#panel knitting machine

[kirby-the-gorb]

[csmlovekaren]

Working on a new project for the circular sock machine. Just because it’s round doesn’t mean it can _only_ make socks.

For a variety of free info mostly machine knitting related see www.csmlove.com

[gmabasic]

problem: i want a circular sock machine

solution: buy one online from dean and bean or used antique one on ebay

problem: dean and bean were hit by the hurricane making their production time about 18 weeks and the antique ones are out of my budget

solution: use the free 3d print files to make one

problem: because i graduated college, i do not have access to the only 3d printers in my whole city (my local library is currently building its creation station but it will not be done for years)

solution: force boyfriend who is enrolled in classes to submit request for me

problem: he might not want to

solution: wait until i go home and use my local hometown library to print out the files for the sock knitting machine

problem: i am literally only ever home for the holidays and the print time for each file (though relatively cheap in filament) takes a long time as it requires 100% fill

solution: buy a 3d printing machine

problem: now i am buying a machine in order to create a machine. boyfriend already thinks my regular circular knitting machine, my flat panel knitting machine, my various knitting looms, my sewing machine, my serger, my cricut, and my printer take up too much room (half of my closet is dedicated just to holding this stuff and my desk is so small that i can only fit 1 machine on it at a time and my flat panel knitting machine is still too big to fit on it alone)

solution: don’t tell my boyfriend. my closet is mine and the demons i hide in it belong to me

problem: we move in together around august and will most likely have to start sharing a closet

solution: make him keep all of his stuff in the office

problem: i have way more stuff than him. it would be nice if i could just have the whole office as a workspace for crafting and he could put his stuff in the closet

solution: banish him to the closet

problem: he works from home and needs an office

solution: i make soooo much money off of printing sock machines and making socks that he can retire at 24 years old

problem: solved!

[nondivisable]

Hi! I just saw your post about crocheting even though your hands hurt, and was hoping for some advice. I've had some sort of unspecified spondyloarthropathy for about 16 years, so I'm used to dealing with feet and knees and shoulders but all of a sudden it's in my hands too, and I'm terrified. Putting aside that I'm a musician and this threatens my livelihood and independence, I can't stand the idea that it's going to take away 90%of the things I do for fun, aka crafting. What do you do to keep crocheting through the pain -- or, even better, do you have any tips for working around it? Special hooks I can look for? I knit too, have you gotten into that enough to have needle or pattern recommendations? Do you do any sewing? I'm looking for help, but mostly I'm looking for hope.

if this makes little sense I'm sorry, I've had a migraine all day but I wanted to answer and not forget. I'll edit this later if it's necessary

compression gloves are the actual love of my life. they help my finger joints so much. kt tape as well, my shoulders start to kill me, specially when I started knitting.

for crochet, I know some people put tennis balls on the grips of their hooks to make them more ergonomic. there's also ergonomic hooks but I haven't tried them yet.

knitting: I usually hold my needle and knit (as in move the yarn) with my right hand. I find that this gives me cramps in my shoulder and hand. moving my yarn with my left hand and holding my needle with my right helps me relax both my hand and shoulder, as well as keep a straighter back. knitting is also way easier on my hands than purling since we're at it.

sewing: I absolutely love it, my joints don't. for sewing patches or smaller bits of fabric onto another what really helps me is keeping the fabric taut using an embroidery ring. it helps me make less of an effort with my hands. if you don't have a sewing machine but are looking to buy one, don't buy one of those small, portable ones. I did and I never use it because between having to squint my eyes and manouever with my hands, my body detests it

finger knitting is also really fun to keep your hands busy. if I'm having a really bad pain day but feel restless, I'll usually grab a thick yarn and make a finger knit panel. it can take me hours to finish a small square but it's quite pain free and makes me happy

collage is such a fun technique if you like drawing and painting but find that your hands are kind of failing you. for me, at least, it helps take off the pressure of having to make a neat, clean piece of art , you know

mostly, remember to stretch, take breaks, drink water, be kind to your body. there's no shame in doing your hobbies in bed, laying down, or in ways that aren't necessarily "pretty" or functional; it's okay to do your hobbies for the sake of having fun with them

hope this has helped you and not extremely confuse you <33

[projectgoblin]

I love the fuck out of my silk quilted jacket but I’m on the creative path for more funky clothes. I’ve decided to make another with machine paper piecing that will attempt a 1:1 copy of my favorite album art for Inmazes by the band VOLA. I am simply obsessed with the album and listen to Inmazes on a near daily basis.

The line work on the album art screams freehand quilting to me and would create such a gorgeous visual effect.

I will be dyeing the background fabric myself, as I couldn’t find anything that looked close enough for my liking, both in “ink splotching ombré” aesthetic and color. This matching will be challenge number one.

I have managed to find an accurate real and close enough matching knit for the cuff but it’s not a rib knit so I’m unsure if I’ll keep looking. I did find a really interesting crimped satin at Joann’s in the right color but I want this to be able to withstand some heavy use and I’m not sure a heavily post weave processed satin will be up to task.

The yellow patch has yet to be color matched so that may be hand dyed as well. Black and white are obviously easily enough to acquire thankfully.

As it currently stands the design of the jacket has a back panel with an extended version of the album art just using more or less an assumption of how the missing parts would look.

The front panels are using a continuation of the background color and quilting used on the back, but lacking any other part of the design. I am heavily considering making the side pockets into a semi welted pocket with the welt in the turquoise in order to pull that design element to the front.

The above design shows a turquoise and gold zipper but for ease of coordination and less matchy matchy look, I’m changing to black with gunmetal zipper. I still want metal not plastic for a higher end finish.

The sleeves are a point of contention for the design as my mind is split in multiple directions. I like the following ideas-

Maze design lasered or woven into the fabric straight from the factory. Easy, no fuss finish for me, very cool looooking

Maze design quilted into fabric. Time consuming but with a lovely result. Design can be continuous over seams with enough planning

Plain sleeve with favorite quotes from songs embroidered down the outer sleeve seam.

