can't find the link.

Here's the unfinished pendant, TotusMel's cameo pendant. It needs to be ironed/pressed and it needs the central bead.

I'm going to do this one again, in perle 5 again, same thread. But I'm going to add silver beads to the outside edge.

Oh, and here's a glimpse of my arm, the 1st day of the amoxicilin reaction. By the Wednesday, my BF was making redskin jokes.

Surprise! 2 posts in 1 week

Shocking, isn't it? I'm finding politics to be particularly distressing right now. But it's spring, flowers are blooming (too bad that includes the Bradford pear trees), the sun is shining warmly, and the days are longer.

I mailed my postcard today (the one that I mentioned yesterday). It's not a crafty one that I made myself, or one showing local sites or sights, but still it's a postcard. Maybe I'll send a second one that is local or crafty. If you have some postcards, just sitting around, gathering dust, try making a little notebook/journal out of them. I've made some of these and they are so cute. Here's two from postcards that I got in Williamsburg, Va. The first one uses a ribbon to tie the pages into place. The 2nd one is stapled.

I think I have a certain nerd's (or maybe his wife's) birthday present. I think she find this book helpful; based on the blog post.
Here's a couple crafty links
This one is for simple fabric flowers, add to shirts or make pins
Fold towels to make pockets (like at fancy hotels)

And this is just neat, English spoken in different accents

Gaming: I think that I'd like to read through this; it's a simple, cliche driven game system called RISUS
I love these dice bags

I've Been Sick

I swear, I had one month without illness since October. It's been one thing after another. I had viral bronchitis from October to January. I had a month of good health before I caught a nasty cold, that turned into a sinus infection. On day 8 of the anti-biotics I got an allergic reaction, or side effect, to the amoxicilin. It was a full-body rash, an itchy rash. My face and scalp were never affected and my palms and soles were the last to be affected. It could have been worse, I could have needed an epi-pen.

I finally got my hardcopy of the Pathfinder core rulebook. I also picked up a book for Chaosium Basic Roleplaying Game; Rome: The Life and Death of the Republic. I bought it for the historical information, etc, not so much for the game info.

I'm trying to write an entry for Obsidian Portal's latest contest. It's to do a write up for a joke game; HamSTARR 2099.

Speaking of contests, Isdihara is doing a giveaway on her blog, in honor of Tatting Day (April 1st). That prize looks scrumptious. And here's one that I'd like to enter (& give the prize to my namesake)

And if you have time in the next day or two, send a postcard to cheer up a girl after surgery.

Here's a book review of a book that intrigues me. It's about members of the SCA, Society for Creative Anachronism. The book is portraits, both photographic and essay/interview, of SCA members.

Assorted linkages
And here's a neat find on Etsy. I'm so tempted by this hosiery.
Ballad of GI Joe
Stone spheres of Costa Rica
Virtual Choir, on YouTube
Political (American politics, don't say I didn't warn): Open Letter to Conservatives (with links to proof, examples)

I have been doing a little tatting, but nothing that particularly thrills me. I'm so unhappy with my current edging that I'm just tatting until I empty the shuttles. Isn't that sad.

I've gotten a couple of lovely emails recently. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I made a couple scarves for Operation Gratitude to send to military serving overseas, usually in Afghanistan & Iraq. The recipients emailed me a thank you. Isn't that great?! One of them is even from a town not far from where I grew up. Small world, huh?

I'll try to do some more catch up (and edit the last Friday vacation post that I did, complete with photos). But not today.

quick link to craft instructions

Want to teach a kid to weave but don't want to invest a fortune into buying a loom? Or want to try it yourself? Here's instructions on making a simple loom from some dowels and a clipboard.