bits 'n bobs from rabenwald

fake "black henna"

2008-08-18T21:56:00.003-04:00

alright everyone, here's the deal:: if you are gonna put something on your body, especially in quantities, DO SOME RESEARCH.
henna is a reddish or brownish stain on the skin (depending on skin tone), and starts out as a green-gray powder, that is made into a green-gray paste (that usually smells like various oils).

henna is NEVER black.

it NEVER dries uber-quick.

it ALWAYS starts fading withing a few days; it NEVER lasts a long time (it is a stain, it will start to fade as soon as the skin starts to exfoliate).

the intensity of the color and how long it lasts will depend on where on the body it is applied; palms of the hands and soles of the feet (callused, thick skin) will be darkest, but will start fading soonest. nails will be orange until they grow out. hair will be colored until it grows out. using exfoliating soaps or scrubs will cause it to fade faster.

yes, this tirade has a purpose. just read this article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26080350/
titled "Henna Hazard: Chemical causes ornate allergies"

there's a ugly, yet strangely nifty pic of a girl's hands, with flower and vine pattern blisters.

please, think about what you put on your body!!!!! henna is a wonderful art form, and a wonderful tradition.......use it mindfully, not as some nifty thing to get to show off to your friends that you were on vacation. they make t-shirts for that.

for more info, try
http://www.hennapage.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehndi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna
http://www.hennadancer.com/

post-pennsic stuff and nonsense

2008-08-15T19:25:00.002-04:00

so yeah, we made it home.........i will be trying to post here more often, life's been a little insane lately!! (apart, of course, from living in a field for the past two weeks)........

pennsic was interesting this year.......from the weather (mostly wonderful, sometimes hot, not too much rain), to the unwar status (the king of the east conceded all war points during opening ceremonies), to a pennsic icon being sick and offsite (thank the gods Og is better!!), to us both being sick (pennsic tummybug, luckily yogurt fixied it), to interpersonal dramas (silly lamas!!).......and i'm certain that there are various and sundry things i'm forgetting to mention (like drogo entering the A&S display, with two items, and getting uber-booty!!).......

the war can be summed up by it's theme this year (according to the merchant liason) "welcome to pennsic!! what the f^&%k???"

on that same note, here's the question i was running around with for a few days at war:: guess what i did one night in bed???
no not that........not that either.........you, wash out your brain with soap!!
the answer is, i got stung by a bee......
literally, i rolled over in bed, put my hand on drogo's hip, and got stung (on the hand)......the guys in camp (we had just gone to bed) heard a scream, and then a thump thump thump (as drogo killed it with the hugs flashlight), and then saw me come running out looking for ice.
what fun.
honestly, the fun was asking everyone the question of guess what?? the next day......

now, since war.........
we've got us a chest freezer!! the neighbors gave it to us for some welding work......it's just a little one, but it's still enough that when we see a really good sale on, or hit the farmer's market (or the local neighborhood sheep and goat farmer!), we can stock up a little.......i was cleaning all day to make room for it, then cleaning it, then lighting candles near it so it didn't smell so funny (got left closed while wet, you can guess at teh smell)......
then bad stuff........we discovered that the toilet leaked, by me pulling out some boxes and discovering moldy yarn. luckily, i only had to throw out (so far) one ball of crap yarn, and two pairs of ana's pants that i was saving for posterity (or blue jean bags)........i have more clothes to wash, and lots of yarn to re-skein and wash......luckily, i stocked up on vinegar!! also luckily, i discovered this before all the new wool and alpaca got put into said boxes........

i think that's all so far.........i'm certain i'm forgetting stuff, but you know how it goes......my brain is still mush!!

feel free to email, comment, or send a carrier pigeon, we're home now!!!! and i would love to hear from folks.......

updates, food network, dilbert, and pants

2008-07-10T20:53:00.002-04:00

hey everyone........

i know, i'm a bad monkey........but life has been a little nuts lately!!

first off, ragnarok was really wet.....as in, the last saturday we had ankle-deep flowing water through the booth.......drogo got us a hotel room, a really nice one with a two-person hot tub. pretty much every day of rag, we had storms of some kind, including lots of thunder and lightning, hail warnings, and lots of wind!! had to chuck plenty of stuff that got ruined; ended up doing $50 worth of laundry at the laundromat, including having to do one load several times with mass quantities of vinegar to kill the smell of dead something.......
while at rag, friends of ours (king torin and queen brenna) got married.......food network's "ace of cakes" did their wedding cake, a wonderful viking longship in 3-D......they also sent out a camera crew and taped the wedding and background on rag itself!! keep an eye open.........

luckily, the weekend after all that, we had off........recovery time!! we did lots of errands, lots of acquiring stuff to rebuild the trailer, groceries, fabric (of course!!), new stuff to replace old.......lots of sleep also, luckily.

this weekend, we have glass day......it's an SCA university-type weekend, all beyond-basic lampworking skills......should be fun, i've been forbidden to work; i'm being forced (oh the horror) to take classes all day, while drogo is stuck in the booth....heeheehee........

the weekend after that, we are doing the viking village at the scandinavian folk festival in jamestown NY......taking the monkey to that one......so of course, she grows, needs new viking garb.......

so i've been chained to the sewing machine again!! she's getting two new underdresses, 2-3 new overdresses......i've finished three persian coats for myself so far, with prolly another at least one (i got liner fabric for the sari fabric, bright blue cotton) and several cholis also, hopefully a few kamiz as well......and also, done a pair of pants, the pattern for which i promised to link to!!

so here it is, shalwar......
(i really hope that worked!!)

for children, instead of using a full width of fabric folded in half for each leg, fold the fabric in quarters lengthwise and use that.
these pants are uber-comfy, make sure you use a flowing fabric, something with some movement......the best mental picture i've ever found for NOT using stiff fabric is that it makes you have a duck-tail!!

next, on a slightly different note, a dilbert for knitters.........

thx to the wonderful people of ravelry-land for pointing this out!!

anyways, i'll try and get some pics of what i've been up to.....till then, have fun everyone!!!!!

we're home!!!

2008-06-16T17:26:00.002-04:00

yeah, i know i have been rather incommunicado lately........

we've been a little busy though.

two weekends ago, we were at the midsummer ren faire, in lehighton pa (in the poconos)........for that trip, we left thurs morn, visited family, did the faire, visited more family, and got home wed afternoon........

then, we were home for less than 24 hours, as we got up at like 5am (i prefer to refer to that as stupid o'clock!!) to go to sandusky ohio, for bike week......

we just got home this afternoon from that!!

all in all, i'm burnt out, exhausted, sore, and my cat hates me......

i'm really sorry for those of you who have tried getting ahold of me, i wasn't online for at least a week in all that.......it's been a little nuts.

i'll try and get something together for all those people i promised i would at the faire!!

but it the meantime, here's a news story that proves the existence of mythical beasts.......

'Unicorn' deer is found in Italian preserve

laters all!!!

icky update

2008-06-05T11:09:00.002-04:00

just wanted to drop a line.........

said dear friend isn't going to be able to save his whole finger after all.......at this point, they realized they are going to lose the tip of it.

he says he is doing fine, but i'm a little concerned about his mental state.......

so those of you that know him, drop him a line, an email, or give him a call.....if you don't know how to get ahold of him, drop me a line, i'll forward it....

and those of you that don't know him, keep him in your thoughts......he did a dumb, yes, but he's paying a high price for it that will be remembered, and will impact him for the rest of his life........

so far, he's kept his job, and his boss is very understanding......

let's hope it all goes this well!!

laters all, off to a ren faire.......... www.midsummerfaire.com .........

icky, but need good thoughts

2008-05-28T18:27:00.002-04:00

i could use some good healing vibes from everyone for a dear friend of mine.......

my 'brother' thrall was in a car accident last weekend......luckily, he was the only one involved.

he totalled his van, and almost lost his left index finger, along with the use of his left hand.

they saved the finger, but he's gonna need some more surgery and lots of rehab/PT to get back movement at all; he will prolly never get back a full range of movement in that hand. it will prolly be a year before he can really work again, and at least a year until he is allowed to drive.

on the upside, he is thinking about going back to school to find himself a different career...........

and it scared him straight (mostly)!! it's never good when it takes a catastophic incident to make someone see the light and get smart, but with all too many people, it really does take something that horrid.......and i'm proud of him for setting a reasonable goal, such as safe partying, rather than an improbable one, such as never partying again........

no matter how dumb at times, i still love him dearly........and wish him all the best!!!

and hey, this means he'll prolly be at war for a full two weeks.......and i think i get to drag him to classes!! now, to get more info on his new garb.......barbary corsair!!

spinning pics

2008-05-22T10:38:00.003-04:00

so finally, i've got some pics of my handspun up.......

most of them are absolutely horrid pics.........but what can you do?? my camera is an older digital, i'm not great at photos to start with......and the yarn is typical first yarn, oddly thick/thin, and plied weird.........and it didn't help that i was plying as at artyarn, with crochet cotton thread!!

so there's the roving, with the single and the spindle i spun it on (it's brass and stainless, and i'ts for sale kids!!)

and here is the same stuff plied and skeined, before washing::

but this fuzzball stuff is pretty cool........

............if i do say so myself! and yes, that's from my cat fur; he's a longhair, and it's shed season......i might just start collecting the shed and keeping it, it takes quite a bit to spin up any amount......

and here's my little fiber junkie-in-progress, playing with a spindle for the first time........

........she's using two different colors of yarn together, so she can see the spin.........i think learning to spin is gonna be our next summer project, as well as maybe dyeing with kool aid.......and maybe felting. i got her a lapp (a mill by-product) of wool/silk/rayon blend that evidently spins easily, felts well, and takes dye easily.........so i think that's the start of the summer learning!! now we just hafta figure out what to do, she'll be learning on my plying spindle.......i might hafta alter my other dropspindle (it's set up for bottom whorl, with a notch on the long end of the shaft and a point on the other) and cut off the point and put in a hook, so i can ply with it while she's using my louet student spindle.....

we'll see.

or maybe i'll just get him to make me a heavier one, to ply with!! because i will have more plying to do, hopefully soon......i also picked up two more rovings for me, in "blueberries and cream" and "blue spruce".........the blueberries is for him, they are both superwash, i think he's getting another hat......not sure what to do with mine, we'll hafta see how much yarn i get out of it!!

anyways, that's my latest obsession.......for lots more pics, those of you with ravelry check out my stash page, or those of you without, my flickr account......all the pics are up there!!

steampunk circus

2008-05-05T16:25:00.003-04:00

so drogo found me the pic of the guy from the steampunk circus......

he's wearing another of our monocles.........

and here's the website of said circus::

http://zirkubu.com/

all things amusing!! though the website is kinda infuriating to navigate....but this looks like it would be a really fun thing to go see.......

and coming soon:: pics of my spinning.........

we will be in new hope pa for the street ren faire this coming weekend.......wish us luck, or come out and see!!

spinning

2008-05-01T09:37:00.002-04:00

since this is my current latest obsession........

i wanna be as good as this woman!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynrwcqZzlGk

i won't be........i dont' have the patience, and i didn't learn at age 4 and done it every day for years on end.........

but i can covet skills as well as stuff, right???

rabenwald and the music business??