All designs would be black on black for subtlety and to create less visual noise

[leiyahime]

Wollefest Leipzig

What a wonderful day yesterday!!

tl;dr: I need more glass jars X'D

And I'm glad there aren's too many festivals a year XD The way to Leipzig was easy, I left waaay too early so I had time to look around! There was an apple (?) orchard on my way and it looked like a sea of white in the morning sun! It was soo beautiful! (No pictures since I went by car)

Then I met my dear friend at the train station and we walked over to the glass hall of the Neue Messe. The nostalgia. And since the book faire was a few weeks ago the glass panels were already cleaned xD

It was nice and spacious. so it was possible to look at everything. And to leave money *coughs* much money! and to talk to the two people from my spinning group who were there at the booth of the German hand spinning guild.

Soo many colours! Soo much beautiful stuff! *.* I could have spent at least another 100€

And the loot:

front: 70% polwarth/15% Tencel/15% silk from friendly sheep

Spindle: suppoted, maple/coloured wood from the same shop

Nalbinding needle made of horn and scissors from die Garnspinnerin

red Wensleydale locks from... idk anymore

below the locks: 40% wool (Falkland, Merino)/20% llama/20%Eri silk/20% baby camel from frau wöllfchen

violet: 25% Suri Alpaca/25% royal baby alpaca/25% Ramie/25% tussah silk, the colourful bag is 100% tussah silk, and a pair of hand carders *.* (not in picture) from stefis wolle

blue batt: 40% angora/40% silk/20% merino, grey batt: 35% angora/35% silk/25% Merino/5% alpaca from Seidenhase

the bag in the back: 100% baby alpaca raw fleece. So now I know my first scouring project xD also can't reconstruct the booth I got this

the cardboard box: DIY kit for a sewing machine pincushion in grey from Hühnerstall kreativ! was alrady considering to get one last year but I ran out of money.

Not in picture: two stitch markers, a brooch in the form of a black sewing machine and a knitting pattern for wrist warmers.

I only wanted to get 500g of fibres bc of space reasons... well... I failed.

When we were done at the festival, we went to the city to get some ramen for lunch/early dinner which was also very delicious. and after that I returned home (Or almost home. There were traffic problems on my way for which I was waaay too tired so I decided to stop at my dad's and tackle the rest of the way this morning.

Now I'm home and can rest a bit before work.

[rslashknitting]

are you seeing my split stripe vision??

I adapted the sand and sky tank pattern for my knitting machine. one panel left, cuffs/collar, then finishing. though I'm doing a bit of the finishing now, like sewing the panels together.

I love colorblocking and I love stripes and I love love love how this is turning out!

secrets time: so the three panels I made. I realized that it was kind of big ESPECIALLY the arms eye. I counted my row gauge wrong and accidentally made it basically a large size instead of a medium at that point. I Could've done like longer cuffs round the sleeves after unraveling the tank straps a bit. but that wasn't good enough for me

i did shorten the straps, she's gonna look more like a crewneck which im cool with. but instead of stopping there I sliced her up, took about 12 rows out, and grafted the 39 stitches back together, on each panel. I was so scared when I cut even with lifelines in but it was alright!

my first attempt made twisted stitches on the top row. i might go back to fix that but Honestly it's on the back and would be covered by my hair most of the time. just one twisted row. if it bothers me later I now have the confidence to go back and slice and dice and fix it! but for now I'm alright.

oops.

[bugsnax-community-questions]

Bugsnax Community Questions ~ Poll #25

Put filbo, eggabell and the others in one option because there aren't enough slots to fit everyone.

FILBO: Basic Furniture, Dandelion, Cot (secret), Grumpy Baby Mayor, Pawprint rug, Cloudy paws print, painted hut, Group Photo, Streamers, Garden gnome, snaxburg flag, Golden Strabby, Certificate of completion

WAMBUS: Scarecrow, beechwood, Sauce plant seedlings, Sauce rug, Rustic Bed, Mini Cactriffy, Grow light nursery, Wood panel print, cowboy hats, ceiling fan

BEFFICA: Sleeping bag, Ladder Shelf, bestie print, Bestie (exterior), Fuzzy heart rug, Privacy curtains, Bulletin board, glowing stars, purple lupin, befficas journal, Kiddie pool (technically from floofty)

WIGGLE: Hanging lights, Luxury bed (secret), Gilded (Secret), record player, Palm tree, Platinum Award, Beach Chair + Umbrella, Armoire, Music print, Rock club sign, Psychedelic rug

TRIFFANY: Map of Snaktooth, Drafting Table, Prehistoric Floorcloth, Grumpus Skull, Giant skeleton, Barrel cacti, Dig site print, hanging pots, ancient bugsnax statue 1 (pinkle), ancient bugsnax statue 2 (incherito), Bone and Stone (exterior), Bone and stone bed

GRAMBLE: Lantern, Pink oleander, Weather Vane, Knit Sprout Mat, Hay bales, knit bed, Strabby Hat, Doily Table, knitted (exterior), knit baskets, Strabby print, Bunger bed

CROMDO: Tulips, Police tape (Secret), Bug juice dispenser, Big safe, A single hanging bulb, boombox, money print rug, worn mattress, billboard, Motivational poster, Antique print

SNORPY: Loose Newspaper, Conspiracy board, Blueprint print, Protective coat hangers, Metal plating (exterior), Metalworks flower, Satellite dish, deprivation tank, bookshelf, HAM radio, hot tub

CHANDLO: Red Cedar, Framed jersey, Rock climbing holds, Strong trophy, Hammock, Bean bag, Orange bloodroot, Home gym (secret), Sports print (secret), Gym mats, chandlolier,

FLOOFTY: red ti plant, lab bench (secret), Specimen jar, Pirate ship (exterior), Beheading machine, ecience poster, chemistry rug, test tube lights, science print, Chalkboard

