karizmatic's posterous

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Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:27:01 -0800

Taken at Matic Mountain

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TAD 2011-*-27: 'scatchup time

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 15:56:38 -0800

I know there's still 1 day left, but I think I may have already given up a week ago. this week's report (of excuses):

i've really tried to engage from the beginning (offering to host a swap, hosting a TAD event, hungrily sweeping your posts for inspiration and any useful feedback or whenever i'm moved), but i feel that the interactivity among us has been a bit challenging ... it was certainly not helped by the fact that i experienced technical obstacles easily locating contributor posts i really wanted to participate in (like posts from foolsfolly and taras), but could not find at the end of the day. i don't know about you guys, but the community of TAD is as much a part of it for me as it is making stuff and proving it to you. so, these difficulties were a real drag that sort of helped my decline.
except for the pizza dough making class (which was today), i did manage to participate in all the events that i set out to do this month. so, yayy!
so, about a week ago, i was asked to help put together a sketchup model for a studio in Malaysia my husband is helping design. what good fortune that he asked me right after i came back from an iPhone development class that i felt was a bit over my head. so of course i obliged wanting to feel good about the geek skills i DO have (i reported it last week and got permission to share this week - pic attached).
so, all of my making this week has been limited to taking c and objective c tutorials (smaller increments of information that i can fit in my head) and sketchup modeling, thanks to a series of asthma attacks leading to a mild lung infection, short of working - i confined myself to lots of sleeping and geekery-manageable-from-the-couch. after that studio model, i went back to the one i started of my home office and decided to start it over. i even managed to make a few components of my own - a hard shell cello case (although i didn't exactly go over it with fine detail - general shape and sizing only), an exercise ball and my corner desk table top.

who's doing TAD in the summer time? maybe i'll try again then.

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tad 2011-???-20: Weekend Survey

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:58:33 -0800

did not quite conquer iOS (yet), but rocked Sketchup like a mofo (that's the coffee talking at 2AM PT).

pics of successes when i get permission to post.

(pssst - you know who you are if you happen to be reading this - can i post pics of the sketchup i sketched up?)

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tad 2011-15: up here! (high 5, if you prefer)

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:41:52 -0800

finally came up with a hand i can live with - still some improvements i could make for the next one, but this is close enough and i will use it! not really sure what kind of yarn this is, but feels like either some kind of wool blend, but more likely a synthetic made to feel a little bit like wool. i used a 3.5mm crochet hook on his one. i probably improvised a couple of rows to get the shape i wanted, so it's not exactly a pattern, but here's the rough process:

BEGIN: chain 16, join to form a loop
R2-4: SC in the round, increasing 1 sc immediately after the first one and immediately before joining the round. (this increase is for the thumb)
R5: increase by ch1 at the midway point. do not join the end of the 5th row.
R6-9: ch 2, turn your work, and sc on each st
R10: ch 2, turn your work and sc on each st. sl st on the first sc to join first and last sc on this row (this leaves a gap for the thumb later
R11-12: ch 2, sc on each st, sl st to join

forefinger:
R13: ch 2, sc next 3 st, sc last 3 st in the round (directly on the other side of the round from the stitches you just sc). sl st to join first and last sc.
R14-19: ch 2, sc all sc on R13. sl st to join.
R20: ch 2, skip next sc, sc remaining sts. sl st to join
R21: ch 2, skip next sc, sc, skip next st, sc, sl st to join
continue R21 until only 2 sts left. join 2 sts and fasten off yarn

middle, ring and pinky fingers:
R13: sl st joining stitch of completed adjacent finger. ch 1, sc next 3 st, sc last 3 unworked stitches, sl st first and last stitch of the row to join.
repeat R14-R21 from forefinger to desired length & shape

thumb:
R1: sl st to the first st of the forefinger. ch 1, SC in the next st, HDC in the next st, DC in the next st, TC in the next st (this should all be on one side of the hand), TC in next 2 sts to turn work (you should now be facing the stitches you just worked), DC in the next st, HDC in the next st, SC in the next st, sl st in the first stitch to join. (this creates the angle snd slight bump at the bottom of the thumb)
R2-R3: sc in each st worked on R1.
R4: ch 2, skip next sc, sc next st, skip next st, sc, sl st to join.
continue R4 until 2 sts left. join 2 sts and fasten off yarn.