2008-04-28T20:18:00.002-04:00

just wanted to share this with everyone......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CuO_FAYQRA

if you watch this......the red monocle........at 00:40, 00:43, 00:44......and you can see the chain hanging on his vest (the guy in the red coat) several other times.......

that's our monocle. we made that. the band emailed us the link, and i figured i'd share it with everyone!!

nifty spiffy.........

amusing things with string!!

2008-04-21T18:52:00.002-04:00

so yeah, a friend of mine sent me this.......

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/09/cableknit_rug.html

this makes my brain hurt........i mean, it's really kinda cool, having a knit rug......but the thought of having cables that large gives me the shudders.....

i can envision having this in my living room; unfortunately, i can also envision tripping on a cable, going flying through a window, and killing myself because of it!!

anyways......

on other interesting news..........

check out this farm........

http://arare-breed.net/

these are cool people, an organic farm that does quite a few things (including black sheep!!)..............check them out........they are only like 5miles down the road from us!!

i think that's all for this evening........i've gotta go check the weather.......see if the noah-like (flooding) conditions will continue through tomorrow, or if it's gonna dry out anytime soon......

one can only hope!!

new nifty stuff

2008-04-17T16:37:00.003-04:00

so, we've got new product.......

dropspindles!!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11090041
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11090218

i know we have them on ebay as well, check our ebay store.......
http://stores.ebay.com/Rabenwald-Metalsmything_Knitting-Needles-Stuff_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ18770513QQftidZ2QQtZkm
(links to our knitting needles and stuff section of the store)

we do both top and bottom whorls.......these are a little bigger and heavier than a traditional takli supported spindle, but will work as either a dropped or supported spindle (at least the bottom whorl ones will work as a supported spindle)........

go take a look!!!

it must really be spring!

2008-04-16T08:27:00.002-04:00

yeah, i know, technically it's been spring for a few weeks......

but there are usually some "signposts" (as it were) that show me it's really here.......

this year, it wasn't being able to open windows......this winter was really weird, i had windows open for a little while in (i think) january!! we hit something like high 50's on and off all winter......so the sign is not windows open (though windows open overnight might be something, if it wasn't hitting freezing overnight these past few!!).

this year, it wasn't snow melting........we didn't actually get enough of the white stuff to stay for more than a few days at a time anyway.

this year, it wasn't weight of the coats/layers you had to wear........again, the weather was odd enough that i was occasionally going out mid-winter in a sweatshirt, sometimes with a scarf and wristies for a little added, but not a coat.........

no, this year, it's partially dealing with shoes........this past weekend, i spent the entire event in flip-flops.......got a little chilly at night.......but still alright......

which leads to me to the number one indicator that spring is really here::

I'VE GOT MY FIRST #$%!^%&&*@%$#$!#%#%^$^ BUGBITE!!!!!

(can you tell it's driving me nuts, it's on the side of my foot, i keep trying to scratch off my skin, i think it's an ant bite!!)

things that make me LOL

2008-04-14T20:51:00.002-04:00

http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/

don't eat or drink while reading this........because you WILL spit on your monitor!!

and yes, it is work-safe.....

WWKIP day

2008-04-14T18:22:00.002-04:00

i just had to share this link......

http://www.wwkipday.com/

the acronym stands for "World Wide Knit In Public day"..........the largest knitter-run event in the world.........

a chance to meet other knitters; to be a companionable knitter, not a solitary; to show the world just how many of us there are out there!!

unfortunately, there is nothing even remotely close to me......

WWKIP day is the second saturday of june every year; june 14 this year!!

good luck, and have fun poking the muggles!!!

my monkey is on fire and IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!

2008-04-14T11:41:00.003-04:00

just needed to say that...........i got her nightgown done, a little while ago......and now i have the blackmail pic to prove it!!!

she had just woken up.......so is a little bleary.....

and for other amusement, here is my office.....

yes, that's a toughbook, hanging on a hook, on the wall in my living room (over my spot on the sofa....)......

and yet other amusements........my mom has been cleaning. she recently sent us 5 boxes via UPS.......one box with ana's b-day present (yes, my monkey is now 9)......and four with craft supplies and fabric.

so we now have several dozen wooden sheep and hearts, a gallon-sized ziploc full of sequins, quite a few tri-beads, some pipe cleaners, enough plastic lacing/laniard stuff to choke a moose, and hopefully enough fabric yardage to do something interesting with!!

(about the odd crafts......my mom was a preschool sunday school teacher for many years, and most of this stuff, especially the weird stuff, was from crafts for sunday school, and she's figuring that we can either use it for ana, or donate it to the school, or sell it on ebay)

i need to take this afternoon and actually sort through all this stuff, make piles of things monkey will use, things we can use, things we can sell/donate, and yardages of fabric (i can't know what i can make with it until i know how much i have, now can i??)

so that's for this afternoon.....

oh yeah, and for one last pic.........here's proof that drogo really does do work occasionally!! (he's taking apart watches for their gears for steampunk stuff)

piratical knitting!!!!!

2008-04-06T11:17:00.002-04:00

i think this website is absolutely awesome........

http://www.knitlikeapirate.com/

several different patterns for very pirate-y accessories......

in particular, i'm gonna hafta make a few of these:
http://www.knitlikeapirate.com/projects/tricorn.shtml

a knit, felted tricorn hat (and how to do the feather-boa-like stuffies on the edges too!!)

i'm thinking one in black with blue edging for drogo.......prolly one in a red or dark grey for me.........maybe one in a nifty blue or purple for the monkey!!!

this project uses around 600yds of yarn.......with some eyelash or (non-feltable) fuzzy for the boa stuff.....

so this is a pretty affordable project!!

i love it!

quoth the knitter, nevermore

2008-04-05T20:14:00.003-04:00

the hilarity ensued on the ravelry remnants board.......

thanks to all who put this together, and thanks for letting me publish it!!!! if i've got any of it in the wrong order, please drop me a comment and let me know......and how to fix it!!!

BTW, somewhere down in stanza 15-16, the abbreviation WIP (usually stands for work in progress) should be pronouced like the word whip, not like three separate letters.

-------------------------------------

QUOTH THE KNITTER, NEVERMORE!!!

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and complex pattern of forgotten lore-
While I knitted, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“Another knitter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door:
Only this, and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December
And my afghan Glowing Embers had just slipped down to the floor
For my books I was searching, from shelf to shelf was lurching,
Frantically researching, researching the lost Lenore,
The Sock Club socks for members only that the Harlot named Lenore,
Not for sale for six months more.

And the silken yarns in stash were so tempting soft and certain,
Thrilled me — filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
” ‘Tis some knitter entreating entrance at my chamber door —
Some late knitter entreating entrance at my chamber door; —
This it is, and nothing more.”

Presently my socks grew longer: hesitating then no longer,
“Knitter or crocheter, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is, I was knitting, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my craft-room door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—
Darkness there, and nothing more!

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Can I meet the deadline no knitter ever met before?
Still the yarn runs on unbroken, knitting up my loving token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, ’Lenore!’
This I whispered, and an echo murmered back the word, ’Lenore!’ –
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the craft room turning and my soul; for yarn was burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely” said I “surely that is something at my crafty stash;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this Mystery Stole explore -
Let my needles be still a moment and this Mystery Stole explore:
Tis a knitter - nothing more!”

Open here I flung my basket, compact yarn and needle casket,
Out rolled a ball of Raven purchased months before.
Not the least project planned it, simply did I have to have it,
But, with sheen so soft and seemly, did it my eyes implore,
Into my shopping cart I gathered four,
Gathered, hoarded, nothing more.

Then this lustrous wool beguiling my new fancy into smiling,
By the worn and boring sweater from the Walmart store.
‘Though thy colours dark are many,’ I said, ‘my choice worth every penny,
Will always make a garment that leaves me wanting more–
Will I finish off that project before using these skiens four?’
Quoth the Knitter, ‘Nevermore’.

Much I marveled this luxuriant wool to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no knitting human being
Ever yet was blessed with cashmere yarn above her chamber door -
Self-striping upon the needle jar above her chamber door -
With such name as “Nevermore!”

But the cashmere sitting lonely on that needle jar formed only
That one word as if its skein in that one word it did outpour.
Nothing further then it uttered - not a soft strand then it fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “other skeins have failed before -
On the morrow it will fall short, as my skeins have failed before.”
The cashmere said, “Nevermore!”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store,
Tink’d by some unhappy knitter, whom unmerciful Gauge Measure
Followed fast and followed faster, till its plys one burden bore
Of ‘Never - nevermore.’”

But the Cashmere still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of skein, and jar, and door;
Then, upon an afghan sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this dark cashmere of yore -
What this soft, luxuriant, variegated, now ominous skein of yore
Meant in forming “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, while no syllable expressing
Of the cashmere whose beautiful firey dye now into my eyes did bore
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the intricate cabled lining of the never finished cover
But these twisted stitches entwining on the unfinished cover
Seemed to spell out nevermore

Then methought the craft grew denser, the yarn black hole! my knitting’s tenser,
As the hours lengthen yet the project touches not the floor.
‘Why?’ I cried, ‘When gauge is right, the rows increase into the night,
Yet inches stay the same - should I return to dear Lenore?
No! Finish this, and then pick up Lenore.’
Quoth the Ravelers, ‘There’ll be more.’

"Project,” said I, “WIP of evil! Evil still if wool or cashmere!
Whether I shall finish thee or toss thee here aside
Saddened, angry, yet undaunted, by this project witch enchanted
On this yarn by trouble dogged, tell me truely, I implore?
Will I ever meet the deadline–tell me, tell me, I implore.”
Quoth the cashmere, “Nevermore!”

“Project,” said I, “WIP of evil! Evil still if wool or cashmere!
By the pointed sticks between us, by the rabbits we both adore,
Tell this knitter so frustrated if a clever way does exist
To make amends and finish this long task I so abhor,
To mend my ways and so complete this task I so abhor.”
Quoth the cashmere, “Nevermore”

“Be that word our sign of parting, yarn or fiend,” I shrieked, upstarting
“Get thee back into the stash room and be banished and ignored
Leave no inch length as a token of that lie thy skein hath spoken,
Leave my knitting time unbroken! Quit the jar above my door!
Take thy fibers from my heart, and take thy skein from off my door.”
Quoth the cashmere, “Nevermore.”

