things i made
april 17, 2004
the basket
I still haven't taken a photo of the finished basket, but here's a photo of it in its formative stage.
A melon basket is made by making a frame of two crossed hoops, creating god's eyes at the joins, putting spokes in behind the god's eyes and then weaving over and under the spokes and frame.
pipstar @ 08:06 PM | link | Comments:
september 24, 2003
silver bangle
it looks like the final week of the jewellery course will be spent making earrings and pendants with the left over silver and polishing up the pieces that are complete apart from being super shiny.
pipstar @ 11:07 PM | link | Comments: *
september 18, 2003
the silver pendant #2
i've hammered and slightly domed the pendant. i also hammered one ring silver and kept the other ring plain.
unfortunately both rings are too big!
next week i'll be making a bangle and finishing off the other pieces.
pipstar @ 08:07 PM | link | Comments:
september 12, 2003
the sweater #1
I finished the body of the incredible custom fit raglan sweater last night. My investment in a dvd player has enabled me to knit without getting bored by For Love or Money or The Footy Show.
Accompanied by old episodes of Sex and the City and Tales from the City I've almost completed the jumper. And it actually looks quite fetching!
Luckily I've got the entire series of The Office from the local library, so hopefully I'll get through the sleeves before the weather gets too warm.
And the cost so far? $12.
Yay for super cheap yarn (nylon, wool and elasten blend) at $1.50 a ball.
pipstar @ 12:58 PM | link | Comments:
september 11, 2003
the silver pendant #1
I started a jewellery course last night. I'll be making a pendant, ring and bangle, (and possible some earrings with the spare silver from the pendant).
I've cut out the pendant design and started filing it down around the edges. I'll hammer the metal and dome it next week.
pipstar @ 12:41 PM | link | Comments: *
august 01, 2003
green stripey bag #1
a couple of weeks ago i bought a whole bunch of beautiful cheap material from spotlight. there's a very fine red stripey cotton which i want to make a sundress from and an interestingly woven, green striped fabric which was labelled cotton, but which my mum and i think is actually rayon.
rather than buying these fabrics with specific projects in mind i bought them because they were so beautiful and so so cheap ($2.99 p/m). though i did plan to use the green to make bags with, specifically a yoga mat bag for ellie.
i'd also bought some bamboo handles for a smaller bag, so yesterday i figured i'd use my free time to make up the first of the bags.
i didn't have a pattern or another bag to base the design on, so the opening is a little small, and i may unpick the edges to open it up a little more.
pipstar @ 01:52 PM | link | Comments:
july 21, 2003
<< rewind
before i go back and sum up the last week, The Escapist from Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is going to become a real life comic book! (via bookslut)
and now, i rewind:
on tuesday i hung out with my grandma during her weekly visit back to her / my house. it was not in any way out of the ordinary, but i did finally move my old wardrobe from the garage to my room with the help of my father and toula. i'm hoping that i will be able to contain my clothes more effectively now.
i also had my first level two yoga class. i've been looking forward to more involved yoga practice for a while, but i was glad when i found a yoga buddy who was also making the transition.
ouch.
the poses weren't shockingly different from level one but the practice was more intense. we stretched our armpits(!) and held standing poses for such a long time. and we held foam bricks between our thighs and tried to keep them stable.
level two yoga is much more informational and instructional than the level one practice. i don't have to do handstands yet and i'll be able to take moving into headstands slowly. the yoga hangover was intense and lasted a good couple of days, which makes me think that my brain and body weren't being particularly challenged by level one sequences any more.
on wednesday i went into town with the intention to buy a zipper for the pencil case i'm making for my grandma's birthday, but i ended up embracing capitalism soundly.
i solved my need for everyday black pants with the discovery of the levi 608 cut. working outside of any money management principle that i'm aware of i bought a dirty denim pair (granted... they were on sale) and black stretch pair at the same time. $210 dollars...
and a pink paisley short sleeve cowgirl style shirt from daily grind. that was $20 instead of $90 so it wasn't too bad.
and delicious magazine from the abc shop and earrings and miniature clothes pegs for hanging up photos from lincraft.
and the zipper which was what i really wanted.
on thursday through to saturday i woke up early (shock! horror!) and headed off to the city east campus to help out at the sonic synergies conference.
