Coronapost

I'm still alive and well. My family is well. One cousin did get sick and go to the hospital. But he came out. With an oxygen tank, but he did come home. I haven't been able to go see mom, but I have done some video calls. Not as good as an in-person visit but better than nothing. Mom still forgets to plug in her phone/charge it.

I've been working remotely, at home, since mid-March. I have a loaner laptop from work with the software I need. I miss seeing my co-workers. I even miss my commute, somewhat. I miss that time of 'not at home, not at work' time to read or tat, or whatever.

I've been doing some knitting and I've sewn a couple masks. They're reversible, which is nice. I also made ear savers (strips of knitting with buttons) to go with them. I loaned my sewing machine to my neighbor so he could sew some masks.

I did a little bit of retail therapy. I bought a large fine gauge loom (25% off sale) so I can resume my Buffboo (bison silk & bamboo yarn) Hydrangea shawl (pattern by Renee Van Hoy). I bought a cartridge ink pen.

Been playing Blue Rose. My character, Nahla Jossa, had the goal of becoming a travelling noble (1 part circuit judge, 1 part tax collector, and 1 part Crown troubleshooter). Instead, she was made a landed noble (1 step above a travelling noble). Her district is smaller and more concentrated. And that's mostly because of 2 circumstances. 1 is her part in taking a refugee camp and turning it into the beginnings of a small town. The other is because of her contact with a cave-dwelling cannibal civilization and negotiating a peace. There's now an ambassador to them (not her, she doesn't speak the language) and not a war. Apparently, more responsibility is her reward.

Last session though, it was (giggles) all about another PC's family. I got to watch as that player got to navigate family dynamics and secrets and stuff (most of which my PC has no idea about). And another player had a (in character) minor meltdown as stuff from his past came up and bit him. In comparison, my PC's family life is drama-free. And HER brother-in-law just ran out on her sister.

My current scarf project is a feather and fan pattern. I started in black but I ran out so I switched over to red. In theory, when I'm done, it will be a mostly black scarf with a red block.

I made hats this past winter. I just need to donate them before it gets cold next year.

'`

I knitted a couple scrubbies (polyester ~eyelash yarn and cotton yarn knitted together.

I just wanted to make a post. If anyone is reading, I wanted you to know I'm okay.

I started tatting a doily.

I also knitted this shawl for myself (Sweet on Ruffles by Renee Van Hoy)

Hey, another post

I've been doing a little tatting, getting my State Fair project tatting done. Well one of them. And I've been loom knitting. I finished the knitting on my partner's scarf. But it's quite narrow, and I made need a bit more to make the hood fit better.

I have started making some washcloths. They're a present, and they're an opportunity to practice stitches. My first one is a bit small and not great (it's the welting one). The first picture is my 2nd one; seed stitch. 2nd picture is the 1st one I did. The last picture is the 1st one on top of the 2nd one.

Gaming/sci fi convention and Tat It And See

I spent most of this past weekend going to, at, or returning from Scarab con in Columbia, SC. We traveled down on Thursday and the con started on Friday. It takes advantage of the holiday on Monday to last for four days. We drove back today.

We played Pathfinder Society all weekend. I signed up to run a game Sunday night. We played only two session for each day. Part of that was the big game Saturday night was a Special and we haven't played the scenarios leading up to it.

About a month or so ago I checked the game sign ups online and didn't have anyone signed up for the game I had volunteered to run. I switched to a game with 7 people signed up to play. It's up the GM if they are willing to run with seven people at the table, but 6 is an easier number to handle. I signed up to GM, too; waitlisted. Since then, someone else signed up so we could have two tables of 4 people. With walk-ins, we had two tables of five people.

Jane's Tat It And See started January 7th but I totally missed the beginning. I could not find a button, without cutting one off a shirt. I finally found one, right before we left. On Sunday, I managed to get started. Five days were out so I did them all at once and took a picture after each stage and sent all five to Jane. I have a guess what the end result will be.

Day Five

Day Four

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

While I was standing in line, I was tatting a heart (clearing my shuttles for the TIAS) and someone noticed. She (Mary) was entranced and loves to crochet. I gave her some info about tatting (Here Be Tatters, Georgia Seitz, YouTube, InTatters) and the heart I'd made.





I've made progress on the knitted wristlet. I'm past the recommended 36 rows, where the thumb hole should be. Since 36 rows were too small, I've kept going. I need to measure my hand.

Sorry about the peculiar formatting. Editing on my tablet has odd results.

Jury Duty and other matters

Do you like to play board games? Are you uncertain about what board games to get or play? Here's a flow chart.

Do you want impetus to try more games? Or just to play games more often? Try 51in15; play 51 discrete games in 2015. These games can be tabletop, board games, card games, played a thousand times, never played before, published, unpublished, playtested, etc. You only count each game once. There are badges, to post, to gloat over, however you choose to use them. The site I linked to has the badges and some ideas. Enjoy.