And that cashmere, ne’er unwinding, still is twining, still is twining
On the dusty jar of needles just above my chamber door;
And those plies have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
Dreaming of unfinished projects left in tangles on the floor,
Cursing cast-ons yet unthought-of, cursing second socks galore,
To be finished – nevermore!
--------------------------------------------------------------

and for just a little dose of unreality (not that we really needed any more, after this work of genius!!), let's go on to something a little more campy............
-----------------------------------------------
A long, long time ago,
in an LYS far away,
God said “Let there be WIPs”

It’s just a knit to the left
And a purl to the ri-i-i-i-ight
Watch your stash give you fits
In flourescent li-i-ight
But it’s the knitted swatch
that really drives you insa-a-a-a-ane
Let’s knit that sock once again
(repeat)
----------------------------------------

i'm not telling what that's a filk of, you should all really get that bottom stanza.........it still makes me giggle!!!!!

thanks again to all the crazy folks at ravelry........this was an absolute hoot, and my drogo still thinks i'm nuts!!!

souls???

2008-04-04T11:28:00.002-04:00

i found this article to be genius........

http://www.slate.com/id/2187561/?GT1=38000

titled "death to stuffed animals! the genius of webkinz"

i was a little against webkinz to start with.........the monkey has a few issues telling reality from fantasy already, and i was worried that this new toy would make that worse.......

and in some ways, it has. but we are consistantly reminding her that it's just a game, just a toy.......not real..........and she seems to be starting to get that concept.

things changed a little when her grandmother's dog died...........dakota was a husky, and while ana didn't really play with him, he was a beautiful animal.........and the death rocked her world.

so, they bought her a husky webkinz, named it dakota............and now, dakota lives on.

definitely made the kid feel better, and in some ways, made grandma and mommy feel better too.

so maybe there is something to be said about stuffed animals with electric souls!?!

tidbits

2008-04-03T19:26:00.002-04:00

some little things......

first off, i think this is a really cool news story...........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23942218/wid/11915773?GT1=31037

Pregnant ‘man’ tells Oprah: ‘It’s a miracle’
Transgender dad is 6 months pregnant after artificial insemination

back in college i had my brush with semi-serious activism.........i was a PRIDE member (the gay/straight alliance on campus), and was involved in things like philly pride week, and the millenium march on washington...........so this story just makes me feel good...........both the fact that it is just a regular couple, having a baby, being normal and happy..........and the fact that i haven't seen a lot of denouncers yet!!
i think it's just really cool...........

and next, a joke............

this afternoon, drogo was giving me hell, cause i was muttering about startinga new knitting project, when i've got a few on the needles i've been kinda avoiding lately............

i told him i had startitis.

he said that i'd better see and end-ocrinologist for that.

yeah, i hit him, it was too much of a groaner............but it was kinda funny!!!

then, some news..............

the stepmonstermonkey has pinkeye again, but she's fine..........got her eyedrops, back to school tomorrow.........we spent the afternoon at the laundromat, boiling her sheets/blankets/clothes/webkinz.........

and on the way home??? not only did it rain, but we had hail..........larger than sand, about half the size of a pea.........not cool, not fun, but luckily it went away quick, and the ground was too warm for it to freeze..............

(wails) i just want it to be spring!!!!!

laters all!!!

there's something wrong with the world today......

2008-04-02T09:29:00.000-04:00

and it's not just the fact that my title is a song reference.............anybody??

i find this sad.................and scary. my stepmonstermonkey is a third grader.........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23905909/

article titled "cops: third graders plotted to attack teacher"

in some ways, this is a little scary........i mean, we here at the house of misfit ravens are lucky if we can get the kid to remember to bring home her schoolwork; the thought of a group of kids like this plotting to bring things in (knife, tape, handcuffs.....) is just a little diabolical..........

and then again, my next question is where are the parents??? i mean, i highly doubt that our kid could get any of this stuff to school from our house..........and where does a 9yrold come upon handcuffs????? i'm not trying to be insulting, but really.......come on..........something is wrong here, if these kids didn't know that hurting others like this could be wrong!!!!!

i think this will be one story i'll be keeping an eye on...........

nasty stinkies

2008-03-31T19:25:00.002-04:00

so yeah, smells are getting more press........or at least reactions to smells!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23836093/

article titled "odor tyrants:those sensitive to scent fight back"

at least i know i'm not the only one anymore, i used to get such weird looks when i told people i was allergic to their perfume, or that i couldn't use fabric softeners, or scented hand lotions, cause they gave me really bad headaches.............

first event tips and persona info

2008-03-26T11:00:00.002-04:00

alright......a lot of this info is gonna be "duh!" type stuff........but some of it might end up being stuff that seems common sense, but really isn't............

feel free to take what you need, use it, and ignore what doesn't apply!!

i'm mainly talking about SCA events, though a lot of this will apply cross-organizationally (i think i made up a word there........)(SCA will most likely be reffered to as 'the society' for the rest of this monologue, and stands for the Society for Creative Anachronisms....... www.sca.org )
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first off, on the topic of going to your first event...........some things to think about.........

what type of event is it?? by this, i mean is it camping, a day trip, a tourney, a schola or university, something completely differnt, all of the above...........make sure you read the event announcement fully, as different gear will be needed for different types of events............a good first event is a day trip, becuase no camping gear is needed, and you can get the feel of an event without worrying about getting camping gear, setting up a tent, living in a bunkhouse, or dealing with overnight issues...............if you are already a camper, then a camping event is an okay first event, or if you have friends that do this regularly adn can give you pointers............

what season is it?? and if it's away from your home, what season is it where the event is????? if it's winter, you will need different garb than if it's summer........this is kinda a no-brainer, but what people don't remember is that even in summer, it can get damn cold at night!!! i've had summer events that i can see my breath after the sun goes down........and winter events that have hit 60degrees!! no matter the event, especially if it's camping, make sure you pack plenty of warm stuff (when i say every blanket you own, i really mean every blanket, every afghan, every large peice of warmish fabric.........yes, i've had to do this, plus wear layers to bed, in the summer!!) also, if it's winter-ish, make sure you have things like tea, hot choc, and chemical handwarmers........in summer, pack lots of water/propel/liquids that don't spoil................and for either, a change of clothes that are appropriate..................for winter events, if you get wet, you can get hypothermia; for summer, sweating heavily can make you smell funny!! and yes, seasons do change from place to place.....one year, we hit 'peak spring' three different weekends running.........raleigh NC, where everything was just in bloom; then home (martinsburg WV), where everything was just in bloom; then kutztown PA, where everything was just in bloom!! also, is the event in the mountains, it will get colder at night there than on lowlands.............think of things like this!!! www.weather.com is your friend!!!

if you don't already have a persona, or are just trying this out, garb for first events can be as simple as getting in touch with a local group, and borrowing goldkey (loaner garb).........or wearing plaid pajama pants and a large, simple T-tunic (or broomstick skirts and peasant blouses)(jeans and poet shirts)..............or as complex as you want it to get!! i would suggest that if you don't know whether or not you are going to continue with this fascinating hobby, that spending a lot of money on first event garb isn't always a good idea..............
and yes, some people might give you a hard time for "bad garb", but the simple explanation that this is your first event usually shuts them up.............if it doesn't, i usually suggest a respectful "piss off, i'm a newbie" works as a last resort.................and i do mean a last resort!!

one of the things that you always need to remember: ASK QUESTIONS!!!!! don't be shy, obviously pick your time and understand if someone can't talk right this moment, but if you don't ask, how are you supposed to learn?? most of us that do this are more than willing to talk someones ear off, waxing enthusiastic over this hobby that we love........be polite and respectful, but if something makes you curious, just ask!!!!! nothing is a silly question, especially when started wiht "pardon me milord/milady/good gentles, this is my first event, and i saw you were doing/wearing/carrying xyz, and i'm really wondering......" there really are some weird things we do/wear/carry, and some of them are period, some of them are society-specific, but asking questions is how we learn! i always tell this to 'mundanes', newbies, adn ren faire patrons.........if they have any questions, just ask; whether it's something in our booth and they dont' know what it is/how it's used, or it's something i'm wearing or doing.........
a good idea that goes along with this, is keeping a small notebook and writing implement in your pouch/purse/bag of holding.........if someone starts talking, feel free to take notes!! most people will have websites or books to check out, where they found the original research, or suggestions of things you might find interesting to read............and also, this way you can write down people's contact info, or what you saw that you want to go back to and look into further.........or any ideas on getting further into this lifestyle!

and now, onto persona................

there are a few (!) resources online for this...........again, feel free to have no clue for a while when you first start doing this........feel free to play around, and not really fixate on one time/place/era if you don't really want to for starters............
around here, we practice what is generally known as multiple persona disorder (MPD), which can happen in several different ways........this first is more difficult, and generally less seen.........in which someone has an entirely differnt back story for every different time period/era/personality they take on...............this happens more in a living history type situation, but can also happen in the society.........
the second, more common, form of MPD, is when someone has a basic persona (i'm oonagh rabenwald du stravnos of madrai mora, and i'm a clanlady, blacksmith's apprentice, and gypsy) and then wears/does/makes whatever catches their eye or interests.............for instance, i work with metal, fabrics, and fibers mainly............i wear viking, persian/turkish, indian, and romani (i'm still working on that stuff!)..............i sew, weave, knit, lampwork, blacksmith, bellydance, run a merchant booth, and take any class that catches my eye (amazons in history, anyone??).......this makes things easier in some ways, and is what i suggest for newbies that really don't know where they want to go with this, or are much too fascinated by too many different things to settle down quickly........
for newbie MPD, i suggest making an outfit from any culture that interests you.......instead of deciding right off the bat that you are an elizabethan noble, do the research, wear an outfit, and then think about it...............if you can't stand the clothes, than maybe elizabethan noble isnt' where you want to go!! and the same applies for viking, burgundian, french, or anything else......(asian, tudor, indian, native american, mongolian........the list goes on..........)

on choosing a persona..............there are many websites that give great info on this process..........

for starters, the 'duh' resource is www.sca.org ...........their newcomer's resource guide is on their homepage, or here....... http://sca.org/newcomers.html ............this will link outwards, to places that are suggested...........lots of resources...........

next, try http://www.ealdormere.ca/newcomers/weirdnames.htm , a good intro to building a persona.............

this guide seems to be very well put together......... http://www.modaruniversity.org/Names.htm , and the sibling site for detailed questions for a detailed persona......... http://www.modaruniversity.org/Persona1.htm

for the very basics, i found a website for mainly american (french-indian war?) reenactors, but the questions still apply............(vaguely edited, but good)

*1.What is your name?
*2.What year is this?
*3.Where are you from?
*4.What is your station in life? Are you wealthy, middle class, poor?
*5.What do you do for a living?
6.What is you religion?
7.What do you wear? [This answer will be affected by the first five questions above]
8.Who do you live with?

9.What is your typical daily menu?
10.What do you do for fun?
11.How were you educated?
12.What medical care is available to you?
13.Can you read or write?
14.How did you learn your trade? (see #5. )
15.Is your 'station in life' likely to change ? How?