SHELDA: Hanging Planter, Herbology station, Primitive grass, Salt crystal, ebony stained wood, zen garden, Meditation cushion, Prairie grass, wind chimes, desert print, torch

EGGABELL: Family Photos, Eggshell print, medical egg rug, Medicine cabinet, Emergency bell, First aid kit, Draped fabrics, igloo (exterior), snow grump, medical bed

OTHER: Cowboy hat roof (Cactriffy), Planted snak (Cactriffy), Snak print (L), Strabby Shelf (L), Snakgoyle (Snaxsquatch), Matilija Poppy (Snaxsquatch), Eyes (exterior ~ B), Legendary snak rug (B), Snak mobile (C), Sodie Fountain (C)

[discountalien-pancake]

Oh my god im going to fight these fucking youtube channels that are like “oh i recreated this [really expensive indie brand dress] for only [absurdly low amount of] dollars!!!”

It’s one thing to be like, “oh I wanted this dress but they don’t have it in exactly the material i want or in a price i can afford, so I’m going to try and make it myself!” It’s another entirely to act like you can remake it for $6 or $5. In fact it’s absurd to act like you can remake it for $50, often.

You have sewing machines. You have sergers. And even if you don’t have a serger you have fancy modern sewing machines that do more than one type of stitch. You are filming this in a designated sewing room full of expensive equipment that the average person does not have and/or know how to use.

But fine, lets talk about the way these brands are priced for moment. Almost all clothing with few exceptions (mostly knit things like socks) remains made by hand. A human being has to run every piece of stitched clothing you own through a sewing machine. This is backbreaking labor. If you’ve never done it, you have no idea how exhausting it is. A home-sewer making individual pieces for personal use has no idea how exhausting it is. My mother and her sisters did piecework for years in their youth. My mother worked in sweatshops when she first came to the US. She made something like $2-3/hr. In other countries that’s more like $2-3/day.

These slow-fashion, sustainable indie clothing brands that pay their workers fair wages for their labor are not overpricing their garments. You are paying for not just the superior quality but also the ethical treatment of garment-industry workers.

And it is completely fine if you see the price tag and know that you cannot afford that dress or shirt or whatever it may be. You cannot make that same dress for $6. You simply cannot. Federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25. Can you make that dress in under an hour? And I’m not talking about just the stitching. Can you pattern, trace, cut, pin, sew, and finish that dress in less than an hour? You might be able to manage that for a t-shirt. Can you do it for a dress with darts, multiple skirt panels, neckline and hem facings, topstitching, and pockets? Can you do it even half as neatly in that one hour?

I do not pretend the things I make are affordable. I do not pretend, even when I am able to thrift my fabric, that this is somehow cheaper than just buying something someone else already made. I find it deeply disingenuous to act like the cost of labor and equipment simply don’t exist.

[sheliesshattered]

Somehow it's been almost two weeks since I last posted about my velvet Yule dress sewing project. I find this tends to happen when I'm sewing quickly or particularly pressed for time -- and given that I plan to wear this dress in less than a week, I'm definitely pressed for time and I've been trying to sew as fast as possible without making any mistakes.

By last Sunday, I had the nine panels of the dress assembled into one piece, with just one long seam (between one side panel and one side-back panel) left to sew. That let me wrap the dress around me for the first time to check for fit.

And it was then that it occurred to me that this dress really needs a zipper.

For some reason I had it in my head that I wouldn't need to put a zipper in this dress, partially because I've used this same pattern to sew knit dresses, and they absolutely don't need any sort of closure, and are even a bit baggy. Silk velvet, unlike knit fleece or viscose, does not stretch at all. I could tell when I wrapped the nearly finished dress around me that it would fit, but tightly enough that I wouldn't be able to get it on and off without a zipper.

I'm a fan of invisible zippers, both the process of putting them in and how they look when they're done -- but invisible zippers aren't a good option for velvet, since there's no room to keep the velvet pile from getting stuck in the zipper coils. But top-stitching a traditional zipper into place wouldn't look right either, so I did some reading up on couture zipper placement, in particular a hand-picked zipper.

If I had planned this from the beginning, I would have cut bigger seam allowances at the center back and then set the zipper before sewing any of the other panels together. Instead, on Monday I unpicked the center back seam down to the hip line or so, then spent way too much time trying to figure out how to attach the zipper to that tiny 1 cm seam allowance.

I ended up whip-stitching the seam allowance to the front of the zipper, which served the dual purpose of securing the zipper to the dress and keeping the raw edges nicely contained so that they won't get caught in the zipper during use.

Once the zipper was whip-stitched to the seam allowance on both sides of the 20" length, I used a contrasting silk thread to baste the center back seam closed again (using the needle scaring from the original center back seam to line it up correctly). With that seam closed all the way up again, I could then start on the actual pick-stitch to secure the narrow flaps that will more or less hide the zipper while the dress is being worn.

Pick-stitching in a couture zipper placement is usually visible on the end product, similar to the pick-stitching on suit jacket lapels. But with velvet the tiny little pick-stitches mostly disappear into the pile -- an added benefit, since my first time doing this sort of zipper placement was far from perfect, lol.

It's not nearly as invisible as an actual invisible zipper, but it glides open and closed nice and smooth, and looks like I had always intended to have this sort of zipper treatment in the center back.

All that handsewing -- and fiddling with the techniques, trying something only to end up picking it out and doing it all over again -- took most of the week. By Friday morning the zipper was finally finished, and I was able to move on to the last long seam that still needed to be sewn, and then the shoulder seams. I ended up sewing the shoulders by hand just to have more control over where the four panels meet than I was able to get with pinning or basting before putting it through the sewing machine.

With a week until I plan to wear it, the dress was finally dress shaped!

At that point, I decided to let the dress hang for about 36 hours, just to allow any bias issues the time to work themselves out before setting the sleeves and evening out the hem. Any fit issues are best addressed before the sleeves are set, so if something was going to stretch out weird, I wanted to know it before the sleeves were in.

