Canderous and Cade's Crazy Cantina: a shiny new fanfiction social thread!

This weekend, I learned to knit! (For certain values of knit) and I reupholstered a stool, which I've also never done.

Apparently, I'm feeling crafty!

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And... had a metric ton of fun at my reunion. Some of the people I even recognized.

 

I remember my Mom took me out and bought me $100 of shirts one night because everything that my sister was trying on was in boy-shaped sizes and I was crying that I could wear them but would look slutty.

 

Once you're a certain size, you either look dwarfed in overlarge (everywhere else) tops or you do almost look slutty.

 

mavjade - That's awesome! I learned how to knit (sort of) a year ago. I keep adding columns to the scarf I work on, on and off, which will look faaaaaaaantastic by the time I'm done. Clearly my talents lie with the fabrics and the stitching less than with the knitting.

 

My grandmother tried to teach me to knit. It didn't go well.

I do sew though! I've made a princess Leia white dress, a Jedi robe and about a billion pajama pants (they make good Christmas gifts). I also made a quilt back when I was 12 with the help of my sewing/piano instructor (a family friend). I'd love to make another one, but fabric is SOOOO expensive, it's cheeper to buy quilts. My current project is a messenger bag with a whole bunch of EU quotes sewn on it. I need to sit down and finish it, but I can never find the time.
This is the strap

I ironed on images of x wings onto white fabric, then sewed it onto the black denim. I did the same for all the quotes. Now I have to put it altogether.

 

Yay!! My nan taught me to knit while I was a youngling but then I forgot and didn't pick up the needles again until recently-ish. Still need to finish that scarf . .

Oooh, I like it. Lots of tiny X-Wings!


I wouldn't mind being a boy shaped woman, but I'm more of a man shaped woman. Stupid shoulders. Nothing really fits properly because of them.

 

I can knit rectangles! That's about it. Increases and decreases continue to baffle me. Crochet is more my forte, when it comes to fiber arts, anyway.

That's a seriously awesome project, Briannakin! Makes me want to make a Twin Suns Squadron tote bag.

 

So far my knitting is a little erratic, but I'm not knitting anything specific, just practicing at this point.

Briannakin, that is awesome!

I'm hoping to get a sewing machine soon... I've been saving up points with my amazon card and am close to enough points to buy one! I've done a little bit of sewing but not enough to say I really know how to sew. Any of you sewing types have recommendations for a machine?

 

To be honest, and this may not help on Amazon, but I recommend getting an old sewing machine. Something from the 70s, when things were still made completely from metal. I inherited my mom's old sewing machine from when she was in college, and that thing is a tank. It can sew through everything, it does it really quickly, and I recently dropped it pretty badly while moving it, and after fiddling with it for five minutes got it back up and running (tension's still a little off, but that's nothing a tune-up can't fix). This machine will last longer than I do.

That said, for newer machines, good brands include Brother, Bernina, Singer, and Janome. Whatever you get, just look up reviews- previous users will be able to tell you about any issues they've had, and stitchers can be very vocal about those things.

 

I can crochet and (sort of) embroider. I can sew enough to hold things together and repair pants and socks, put patches on stuff, and... that's really about the extent of it. In terms of crocheting, I can make blankets, scarves, and doilies.

I'd love to learn how to sew and get a sewing machine, though. It would certainly help in the costuming department. What good is being a costume designer if you can't sew worth a nickel? :/

 

My mother has a euro pro x. I love it, but not as much as the 1972 singer I learned on. That thing could sew anything. 'Tank' is an apt description. With newer sewing machines, I find you get what you pay for.

 

For a beginner, is it relatively easy to teach oneself how to sew with a sewing machine? I'd ask my mom to show me how to use a sewing machine... but she's in Florida.

 

I can sew with a needle and thread... but I am not good at it.

 

TrakNar - You CAN theoretically teach yourself, but I would tell you to reframe from doing it unless you are doing the simplest of projects. If you do decide to try, find a cheep kid's sewing machine to start out on. Also, sewing patterns have a language of their own.

 

Well... dog broke his toy quacking duck again. (I say again because this was toy quacking duck #2. Hee.)

 

Dogs are good at breaking their toys. My dog has gone through two Loofa Dogs and a quacking duck. And countless tennis balls.

 

This is why I have a cat. He entertains himself, mostly by flinging headless mice around. It costs me nothing.

 

Well, cleaning up dead, headless mice isn't too much fun.

I'm tempted to capture one of the caterpillars I find outside and rear it to see what type of butterfly or moth it turns into.

 

After quickly perusing 9 pages worth of social thread-

My eyes are wacky too- one near sighted, one far sighted, and I don't have depth perception. I also have a 50-50 chance of developing something called Fuchs' Dystrophy in one of my eyes later in life, my father was diagnosed with it 5 years ago or so and - yay! - it's genetic. *grumpy face* My eyes are also incredibly sensitive and it drives my ophthalmologists nuts when I won't let them touch me.

I play piano and can read sheet music fairly well. I cannot, for the life of me, play by ear, and am wicked envious of people who can.

My boobs are fine.

I have cats. Unlike Briannakin's, mine do not entertain themselves, and are little attention-whores.
(one just pounced on my foot, actually- ow, Luna. Ow.)

I don't knit or sew, but I really enjoyed my living skills classes in middle school and was determined to become an awesome sewer. Yeah, never touched a sewing machine again, ten years later.

I don't understand mush for the sake of mush.

Yes, I cringe when I read my old FF stuff. Particularly the stuff I wrote when I was a lot younger, and then the stuff I wrote when I first delved into SW FF when I dearly needed a better EU refresher first. But I spent most of last year rereading, filling in gaps, and catching up, as well as honing my skills at researching off the Wook, so I feel a little better about it these days.

TrakNar, you should not give Rogue Planet away for free- you should pay someone to take it off your hands.

Did I miss anything?

 

Rogue Planet is still in my apartment. I'll see if a used book store will pay me to take it off my hands.

As for my cats... They're at my grandma's, so they're not technically mine. They entertain themselves, as most were feral. Well, except for one, who likes to crawl onto your chest and head-butt you in the mouth.

 

I made a log cabin quilt and made my own prom dress, both as projects for a church enrichment thing that I did. Both turned out remarkably well.

On week 2 of being sick. I have lost four pounds, but all of my torso muscles are hurting from all the coughing. I decided I'd go to a doctor on Saturday when I had time if it didn't get better. It got better on Saturday. It got worse on Sunday.

 

I found a butterfly chrysalis outside on a cattail. So, I brought it inside. It's now in a dish with paper towels on the bottom. When I took it out of the dish to put in the towels, it moved, so I know that it's alive. Not sure what type of butterfly I have, but it's either a painted lady or a red admiral. Most likely a painted lady. So, it will either emerge in a couple weeks or I'll need to overwinter it in my fridge.

Yay, I have a pet!

 

Cool! We found a praying mantis egg sac, figured it was dead 'cause it was lying on the cement.

Easter Sunday, we go off to church. Come back and find the bathroom filled with 4mm-long baby mantises. Hundreds of them. It was both cool and scary. I don't remember how we caught them.

 

D'awww... Baby praying mantises are cute. Should have kept one or two and raised them up.

I was planning to bring a caterpillar inside and rear it to adulthood, but the chrysalis is fine, too. Easier to maintain, as I don't have a proper pen set up.