The first five (*) are the most important, first things to think about….from 9-15 are other interesting info
http://wapititc.com/persona.asp

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i hope this all helped..............i know it's a little wordy, but this can be a very in-depth concept.......my next guide will most likely be surviving your first pennsic...............and yes, these guides are quite a bit aimed at a certain magpie, but they are good info for anyone looking to get into this wonderful, maddeningly addictive hobby/lifestyle!!!

if anyone notices anything wrong here, or has anything to add, or has any questions if i've been obtuse or forgot something; leave me a comment, ask a question...........

book report

2008-03-21T08:38:00.002-04:00

so yeah, i know i read A LOT.......but wanted to recommend the latest on my list............

usually, i read mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and things of that nature..........within the past year or so, i've started reading mysteries, history, romance, and women's stuff............as well as anything else that looks mildly interesting...............most of the reason for this is my local public library is tiny, and all sections are very limited.........so i've gone through almost everything in my favorite sections, and now browse the entire space, hoping for something to catch my eye...........and have proceeded to work my way through entire author's collections, because i grab one book, and then go back and read everything the library has by that same author...........within a week.

so i go to the library on wed afternoon..........took back the 10 books i had out last week........and find nothing really catching my eye. so i grab two..............i just finished the second, and that's what i'm talking about here..........

in the genre of women's stuff.......by new york times bestselling author Kristin Hannah...........

"Firefly Lane"

about best friends, growing up from the 70's to today..........getting through life's ups and downs, staying friends through career and marriage/parenthood............

i never cry at books..............well, this ending made me cry, for something like 50 pages...........

a wonderful read.........a wonderful story..........

deaths of legends.......

2008-03-19T09:31:00.002-04:00

well, several things on this topic.......cause it seems to be one of those weeks.......

on a more regional level, i recently found out that a prominent member of an organization i played with recently passed.........yes, king cheslov of markland has gone to the great beyond...... http://www.companionsofthecross.com/ for a pic and obit........this man did more than i ever thought possible........both for country, and for reenactment!!

and on a more global level...........arthur c. clarke (author of such enduring things as 2001: a space oddysey) has died at the age of 90!.............. http://tv.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=306053 ............wonderful writer, did quite a bit for both the genre, adn for hard space science as well..............

both men will be missed greatly!

knitting tips

2008-03-16T18:38:00.002-04:00

alright, here's my crafty concepts for the evening..........

first, for all those books that are not spiral bound........yeah, it breaks the spine, but some books don't open unless you break that spine!!

and for all the times you hafta frog, and you are using a center pull ball.......knitting off the peice of card was a little fiddly, but saves issues with tangling!!! and yes, my snake ate my yarn cake.....that's why i made him!! i didn't want the silk yarn to get all weird, so i'm holding it snugly in the solipsis snake..........

(also, i really wanted to show off the pretty colors of silk i'm knitting with).......

i uploaded more pics to flickr.........and rav..............

laters all!!!

odd things.......

2008-03-16T18:20:00.002-04:00

warning:: this could give you nightmares.........

ever seen the movie "black sheep"?? i think that's the name.......it's set in australia or NZ, something like that...........about zombie sheep, eating people.............it's gruesome, but hysterically funny............

now, take that info, and relate it to this pic...............

i found this (through friends on the knitty coffeshop boards) at http://freshome.com/2008/03/13/the-creepiest-chair-youll-ever-see/

the tooth fairy gets cranky!!

2008-03-12T21:55:00.002-04:00

i just had to share this..........

the backstory is, my stepmonstermonkey lost a tooth today.........at lunch, at school........well, the little doof left it in the cafeteria!! and by the time she went back to get it, she coulnd't find it........she's pretty sure the cleanup crew got it, and it's in the dumpster...........

so, being as she had no tooth to put under her pillow, we wrote the tooth fairy a note, explaining the circumstances.

and this is what the tooth fairy wrote her back::

DEAR ANASTASIA,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR NOTE. I ALREADY DUG OUT THE TOOTH; YES IT WAS IN THE DUMPSTER. THANKS A LOT, NOW I SMELL FUNNY, AND WHAT’S WITH THIS BANANA PEEL BEING STUCK TO MY WINGS?? NOW I CAN’T FLY RIGHT. THANKS A LOT. I THINK I LOST MY WAND; IT BROKE WHEN I USED IT TO PROP UP THE DUMPSTER LID, AND NOW I CAN’T FIND THE PIECES.

YES, I FORGIVE YOU. YES, YOU STILL GET THE MONEY; BUT BECAUSE OF THE HARDSHIPS INVOLVED, YOU GET MONEY THAT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO SPEND. HAVE FUN WITH IT TACKED TO YOUR WALL, RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR CHINESE MONEY. EVERY TIME YOU LOOK AT IT, REMEMBER SOMETHING FOR ME, ALRIGHT??

QUIT LOSING YOUR TEETH!! THIS TIME YOU LEFT IT AT LUNCH, ANOTHER TIME I HAD TO DIG IT OUT OF YOUR MOTHER’S ARMCHAIR; YOU’VE NEVER MADE IT EASY FOR ME!! YOU’RE LUCKY YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN MONEY FOR THEM, WHAT WITH ALL THE ISSUES I’VE HAD TRYING TO RETRIEVE THEM!!!!!

NEXT TIME, DO ME A FAVOR?? DON’T LOSE YOUR TOOTH, WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR TOOTH.

THANKS A LOT, KID. SEE YOU AROUND!!

-THE TOOTH FAIRY

the "tooth fairy" took her note, and left her this, with a $2 bill..........

just thought this really needed to be shared...........i'll post tomorrow with her reactions..........
i just thought everyone really needed a giggle right about now!! we almost snarfed laughing, while writing it...........

new places to find our shtuff

2008-03-12T17:15:00.002-04:00

yeah, i know, y'all find rabenwald in so many places.......at ren faires, at sca events, at dag events, on myspazz, knitty, ravelry, ebay...............

now, here's another place to find your friendly neighborhood metalsmyths.......on etsy.

rabenwald.etsy.com ...................some of our weirder stuff, some of our normal stuff.............and this is where drogo's newest obsession is gonna have its home..........

yes, my dear man is into STEAMPUNK.

if you don't know what that means, google it..........that's really the only advice i have.......

come out and give us a look!!

thx all.........

opinion time poll

2008-03-07T12:06:00.005-05:00

yeah, i'm looking for feedback here..................i'm in a quandary.

so a few posts back, i squeed over some new fabric i got...........now, i know what most of it is gonna be.............i've got (total) five pairs of pants, two tunics, a nightgown, some headscarves, and some mystery fabric.

it's the mystery i'm trying to work out.

and by mystery, i mean the absolutely gorgeous, two toned with gold accents sari fabric.

i'm pretty sure i want it to be a persian coat..............cut so that the edging is in the middle.........

but this leaves me with issues. first off, this fabric is very slippery, making it difficult to cut and sew........next, stuff like this is famous for fraying off the body if the seams arent' done right.........also, it's fineness and slipperyness make it have no body and no warmth (while trapping moisture, making it uncomfortable to wear next to the skin)...............and lastly, the style of coat i want needs to have certain components............

which leads me to questions, that need opinions.

so i'm holding a sort of opinion poll..............

here are the pics................the fabric;

and what i want to make from the fabric...............from codex vindobonensis 8626 (pic found at http://www.geocities.com/anahita_whitehorse/ottofemcloth.html )

and a crop from this pic, specifically what i wanna do.............the coat, here shown pink, with a green edged yellow lining.

now, i'm looking to use my sari fabric for the outer peice of the coat..........my quandary is i need a lining. i personally dont' really like green or yellow............sometimes if it's the right color, but not usually.................and i already have several coats of this sort, yes they were worn in layers.........i have a short sleeved black velvet, lined with gorgeous rose colored floral paisley brocade............and a long-sleeved purple velvet, lined in dark blue cotton...............the pants seen here i sometimes wear, a mottled dark blues.........i also have shalwar, in a very light satin that is kinda purply-blue...............

but as can be seen from the codex vindobonensis pics, outfits did not neccessarily coordinate........or match.............and many bright colors would have been worn together............so in reality, i'm a little too monocromatic..............except for the rose lining.

so i'm looking for opinions here...........what color should i line the sari fabric with?? i'm thinking of bonding the lining to the sari, then cutting............it will stabilize the sari, making it easier to cut and sew, and less likely to fray................i will prolly be french seaming this whole buggering thing............and i might pick up wide ribbon, to edge the lining also............but that would hafta be yet again a totally different color...............

i want the lining fabric to be cotton, prolly a plain single color............

my favorite colors are reds, blues, purples, blacks, and greys..................i also wear whites, or at least creams..............

i dislike greens and yellows.............they make me look sallow, unless they are just the right shade, and it's tough.....................

a bright color would prolly be best...............but for personal preferences, i'd prefer something that doesn't clash...............much.............and actually coordinates somewhat with what i already have..........

i have made sure that anonymous postings are allowed for comments...............please, drop me a line, give me what you think...............it will ultimately be my choice; but as i don't have any girlfriends nearbye, adn i'm tired of making drogo do this for me, drop me a line!!

thx in advance y'all..............

new ways to get ahold of me

2008-03-03T18:26:00.002-05:00

and yes, i know that this is two in one night, even in one hour.......
but.........

i just got google talk.........so any of my friends with gmail, or google accounts in general, get in touch and i'll make sure you get put on the list..........

this especially goes for said girls that got mentioned in the post directly under this one!!

laters all, i think i'm done for the night (but i'm not promising anything!)

nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!!!

2008-03-03T17:25:00.002-05:00

i just wanted to let everyone know, i had the windows open today.......the banks we passed with temperature readings on their signs said anything from 68degrees to as high as 72degrees..........it was beautiful, sunny, warm, with a breeze............

yeah, i'm being mean..........but then again, it's supposed to snow later this week.........so i had to, just had to..............

it's days like today that remind me that winter will end eventually................

on another note............i'm debating on joining the challenge........... http://chilechews.blogspot.com/2008/02/stress-less-in-march.html ...............i'm just not sure. it's a great plan, to spend 30minutes a day of mindfulness (meditation, yoga, stuff like that that keeps your thoughts on the now, not the worries)............it would be a good idea, for every day, to take time out and calm down, get centered/grounded, stuff like that...............i'm just worried that trying to fit something into the daily schedule will actually cause more stress in the house..........either just trying to remember to do it, or freaking out when i get to bed adn realize i've forgotten..............i'm hideous at remembering things............even things that happen every day (the number of days i simply forget to brush my hair, until it's either bedtime or we're about to leave the house, is simply uncountable)(and this is bad, my hair is almost long enough to tuck into my pants!)...................and our daily schedule is hectic enough without trying to impose something else onto it..............
i'm just not sure.
i might start doing soemthing like this when i can......on my own time, with my own stimulus.......
if i do, it's prolly gonna be something like learning tai chi, which is something i've been meaning to start anyways to help my health........

on this note, only different........
i really wish i had a friend that lived close enough to do things with.........i love all my good friends.......but my three best friends all live 6 hours away from me, in three different directions.......and i see one of them around once a year, and another twice a year (and we missed one of those times for weather, so it's down to once this year)........the third i see fairly regularly, but we are usually so crazy busy that we dont' have time to hang out and just be girls.............this drives me nuts. i have other friends that are closer, but not really less than a few hours..........and not really the kind that you would call up and say 'hey, wanna go shopping?? i'm going nuts here, i need outta the house'................
i guess what i'm saying is i'm feeling lonely...........
now, this is not a whine, or a ploy to convince a certain nerd to come get me.............this is just a moment of loneliness...........
and said nerd and i will get together asap, as soon as we can coordinate lives, schedules, and money issues..........on both ends.
and yes, we can hope that a certain redhead that i missed on my b-day weekend will be able to come out to something else eventually......................
and we can hope that a certain other redhead will calm down, and we can actually hang out sometime instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off............
and yes, this has been posted in public.............
and i will try.

i love you girls.....................but i'm still gloating about today's weather!!

looks like my boyz!!

