Store.

As any long-time readers or friends know, I have been very disenchanted with my Etsy store for quite a while now. It's going on years at this point.What it comes down to is, I don't want to sell costumes because there are too many complications in fashion retail with which I don't want to deal, as mentioned in previous posts.

The simple solution is, don't make costumes anymore, and just sell weaving.

But things are never simple!  "Stop sewing costumes" translates in my mind to "Stop sewing," and I still want to be able to sew whatever I want, whenever I want; and be able to get rid of the item after it's done.  I can't keep and gift everything, and I do want money. Selling is the natural solution to that problem, but it's a solution that's presented even more problems.

Simple rundown: I still want to sew, and I don't want my sewing options to be restricted, but I don't want my sewn items to be the main focus of my store.

Today I thought, what if I made a my own web store separate from Etsy, whereon I sold mostly tablet weaving and maybe jewelry as the main items, and then, every day I had a "special item" which would only be available that day, and the special item would be something else from my inventory (something sewn, or maybe jewelry if I didn't want that to be in the main inventory). If the special item sold during the course of the day, a second special item would be put up and allowed to live either until it sold, or until 24 hours had passed, when the next special item would go up, and so on. The special items that don't sell get taken to the back of the special item queue, so they will show up again in the future, but the customer would never know when.

Do you think people would like such a scheme? I know woot.com does that sort of thing, but they're really popular, so they can get away with it.

But customers, they like the thrill of knowing it's a one-and-only item, one-and-only chance sort of thing, right?

Stupid idea or good idea? Vote now!

Notebook.

Leftovers from my last notebook.

 

 

strong sense of responsibility
logistical mind
desire to learn & ability to figure things out
emotionally healthy
strong work ethic

be selfless
always seek improvement

How to make a Roman Toga.
Fabric choices: For a regular citizen toga, you want unbleached, undyed linen or wool. This is usually considered a cream color, but it can vary according to the natural color of the wool (brown, gray, black, etc).

For a toga praetexta, the same applies, but you also need a lot of wide bias tape in a purple color. This should also be linen or wool.

A candidate's toga was white, so I assume bleached linen.

And any light or medium weight linen will work. Use the lightest weight of wool you can find, and wash carefully to prevent thickening from felting.

Toga size: It is a large rectangle with curved corners. The size is determined by the wearer's height. It's 2hx3h. For this tutorial we'll assume it's for a 6-foot man. We will need to make a rectangle that's 12 feet by 18 feet.

This will take math.

Basically, you get a lot of yards of fabric, cut it into a bunch of equal lengths, then sew those lengths together side-by-side to make the desired size of rectangle. Those lengths will be either 12 feet long (4 yards) or 18 feet long (6 yards). The width of the piece is, of course, determined by the width in which the fabric is manufactured. The usual sizes in America are 45" wide, 60" wide, and 108" wide (for quilting cotton, muslin, and decor fabrics). Those are not historically accurate, as they had no cotton in Rome.

Let's say I'm using 45" wide fabric. I find that 45" fits 5 times on the long side of the toga. 18 feet is 216 inches, divided by 45 inches is 4.8 units of 45". So I need 5 blocks of 45" wide, that are each 12 feet long, the size of the other side of the toga. 12 feet is 4 yards, and 5 times 5 yards is 20 yards. So you need to get 20 yards of fabric.

Cut the fabric into lengths of 4 yards. (there will be 5 of them, as established.) Lay the lengths side by side and sew the sides together. You've made a big rectangle!

Cut the corners into curves. You can eyeball it, or use a large circular thing to trace a curve onto the corners, then cut along the lines. After that, hem it. Then you have a toga! All you have to do is figure out how to fold it, which I can't help you with.

3 c chopped apple
3 c chopped apricot
1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1 pie crust
sprinkle cinnamon & nutmeg
bake at 400 for 30-40 min

name: Beortnoth
type: merc/h
Level: 1

tac 8
psych 9
wah 11

HP: 17

Stuff: riding horse, 2 pack horses, stuff, sword, hatchet, saex, clothes, cloak

Three.