That gave me all of yesterday and part of today to turn my attention to the other little project I'm kind of hoping to get done for this coming weekend: an ahistoric interpretation of the Viking/Rus style of pants that are wide through the hip and then gather in below the knee, with a much more fitted lower leg segment from the calf to the ankle.

I've known for a few months that I wanted to try out this style of pants, so the plan for them was pretty clear in my head. I used the pattern I drafted about a year ago for my winter fleece pants, changing the length to be calf-length and widening out the leg significantly, then drafted the narrow portion that'll cover from calf to ankle. Front and back of the upper leg and one piece for the lower leg, so only three pieces to draft and six pieces to cut out.

For this wearable mock-up version of the pants I'm using the same burgundy cotton flannel that I lined Jack's Very Fancy Santa hat with. It's a perfect color match for the velvet, and I'm planning to use some of it as hem facings for the velvet dress, too. If I can get this pair of pants done before Saturday evening (without cutting corners on the dress), it'll give me a nice layer to wear underneath the dress for a bit of warmth.

After working with the silk-velvet for the last month, it was such a relief to take a little break and cut out half a dozen pieces in a nice, simple, straightforward cotton flannel.

This morning I got all six pieces of the pants cut out and pinned for their first run through the sewing machine, but by that point the dress had been hanging for roughly 40 hours and it was time to get back to it. The fit turned out to be lovely, no adjustments needed, so I spent a little time ironing (with the velvet needle board) the last seams I'd sewn, including the flaps over the zipper.

Next up will be setting the sleeves, which I started pinning in before taking a break for dinner and to write this post (and watch the second half of Die Hard -- it's Christmas, after all). Once the sleeves are attached, the only thing left will be hems. I'm planning on using bias-cut strips of the flannel as a thin but sturdy facing for the sleeve ends, neckline, and skirt hem, which will then be secured into place with a blind hem stitch.

It seems pretty straightforward in my head, so I'm hoping I can finish up these last few steps by mid-week, and then switch out the needle in my sewing machine and throw the Viking pants together in time to wear them under the dress. I do have a couple of other ideas of things I'd like to sew in the next few days, if I have time, and I'll try to remember to take photos and post updates as I go.

[uncaaj]

Fanfic: The Cuppatronic 3000 (Wallace and Gromit)

READ NOW ON AO3!

The chimes of the old mahogany grandfather clock in the sitting room broke through the gentle clattering of my knitting needles. One bong, two bong, three bong sounded before the clock resumed its normal ticking, its brass pendulum swinging to and fro without a care. The Pavlovian response to that particular sequence of bells moistened my chops for a particular set of biscuits we bought yesterday at the shops. I set my latest project (Scarf? Jumper? Too soon to tell) down on the arm of my chair and slid all four paws upon the floor. My master was in the basement tinkering away and therefore was too far or too engrossed in his project to hear the clock chiming for the grandest of all simple British pleasures. Thus it was I who made tracks to the door in the hall with soft pawsteps upon the rug to alert him.

Once in position, I relaxed onto my haunches and threw the door open. There down the stairway was my companion, Wallace, leaning against a cylindrical device as tall as him, splicing wires together behind a rivet-bordered control panel.

I knocked on the door just as Wallace jumped backwards with a yelp. Poor boy must’ve caught a stray spark. It was par for the course with his inventing. You never knew who would hurt who first. 

He met my gaze above him and I waved. “Oh, Gromit!” he greeted. “Is it tea time already?” I nodded and gestured my head toward the kitchen. Just as I was about to pad away to begin preparation, he stopped me with a whistle. “No, no, you needn’t bother this time. I shall take it upon myself to prepare tea today.” He straightened his tie and brushed down his green knitwear vest with confidence. 

I cocked my head and gave him a skeptical raise of the brow, to which he responded with a nod.

“Now, I realize I’m not as adept a cook as you are.” That was an understatement. “And I know that in most matters culinary, you are the foremost expert.” It felt nice to be acknowledged. “However, I have a machine that will allow even me to brew the perfect cup of tea every time, and if that’s the case, just think of the time it will save you!”

I was even more suspicious now. But it was a deep-seated curiosity that drove my paws down those cold stone steps so I could behold with my own eyes the machine my master had spent the day creating.

Wallace shut the control panel and screwed it into place as I sat once more at the foot of it. The creation would likely fit into where our refrigerator currently occupied, though I’d have to stop Wallace from replacing it with this machine if he began to get ahead of himself. It was fully cylindrical apart from a dome top making it look like the pillarbox down the street. A riveted sign under the top edge of the machine read, “Wallace’s Cuppatronic 3000.” The control panel had dials labeled “Temperature,” “Milk,” “Time,” and “Sugar.” An indentation below the control panel was just big enough for a teacup to slot into, and a nozzle pointed down upon its topside, likely to dispense something or other into the vessel of choice placed inside. I walked around to see three separate clear reservoirs in a row labeled “Water,” “Milk,” and “Sugar” along with a slot labeled “Teabag.” The process and purpose of this machine was becoming clear to me.

“Shall I tell you how it works?” Wallace asked. I would indulge him. Explaining his inventions to others was his favorite part of inventing, after all. Wallace flipped a switch and the aforementioned signs lit up clear as the familiar sound of water boiling tickled my ears. “All you need to do is top up your ingredients as I’ve done, dial in your recipe, and the machine dispenses the perfect cup.” A green light came on to indicate the water was now ready to go. “Now I don’t have a recipe, nor do I know which one you use for our tea, but I’m sure a few simple samples will get us there. Care to be my assistant, lad?” Usually, I was hesitant to play test subject, but unlike the other times, this invention seemed unlikely to kidnap, brainwash, or otherwise inconvenience, so I nodded in agreement. “Righto, let’s begin. I suppose the best way to start is with all dials bang in the middle.”