2008-02-27T19:23:00.002-05:00

and i think that's all i have to say about that.

btw, the story is:: stepmonstermonkey adn i were discussing cats doing odd things.....and i told her about lolcats..........so tonight, we were looking through the website...........
needless to say, we found this..........

it looks like way too many of the boys i know!!

i will now return you to your reularly scheduled blog..........

what not to wear (if you're a viking woman)

2008-02-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

just saw this article, i'm not posting it as a research website, i'm specifically posting this as a no-no............i just wanted to make sure that, if someone saw this, they didn't think "oh, this is on the web, it's new research, it must be true!!"..............

i've checked it out with a number of other people who do viking research, from what i'm hearing, the author is out of her gourd (and not just from the reenactment community, evidently the archaeologists think she's nuts too).........common consensus is that this is too impractical for a viking woman to have worn.........it doens't strike anyone as being acceptable.......

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uu-vdn022508.php

please please please, be careful when you do research.........i always try adn make sure i've got several sources, especially ones that don't lead back to each other!! because, say you've got three websites, but site one has bad info, then sites two adn three get their info from site one; yeah, you've got three sites, but they all are built on bad information.........

so please.......check and double check!! i'm always on the lookout for new stuff.......but stuff that makes sense............if something sets off your suspicions, or makes you go "but huh?!?", it very well might not be right............trust that intuition, it's smarter than you think it is........

and if this is right, i'll knit a hat just so i can eat it..........

(drool) fabric............

2008-02-26T08:25:00.006-05:00

so yeah, got lots of projects to start work on soon.............
we bought fabric.
first up is drogo.............black twill for pants, really cool skull bandanna fabric (they have it in red too!!) for headwraps......blue mottled flannel for jammie pants............and (i'm gonna curse lots!) navy blue thermal fabric (he's getting a thermal undertunic)................and it's all 100% cotton, less chance of him melting while wearing it all forging............

for me, two new pairs of flannel jammie pants, and a sleep tunic.........prolly end up wearing the tunic for a garb lite day too though.......

this stuff is gorgous.........it breaks my rule of only natural fibers, but i had to have it.......sari-ish brocade..............for only $4 a yard..........i think it's gonna be a persian coat, cut so that i have a seam down the back where the fabric edges (with that wonderful trim edging) meet........so i will have a double stripe of pretty, right down the back of the coat, and on either side of the front......i really hope i have engouh that i can do the sleeves with the wrists at the edge too...........

and of course, i'm hoping that i have leftovers for a choli..........i'll make sure to post pics of finished objects.............

but i'm not allowed to work on this with the monkey in the house, i know already the air's gonna turn blue from all the salty language!!

and of course, had to have something for the monkey........flamey flannel..........we're gonna go blind looking at her wearing it, but it's gonna be a nightgown...........as she puts it, flame-print sleepwear helps her stay warm at night!!

i think i've got my work cut out for me...........luckily, i don't think any of it needs trim, so that's one less thing to worry about.........i've got trim sitting on my loom (that i strung up at pennsic) i need to finish........pretty dyed pastels silk, with beads along one edge.........for trimming the short ends of a pale rose-colored veil (for indian garb)...........need to get that finished before warm weather sets in..................

i'm being lazy about knitting currently too...........i have three WIPs (work in progress'es), none of which i've really worked on in a while...............but we have an event this weekend, i'll almost definitely get stuff done then!!

and now, on to breakfast...........

i wish......

2008-02-24T17:14:00.002-05:00

that we weren't already booked the first weekend in may this year......because i discovered something very interesting, that heavily pertains to my latest fiber obsession.......

the maryland sheep and wool fest is about 2ish hours from here.

and we're already booked.

i of course sent the website to drogo...........threw a fit........made sure that the event really was already booked for us......and that there was no way we could split the weekend, and i would go to the sheep and wool adn he would go merchanting............dammit...............

so of course, we're looking into (when they get the vendor's apps on the page for 2009) merchanting there.

this, according to their publicity, is the largest sheep adn wool fest in the country........to provide a reality check, a woman on one of the forums i frequent (i think it's the knitty coffeeshop) is trying to make plans to come up this year.........from TEXAS. yes, that's right, if driving, a three day (ish) trip...........each way.............trust me, i've driven from philly to houston, i know how long this takes (and it feels like forever)...............

so, this post is an official whine of "but i wanna go!!!"..............

but don't think i'm not trying to figure out and plot how to turn this into a rabenwald field trip for next year, for myself and maybe another fiber junkie or two (you know who you are!!!).........

and yes, this idea will be updated...............

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!!

2008-02-24T10:49:00.002-05:00

on ebay, that is........

i finally got him to do it........here you go, jenna.........and anyone else that wants them.......

http://stores.ebay.com/Rabenwald-Metalsmything_Knitting-Needles-Stuff_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ18770513QQftidZ2QQtZkm

this is our knitting stuff store......we will be adding to it asap, we can also do some custom orders........and there are things he's looking at trying, when we get some more raw stock.......

we also recently got electronics in the mail, he's going to build me a kiln, so i can anneal my glass beads...........this will result in glass-topped knitting needles (i have a personal set already, but we won't sell any until we can get them annealed).........also glass headed hair stix...........
he is also working on figuring out how to do circular needles........it's the cord that has him stymied currently.............but he's working on it............
he also has designs for other heads for straight needles...........not just glass, but sun spirals, dragon/beastie heads, and other things like this..........

keep checking in for updates.............

also, check out the rest of the store..............yeah, it's medeival themed (mostly), but pennanular brooches make great shawl pins............

thank you for reading, this has been my shameless plug for the day.........and now, i leave you, so i can return to my regularly scheduled birthday laziness..............

general updates and etceteras....

2008-02-19T14:13:00.002-05:00

let's see, what have we been up to around the household of misfit toys...........

we were gone for a week.......visiting good friends in raleigh, nc.............did an event (ymir) and a BGOV (blacksmith guild of VA) meeting on the weekends bracketing..............

i made drogo a hat...........see the pics on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/23432288@N07/
said flickr page is mostly knitting photos.........feel free to hop on and take a look........

while down south, made up some glass-topped knitting needles as prototypes.........and drogo is working on making me an annealing kiln, so i can start making stuff for sale.........

on a really happy cool note, my camp mom just got promoted............she is now a Baroness Mistress.............instead of just Mistress..................congrats MOM..................

this weekend is drogo's and my b-days..............we are doing whitehart (we always do whitehart on the b-day weekend!) and visitng the family down there..........it'll be great to see them all, we only see most of that crew twice a year.............

i'll try and get a show schedule up asap.............for those that live in towns anywhere near some of these shows.............

i think that's it for right now............oh yeah, maybe not..............currently working on getting info on the history of knitting..............as in, how/where/when/etc like that is it documentable, and for which of my multiple personas??

any info, please drop me a comment...........as soon as i have any info of this nature, of course i'll post it...........

thx all!!

my philosophy.....

2008-02-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

on knitting......
i guess you could almost call it waldorf. as in the school.
the way that this teaching technique was (simplistically) explained to me is learn to walk before you can run. this can translate into practically anything you would want to learn how to do......

take a baby. we teach children how to talk before they can read, right?? it's the same way you should teach any language (as long as you're not a high school classroom!), by teaching how to speak a language before you are taught how to read it, write it, or translate it.
this method tends to be popular for learning violin.......students are taught how to play before they are taught how to read music.

i'm kinda teaching myself knitting the same way..............

i've only ever made one thing from a pattern, and i ended up changing that too..........i've done a lot of small things, teaching myself stitches and patterning.......i taught myself how to cable, from printed directions (in the knitpicks catalogue!!)............and have since used it to design two items, one the solipsis snake (taken from redshirt knitting's solipsis pouch pattern here http://redshirtknitting.com/?page_id=376 )...........and one an oddly hideous camera sleeve.......

and the next project is going to be a laptop sleeve, or a belt purse, or a hat for drogo.....they are all in line, it just depends on what i'm in the mood to work on next!! (there also might very well be something else in there, i mean really, the camera sleeve was thought up around mid-afternoon yesterday, and finished before bed last night......from idea to finished project in several hours, i think i need bigger projects!)

i've also decided that i'm currently working on small things mostly so i keep my interest........kind of an instant gratification thing going on here.........i haven't done anything lately over about 1ft sq............that will change soon, i have a few larger projects in my brain...........and some more small ones!!

on another note...........this computer is officially mine now, drogo's new one came in yesterday..........so i get to play with the wallpaper, change around the icons..........rearrange the favorites listings............knit said laptop cozy........knit myself a laptop bag...........heeheehee, this feels great!! he's still gonna need to use it sometimes, it'll prolly go on the road with us occasionally, so the ebay functions etc will still need to be there.........but i get to hide them in little, overlookeable folders marked with his name, that i never need to work around again.........

also, on yet another note, i've been researching drop spindles...........i remember seeing an article a while back on a guy that made art spindles (that work!), using saucers and cogs and stuff like that, found objects...........if anyone else has either seen this article (so i know i'm not hallucinating!) or even better, knows where it is............drop me a line............i'd be terrible grateful, drogo needs inspiration for his perspiration (it's really too early to be blogging, i haven't had any caffeine yet!) and he's gonna be making drop spindles soon........

thx all...............

pics

2008-02-04T08:05:00.000-05:00

so yeah..........i've been promising to post pics of stuff i've been doing...........

first off, i'm gonna drop a link to my (brand new!) flickr account...............

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23432288@N07/

everything should be in the knitting stuff set, but if it's not.........i dunno. please go adn check it out, i've been posting pics of all my finished projects.............as well as a few pics of drogo working (before we switched around the current shop!) and me adn my monkey, in viking garb........yeah, it's from '06, she's grown a little since then, but still..........

anyways, here are the photos of my new needles that drogo made me.............i know that they are hideously bad, but taking pics of metal is a very tricky proposition..........

those are the dpn's...........the group of three are stainless, and the group of six are bronze..........

these are bronze........brushed finish, so they grip the yarn...........and the cable needle to match..........

i'm showing off.......and advertising a little............he should be posting cable needles in stainless soon, as well as more knitting needles..............both straights and dpn's...............so keep checking our ebay store.............. http://stores.ebay.com/Rabenwald-Metalsmything ............

i have already tested all the needles in teh second pic, i still need to test the first set.........that'll come next week, i'm saving projects for when we are in raleigh..................so i don't go starkers in someone else's house for a week!!! much as i love visiting them, they are very close friends, it's still not my own home.............

i'll post my reviews of the dpn's asap...............laters!!

organization

2008-02-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

since this happens to be the year of organization........i've just spent several hours organizing files.......
so yeah, my eyes are currently crossing, and my point and click fingers are a little stiff, but i've just about got it done...............i've just about got our entire (that i know of at least!) music library catalogued!!! technically, now all i hafta do is go into the 'playlists' folder, pick which kind of music i wanna listen to, and load it up to my mp3 player...........
i really doubt this is gonna make things that much easier, still lots of stuff to wade through, but hey.........one can hope................
i'm getting a little fruity currently, i've been up too long today............and it's been an off day all around..............
next on my organizational task list is getting a flickr account so i can upload pics to my ravelry notebook..........
for any of those readers (i hope i have at least a few!?!) that are also on ravelry, my profile name is oonagh fibersmyth (no space between, i put it there to make it easier to remember)................i've decided that once i get used to it, this whole ravelry thing is gonna be really awesome...........
i've been knitting mp3 player accessories...........i made a little cozy for the actual player, and i'm currently knitting a bag that will hold the player (with ear buds), a spare pair of buds, the USB cord, and prolly a set of directions (at least for now).........that's gonna be felted, it's so that in travel i don't break anything, and nothing gets lost............and it's an excuse to knit something else..............heeheehee................
my monkey has been knitting lots lately also............we decided tha tthe size 13 needles were a little clumsy in her hands, so i cast on to a pair of 10s for her, adn she's going full speed ahead (well, as full speed as an adhd clumsy 8yr old will go)...............i'm hoping she gets good enough that it will start working as a meditation for her............she needs all the help in that arena she can get.................

and for the bonus round this evening, i actually made a new dinner (alright, it's my mom's recipe) and the family liked it.............erzatz lasagna (alright, it's also called baked ziti, but mom's recipe uses elbows and that's what it's always been called).................

i'm starting to get a little fuzzy here.........i'm thinking it's time for bed................NAPPIES!!!!!
night all!

i got a present!!

2008-01-31T12:39:00.000-05:00

heeheehee.........
let's see, since we last talked.........we have since cleaned part of the living room, cleaned out the sewing room, and rearranged the house.....his desk is now in teh sewing room (which has been turned backwards from where it was), and the corner that used to have his desk now has my armoire (7ft tall, monstrous, grandpa-built) has switched living room corners......and the best happens tommorrow............
tomorrow morn, we are getting satellite installed..............so instead of dealing with the dreaded dial-up, we will have satellite internet.........maybe i can finally start listening to some of the podcasts i keep hearing about........and download some of the how-to videos i recently found...........i never could......the thought of dealign with dialup wasn't worth thinking about.............
so all those of you who try to call, and the line is always busy, should be thankful!!

also, about the present i mentioned up top.........drogo gave me part of my b-day present early (mostly because he wanted to play with his that coordinates) and handed me an mp3 player......holds a gig.............so i'll be able to listen to what i want to in the shop, and it'll hook up to a set of old confuser speakers i have, so i can set it up to play out of the speakers ..............
the amusing thing about all this is that he wanted to play wiht his, didn't wanna wait, and his doesn't work...........heeheehee..............and isn't it ironic??

anyways..........gotta go............got some more cleaning and straightening to do before we go get the monkey.................
and then i gotta get the drogo to take some pics for me to post here........current projects and stuff............
laters!!!

FINALLY!!!! someone gets a clue........

2008-01-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

alright, so here's the warning.............this post could prolly be considered opinion, or even inflammatory................and possible even rant-ish...............
you've been warned.................
this is a test of the emergency rant system. remember, this is only a test.

--------------------------------------------------------
finally, someone is getting a clue, and it only took a 10-year-long study to do it.........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22809222/
"For women, bisexuality may not be just a phase"

please, check out the article..............i think i've finally been vindicated...........now, there is finally something to point to when people look at me and say 'but you can't be bi, you're with a man!!'...............stupid people........both straight and gay have told me this..............don't people understand that just becuase you are with one person, doesn't mean that you are not attracted to someone else, even if you don't act on it????? how many people lust over movie stars or singers, and consider it alright because they will never act on it (because the object of their lust is unnattainable).................and don't see this as the same sort of thing..................

now, this rant isn't stating whether or not i act on anything.........that is a private matter between myself and my significant other................those who know, know, and those who don't, dont' usually need to know...............and if they need to know, i'll tell them!!

-----------------------------------------------------------
this has been a test of the emergency rant system. remember, in the event of a real rant, screaming would have ensued from out of your computer screen, usually followed by an oonagh intent on snapping necks..................thank you for your cooperation.

knitting scouts

2008-01-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

i was putzing around knitting websites (not sure now what i was really looking up!)..............cuz ya see, one of my favorite "i'm bored!!" pastimes is to drop a random search term into google and see what pops back out at me...........when i was in college it was things like 'gothic' or 'fairy', but now it tends to be more involved things like 'medeival india womens clothing rajasthan' or something equally involved...........
but i digress.
as i was saying, i was putzing around knitting websites, when i found the knitting scouts. now, this is a part of the "cast on" knitting podcast, and i can't listen to podcasts, we have dial-up for now............but i thought this was rather amusing, and wanted to share.............because we all tend to have some of these moments!!
http://www.cast-on.com/?page_id=123
i particularly like the "knitting whilst under the influence" badge.............

i'll prolly be using these at some point in time, yes i know this is not specifically a knitting blog, but it is about what i'm doing right now, and what i'm doing right now tends to be knitting (along with other things that readers don't really need to know about, unless you are interested in just how many books a day i go through!!)...................
and on that note, here's the ravelry update..................

You signed up on January 20, 2008
You are #91164 on the list.
5805 people are ahead of you in line.
1747 people are behind you in line.
92% of the list has been invited so far

no i'm not obsessing, i'm just impatient!!!!! wanna have fun!!!!!

BROKEN!!!!!

2008-01-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

alright, i finally broke...........i finally did it..................and here's the stats::

You signed up on Today
You are #91164 on the list.
7033 people are ahead of you in line.
6 people are behind you in line.
91% of the list has been invited so far

yes, this means i'm waiting for my ravelry invite...............

and i just signed up on the knitty.com coffeeshop forums...............we'll see how that goes too..........

i'm hoping to use all this new stuff to look at as motivation to keep knitting.............i tend to get halfway through a project (of whatever genre!) and then move to something else............the trick is to continue doing whatever it is i'm doing WHILE moving on to that something else.............and then combining and timesharing and whatever needs done to get everything done...........
so..............we'll see!!

health

2008-01-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

so yeah, the word of the week is conjuctivitis..............much more commonly known as pinkeye......

the monkey has it..............and when the eyedrops say every four hours for the first two days, we take it seriously................meaning i stayed up and dropped her at midnight, and set an alarm and got up at four am, and then did it again at 8am................and then noon, 4pm, 8pm...............and again midnight and 4am and 8am......................
and then, thank all the gods, we can drop down to four times a day for 5 days..............
i really hate interuppted sleep, but being that this is stupid kinds of infectious, will spread with barely a thought, and my lord and i don't have health insurance................we are kicking this thing as hard as possible............so it stays kicked.

on that note, i have recently found a really cool website.............

http://kidshealth.org/index.html

yeah, it's called kids health, but it has a section for parents, kids themselves, and teens..............and it covers all sorts of things, from physical things, wounds, mental health stuff, and other things like deaths in the family and bullying...............
and has decent info that is easy to assimilate, even if there is no kid involved...........it uses smaller words to explain difficult concepts.............which, even as a grownup, can make health a lot easier to understand!!

knitting

2008-01-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

so currently, knitting is the passion........now granted, my passions tend to be circular, and go around in loops, but then again, so do most fibers.......heeheehee.......................
so here's the list of stuff i've found...........

starting wtih my favorite yarn company............ www.knitpicks.com ................amazing prices, decent colors, free shipping over $50..............pages of how-tos..................a really great all around site...............

my mother, oma, just gave our little monkey yarn and needles for x-mas, and started teaching her how to knit........and my grandmother gave her a little kit, from peace fleece (they don't have a website, try googling them to find their kits)....................so here's some interesting stuff on knitting with kids...........

for a list of multiple links, all about knitting with kids, http://anacleta.homestead.com/knittingwithchildren.html ..........how to knit with kids, articles on how knitting has helped kids, kits designed for kid's hands............

if you (or a kid) is just starting, try with knitting without needles, finger knitting..........only four stitches across, rather loose, but makes nifty cords, thin scarves, or belts............... http://www.maggiesrags.com/tips_fingerknit.htm has the best how to on fingerknitting, for pictures (but the commentary isn't as good) try http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATfingerknitting.html
(both of these links is on the above knitting with children links page)

for a comprehensive page of knitting links, with everything from how to pages to patterns, tools, blogs, catalog sites, try http://home.earthlink.net/~teechkidz/id46.html .......some of the links are out of date, most are alright..........

for conversions and calculations.......... http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/tools/index.html ..................increases, decreases, yardages, convert yards to ounces............haven't tried them out, but worth it to keep in favorites...........

and for the green of us.............something to do with all those plastic walmart bags that seem to always act like bunnies.............. http://oma57.tripod.com/cleobag.html ...........i'm thinking of making up a few, and using them at camping events for shower bags..........or shopping bags..........or food bags..........or anything bags!! not sure how strong they are, i'll post after i make one..............

in the tools category, try here.......... http://www.craftydiversions.com/patterns/homemade_yarn_swift.htm ................simple, pretty..............and for a slightly weirder version of the same, http://www.folkcatart.com/blogs/jen/?p=742 (i've also seen one motorized out of k'nex!!)........
my grandfather (carpenter, contractor, furniture maker) made me a swift for x-mas.......not sure of the wood, but it's gorgeuos..............i'll try and post pics eventually.............

for a online magazine, try www.knitty.com ...............they have articles, patterns, etc.............with a flair for the unusual and interesting..............

and that's all just what didn't get lost on the other confuser when it died.........

my current project is a set of wristies.........like mittens, without the finger pocket and the thumb (just a hole for the thumb)............i'm using knitpicks yarn, wool of the andes coal, cardinal twist, and carbon twist. the next project i'm going to be working on (still hafta get the yarn!!) is a knit, felted basket for use at events (every wicker one i use i kill)...........gonna be large enough post-felting for a hardcover book (ish).....................prolly again in knitpicks wool of the andes coal, mist, carbon twist, firecracker heather, amethyst heather, and sapphire heather............i think that's it...........i eventually wanna pick up a set of their harmony wood needles, they are gorgeous.................but i'll prolly spend my x-mas money that was supposed to go to those and get yarn instead..........

i'll attempt to post pics, when i get stuff done............remember, i did say attempt.........

silly gypsies!