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tad 2011-12, -13, -14: Drawing; still blank.

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:23:09 -0800

I co-hosted a make-after-noon with Cakesface yesterday and was certainly productive enough to count for 3 days (right? right?!). Including pics of our fest, my completed project (unraveled an XL men's purple sweater I bought brand new - still with all the tags on it - from the thrift store for a buck 2 years ago) and featuring awesome earrings that Cakesface made and some of the scraps from us playing around with her die cutting tool - I'm hoping she'll post the necklace she made for you to see soon! ...in my defense - I did offer that wonderful woman sewing on the floor a table to sew on, but she just insisted on winging it in that corner. Go Catherine!

(OK, If I'm being completely honest, I've been feeling very stuck this year and unable to get energized about making at the daily fervor I had during my 2 previous TADs. I'm still pushing, though. Working on the same sculpture I've been working on since finishing Ann Darrow. I've made the next piece about 6 times and drawn it only about a billion more to try and visualize the shape I'm trying to achieve. So far, still a bunch of unstuffable incomplete yarn blobs. It may be the primary source of my frustration. 'Feels like a block I can't neti pot my way out of.)

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tad 2011-10 & -11: Nothing To See Here

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:14:13 -0800

TAD 2011-10 crafting = epic fail this week, but i have been getting my geek on (yayy!). spent my TAD time yesterday taking an electronics class, so nothing to show for it (wait - is there a way to see where ohm's law is now -finally- etched into my brain?). who wants to send me some techshop giftcards?

TAD 2011-11.1 also still working on the followup to ann darrow, but i have made several beginnings now and still unhappy with the results so i can't show you that either.

TAD 2011-11.2 I like keeping my hair outta my face, but haven't yet found a place that doesn't make me feel like i've wasted precious time for a haircut and i struggle parting even with $10 for one. so, once upon a time i bought some haircutting scissors and between my 2-3x/year haircutting visits probably why I haven't found a good place, yet), i trim my bangs to feel like i got one anyway. it's always a little crooked, but now i can see you better.

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tad 2011-09: let's call it kirigami

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:24:00 -0800

i may not have another thing after a busy day today, so here's my contingent thing (not 30 minutes of work, but it's what i've got right now and maybe all day) ... the battery-powered charger i made yesterday fits neatly into this altoids box, but you have to cut out the bottom end for the usb connector to fit through. i traced out the shape of the connector, added space to clear the lid and used some metal cutters (much bigger than i needed, but it was all that was around the house) to cut it and some pliers to bend it in place. in the process of seeing if it would fit, i accidentally broke the connecting leads for the battery, so i will need to resolder that later. meanwhile, tada!

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tad 2011-07 & 08: recharged

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:23:03 -0800

day 7: i may have hit my low point yesterday - there's always one day during the Thing A Day sprint when i just have nothing. hopefully that was it. i did only sit down at about 11:45 to make something, so that probably had something to do with it...anyway, i looked at a room full of supplies and nothing. moving on...

day 8: went to make:sf tonight to practice my soldering skills to make one of these - it's a portable charger for my phone; takes 2 AA batteries, rechargable OK. got a tour of Tech Shop SF while i was there - this was how i envisioned my dreamhouse, actually. anyone want to gift me a yearlong membership?

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tad 2011-06: here's the thing...

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:45:12 -0800

my TAD time is spent on other things lately and i have been lagging on the actual making of things that have more than the fleeting feeling of acomplishment. just in time since my neighbor, a fellow TADer, and I will be hosting a "Thing Today" on 2/13... for me, it was originally a mid-month renewal of my ThingADay "vow" (this is my 3rd year and this was a lesson learned from the previous 2 that I could really use one of these), but I have been so slack on my things all month (except for Ann Darrow) that this may just end up being more like a kick in the butt.

speaking of lagging... i'm not only about an hour behind and it's not so much a thing, but the plan for it, rather. finished the evite for our event this coming sunday and sent it out. if you live in san francisco and want to have an in person collective sprint day, come on over!

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tad 2011-05: today's reflection

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 22:28:31 -0800

We had 70F + degree weather today and my date finally felt well enough to ride his bike and it was all I needed to end up spending most of the day riding my bike around town. Found some white reflective tape at the bike shop and when we finally made it back home I spent the rest of what energy I have left decorating my helmet. It just really needed some personality.