Oh my overexcited neurons. It's better than a stupor, right?

The first one has messed up meter--the syllables are counted but the stresses are all wrong--That is on purpose. It's supposed to be dissonant. I know some people have problems with that.

Sonnet 15
I don't blame thee for thy choice ill-fated,
For my life's state is constant ruination,
And hungry misery won't be sated
'Til hope evaporates from the ashen
Crumbling gravestones of its intrepid life.
I cannot blame thee for thy lack of love,
For thy choice was not made just by thyself,
But cruel fate wrote edicts from above
That never happiness might others give
Unto my poor and foul and wretched state,
And that, for all the length that I may live,
My loneliness sad will never abate.
Thou sayest it's thy wish to be my friend,
But that was never my desired end.

Intercedo
Oh thou lovely boy, thou son of the sun,
Apollo's golden rays shine from thine eyes;
And thy glowing smile is the only one
That dazzles in the over-arching skies.

'Twas I who let my hopes run forth,
All ardent, errant, and naive;
But thou art of such brilliant worth,
What piteous light could my love give?

Oh thou lovely boy, my opposite sum;
For what thou art, I wish I could become.
Thou art the bright day, I the dismal night;
I the wretched dark, thou the wondrous light.

My hope did communion foresee,
But cruel truth knows it cannot be.
The light must always on me burn,
And thou cannot the dark endure.

Insolo
Compare me not unto the sun,
Nor call thyself a flow'r,
For such as time is measured out,
'Tis thou who marks the hour.

For when I stand in thy presence,
Thou art my lucent light;
And the drear times of thy absence
Make desolate a night.

What needs it, is to it unknown;
O'er all the sun does shine.
Too well, to me, is my need known,
But thou needs naught of mine.

But if I am the sun to be,
Then by all my power,
I love thee and will not lose thee,
Thou, my precious flower.


Aw, what the hell, here's a bonus poem. It's a few weeks old.

Catalogus
I always start thy catalog with eyes.
The warmest brown, though dark, are filled with light;
Thy smile thy happiness never belies;
Thou art grandest in character and height.

Thy face boasts features all innumerable:
Imperial thy nose, thy lips candied.
I'd catalog each pore, were I able,
Upon thy pale and flushed cheek, to read.

Thy voice is golden liquid in mine ears;
Thy fingers are as nimble and as strong
As is thy mind, with wit beyond its years
Yet glowing in its youth, for joy lifelong.

Of thy broad shoulders, what more can be said?
Or of the sinews of thy lengthy arm?
For into thee all virtues have been bred,
So passionate and courteous and warm.

And thus, thy pieces taken by each part
Are nothing to the equal of thy whole.
I ask that thou wilt take to thee my heart,
For I already love thy brilliant soul.

What I Made in June.

First.

This is the first poem I ever wrote. I was 11 or 12. Check out the lols.


MURDEROUS VISIONS
The wind is cold,
The new moon gives no light.
Inside the eerie stillness takes hold
But the wind wuthers on in the midst of the night.

A murderer lurches around my mind,
Haunting me
And  all mankind.
Terrorizing my soul.
Like a hunter ere springing on his prey,
Ready, waiting
Eyes black as coal.   

I envision the madman crawling in my house,
Crazed by dementia   
Stalking me like
A cat and a mouse
Ready to strike,
With knife in the air,
Sharpened to a glisten.
I feverishly listen
For the tiger;
His claws he will bare.

I shiver as the open curtains tremble in the wind,
Like a tall spectre the depths did send.
The vision will not end.

The blackness, the phantasm
Will encompass my mind
The dread will take hold
Making me blind
Gripping my heart with fingers so cold.
Paranoia, Insanity, Fear combined
Into a vortex of derangement
Which puts all
Rhyme and Reason
Into estrangement

The look of venom fills me with pain
It's shot a trice ere he strikes where I lay
I asphyxiate
And see shades of gray
As I feel the sharpness of a frigid knife
Closing in on my tender life.
The point of the dagger pierces my vein.
Warm blood drips onto the floor
Cold and white--
Mild and crimson
In the night.