C got a KitchenAid for Christmas. Now we need to find a place on the counter to put it. We have a possible place, if we get rid of his knife block and do something with our hot chocolate collection. Since we've been trying to eat healthy and I started having problems with milk, we haven't been drinking as much. We had a couple different flavors, and been getting some as presents. We need to decide what to do with it. Unopened boxes will probably go to the food bank or something similar.

This just makes me want to scream. (article about San Francisco seeking exemption from the ADA for police interactions.)

And in case you missed it, Muslims did react to the shootings at Charlie Hebdo. 

Tuesday I had work thing, a half-day retreat. I didn't go. Instead, I had jury duty. Whee?

First, photogenic, project from my new Japanese tatting book. 

The one on the right is the one I did first, and my tension was too tight. I did better on my second try.

And here are the first two bracelets I made this year.

 And I finally finished my lace wristlet. And its a leeeeetle too small.

And here's a picture of a neighborhood in Greensboro, NC. They hang these lighted balls for Christmas.

Month of Letters and other matters

Heh, found this and out of curiosity, filled it out. There is one that I shouldn't have on there, I only dipped into that state while traveling. There's a couple more I've been to but I don't remember so I didn't count them.

visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Like this? try: Caerfai Chemical Simulation

Someone decided that February is a month of letters. Every postal day, mail something; a letter,  a card, a package. In February, there are 24 mailing days (no Sundays & 1 Federal Holiday). Some friends on a forum decided to have a list of people who wanted to receive (&/or send) letters. So far, I have written 5 letters to them and two letters to family. I have received one letter, a reply from my first one.

I still haven't set up my Etsy page. I'm stressing a little about my store policy and stuff like that. Plus, I want 2-3 really good pictures of my bracelets.

I finished a scarf and sent it off (part of a Pay It Forward challenge). The recipient likes it and said it's quite timely considering the current weather. I have 4 more things to make. One person wants a face scrub. I've been waiting until we've had colder weather to make & send it. I'll see if I can over night it. I may send the ingredients separately, for her to mix, to avoid expiration problems.

My sock is progressing. The heel looks good and I'm working on the ankle. I went ahead and took off the scrap thread used to start the toe. Thank you, tiny, sharp, Gingher scissors. That's the heel, there.

I don't have a picture (because it's not blocked) but I finished my tatted chicken. Here it is, close to finished.

And just because, here's a sky picture.

The timing chain on my car had slipped, although not broken, so I got it replaced last week. Yikes, that's expensive. I also got some other, needed, work done. Now it's showing signs of wanting a new battery. Greedy thing.

We played Pathfinder all weekend. We played one of those sanctioned modules on Saturday and it was hard. We had 2 paladins, an inquisitor and an oracle. Did you see arcane? Healer? Rogue? No? We went through some cure light wound wand charges. Lucky for one thing, we were dealing with fatigue but one of the paladins had the 'gets rid of fatigue' mercy so he dealt with it.

Our Sunday 3.5 got cancelled so we played Pathfinder instead. It ran a little late and we missed the 1st half of the Superbowl. I didn't really care, since, as they say, 'I don't have a dog in that fight.' Although I am going to have to go see what commercials I missed.

Friday, I went to see Red Tails with a friend (John J). It was a good movie, although if you don't enjoy war movies you won't enjoy this one. I found out the next evening that another friend had worked with a Tuskegee airman. Apparently there had been a show about them about the time the two were working together and this fellow would provide commentary. "This guy? Oh, he was pretty nice. That one? Complete womanizer. The other one? What an @$$hole." and so on. Red Tails is more fictionalized.

This weekend, I'm going to see my mother. It means I miss a great sale at the local game store. But c'est la vie.

Christmas Season Has Begun

And by that, I mean I've gone to my first Christmas party. It was supposed to be my second one but I got sick and didn't go to the first one. I gave Chris the latest Edge book by Ilona Andrews. He had just learned it was out and hadn't gotten a copy yet. I still have his other present but I haven't wrapped it yet.

This one was mostly getting together with friends, playing games, eating supper and then opening presents. It was very low key. My SO bought three books from my wish list while one of my friends found the perfect journal for me to use as a character journal for an upcoming game.

I made some serious progress on my sock. I have about another half inch before I start on the heel. Again.

I am waiting for my brother to call or email me. I have a questions for him. Shopping for my niece is getting harder and harder. She's 16 now and very different from me or my brother, in many ways. She has her own interests, which is as it should be. She should not be a clone. But it was so much easier to shop for her when she was 6.

Donation...Successful!

The last time I tried to donate platelets (and failed), one of the nice phlebotomists recommended that I try drinking a gallon of water the day before my donation. I had an appointment yesterday but I wasn't sure if she meant a gallon the day before or a gallon in the 24 hours leading up to my donation. So I did both. I started drinking water as soon as I woke up, until over the course of the day, I'd drunk a gallon. I also set the clock about 24 hours before my appointment counting that water as part of that gallon.