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tad 2011-04: San Francisco Bike Party!

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:01:59 -0800

San Francisco Bike Party tonight and I had to spend my TAD time coloring in (ang glittering up) my spoke card (thanks for the glitter, Adrienne Lipoma! Finally used it on something). Now I just have to figure out how to put it on. I'd have posted this later with another thing I'm going to work on later, but posting now so anyone else in/near San Francisco can join the party. Meetup at Civic Center (at the Buddha Statue) at 7:30 PM, ride starts at 8 PM. I also took a picture of what I'm wearing, in case you want to say hello.

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tad 2011-03: Ready for her closeup (well, for her scene, at least)

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:48:31 -0800

Today, Ms. Darrow got the rest of her arms and legs, a full head of hair, a face and even a dress. I used thread to sew on her face, 4" pieces of yellow very fine yarn (about the same thickness as embroidery thread - stuff you'd make doilies with), and same kind of yarn in white for her dress. If it were only this easy to make a dress for full-sized people.

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tad 2011-02: RUN!!!

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:28:50 -0800

2011 SF Marathon Training Schedule.pdf Download this file

i actually spent my tad time making myself a marathon training calendar. nothing fancy - just one page calendar dates moving towards the SF marathon and target distances below them ... my plan is to run and finish the half marathon. i can still train for the full one, but i don't know if i'm ready to make THAT kind of commitment (i really just wanted to cross the golden gate bridge). well, i've run out of time to do anything else and it's 2/3 already. maybe i can give ann darrow more features tomorrow.

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tad 2011-01: Ann Darrow

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:41:01 -0800

It's my first attempt at a crochet "sculpture" and I'm making it up as I go along, so I don't have a pattern (I will try to recreate that later). I'm trying to keep her limp for her upcoming scene, but I do feel like she needs a bit more body. I will finish up her legs, add some fullness to her arms the same way, give her hair and maybe a face and then make some kind of dress at some point. Meanwhile, here she is partially completed - I positioned her by my cappuccino cup and saucer for scale.

Without any specific number of stitches, the rough process:

- I'm using an unevenly spun flesh-toned yarn with some loose pinkish fiber "clumps", about an inch or two in length spun into it ever 3-4 inches or so
- Starting where a hip connects to one leg, I chained enough stitches to a leg length I wanted, then came back up the chain in stitches with increasing length (slip, single, half-double, double - slipped at the knee).
- When I reached the end of the chain, I slipped stiched along the last double crochet, to reach the beginning of the chain and made another identical chain as the first leg and came back up the chan the same way (ending up with 2 connected legs)
- I made several rows of single crochets along both posts of each leg's last double crochet for the hips - increasing with each rown, then decreasing to mark the waist.
- The torso is a continuation of the waist, beginning with a ch3 making 2 sets of 4-double crochet bobbles for boobs and ending with a double crochet.
- From there, I chained a length to my liking and just like for the legs, worked my way back up the chain for the arm, then doing a couple of dcs on top of the torso, then doing another chain-and-dc return for the second arm.
- The head is made much like the hips and torso, with several rows of single crochet, with increases and decreases at each row for rounded shaping.
- Slip stitching my way back to the neck area, I connected both sides of the head, to give it some dimension with a chain + slip stitch.
- To reinforce dimension on the body, I added 2 rows of double crochets to the back and joined the waist with another chain+ slip stitch.
- I wanted to have a more "rounded" shaping on the butt, so I added double crochets, connecting them to the chain at the waist.
- Finally, I've finished one leg by slip-stitching both sides to "round" out her shape.

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tad 2011-0: Warm Up, Test and Prep

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:05:24 -0800

Eek! I don't have a plan, but here's what I'm trying to do this month that may make its way to a TAD post (somehow):

Instructables Build With Yarn Contest - Like I need more yarn in my life (it's the contest prize), but the project sounded like fun and it will definitely challenge my 3-d thinking cap. I've already picked my inspiration - I just don't know if I can get it all done in the 2 weeks left to submit to this contest. More on it later, if I decide to do it.
SF Bike Party - Just about to pick up my new bike (yayy!) and just finished cleaning the old one (and it still runs - double yayy!). If I can coordinate with my schedule, hoping to help out and participate.
Mozarella + Pizza Dough Making Unclass - Taught a crochet class in January coordinated via unclasses and now I'm going to check it out as a learner! I may make some pizza dough at home yet!
Make SF - Looks like a project to make a small phone charger project and I haven't been to Make SF in a while ... really need to get my geek on a bit more this year.