In fear I scream,
The sweat on my brow cold
At that moment I feel very old.
With my eyes shut I can see the gleam
Of the blade which will not leave.
It strangles my soul;
I cannot breathe.

Opening my eyes,
There's nothing to see or hear;
An uncanny coldness
Has settled in on the sphere;
Deluding the mind
My eyes play tricks
I fear I am on the bank of the Styx.

Mists encircled everything in pallid whiteness
Dark as the new moon
Cold and lightless

I will never see Aurora's bright face
Apollo's warm rays will be lost in cold space
As I was lost in this mad dream. 
I would not be as I would seem
The Triple Hecate would haunt me on;
Mors would have me in not long,
Cerberus was waiting.

Lightning cracked
Thunder growled
And day would never come.

Two more.

Addico

I desire thy devotion

Just as distance desires time;

And thine every tiny motion

In an instant requires mine.

How I wish thou'd look upon me!

Seek me only in thine eyes!

But thou notes not my love on thee,

By which, making my demise.

Serpit

I want to crawl all over you

Just like a demon-possessed child

Crawling on the walls and ceiling.

Your skeleton is so lovely.

I want to eat all parts of you--

They say the flesh can make one wild,

And your skin is so appealing,

Soft and warm, it makes me hungry.

I want to devour your lips,

And I want to possess your eyes,

Pluck at your soul until it slips

Out of your body, into mine.

Creative rhymes I devised for "devotion":

expulsion

deep ocean

free lotion

see Goshen

refrozen

wee notion

sweet potion

Communication.

How I communicate:

sincerely
facetiously
hyperbolic
understating
deadpanning

It can be very confusing for people who don't know me very well.

I know what you're thinking: Why isn't sarcasm on that list? Because, as it is not the "Well DUH! Ya think? Puh-lease!" sarcasm of the 90s, my sarcasm is pretty well covered by those other descriptors.

Hobbies.

I have too many hobbies, which is why I always feel like there's something I urgently need to be accomplishing. It makes it hard to get things done.

Craft hobbies:
sewing
drafting patterns
tablet weaving
drafting weaving patterns
crocheting
loom knitting
naalbinding
embroidery
Norse wire weaving

Food hobbies:
cheese making
experimental recipe formulation
cooking in general
gardening

Other hobbies:
playing cello
playing tinwhistle
SCA (which is mostly making things, cooking, and camping)
making skin/hair care products
writing
RPGing

Hobbies I should try harder to have:
singing
archery
having a band
drawing
exercising

Two.

Two more poems. I hate coming up with titles.

Ephemeron
Methought thou were a dream.
How touch I now thy hand?
What shadow was, is flesh.
I would thou were a ghost,
For spirit I can keep
Tucked safe within my breast.

But if from humus made,
I need my love deny;
For found, thou may be lost;
And living, thou may die.

Eyne
I often wish to see thy face,
For when I gaze upon the skies,
The orbs illuming cold of space
Are far less warm than thy dark eyes.

What I Made in May.

Cloak, linen outer and lining, cotton flannel on the inside for warmth.

Cloak, cotton fabric.  I seriously hate these photos.

Tablet woven belt in wool with the rune Uruz

Made some tablet weaving to trim this skirt

Large plushie d20 made from polyester felt and stuffed with polyester filling

Two hoods based on the Skjoldehamm hood, linen fabric with cotton embroidery

Crochet rug made from cotton jersey skirt and cotton/polyester sheets

Sonnet 14.

It's been SO LONG since I've written formal poetry. I used to be pretty good at this.

How oft I've seen thee when I close my eyes--
Thine image on my eyelids ever pressed
Does make sleep seem as an elusive prize.
With thee in it, my mind can not find rest.
I seek throughout the night for nepenthe,
But find no such cool water for my sighs;
And so I beg that thou will repent thee,
Thy countenance take from my weary eyes.
And yet thy visage looms forever on,
Infecting all my dreams with thoughts of thee,
And when I find the night is spent and gone,
I ope my eyes, expecting thee to see.
But only in my mind do thou abide,
And only in my heart are we allied.

In Fair Verona.