It worked. The first stick went easy peasy. The second one was a little more painful, but not excruciating. Oddly enough, today, the former stings more than the latter. I watched The Shadow Strikes (from 1937) while I bled. Wow, no background music. At all.

I totally forgot to share these pictures from Palmetto Tat Days.

 Morning sun over the dining hall

 The lake, visible from the dining hall

Maxfield Parrish clouds on the way home.

Anyway, on Tuesday, I spotted this outside my office building.

My very first yarn bombing in the wild.

I quickly tatted this during my commute Tuesday and Wednesday (project, book, pattern and thread)

As you may remember, I totally screwed up the bind off on my socks. I have run a 'magic thread' through the loops (that I could find) to hold them until I can get them back on the loom. I suddenly realized last night that I could try on my sock. Here is the result:

That's right. I frogged it. Turns out, the sock was too small. I adjusted the loom and I'm going to start over.

Tonight is our Traveller game. It's so late 80's. For the second session in a row, we'll be dealing with bureaucracy and paperwork. Our characters got just over half of the signatures they need for their latest contract. And hopefully, have thrown their rivals off the track. I think the engineer is still upset about them derailing his race track plans (they invaded the region).

The GM handled it pretty well. We roleplayed the first couple interactions and then we just rolled dice. We all deal with bureaucracy and red tape in our everyday lives. We don't want to do so in our fantasy life as well.

Sock (in progress) Picture

 

My sock, the heel is done and I'm on my way

I'm on my 3rd contrasting (light in this case) stripe past the heel. I still have a lot of yarn left. I have no idea how tall to make this sock. And I'm not certain it's going to fit my foot. That's the drawback of the toe-up version. I can't try it on what I've already done.

The contrasting stripes are about 3 stitches tall. My gauge, on this loom, with this yarn, is 9 stitches per inch.

It's still egregiously hot, and humid. I spend enough time in AC that I'm not becoming acclimated so every time I go outside, it's like getting slapped, full body, by a warm, wet, flannel blanket. Yesterday, even the wind was hot.

I'm doing some writing exercises, or trying. I'm feeling unimaginative when I compare what I've done to the samples in the book. Is it brevity is the soul of wit? Or is it just a sign that I need to practice more?

Here's a pen (2nd photo) that I got for my birthday. Note the difference between the 2 photos (other than the addition of the pen)? That's how cleanly the ink erases.

Rain! Finally!

We got some rain this weekend. We're still almost 7" below our normal rainfall for the past year, but considering we've gone about 10 days with nothing appreciable, I'll take it.

I finished another half-braid bracelet. This one is Lizbeth size 20 in Caribbean, with bugle 11 in Purple Iris and 11/0 Aiko in Iris beads. this picture is from when it was in progress. I still need to hide the ends on it.

I've made a couple bookmarks recently. One of them used the same thread and one was black and white. I need to get photos of them before I mail them off.

size 20 Lizbeth thread, Caribbean, from Tatting Times, from A Tatter's Workbook

Same bookmark as below, but different background for contrast

size 20 DMC tatting thread

 I went to the bead show with a friend last weekend but I didn't buy much. Here's most of what I bought (except for a strand of black beads, obsidian, maybe?).

Bone disks and lapis beads, to go with my earrings

charlottes and seeds, for my bracelets

I've made some progress on my sock. I'm past the heel now, so it's finally starting to look sock-like.

We were supposed to go see the Captain America movie this weekend but we had a small mishap concerning movie times. Instead we went to see Cowboys and Aliens. On the fortunate side, we discovered that the movies at the hour we went (4 pm - 5:30 pm) were about half-off.

I had to get a new car key cut this weekend. Friday, I got my key caught in a metal mesh and it bent. I managed to start my car and get home but I was worried I would break the key off in the ignition if I tried more than that. The new key works fine. Whew.

Our Forgotten Realms game is progressing. We've gotten rid of the big bads in the castle, now we need to get rid of the guards in the barracks. We did have one faintly humorous moment during Sunday's game. My character is a sword-dancer of Ellistraee. For the non-gamers, I'll explain. She's a half-drow (dark elf) who worships the only good-aligned drow goddess. Most of them are some flavor of evil. Part of Ellistraee cleric (& sword-dancers have some cleric) mission is to convince drow to give up their evil ways and return to the surface and be good people As part of this, my character has been making this offer, via monologue, to every drow we've met. We're currently in a drow city and it's gotten to the point where the other characters can recite it along with her.

In Sunday's fight, we're facing a vampire drow and my character spent part of action trying to decide: does vampire trump drow? If she's undead, I'm not making the offer, but I'm supposed to make the offer to all drow. Hmm, nope sunlight and vampires don't mix, so no offer. I can just kill her. Yay!

This Thursday will be our first Traveller game back in the GM's house. The repairs (post-tornado) are done and he's moved back into it.