Questions for you, TADers:

Anyone out there doing a swap for 2011 TAD?
Anyone in the SF area want to have a mid-sprint TAD meetup? I'l be cohosting one with a fellow TADer on one of these dates (haven't decided which one yet): 2/12, 2/13, 2/19, 2/20. PM me with your date preference if you want to come over.

That's it. See you tomorrow!

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To Posterous or not to Posterous

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:24:48 -0800

I thought I'd just use Posterous for the ThingADay posts, but I've found it especially useful to post via email. I'm sure I can do the same on Wordpress, but I just found a site explaining how to configure mine and it's very late now my mind is a little too tired to digest... so, I thought I'd cheat and send this to my TAD auto-poster and let it do its Wordpress magic. Thoughts I want to put out there:

1. I'd like to know if my swap partner has received their swap in the mail yet...??? Is it OK to say who it is now?

2. Last week, I decided to make more stuffies. So I'm now in the process of deciding which (stuffed) animals I'll be making next and knowing very little about them, I've had to do a lot of looking around... I don't even really know where to begin looking, so I've done searches like "animal kingdom" and "animal classes" and clicked on a bunch of links several layers down from that. I just realized how many animal websites I've visited in the last 2 weeks and probably learned more about animals in that time than I have in the last 30 years. It is a foreign curiosity, but currently I am compelled, so I press on.

3. Is there really going to be a summer TAD? What happened to the weekly? How's March going for you?

OK, so tomorrow (or when I get around to it next), I will read the WP config again and probably leave Posterous for the next TAD adventure (we'll see). Until then, if you want to stay in touch, find me here www.karizmatic.com

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tad 2010-28 You Say Goodbye and I say Hello

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:09:50 -0800

Hello, Hello!

I started this hat this week and just finished:

My husband says that I also need to show a pic of the top:

Thanks to everyone for the collective push for making! It was especially great to get on board the friends & family plan this year with p0ppy, katstuff, & amster! See you next year!

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tad 2010-27 Happy Spring

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:19:19 -0800

Mailed out my TAD swap today and while thinking about what happens when TAD ends, I was inspired to make this card. is this considered a pop up card?

you pull on the small piece on the bottom (first pic; below the rainbow) and it grows as flowers come up on top (second pic). closeup of the "flowers (scraps from the cutouts):

and sorry to my TAD swapper for ruining the surprise inside the card (hopefully you haven't been following/reading my posts to notice).

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tad 2010-26 OX

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:54:49 -0800

I had a craft party just before moving to SF and my friend, Ferrie, brought 3 boxes of fabric of all types and sizes. I couldn't figure out what to do with the small pieces and just didn't want to throw them away...I've just recently realized that they are perfect for making stuffed toys like this one. It's an OX!

I actually didn't have enough of one color to make this, but I really dig how the combination of the 3 colors came together (parts from the same scraps: head and belly/bottom; horns and tail; body). Unlike the elephant and mouse I did a few weeks ago I decided to skip the pattern and free hand the shapes on this one and sew it by hand (I don't know why; I just felt like it). I also used the shreds of scrap fabric from the cut outs as part of the stuffing. Finally, I crocheted the nosering, left a long tail at the end and used the tail to sew it into its nose. (I say it because I assume the recipient will name it; are there girl oxen?) I used the same yellow yarn to "brand" it with my initials on the bottom.

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tad 2010-25 Soon Devoured Tofu

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:35:45 -0800

This (soon dubu, aka korean tofu stew) is my favorite dish ever. PERIOD. There is something so special to me about the heat of the dish, both in flavor and in temperature. I love the arresting chokes on the first couple of bites from what feels like the chili flakes scraping my throat raw and the heat that radiates throughout my body when I take a bite of a whole piece of tofu. I cheated a bit and used dashi stock instead of making homemade fish broth. I DID used my homemade kimchi for the veggies. I was sweating the whole time I ate this thing and had to take a shower right after eating it from the stink of sweat and garlic. Alas, I can't wash the garlic scent in my breath (sorry to anyone I happen to see and come into close contact with in the next couple of days). I'll probably make some other "thing" today, but I'm not sure I can make anything else today that will make me feel as proud.

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