Wallace turned the dials accordingly and pressed the button labeled “Start.” An unseen voice began to speak suddenly and my ears stuck straight up in surprise. “Two lumps, three tablespoons milk, two minutes.”

“I may have forgotten to mention the Cuppatronic speaks,” said Wallace. “I obtained the necessary voice synthesis chip on our outing yesterday.” So that’s where he disappeared to while I was left with the shopping. The machine whirred to life and I braced myself for a leaky hose or an unshielded wire to throw a spanner in the works as was often to happen. But as those two minutes wore on and Wallace walked over to a nearby workbench to retrieve a teacup, I wondered if for once, I was fretting over nothing. The Cuppatronic hissed as the water inside boiled and converted the loose tea inside into my favorite afternoon beverage. Wallace placed the teacup under the nozzle just as a tan liquid began to stream into it, filling the white ceramic vessel until the stream slowed to drips and a bell dinged. 

“Enjoy your tea,” said the machine in its metallic approximation of an English voice. I had half a mind to say thank you for the simple fact that it had worked perfectly. It was fantastic.

“Ha-ha!” Wallace cheered. “All according to plan!” He gingerly removed the cup from its perch and held it up to his nose. The steaming mug wrapped him and me in the familiar aroma of darjeeling comfort and he took a sip. Almost immediately, the giddy smile left him to be replaced by disappointment. He took another sip and smacked his lips together. “I say,” he declared, “I think this recipe needs adjusting.” He set the teacup down on the workbench and I took it for myself to try the concoction. The heavy amount of milk and sugar blanketed my tongue and I couldn’t hide my own displeasure. It was certainly tea, and it was good for someone, but not for us.

Wallace rubbed his chin then retrieved a clipboard and pencil. “I’ve crossed that combination off the list. That leaves 11 more combinations to test.”

My ears straightened and my eyes widened. 11?? This was to be a long afternoon.

+++

Just as I predicted, it did take a rather long time to test the flavor of every single dial combination on the Cuppatronic. Mathematically, Wallace was being kind with his estimation of 11, for as each new combination was tried, he came up with a new combination not previously accounted for. By the time we had gotten to this point in time, we each had a pile of cups and saucers next to us on the floor, some empty and stained in brown, most half-full after we both realized we couldn’t sustain finishing a cup for each test. At this point, we had refilled the sugar, and milk tanks once over and the teabags thrice over, and there was only one more adjustment to test, the last hurdle on this extremely long race.

As the machine settled to stillness, it said once more, “Enjoy your tea.” I rolled my eyes and drew my fill from the cup before handing the rest to Wallace. “Buck up, lad,” he encouraged, “we’ll have scaled the mountain after this.” Indeed, the mountain of tea would be scaled, and I would switch to coffee permanently. I took a sip of fizzy water and swished it around in my mouth before swallowing it down. I needed the clearest palate to pick up on every nuance if we were ever to put this to bed. I raised the cup to my face and looked down at the tea, the same shade of tan as all the others. As I tipped the cup and the liquid hit my tongue, all the pieces slid into place. At last, it was what I was used to. Not too milky, just sweet enough to pique the palate, but with a strong foundation of darjeeling. It was just like I was used to, just like I made it for us every day.

And yet, as I looked back up to see my master’s reaction, apparently it wasn’t quite enough.

Wallace tapped a finger repeatedly on the cup, staring into it as if an answer were floating atop that was waiting to be deciphered. I set my cup down and walked over to look inside as well. Seeing nothing but a beige abyss, I turned to Wallace, placing my hands on my hips. I wanted him to tell me what he really sought to accomplish with this machine.

“I don’t know, lad,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. “I’ve about worn out my mouth for this. The recipe is perfect. It just doesn’t taste the same. …Maybe the tea should brew at 98 degrees rather than 99.”

That was it. We would be here all night if I were to enable this a moment longer. I shook my head and took the cup from his hands. He stuttered, caught between words, clearly at his wit’s end. As if I couldn’t tell. “What do you suppose is missing, then?” Wallace griped.

It was time for me to show him what I knew all along. I took his hand and led him back upstairs and to the kitchen. I sat him down at the breakfast nook and held up one finger, instructing him to wait right there. The kettle was standing vigil upon the stove and once I made my way to it, I lifted it and sloshed the water around. There was enough for my purposes, so I set it back on a burner and turned it on to high. Next, I opened a drawer to the right of the stove and pulled out a little black book, my treasured recipes. The pages flew by in a flurry as I turned to the recipe I wanted and held it out to Wallace. 

“What’s this, Gromit?” he inquired, delicately taking the book from me. I tapped the recipe, and gave him a wink. I led the horse to the water and now he had to drink, so I returned to the stove and began doing another breed’s job, retrieving teabags and sugar from the cabinet, and milk from the fridge. This supply thankfully was kept out of the basement during our previous exploits. As I methodically performed the same actions I had done for many a teatime before, a Formula 1 pit crew for hot beverages, Wallace read the recipe to himself, as if I were cueing his actions with mine.

“Brew for two minutes and 24 seconds at 98 degrees.” The kettle began to whistle, and I lifted it off the burner before dousing the heat with the turn of a knob.

“Fill three quarters of the mug and brew for three minutes and 24 seconds.” I deposited the teabag in the cup and filled it, guided by my muscle memory.

“Once brewed, add two and a half teaspoons milk, one sugar lump. Serve immediately with biscuits and cheese.” Wallace looked up. I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. “Gromit, what are you playing at? This is the same recipe as we just tried, to the letter! What makes this different?” I tapped the top of the page then the bottom of the page, telling him he hadn’t yet seen what I wanted him to. Rolling his eyes, he returned to reading while I turned back to finish the cup, never breaking the count of time in my mind.

“The Perfect Tea,” he mumbled, “Revision number…23?” The number sputtered from his throat like a car kicking over on a cold day. Ah, now he was starting to see. With each day and each mug, I’d notice Wallace’s reactions, such as how when he didn’t like it that day, he’d stare at the mug as if it yelled at him, and if it was especially good, his ears would perk up. And each time, I’d make a change, aiming to perfect the cup for next time. It had been years since I’d made the last change.