I think, if someone went into Romeo & Juliet without knowing anything about it, they may actually get it. Instead people go into it knowing that the characters die, and with this stupid supposition that it's about true love. Thinking these things, you miss out on the lovely foreshadowing, not to mention you miss the point of the whole show.

So I was going to try to write lyrics about the destructiveness of selfish, uncontrolled emotions, but it got away from me and just turned into one of my regular love/death things. I still like it, though. Some lines I ripped straight from Shakespeare, but he's not around to sue me, and I don't think he'd care that much, anyway.

Let's share consuming kisses,
And like fire meeting powder,
Let's explode and end this town.
These violent delights have violent ends,
And we'll show them the triumph of true love.


Let's kill the envious and swear not by the moon,
But by our hands and by what we can do.
And I will do it all to be with you.
And will you leave me so unsatisfied?
For I want more than what you do;
I want the world to die for you.


So we'll be not ourselves
And we'll love no one else,
For we'll die in the world
And we'll live in the grave.
I'll have no other name
If you will call me love,
For your name murders me.
And when I married you,
I wed calamity.


I'll make your wedding bed the grave,
And we'll destroy our lives
If just to kiss these pilgrim lips.
We'll quench our love with purple fountains issuing from our veins.
If we survive, I'll cherish you to death.


Let all things die if I cannot be loved by you
For love-devouring death do what he dare,
It is enough I may but call you mine.
So we'll show those that never hurt
What pain sweet bliss can be.
So dedicate your loveliness alone to me.


What's love? The damned ones use that word in hell.
I must be gone, or stay for love and die.
And love's the end of all.

Idea.

Food idea: "jellyfish" soup. Make a tasty broth (clear/murky). Stick spaghetti noodles into the bottoms of mushroom caps. Simmer the mushroom/spaghetti in the broth until the noodles are done.

What I Made in April.

So, I know that the photos I put in these posts are mostly pretty terrible. It's hard for me to get photos by myself. Finding a spot in the house or yard with lighting that's remotely reasonable, with a background that's remotely nice-looking, and with a convenient thing to prop the camera on nearby so I can take a timed photo, because getting someone else to photograph is like trying to catch a very fast chicken; all of these things are difficult. So you see I end up with bad lighting and bad backgrounds and sometimes I don't even try to model them. That is the way things are, and I don't like it any more than you do, but there's not much to be done about it.

"Medieval" apron for helping in the kitchen at SCA events. I took a linen/cotton jumper dress from DI, changed the straps a bit, cut open and hemmed the back, and wove some trim to use as the tie.

Wool tablet weaving.

Dyed some wool yarn.

Pleated silk camisole.

Viking smock (linen) with pintucks on the neckline and hand-sewn finishing. I wanted to make this to sell, but the sleeves fit me so closely that I feel uncomfortable selling it to anyone who can't try it on first. So, I'll probably just keep it, as though I need any more smocks. Unless anyone who knows me in real life wants to buy it.

Viking gown, linen, with cotton trim (tablet weaving on the neck and bias tape on the sleeves).

Cloak. All cotton, with cotton flannel on the inside for warmth. It ties closed at the neck. Also, dog photobomb.

Skirt made from pants (linen), then dyed purple. I'm going to do something else like trim, embroidery, beadwork, or something; haven't decided yet.

Wool tablet weaving.

HVC.

So, it looks like I haven't mentioned this blog, Happy Valley Crafters. They let me post on it even though I don't live in Utah Valley. Since I work there and used to live there and all my friends live there, I guess that's good enough.

I post about projects that I'm working on, which I never do on this blog. I usually post on Wednesdays. Sometimes I post about historical stuff too.

The fabulous Cotton Floozy, my deeply personal friend, is also a major contributor there. So you should check it out, because her posts are awesome.

What I Made in February.

Tiny silk drawstring pouches.

"Urban Mage" cloak thing.

Viking necklace with bone and glass beads.

Snake hair clip.

Reconned some necklaces.

Tablet weaving and bracelets.

Frankensteined socks.

Reconned tablet woven bracelet.

Viking necklaces.