2008-01-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

(small note for starters........when i refer to period, it's to the time that is covered by the SCA (society for creative anachronisms), from around 650-1650 ish..............so that being said........)

so yeah, back in a research phase.................started actually doing quite a bit on gypsies, or the rom as they are known (gypsy tends to be a derogatory term, i use it becuase it is more easily understood)................and i've found some interesting info.

i might have some of this wrong, just wanted to start putting things out there..........

the first gypsy tribes were originally from india, the north-westerly section, who then moved to the extreme north.........this all happened in the early 1100's...........they would have been from rajasthan or rajput india...........were forced to migrate becuase of war..........info is unclear whether they were ousted from ancestral homes, or if they were with attacking armies and just kept moving after..........
they then moved through persia, and then through a medley of other countries, notably trebizond, the byzantine empire/constantinople, and then to the balkans around the 13th century, and then romania..........from there, in the 15th cent they moved through many more countries, by 1500 they were in the british isles, spain, norway, poland, and greece, to name a few..........

"We originated in North-Central India, migrated via the Upper-Indus Valley, Persia, the Caucuses, Armenia, Byzantium, Greece, the Kingdom of Serbia and what is now Rumania to Eastern Europe and then split off into smallish groups and made our way into all the countries of Europe." (http://www.kopachi.com/)

Language base was rajput/sanskritic, then dardic, then Persian, then Armenian, then greek, then Slavic/Serbian, then rumanian.…..
All romani dialects today contain same loan words from the above languages……..

what this (in practicality) leaves me with (as an overview) is that my garb choices are mostly in the right general area............i practice what we lovingly call MPD, or Multiple Persona Disorder.........i tend to wear viking, persian, turkish, and northern indian.............if the gypsies were originally from northern india, they would probably have worn the lengha/choli/gaghra combo (skirt, cropped top, veil) of the mughal empire.............i've been having difficulty finding info on the period garb of other empires, or the early period garb of the mughals.................i tend to wear this garb in the summer, as it is comfy, cool, and keeps the sun off.............persian is also a very comfortable style to wear, i'm still working on my summer versions, but the winter versions i have are both attractive and comfortable, and nifty enough to draw attention in the booth (yes, it's something i think about!)............about the only garb style i wear that is not in any way related to this topic is viking............way too early period for all this...........
and i didn't even know it when i started wearing all this..............i've had these outfits for several years, but have only recently started doing research and realizing i've been on the right track all along...........i just need to adjust my time periods.............

my sources for all this are all on the web currently...............

http://www.kopachi.com/ (the citation used above, site is a little sparse, but the info is easy to understand)
www.romani.org (lots of info, lots of words)
www.latchodrom.org (for people looking to put together an accurate sca persona)
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/patrin.htm (the patrin web journal)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Roma_history (yes it's wikipedia, it's not great, but it's a good starting point)
http://www.comm.unt.edu/histofperf/christiwells/chrono.htm (very simplistic, but easily assimilated)
http://scatoday.net/node/4115 (links list for sca gypsies, has some decent info linked in)

if there is anything i'm doing wrong, or may have missed, please feel free to drop a comment.........i've only recently started this research, and haven't really had time to assimilate........also, there is much more about post-period than there is about in period........

new year updates

2008-01-03T16:23:00.000-05:00

so.........i'm really bad at keeping this all posted and updated.........so here's the update from the past month or so.........

-it was a board game kinda x-mas...........for the kids, i made board games out of fabric and glass pebble thingys...............researched rules offline...........seemed to turn out pretty well!!

-it was also a cookie kinda x-mas.............i made a batch of rum balls, batch of sugar cookies, batch of gingerbread, batch of shortbread, batch of mocha, and a double batch of peanut butter.........and also these chocolate sugar cookies shaped and baked around hershey's kisses........divvied these all up and gave them as gifts................who doesn't like getting cookies??

-it is becoming a organizational year..........we received gift cards, and promptly spent them on bookshelves. we now have a 9ft long, five shelf high wall-o-books down our hallway............and we have lists as to what comes next to get the house in shape.............at least, some shape other than tornado.........

-as an organizational year, i'm also trying to organize my personal life...........i have a daily planner, we are keeping several calendars, and i even put whiteboards on the fridge so i can keep to-do lists easily.............i hope it helps..........

-we are redoing the monkey's room..........she just hasn't gotten here yet to see what we've done to it...........we put our old wire shelves in her room, to hold her toys.............and we are planning to build her a loft bed, with built in desk, cubbies, and shelves...............this of course will prolly not happen until at least spring................but when you have an adhd monkey, keeping her stuff organized helps keep her brain organized...............so............

-not sure what shows we are doing yet........it's a slow starter year, usually we'd be starting like next weekend.............keep checking back here, i'll try and post what shows we are doing.......

i think that's all for now.........the fog is rolling in a little.............i will try and keep this updated more often now................hopefully..............

happy new year!!

'tis the season

2007-11-12T18:42:00.000-05:00

i hate the "christmas season".

no, i'm not really a bah humbug type, not really..........i enjoy making and getting that right gift, i love my little baby 2 1/2' x-mas tree (that always goes up, only missed one year since i was 3!)...........i enjoy the big dinners with family, many of whom i don't see more than once a year maybe.............i enjoy decorating for a holiday....................and weirdest of all, i do enjoy the kids x-mas specials on tv (i love the animated grinch!) and christmas carols!!

but i hate the season. not the weather (even though we got snow already this past week) but the pushing, shoving, aisles cluttered, stupid bell ringing, forcedly cheerful, gimmegimmegimme, with stuff out before halloween in the stores!

this drives me nuts. i've watched the "season" creep forward as the years go by............i remember when the mall would put up the decorations the day before turkeys (thanksgiving), so that it would be festive for black friday...........the decorating started creeping, and creeping...........now, there was a x-mas shop in walmart in the middle of october (towards the beginning) and the inflatable decorations went out a week adn a half before said pumpkins were even thinking of rotting..................the internal store decorations went up sometime in the past week...............and they are already playing carols!

come on people. give it a break. get over the 'i want this, and i hafta have it!' syndrome.

what is this season all about?? well, let's start with when they start decorating......

halloween. for pagans, this is new years, a day of remembering those that are gone, the end of summer/beginning of winter.........for many kids, yeah, it's gimme candy, but it's also a chance to be someone they really are not. my little monster was a pirate. yeah, she's a pirate a lot, but she got the clothes for it this time (yes i'll post a pic, after i get the mud off them and can get them back on her!).........

thanksgiving. for americans, a chance to give thanks for everything we have.......a time to get together with family, enjoy the fruits of all our labors...........and remember the past, those who have gone before to get us where we are today.

christmas. now this depends a lot on whether you celebrate this as a religious holiday or a family one. if you are religious, it's a birthday technically............a day of miracles............a day to remember what's joyful (i was raised episcopalian)................if you are not, most still celebrate this as a day to give special things to those close to us, a day to be together with those you care about...............for pagans, solstice is pretty close (the longest day of the year), the day when the days start getting longer again, a rebirth of the sun, the first day of the end of winter.

now i wonder, where in all of this do large inflatable santas on motorcycles come into all this??
where does football play into the traditions?? where does it state that a list a mile long of things we can't live without and our family has to go broke buying is required?? where is it that if we don't like something we've been given, we look at whoever gave it to us and say we don't like it?? now i admit, i've done this a time or two..........usually when i'm allergic to whatever it is(smelly candles can kill me!) where does it require buying out a store for a single person?? (i worked toys r us for two x-mas seasons......i have watched parents come in and pile several carts to the point of overflowing, then make remarks at the register that they'll hafta come back for the cousins, this is all for one child!) this was really underscored by holidays with my ex, his family tradition was that you spend around $500 per person, he was rather upset with me that i wouldn't let him, we coulnd't afford it, and i found it tacky; he was rather embarrassed, but then again, there are many reasons he's my ex.............

i think my point in all this, is we need to remember why we have holidays, remember what is at the core of our upcoming days............
family.

i tend to remember this well, i'm juggling visits with three separate families for every holiday........his, my mom's side, my dad's side..............and for me, with grandparents visits thrown in..................we are 3 hours from any of our families.......so when we actually get north, especially with the little monster, visits are required.........it is a juggling act.............and it really underscores what i've been venting about above............
we have a choice around here. we can go broke buying gifts, or we can use the extra money to visit the family...............
i'd rather visit the family, and make/buy a few well-thought-out gifts that people will really enjoy adn remember, than lots of stuff that will all blend together within a day, and never get used.

happy holiday season...............i'll try and keep my rants a little shorter from here on out, my posts a little bit less preachy, i just had to get it off my chest before i burst and killed a bell ringer..........

research must-have

2007-11-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

yeah, i've been posting lots lately.......i'm going through a internet-research phase, and it's better to share all this stuff than keep it locked in my head.........and anyway, that's mostly what this blog is about anyways............
so...........
my latest must-have website on anyone's research list.................

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

it's a translation site (as i'm sure the words babel fish should imply), and it's the best one i have come up with. literally, you type or cut and paste what you don't understand in a box, select the from and to languages (i've been with mostly from german to english, as i'll explain), hit the translate button, and your translated text pops up quickly. not too many ads, nothing that takes forever to load with dial-up, nothing distracting...........

i love this thing.

the reason i found it is the ever-present wiki. i've been using wikimedia commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) which is all media files.........i tend to browse through miniatures...........sometimes getting the right words in the search engine is interesting, but hey, it's a computer thing............
the amusement with all of this, is that items get posted from all over the world........which means (in my case) i've been looking up art of india, and i'm getting back things that have been posted by a german. which means all the labels (title, artist, etc) are in german.
i don't speak/read/anything german.
thus, to the babelfish.
thankfully, this is giving me the opportunity to label my files in something i can understand.
thank the gods.

hope this helps!!

world clothing

2007-11-04T18:21:00.000-05:00

well, research...........it's what i do.

some may be interested to know how cross-cultural things really are........i found this picture online, in an interesting gallery primarily made up of bedouin photos........ the website is http://www.old-picture.com/bedouins-index-002.htm ...........at least that's page two of pics........where i found this.

now, this pic is credited as tunisia-tunis, and it says it was taken in 1890. i've seen other photos looking like this one, from about the same time period.

where i come from, that dress is a chiton, viking overdress, or more commonly known as a bog dress.........and it is held together at the shoulders by penannular brooches.........which we make in a myriad of forms.

said a little easier, this late 1800's woman is wearing an outfit that with very little change would have been acceptable is greece in ancient times, with a dress under in viking times, and just as it is almost anywhere the SCA plays.................held together by brooches that were worn everywhere(and have been found everywhere), from rome to the celts to the vikings, all over the ancient world..................and now to africa.

i really need to get around to making one of these for myself..............it's just choosing which time period i'm representing when i wear it!!

fibro chocolate

2007-11-02T20:19:00.000-04:00

thank you jenna................i love you...............

but.............

alright, for those who have noticed, i was a little obsessed with this subject.........recently, my dear friend (check out her blog, http://naturallynerds.blogspot.com/ ) found me these articles........