As I lifted the teabag out with a spoon and delicately added the milk and sugar, I knew the kicker was coming.

“Always remember, the loving touch is important. No matter how hard of a day you’ve had, whether an invention has blown a hole in the roof again, whether a killer robot or penguin or former Bake-O-Lite girl is after you, when all is quiet and normal, you are sharing tea with the most important person in your life whom you couldn’t imagine being without. So put that love and gratitude into each cup and enjoy every moment with Wallace, your master.”

I gave the cup a final stir, and took it into my hand. Wallace put the book upon the table, mouth agape. I held the cup out to him and he swallowed before taking it from me. He looked down upon it, then to me. I nodded. He lifted it to his mouth and drew a small sip. The way his eyes lit up with sparks confirmed my theory. What a machine could never ever provide, the care, attention, and devotion of a living being, had made all the difference. He wanted to save me time with the Cuppatronic but this was always time well spent.

Wallace stood up and approached me slowly. I held my hand out to ask how it tasted, though I already knew the answer. He just needed to tell me. Wallace grabbed the hand and pulled me into a hug. As we stood embraced in the kitchen, he said, “Well done, lad. It’s perfect.” That was all I needed to hear.

Though we could not communicate through the same avenues, the message always found its way to its destination. Quirky though he may be and even misguided at times, there was no other master I would rather have, and a dog’s word is worth its weight in gold.

“Thank you, Gromit,” said Wallace.

You’re welcome, old boy.

BOOM!

We tensed in each other’s arms at the sudden explosion, and resulting echoing crunch of wood and brick collapsing onto the floor. We looked at each other, thoroughly broken out of our moment of sentimentality, then I let all fours carry me toward the basement like a rocket. I flew down the stairs and skidded to a halt upon landing at the bottom. I stood up at my full height and just stared.

The understated chrome dome was gone from the machine, while a frayed hose spraying steaming water from the opening onto the floor, and sparking wires dotted the gaping cavity that remained.

While we were in the kitchen and I was enlightening Wallace, the Cuppatronic had, for lack of a better phrase, blown its top, obsoleting itself as if it knew what was happening upstairs.

Wallace’s footsteps approached behind me and I turned to see him at the top of the stairs, eyes wide and hand over his mouth. After a moment, he removed it slowly and exclaimed, “Oh, crackers!” He swallowed, no doubt searching for something to say to the debacle in front of him. Finally, he snapped his fingers. “I knew I should have used a band clamp for the hot water line instead of a spring clamp.”

Before my paw could meet my forehead, the doorbell rang. Upon opening it, a short and squat older lady in a bonnet and apron was at our doorstep, looking slightly cross. A wagon containing the top in question was in her tow.

“Oh, hello, Mrs. Mulch,” Wallace greeted with a grimacing yet polite smile.

Mrs. Mulch huffed. “I have something what landed in my garden that I believe belongs to you.” She then pulled the wagon with great effort until the plastic wheels clattered against our stoop and the dent the top had taken, no doubt from its impact upon the dirt, became evident. 

All we could do was show the poor madam our teeth, graciously take what was ours off her hands and apologize profusely. Such was life with my dear master, and every moment was, like our daily teatime, time well spent.

[nutzworth]

its been a whole month. but you know what time it is? thats right.

DAY 6: MARCH 17, 2024

STATS: read for 1 hour 20 minutes (WEAK.) pages read: 1359-1592. 233 pgs slur count: 9 + 3 = 12 (dave, john x2. r slur) silly count: 11 + 1 = 12 (wv about his drawings) (i REALLY feel like i missed some... but whatever.) piss count: 2/3 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (dave pissed in his shower)

THOUGHTS: ok i didnt think a lot this round cus its like nearing midnight on a school night so im reading for funsies ok

act 4 has the story bouncing around way more than it did in previous acts. i saw a lot of the exiles today. and a lot of TROLLS! the exiles are so fun today i saw some pm and ar lore and wv pm ar all fought and then they had a meal. and wv and ar are trying to win over pm but she dont care. the WOMEN. panel. so good.

somethin else i reaaally noticed this time around is HOW GOOD HUSSIE WRITES! seriously these kids are talking so naturally its insane. i really like it. theyre so cute. they talk like me and my friends and its really good. hussies a really good writer guys

why did dave say that "i should probably text [john] soon. cus. i love him" why did he say that? and rose's "I know." why? what? im sure this has been read into like a million times but it feels so OUT OF POCKET. why did he SAY THAT? why does rose KNOW? what is anything.

today was the introduction to rose's exile and land. the land of light and rain. the combination of the land and the weird cursive exile and the weird loneliness and silence just really... it really creeps me out ok. "A mother does what's best for her children" with the empty dock with a cut rope and the martini. ugh. "There are footprints in the white sand." oh my god. IT CREEPS ME OUT. its SO QUIET it freaks me. augh. i love you rose

DAVE PEED THIS ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the next (and last) on the piss counter is in the middle of act 6 so were gonna be sitting pretty for a damn while. daves kind of a freak to be real. he says "voyeurbot" and "little girl" in the same sentence. why did he say this?

PA HARLEY. PA HARLEY ON LAND OF WIND AND SHADE!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!! oh oh aaaalso jade mentioned her penpal (JAKE!!!) and it got me a little excited. teehee. i looove jake english you dont even know

ummm dave entering the game... hes not in yet. but hes toying with his big machines and he got his totem and the object out. his egg. yeah. i didnt realize he was just playing with all this stuff and hes not even in the medium yet. craaaazy

WE SAW TEREZI THREE TIMES TODAY! THATS SO MUCH! SHES SO CUTE! i literally love terezi i always forget but i love her. shes so cool and silly and cute and the best. her convo with rose (her first one?) is so funny and awesome and ahh i love terezi. she says that the two of them were destined to be hatebuddies cus theyre both seers. ahhh

she also mentions some god tiers during that convo which was crazy. seer of mind. page of breath. knight of blood. maid of time. hussie just had this stuff on lock huh. why TAVROS'S classpect? not like vriskas? i dont know man.

karkat was so dumb today i cant even talk about him. he showed up twice and fumbled so bad. girl you havw GOT to stop being mean to people and yes that includes yourself. i really like karkat too i cant lie. hes so dumb so sweet. i love you karkat

jack noir just straight up gives pm a hit list for her king and queen for no reason. i mean yes there is a reason hes like "lol i do this to everyone wouldnt it be crazy if she was the one to get me their crowns lol" why does he do that? does he just have swords and symbols on lock? hes literally crazy

rose does her cool knitting needle in the monster thing. DAVE AND KANAYA CONVERSATION! i love them bad. rose and tavros is also funny but tavros types so much like a tool i can hardly stand it. im gonna be real i dont really like tavros. hes just not my style sorry

thats it sorry for not reading for a month. maybe ill do more this month haha. maybe maybe not. we will see ;-) thanks

[pandimensionalemporium]

The Emporium Chronicles 1 - Sky Pirate

Time in the Pan-Dimensional Emporium was a questionable concept. Since it sailed through the void between worlds, there were no days, no months, no years, not even aeons by which to measure. Nevertheless, it wasn't too long after the new proprietor's arrival that the sky pirate appeared in the lobby.

It was quite the surprise to both of them. Being a sensible sort of person, the pirate responded to her sudden removal from her engine room by remaining calm. Being by nature polite, she finished wiping her oil-blackened hands on a rag before asking, "What's this place then?"

The proprietor, who had been knitting in an armchair and quite unprepared for visitors, hastened to change into a suitable form. As their natural shape was something like a cloud of glittering night wrapped in a woolly jumper, it tended to startle people.

"I do beg your pardon," they said. "Welcome to the Pan-Dimensional Emporium! This is the shop between worlds, where even the most far-fetched need may be met. I shall endeavour to guide you, but what you find here is up to you. Erm. Though I must admit, I didn't think anyone could get here yet."

The sky pirate looked around, taking in the wood-panelled counter, cluttered shelves, and the drifting void outside the windows. "Damn. I'm even more lost than I thought."

"The Emporium should find its way to people in need you see. But since the guidance system is currently a mess of corroded bits and bobs, I rather thought it was jammed."

"Listen, I really need to get back to my ship. We’re lost in the butt-end of nowhere and the crew's relying on me."

"Are you the captain?"

"Engineer."

"Oh! Then we might be able to help each other. If you could fix the Emporium's guidance system, it could attune a navigation device for your world. That would soon set you back on track."

The sky pirate sucked her teeth for a moment, then nodded. "Can't promise I'll know how to work your machine, but cogs are cogs and wires are wires. Lead on."

The Emporium's navigation room was directly underneath the lobby. They took the lift, which played them a cello symphony as they descended. The diamond grille opened onto a walkway suspended above a great inverted dome of glass. It offered a magnificent view of the void in all directions except up, where a ceiling instead displayed starry maps of a dozen or more worlds. The walkway led out to a platform directly over the centre of the dome. It was a circular navigator's study complete with charts table, mysterious brassy equipment, and even a leather armchair, but no walls.

The proprietor led the way to a bank of machinery tucked behind the table. "If you open that panel you'll see the problem."

The sky pirate took out her spanner and tutted. "You've had some cowboys in here."

"Tell me about it. I only took the place on recently, and it's a real mess. Gremlins in the library, rusted pipework all over the place, a whole wing covered in trees - it'll take me forever to get it into a decent state. Not that 'forever' has much meaning here, but it's the principle of the thing."

From somewhere under the machinery, the sky pirate grunted. "Couldn’t you get people in to help?"

The proprietor watched her deftly unscrewing problematic parts, cleaning the pieces, and reattaching them in what looked like a far more sensible arrangement. "You know," they said, "I think perhaps I could."

It was a companionable stretch of non-time. The proprietor passed down tools, fetched water and engine oil, and dug spare screws out of a drawer. The sky pirate tsked and huffed and wrangled things back into working order. At last, they both sat with mugs of thick tea and admired her handiwork.

"Think it'll work?"

"I'm sure it will." The proprietor fetched out a small grey tablet from a box beside the machine. "On its native plane, they call this a GPS. The Emporium can work a little magic to make it suitable for your world, and then it should guide you wherever you wish to go."

The sky pirate's eyes narrowed. "It’s a magic map?"

The proprietor smiled. "More or less. Though I suspect you’ll figure out its inner workings in no short order." They plugged the tablet into the newly-renovated guidance system and tapped a few brass buttons. A few seconds later the system beeped, and the proprietor handed the device to the sky pirate.

She accepted it with great care. "Thank you. If it does what you say, this might just save my whole crew."

And with that, she was gone.

The proprietor sighed, and leaned against the platform’s railing. The void stretched away, streamers of pink and purple energy threading an endless depth of star-studded blue. "Well," they said to no one in particular, "it seems the Pan-Dimensional Emporium is open for business."

Read More

[pbandjesse]

I really thought I wasn't going to be exhausted today. I was like I'm going to get home at 11 and the ln I'll just go to sleep normal and have a nice day off at home and get lots done. But I was a fool to think that!!

I did get home at 11. The event wrapped up pretty quickly and it was lovely working with everyone. There was a live auction and one of the prizes was a bunch of lottery tickets they stuck in a pumpkin. But the woman who won that was flying and so she didn't want the actual pumpkin so I got to keep it! Excellent. It was honestly larger then I should have been picking up but it's fine. I didn't drop it.

I got home and took a shower and was scrolling on my phone entirely to long. Just winding down. Hugging James. And eventually I was able to sleep.

