There are 31 sets of advent treats to be mixed and re-matched up!! Mind you, not from 31 people, as a number of folks made one or more extra sets to become either bonus boxes or to send another set to a chosen friend. but still, given the year it has been, I am delighted
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~ its name is Spike ~
~ its name is Spike ~
The dry seed pods of Liquidambar are all over the city, on the sidewalks and in the bike lanes, but have never before noticed them green growing on the tree
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When the big worktable was cleared in order to make space for the Grand Coallation of Advent Treat Boxes, it also occurred to me that it would be a great time to make the "mind the gap" tarp gutter XP1 that has been on the to do list for years. Cutting a suitable strip from an 11 ft long tarp was a bit of a wrestling match. The idea was to fold and stitch a hem along the cut edge, then set leather reinforced grommets on both sides to match up with the hooks set in the roof edges last year. All this is to help channel away at least most of the rain that falls between the porch roof and the walkway roof, in the hope of avoiding more porch floorboards needing replaced.
Past Me cleverly is a tool junkie and has both small and large two piece grommets, the tools to set them, drive punches to create the correctly sized holes, and a small sledgehammer. Scrap upholstery leather makes good "washers" for strain relief. Bandage scissors/kitchen scissors are reused as leather shears.
My box of large grommets is getting rather low, and I'd hoped that a trip to Oregon Leather to buy a new box would be easy. That part of downtown feels more sketchy than my memory from the Before Times, and the shop is no longer open as a storefront. "Please call when you get here and we will unlock the door and let you in..." They took down my name and number since the particular size 4 grommets were out of stock, and they will let me know when they have them again.
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3D printing news: At the library, my attempt (with help from the volunteers) to resize and print out a storage box for my USB drive was unsuccessful. I did print out two sets of miniature mixing bowls, one as usual and one it "vase mode" which makes a much smoother exterior but a very thin model. (I've been painting them both with layers of gesso inside the bowls, and some translucent washes of color on the outside to highlight the patterning, and once I like how they look, they will get a coat or two of nail polish as glaze)
At the PCC makerspace, I was able to print out most* (though not all) of the pieces for a set of four L shaped supports to hold cardboard or foam core in order to create a sort of shadowbox photo backdrop which I'm thinking can stand in nicely for a tinyfolk room box or several... It is a clever design from Makerworld; it does need to be printed out in PETG (for strength?) and I am looking forward to creating custom background/walls to photograph tinyworld scenes.
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~ slightly visible mending ~
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Since I usually wear dresses and pinafores, and never since my youth are they above the knee, but rather calf length, and since I often ride my bicycle for local transport, sometimes my clothing gets caught in the machinery and damaged. My reversible summertime rayon pinafore ended up with almost a 2" shredded gash right above the hemline. It sat around for months while I mulled over how to mend the damage. A normal sort of patch would make a stiff sort of spot in what was otherwise a very flowy garment. Finally it occurred to me that a faux-sashiko single layer patch made from rayon would work to stabilise the tear, and that stitched with grey thread against black rayon would be comparatively unobtrusive but still "honest" on both sides. Am pretty chuffed at how well it turned out. Fingers crossed it will also launder well, as this is a new technique for me. ~ slightly visible mending ~
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One of these days it would be fun to try making this Brasilian Cheese Bread. I remember really liking them years ago when Mikki and Mischa and I went to the meat carnival (Fogo de Chão)
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Had thought of going to see Wildwood this last Wednesday, then remembered it was a school holiday, so big nope. Must needs check the theater schedule for future showings: and it looks like it will be at the St Johns McMenamins at least through next Thursday...
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November SMART goals (x=extra)
| # | THINGS MADE | THINGS FIXED | THINGS GONE |
| 1 | mini sanding blocks | pruning persimmon | greenwaste bin |
| 2 | 7 tiny drawers | pipe insulation | recycle bin |
| 3 | "mind the gap" tarp | torn rayon pinafore | - |
| 4 | tiny mixing bowls | fuschia berries picked | - |
| 5 | - | - | - |
| 6 | x | x | x |
| 7 | x | x | x |
| 8 | x | x | x |
| 9 | x | x | x |
today's gratitudes -
- the standing stump in my workroom, a gift from Mr Dawson. Just the thing when hammering needs to happen!
- had the idea today to add some of the fuschia berries as part of the homegrown fruits in this years holiday fruitcake
- some of the Advent Swap folks have included an extra gift for me as a thank you for coordinating!
Time of Isolation - Day 2309
* at the makerspace at PCC the rule is to only print one object at a time, and since each support consists of the L shape and then two wavy springs that fit into it, for a total of 12 pieces. There are still three more wavy springs that need printed and then I can try out the supports. If it works as well as hoped, it will be fun to make different interchangeable walls...