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/a/256023.htm
and
https://secure.endfatigue.com/tools-support/Chocolate-For-Cfs-And-Fibromyalgia.html

these basically state that a study was recently done, showing that dark chocolate can help reduce the signs and syptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.........
in the study, participants ate 45mg of dark chocolate (very dark, 85% or higher) for 8 weeks........and it reduced the fatigue.

personally, i'm not sure how they did this. my dear and i figured that we'd try it, he's desperate to at least try things that will make me feel better.........so we went out, bought two different kinds of really dark chocolate, high quality stuff (cote d'or and lindt, to be precise)........each bar was 100mg..............so i read the study results, and figured that half a bar would be about right.
gods, that stuff is nasty! i won't be trying this cure........i ate a section of chocolate bar, and it made my tummy upset............stupid IBS...............i'll prolly be baking with the leftover choc, he won't even eat it, it's so bitter............

if you like uber-dark choco, have fun............for me, i'll keep looking............
good luck!!

country elf

2007-11-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

the great lord of the forge wanted me to write up a blurb for his ebay store..........on a term i started using recently to apply to his more residential smithwork.................

yes, i did say country elf.

to start off with, i have to explain what he's been doing recently. he's been getting bored with just jewelry, just stuff that's medeival........just stuff that's documentable.............just stuff that he's been doing forever (or variations thereof)..........
so he's started doing different things, like windchimes, dinner triangles, plant hooks, steak flippers; and he's working on things like candleholders, towel rings and bars, toilet paper and paper towel holders, probably eventually doing drawer pulls and pot racks, maybe even lamps and chandleirs (no i can't spell that correctly!).............

these are all things that many modern smiths do, and are generally labeled country craft items. modernly, the country craft movement makes them with twists, hearts, stars, things of this nature (i know you get the picture!)..........

he's doing them with dragons, leaves, snakes, vines...........they tend to look very organic, vaguely elvish even................

this led me to label them country elf.

said label (delivered deadpan, while in the truck) almost caused him to swerve off the road as it registered what i said and he snarfed...............

country elf is (obviously) a fusion between high/middle elvish and country craft........traditionally forged items in a country style infused with whimsical and fanciful elements........as if a backwoods country farmer-type elvish blacksmith started producing items for modern use..........

does this make any sense?? i'll link to the ebay store, once some of this stuff is posted.........see if there is any consensus on this..........
or if i just come up with a better description..........

stupid confuser.....

2007-11-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

stupid confuserstupid consfuser stupid stupid stupid confuser.........
the main computer has crashed.
the main computer, where all my research gets saved, has crashed.
the main computer, where all my research gets saved, where i can type with some semblance of normalcy, has crashed.

the computer is dead, long live the computer.

yes, i'm being weird.......a friend is sending us some recovery disks, hopefully we can at least pull the data off the hard drive, and then we are investing in an external hard drive and some thumb drives, for data storage.........
some stuff is saved and backed up, but not much, we don't have rewritable cds..........

so expect me to be a little behind in the postings for a while, while i get back up to speed on using this laptop and it's keyboard.

wish me luck...........

nuts about soap

2007-10-23T20:38:00.000-04:00

so, here's my little bit of eco-conciousness for the week (or so)...............
for all those of you who don't like modern laundry detergent, or those who want something a little nicer for the skin, or just want something that actually works better............

have you tried soap nuts??

yes, giggle...........a friend gave me a bag of these things..........here's her website, which has a link to order soap nuts directly.......... http://www.vikinggirlsworkshop.com/ ..................check out her other stuff too, she is a wonderful craftsperson in just about anything she puts her mind to, but specifically things dealing with the norse culture.........

i know it sounds weird, but these things are compost-friendly, rather hypo-allergenic, and have little or no smell to them, so are good for chemical sensitivity..............

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus is the wikipedia article on the soap tree.........

later........it's a busy week, so off to bed!!

blacksmith guild of va hammer-in........

2007-10-19T09:48:00.000-04:00

so, we're off this weekend......... http://www.blacksmithguildofva.com/ ............
this is a really great group of folks, holding the second annual hammer-in.......which for the uninitiated, is a gathering where big smelly dirty guys get together and hit metal, and learn about hitting metal, and teach others how to hit metal..........
i love my peer group..........
they have lots of links to other blacksmith sites, check out their page........

on another note, trying to figure out how to upload my camera onto the computer.........as soon as that happens, i have a picture tutorial thingy about how i made a really spiffy knitting bag, with internal bags for various yarns...........as soon as i figure that out, i'll be set........
and soon after, i'm hoping to have another up about making a nostepinne from a banister peice thingy..............
sorry about the technical terminology, blanking this morning..........

laters all..............

oh yeah, and if anyone finds research about fibro and dark chocolate, drogo wants to know.......he just wants me less cranky, and if he gets to share, it'll make his life a little sweeter too!

research

2007-10-05T09:14:00.000-04:00

most of these have been posted before........i figured i'd post them here, where they are easy to get to in archives (versus where i had them before, in myspace, where you can't get at the archives unless you are a member) .............sorry to anyone who has read all this before........
i will try and post more of the new ones later...........this week has been interesting.......(if by interesting i mean that we slept alot and dealt with a case of bugs, yeah it's been interesting).....................
i also have a bunch of websites on tribal bellydance..........i'll get those up asap.........

if you have something that might be interesting, comment me..........if you have something you think i might wanna research, comment me..........i might blow you off, but then again, whatever piques the interest.............

GENERAL
There are a few that apply to the other categories later on down this page……….
-first off, artcyclopedia at http://www.artcyclopedia.com/ ……….look up a time period or nationality or both, see what you can see……….
-then, the web gallery of art……. http://www.wga.hu/index1.html ………I’ve never gotten the hang of it, but I’m told it’s an invaluable resource and to keep trying back…….
-then, something I’ve just found, but is really cool………. http://ibs001.colo.firstnet.net.uk/britishlibrary/index.jsp ……….it’s the british library, hooked to the british museum………again, search and ye shall find……..

-I’m gonna skip all the silly stuff, but if anyone is curious, I’ve got documentation on period cotton, and burn testing, things like that………..just write and ask………

VIKING
-first off, the Viking answer lady ……….. http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ ……….good starter info………..
-next, gelfling……… http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/wardrobe2.html ……….this wardrobe is superbly done…….she has links to patterns and other info on each specific clothing page……..good photos………
-and then, the godmother of sca Viking research………thora sharptooth’s articles……. http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikresource.html ………they are a little much to wade through, but it’s all good info………

MID-EASTERN
-dar anahita……… http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/courtyard.html ……..quite a bit of good info……..laid out rather uniquely………I’ve got a few other things in this list by her, just in much different places…….she has done quite a bit of research……
-also by by the same author…….. http://www.geocities.com/anahita_whitehorse/ottofemcloth.html ………some good pictures……..
-also by the same researcher…… http://home.earthlink.net/~al-qurtubiyya/16/kultur-16.html …….lots of pics……..very well done…….
-then, by cariadoc….. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_clothing.html ……….lots of words, just wade through…..
-garment myths, also anahita……. http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Library/MEMyths.html ………also cultural myths…..lots of good info…..
-next, http://willofyre.com/OriginalSite/Clothing/periodmideastgarb.html ……..do’s and don’ts…….mistress safia……..long, but informative…..a little bit opinionated…..
-http://sca.raqsstorm.org/ottoman/ottomangarments.html …………a listing from inside to out of what an ottoman would wear…….
-then, http://www.sca.org.au/collegewar/ottoman.html ………a list of ottoman links…….at least some of them work, haven’t checked all of them……..
-some pictures……. http://ilaria.veltri.tripod.com/mideastwomen.html ………semi-decent closeups……..
-red khaganate…… http://www.geocities.com/kaganate/clothing.html ……..steppes people, but some of the patterns overlap…….
-seljuk/Levantine women’s garb…… http://www.levantia.com.au/clothing/turk_woman.html ………….in order, from skin out………no pics, but decent info…….
-decent info, pics in all those words…… http://www.roxanefarabi.com/ ………lots of info……
- http://www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/OttomanCostume.htm ……..can be donwloaded in PDF format………from a book………pics and info……….
-another guidline……. http://www.geocities.com/sayiddatahira/persian.html ……..persian specifically……
-and the best of all, a decent site for miniatures………the topkapi palace site….. http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/topkapi.html ………lots of good info…….

WELL, GOOD LUCK!!

getting started and yarn bits.........

2007-09-26T13:24:00.000-04:00

alrighty..........
i'm planning on using this blog as a place to post things of interest to others.......not so much personal updates, more along the lines of research websites, craft updates, things of this nature........
i will probably be posting at irregular intervals (my life gets a little crazy sometimes!), but i'll try and update at least once a week..............
i tend to write in chain-of-thought, once you get used to it, it's easy to follow.............

for now, the tip is www.knitpicks.com ...................cheap yarn..........mostly natural fibers (that matters a lot in my universe!!)...........my order hasn't gotten in yet, it was shipped last friday, it should be here either this week or next...........i can't wait...........info on quality will be forthcoming, but my mother has gotten yarn from them and she says the quality is good.........

i will be working on putting together a knitting bag, something with pockets to hold several balls of yarn at once..........my project (a stole) requires two balls of yarn at the same time, so i need something that will keep them from tangling and twisting together............plus hold the other colors for when i'm switching...........

i'm also working on convincing my lord drogo (unofficial fiance, boss, roomie, best friend on the male end of things) that he needs to build me a swift for x-mas..........found instructions at http://www.instructables.com/id/SewUseful%3a-Portable-Tabletop-Yarn-Swift-(for-windi/

i'm also working on a nostepinne (small stick for winding yarn on, kinda an old-style ball winder), i'll have tutorial-type pics up asap............as soon as i have time to get it together, and the varnish to finish it with..............here's the best instructions for using a nostepinne i could find............. http://www.hatchtown.com/nostdir.html ....................

that might be all for now........please keep checking in, you never know when i'm gonna drop something else!!!
thanks for reading............