It was honestly better sleep then I have had the last week. I woke up a few times but not as many and I think it's because I wasn't waking up to pee and then immediately drinking a ton of water every time because I was thirsty. But I did sleep a little better.

I woke up at 9. I don't even remember James leaving for work which made me a little sad. I was moving really slow this morning. But pretty quickly I was shocked awake because I got up and was like. Gotta plug in my phone. And immediately knocked over the new humidifier and spilled water all over my phone. Incredible way to start the day. I moved quick enough to rip my case off and dried it all off and it was fine just Jesus.

I took an excellent shower. I washed my hair and felt a lot more normal. I was sure I was full of energy and would have an excellent and productive day. But it didn't exactly work out like that.

I made the bed and wore cozy clothes. I went and had the breakfast sandwich James made me. I brought it upstairs and sat at my desk. It was a nice morning.

I would go downstairs to work on the sewing machine for a little bit. I got another color set of frog legs sewn. But I was not feeling sitting there so I gather one of my knit projects that needed sewing and brought it upstairs to work.

I did stop and checked on Crabcake. He has needed me to come and move him into the food bowl for him to eat. I think he's a little sleepy/bored as the house gets cooler. I will have to get him to walk around the room outside of his tank. Don't want him to be bored.

I would sit on the floor in our bedroom working on this floor mat project for a while. But after an hour I was just. So tired. I didn't really do much so I don't even understand why I became so overwhelmingly exhausted but it was wild. I was able to sew two rows closed and together. 3 more to go and I really wanted to finish that today but there was no way I was going to be able to keep going at that point.

I would lay down to watch a video. I was feeling very unwell and off. I was just not having a very good time. I would eventually fall asleep but it wasn't a very restful sleep. I woke up thirsty and tired and feeling weird.

I tried to shake it off. I drank water and moved downstairs and had a snack. I just wanted James to come home.

They were running late because of the event tonight. I was feeling a little better after my snack. I had the backdoor open and was working on .u temperature blanket. I have all the panels through the end of August put together now. I plan on getting all the yarn cut this week for September so I can work on that during our drive to Gabe's wedding weekend next week. Maybe I'll get October cut out too even though the total month won't be done. That's alright.

James would get home and I was not feeling great again. They came and cuddled me and it helped a little. They would make dinner. And we talked about baby. It's the 18th and the start of the 18th week. And I know I was feeling bad yesterday about everything but looking at the belly pictures I have been taking every Friday I am rounding out in the middle. So that's neat. I just really hope they are okay in there.

After dinner James would come and lay with me on the couch while they worked on editing their podcast. I was just scrolling on my phone. Eventually I would go lay upstairs because I needed different pillows. James would come up here eventually but they would go and hang a shelf on the stairwell (it didn't exactly fit so they had to cut it down a bit. Pictured above). But it should be good for displaying some of the Legos and other small sculptural things!

I would take a bath. And I put peppermint Dr Bronners in the water and so then I was so chilly after. But now I'm bundled in bed. Trying to be comfortable. I am just so tired.

Tomorrow I have a workshop at awah. I am a little confused about the layout but I'll figure it out when I get there. It should be a nice couple hours. And hopefully I am not to exhausted anymore.

I hope you all have a good night. Sleep well and be safe! Until tomorrow!

[boltedgarlic]

taglist~

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updated: 09/13/2024

[n4rut0runn3r]

Step-by-step Sweater

I finished knitting my first sweater! This has been a long adventure, and I wanted to share some highlights.

This sweater was originally crocheted and finished on November 14, 2021. 5 hours later, a historic flood had come and destroyed my childhood home with 6-10 feet of water inside my house and our shop. The water moved with tremendous speed and I had lost all of my possessions. The sweater was thrown into a wet garbage bag with the rest of the clothes we thought could be salvaged, as the flood was from the river overflowing through dairy farms and from an asbestos tainted mountain run off. It was washed by some volunteers who I am very grateful for. Unfortunately it never fit right afterwards.

I was going to throw it away, but on November 28, 2022 I decided I should at least salvage the yarn.

This yarn has been so many places. I worked on the crocheted version in Washington DC, and New York. It even accompanied me on the NY subway in all its grimy sticky glory. This yarn has gone on every road trip the past 2 years. This yarn came with me on a cruise and I made so many nice rich old lady friends. I even got a nice handful of cough drops for showing a lady how to do the increase I was working on.

I decided to learn how to knit because I read on a forum that knit garments use less yarn and are less heavy, and that was my original complaint with the first one, was that it was too heavy.

I frogged and restarted so may times, questioned my ability to count, but I kept going. Here are some things I learned:

-Knitting is very fun, I would just want to come home and sit in my chair and spend all day working on it

-Frogging knit is alot harder than frogging crochet

-The absolute hardest part of the whole thing was weaving in the ends. Why is it so much harder with knit!?!

-The nicer knitting needles are worth the investment. I knit alot faster with cooperative needles and cables. The bamboo ones also don't squeak like the metal ones

-I learned how to hold yarn tension in my right hand! I'm so used to holding it in my left hand, that it took a solid 6 months of practice to get it! I still can't do it when I purl though.

This is how much yarn was left over. All the yarn I had to use came only from unraveling the crocheted sweater panels, all of my yarn had been lost otherwise, so I didn't have any extra skeins on hand at all. This is how much more yarn was used to crochet vs knit. That's why the first one was so heavy!

This is me washing and blocking the sweater, I laid down some towels to help keep my table from being soggy for days. I washed and rinsed with wool light delicate. All of the yarn had already been machine washed, but I just wanted to be gentle since this project took so long.

I'm glad to be done! I'm already starting a second one, and I'm being sure to document the whole process. I'm attempting some more techniques in my second sweater. The sweater was completed on December 22, 2023. Here are some final pictures of the sweater!

The pattern I used was amazing. I also followed along with the YouTube guide. I highly suggest this pattern/video if anyone wants to try knitting for the first time. Video link posted below.