Tag: Yipes Stripes rug

Yipes, Stripes; Keystone, Geometry

8 Comments

www.nancyland.com

Work continues on the Yipes, Stripes rug. A new working title has evolved: Stripes Invaded by Checks. It’s a very enjoyable and intuitive process watching it develop. Thus far we have the chaos of irregular stripes organizing themselves into more regular expression, as influenced by the surprise appearance of an upstart checkerboard pattern. I expect I’ll know how it’ll turn out at the end — when the length reaches six inches.

Making steady progress (and regress) on the new build. I finished the interior brickwork, and after a few color assays, decided on a soft white semigloss. There’s like four layers of gesso, some DecoArt Snow-Tex for mortar texture, floor and wall gaps filled with DAP CrackShot, and three layers of acrylic latex enamel paint. That’s authentic, right?

www.nancyland.com

I’ve one more sanding and finish coat to do on the wall cabinet.

I glued in place the three interior walls, back porch wall and supports, and beams.

www.nancyland.com

This is by far the most fiddling I’ve done with a base kit and am encountering many delicious measuring opportunities. The keystone pieces provided with the kit make excellent hide-one’s-crap-joinery structural reinforcing plates. I mentioned earlier how delighted I am with the hardware I ordered from Olde Mountain Miniatures. Here you see her star-shaped anchor plates and some punched paper bolts applied to the keystone.

I also stepped away from the aubergine-stained doors, opting instead to carry through with the gray stain. This leaves me far more options for adding color, and as I intend to use this build as a prop for photographing products, the more neutral the better.

www.nancyland.com

The entire rest of the day was spent figuring out how to build the additional support posts, beams and window casings. I felt like Leonardo da Vinci contemplating Vitruvian Man or something, but I finally worked out the various dimensions (if not the angles; that’s what sandpaper is for). Then it was time to watch the sun set on this warm and mild day with a glass of wine. I’ll sketch out and record my findings tomorrow — many dimensions of strip wood are involved! — and work out how to correct the warp in the kit base board :(

No wait, I mean :) That’s tomorrow.

Yipes, Stripes, Stuff

7 Comments

www.nancyland.com

This pattern variation appeared after watching 20,000 Days on Earth, a good, if mildly self-indulgent film chronicling memory, writing and performing — made unbearably, poignantly tragic by the recent death of Mr. Cave’s son, Arthur.

One of my favorite scenes is Warren Ellis’s recounting of Nina Simone’s backstage pre-performance requests. Many thanks to Austin Kleon for pointing us to this worthwhile talkie.

Then the next day I woke up and David Bowie was dead. I am sad.

I made a little yellow table from the stain test. This shot is for Keli.

www.nancyland.com

I don’t often do adorable, but when I do, it’s one of Janet Granger’s tea cozies. I love this design (and the cat one). The only thing that’s sad is that it’s worked on 32-count silk gauze, and there’s more gauze show-through than I’d like to see. I might actually go back and do full cross stitch (rather than tent), or start all over on 49-count with silk. Probably when monkeys fly out of my butt, as Wayne so cheekily observed :)

www.nancyland.com

And since I’m stuck on miniature needlepoint, at least until I start a new build, all you sewists, beaders and book artists should check out Thread Heaven, a quite effective thread conditioner in a wee cobalt blue box that has made my stitching tangle-free. A merciful reprieve. Because science! And, as their site proclaims, it’s non-petroleum-based, and vegan :) ? !

www.nancyland.com

Wait! Everything just changed:

www.nancyland.com

Looks like it should arrive near the end of my current, um, fierce vigorous fiery set of work deadlines, so yay!

 

Stain Test, Yipes Stripes, Storm

7 Comments

www.nancyland.com

Keenly considering staining the as-yet-undetermined exterior cladding of the 2016 HBS contest build this daffodil yellow from MinWax. Waiting for it to dry so I can sand the test pieces, maybe build a little table. It’s a compelling color, yeah?

www.nancyland.com

Have reached one inch (2.54 cm) in width on the Yipes, Stripes rug! Contemplating adding a red in. As I mentioned previously, variations of the black-and-ivory motif will recur every inch or so.

www.nancyland.com

Back-to-back storms continue to blow through much of Northern California. This day there was a lull in the rains, and the combination of King and high tides + storm surge was pushing in 15-foot waves without cease. Some crested 30 feet, and twenty minutes down the coast there were 50-foot wave faces at Mavericks (!) It was, is, as is said, EPIC.

Cats are getting tired of all the wet, though.

Here’s a slightly different view of the beach (and more of this month’s splash image).

www.nancyland.com

Yipes, Stripes!

8 Comments

First of all, my cat wants to welcome you to 2016.

www.nancyland.com

Second, I needed a project to fill time and quiet my twitchy fingers before the next build. Although I fully intend to get back to the Animals rug, last seen somewhere around here:

www.nancyland.com

It’s been hibernating in an old soft cotton pillowcase for like a year. I love this thing, but stitching it requires a lot of concentration. But as John From Cinncinati suggests, I need to get back in the game. My ideal project right now is something I can fit in between work, and not have to read or follow a chart. While still deriving all the benefits miniature needlepoint stitching brings me.

So I came up with this, sized to fit on the 49-count silk gauze remnant I have on hand. Behold, the beginnings of the Yipes, Stripes rug.

www.nancyland.com

It will be 2.5 x 6 inches (6.35 x 15.25 cm) when done, using Gütermann silk thread. I’m making up the design as I stitch along, although variations of the black and ivory motif will recur. Feels good to be nimbling up my fingers again :)