i ran around a lot, carried things and put up signs. unfortunately being a volunteer meant that i didn't get to see that many sessions and i wasn't really in an academic mode so i'm going to direct you to ben's site where he has responded to some of the papers and ideas presented during the conference.
i did meet some great people who i'll hopefully stay in email contact with. all these people with good ideas...
it makes me feel kinda unproductive. though i do make stuff (such as the pencil case and bag pictured), garden, take photos and make battlecat.net (which is so closely a part of my identity that i forget that i actually produce it), and i'll be helping with the geek side of adelaide rock ladies and i did volunteer at sonic synergies. which made me seriously consider postgraduate research, but that's another story...
anyhooo. some of the good things i heard about over the weekend are the program (an offshoot of noise) which would be a great place to list adelaide rock ladies, ccd.net an online resource called community and cultural development developed by community arts network SA and ice (information and cultural exchange) from western sydney.
pipstar @ 01:43 PM | link | Comments:
july 15, 2003
yeah. i'm tough.
i ended up not making mittens, but i did knit an armband using circular needles.
and after about a month i finally sewed in the ends.
pipstar @ 04:55 PM | link | Comments:
july 14, 2003
bits and pieces
i didn't have a table ready to put the sewing machine on, so i put it on my coffee table and pressed the treadle with my knee.
i'm going to embroider some flowers onto this bag and put on a handle.
pipstar @ 01:59 PM | link | Comments: *
june 13, 2003
circulation
living in a large family home by myself is great for independence. but it gets lonely, and heating the rooms i use can be pretty expensive.
so often i end up feeling very very cold.
i also like to procrastinate, so i've started to knit some mittens in the wool leftover from my epic scarf.
pipstar @ 01:30 PM | link | Comments:
june 02, 2003
ooowaaah oooooh....
[ahem... that's meant to be the doctor who theme song...]
my scarf with pockets is now officially finished. however, suggestions that i add some duffel coat buttons to close off the pockets are still being considered.
the length of the scarf is close to 6 foot! and that's with the pockets sewn up. that means that i've knitted about 7 feet on this one scarf alone!
that was an awful lot of ribbing to do.
i've got quite a bit of the blue and beige wool left so i think i may attempt some variety of sock next. i figure that the process will be slightly more challenging, but not so elaborate that i'll give up in disgust before i've turned the first heel. and i'll be able to wear them around the house to keep my feet warm.
anyway, as soon as i buy some more batteries i'll put up a photo of the finished scarf.
pipstar @ 06:24 PM | link | Comments:
may 29, 2003
choke hold
2 strings of wooden beads. green and brown.
- 3 packs of brown wooden beads
- 2 packs of green wooden beads
- 4 clasps
- linen thread from mum's workbox
cost: $6.50
time: about 20 minutes
hardest thing, tieing the final knot.
pipstar @ 12:12 AM | link | Comments: **
april 19, 2003
10 out of 10 (i make a compost bin)
do you know it only takes 10 minutes (or thereabouts) to make a compost bin?
you need:
- a plastic garbage bin and lid
- some secateurs
- some kitchen and garden scraps
- somewhere to put the bin
- sticks or stakes to hold the bin down with
turn the bin upside down and use the secateurs to cut out the base section of the bin.
once the base is out, turn the bin upright.
dig a few inches into the ground where you intend to put the compost bin.
put the bin onto the ground and put the lid on top. you may want to secure the bin with some stakes.
add kitchen scraps, dirt, leaves as required
follow good composting rules.
pipstar @ 06:31 PM | link | Comments:
june 15, 2002
like a broken record
yep, once again, while i should have been working on an assignment, i made up a rock city flyer.
pipstar @ 01:17 AM | link | Comments:
march 27, 2002
massage please?
i've finally got the subtraction and division functions working for my objects and algorithms assignment. (they're not the ideal algorithms, but they'll do.)
in between java coding and email checking, i made up a flyer for this saturday's rock city... and even better, i actually printed some copies (i've made about 4 prototype rock city flyers.... but i've never printed them.)
i'm never ever going to procrastinate ever again.
as if.
:::...
we did shoulder stands in yoga!
pipstar @ 02:34 AM | link | Comments:
