domesticat.net

Hello, pastel unicorn

August 18, 2010 — domesticat

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Hooray updates! Yesterday afternoon, on the way home, I asked myself the question that often -- OFTEN -- leads to trouble: "Okay, so I've cleared lots of the little projects out of the way. What big beast can I tackle tonight?"

I thought about Miss Pretty Primrose, and scratched my head. Hmm. Well, my objection has been that I'd never attempted to do a full-sized quilt on my machine at home, but I had such a horrid experience at the rented longarm quilt machine last time that maybe I should just tackle it.

The sign of doom is when I shift from saying "Oh I should do that sometime" to "Here's how I'd start." When I start laying concrete plans, it's over, buddy.

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Lunchtime music: The Avett Brothers

August 9, 2010 — domesticat

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It's Monday. You need a little lunchtime music love. You know you do. The Avett Brothers are just fun, fun, fun. (If you're unfamiliar with the Avett Brothers, picture a trio-sometimes-quartet of punkers playing bluegrass-influenced rock.)

These aren't the most slickly produced videos on YouTube, but they're a pretty good idea of what the live show must be like.

The sound quality of the second video isn't that great (lots of noise) but catch it about three minutes in to see Joe Kwon shred his cello bow over the course of a single song. The third video is the same song with better audio quality, but it's not quite the all-out stompfest of the version in the second video clip.

Square dance

August 7, 2010 — domesticat

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I haven't talked much about the ideas for Sailor's Warning because I'd not sewed even a test square together. It was little but an ephemeral, wacky idea, and there was no point doing much about it until I had my materials under control.

['Yes, an upholstery factory exploded here']

Some time ago, Danielle pinged me to ask if I wanted some of the upholstery and drapery sample books she'd gotten her hands on. I thought about my grandmother and said yes without hesitation; my grandmother, many many years ago, worked for an upholstery fabric company, and many of the quilts she made for her kids and grandkids came from the mill ends and scraps from her workplace.

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Quickie quilt survey

August 4, 2010 — domesticat

Enough silliness. I make quilts. Some of my friends want them. Many of those friends are too nice to speak up, because there's a weird stigma in telling a hobbyist "I'd love one of these, in this color, and this size!" when, in fact, the hobbyist in question would love some feedback. So I'm giving you the opportunity to speak up semi-anonymously. Your answers stay private between you and me.

I don't promise that filling out this form means you're magically gonna get something. It does mean that I'll know you're interested, and have some idea of what you'd enjoy having. A few designs I have in my head don't have recipients attached to them yet, and baldly asking what my friends are interested in would help me pair ideas with recipients. I'll never have enough time to make all the quilts in my head, so I want the ones I do make to go to homes where they'll be used and loved.

You have my blessing and encouragement to speak up. Some of you are local friends. Some of you are co-workers. Some of you are faraway friends. Some of you are fellow dragon*con, techops, or drupal community members.

"Do I know you well enough?" (Otherwise known as the Amanda Clause)

Have we talked? Have we emailed back and forth? Do we pester each other on twitter / facebook / some other social media site? Are we in the same social circle? Were you part of Jeff's social group back in college? Do we hug, eat lunch together, or wave hello at drupalcon or dragoncon? Then you should speak up. You're someone I want to hear from. I won't think you forward and I won't think you grabby.

Take away the binky

August 2, 2010 — domesticat

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television

What if you just -- stopped?

A little while back I referenced the idea of a media blackout. I didn't say that I quietly put the blackout in place as of that post, and have consciously avoided the hamster wheel of news since then. Unsurprisingly, I'm happier. I pick up tidbits from friends on facebook and twitter, but by and large, the world is passing me by for a while.

Jeff and I are considering taking another, more blasphemous step. We bought a media device that lets us play video files on our house server, as well as Netflix Instant streaming, youtube, and another couple of sites. We're getting ready to do a media overhaul in our living room (our TV is a decade old) and he asked a question that I'd thought about before but never seriously voiced:

"What if we cancel our satellite subscription?"

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