Fangirling and Writer-Nerd Chaos

Happy 10 year anniversary to this absolutely foundational post

#really cannot emphasize enough how much iguanamouth changed the site’s sense of humor and therefore the timeline of the western world

Dr. Gachey with foxglove, 1890

Some of Van Gogh’s best work was done during a period of his life that he spent in a hospital being treated for his mental health problems. I could be wrong but I think Starry Night was among those.

This is consistently the case. Creators tend to do their best work when they are in a healthy place and receiving proper treatment and not being self destructive in their efforts to cope. Go figure.

All our experiences, good and bad, inform what we create, but suffering is not the price of great art. Suffering is what prevents artists from completing great art.

(I bring to mind this @tkingfisher / Ursula Verson quote about once a week <3)

they should make clothes that are designed by people who are familiar with human anatomy & physiology

Yeah it's not that at all. Tailors exist. They share in your disdain.

It's all about the money. Patterns will be cut from cloth with the least amount of scrap left, with no regard for the orientation of warp and weft. On top of that, fabrics aren't preshrunk before they are assembled into garments so now you're going to get shrinking that IS affected by orientation of warp and weft so you're gonna buy a 3 pack of white tshirts and after one wash all three of them will fit and twist differently

Capitalism sucks so bad

Just a short video of my card weaving in progress

What kind of sorcery is this?! I can never turn more than 10 cards in sequence because they just refuse to cooperate and you have like, what, 35? 40?! HOW?!?!

40 in the tree strap above! The most I ever tried was 44 for this ramshorn strap below - that was tough, but also ok because the groups turned separately? I think my hands would murder me if I tried to go any higher on my backstrap setup though ;) I think the trick is maintaining appropriate tension!

Yeah, that one looks real nice. What did you use it for?

@diamondot speaking for myself, i just decided to learn it one day a few years ago (i had a viking phase ok) and simply started with it. It's surprisingly easy since all the info is available on the net. Honestly, i don't remember where i started since it has been so long ago and now i just browse pinterest for patterns alone. Google tablet weaving or card weaving (same thing, different names) patterns and some basic explanations and yt vids for how to turn and weave the stuff. Things like

S and Z threading are there for a reason, so mind your card orientation. Start with some easy pattern like simple wave or diamonds above, 6 - 10 cards are good for your first project. Don't lose hope in initial stage. Streching and threading all that yarn can take anything between 20 minutes and 3 hours depending on how big is the pattern and how skilled you are. Since you need some lenghts to secure ends and to turn cards, use about 40 cm more than wished lenght of your final product. Secure lose ends after threading through cards so you won't end with a bundled mess. Streching/knotting them to something is one way. Taping each card threads together or using weights (check pictures below) is another way (good only for shorter stuff though). Cards could be made out of anything as long as they have smooth edges and rounded corners. Cardboard, thicker plastic sheet, literal cards cut into squares with holes punched through them, whatever. These are mine 2 decks, minus cards i am using atm.

When you start weaving and pattern looks like a total mess, try turning cards in opposite directions. It usualy solves the problem (all that forward/backward can be a bit tricky and mirroring motions/patterns/card orientation can be confusing at first seemingly messing all your work even though you are doing everything right technicaly, just in opposite order/direction). Don't lose your hope. I still manage to mess up like first 5cm of every other work i start. It's not an issue as that start usualy gets cut off anyway (the tension is not right for at least first 4 rows, aka 1 full card rotation, until all threads go up and down at least once no matter what you do. Don't sweat it). You don't need any fancy startup either. Historicaly, people used to weave like this and this and this:

I just strech the thing between 2 chairs myself. Door knobs work as well and so does staircase railing. Wherever you have some space. Long hair clips are your friend, especialy when you are done with weaving for the day and you don't want stuff to tangle

And that's about it. Have fun 😊

Some of my favorite tablet weaving resources are :

This website is where I learned, twenty years ago while u was intending on Sturtevant Wi.

These books are both great, Collingwood is more comprehensive, but harder to just pick up and weave from.

I love when people post things like this, then say, “ah ha ha, it’s not that complicated! 🤗”

It is complicated. You’re just really good at it!

Hi. I may be late to reply but i'm in a weaving mood so here we are.

The thing is that the technique looks complicated due to the fact that there is 100 something and that number alone is scary. But. Actually several buts.

But number 1 - the technique is OLD. Meaning - while being somewhat tedious just like any other textile craft, it has been used and learned for a long long time and there's plenty of resources (check out links above or any youtube video explaining the process) of varying difficulty from complicated af to easy peasy lemon squeezy with closed eyes

But number 2 - there is only one core principle/step you need to understand and that is when some threads go from up to down or from down to up (aka when they cross), you need another thread going in between so they won't simply snap back again. That's it. That's the basic principle behind every weaving ever. What card weaving does compared to standard weave is that instead of a single thread going up and down in the single row, you get 2 or 3 or 4 or 6 or whatever number of threads your pattern calls for in the same row

But number 3 - the number of rows = number of cards. Simple as that. Cards turn around to make a cord like when you are twisting 2 or 4 or whatever numbers of threads to make a rope. If some of those threads have different colours, you get a repeating pattern.

But number 4 - card orientation or S/Z orientation or whatever other fancy name for the twisting direction simply means that if you turn all your card in the same way at the same time, which one of them will make the twisted rope in this / angle and which one will do that in this \ angle. That's it. That's the whole mystery between S/Z threading.

But number 5 - you can start with as little as 4 cards to make a custom set of shoe laces or a key strap or whatever and call yourself a weaver. Because you did that. And it was nice. And it was easy. You just turn and thread and turn and thread and then you keep repeating this while watching a movie or something. There's no need for the math finals level of concentration here.

But number 5 - no one, literally NO ONE starts with a pattern like this

No. Everybody starts with something like this

Keep it simple, keep it easy, make 10cm and be done if you want to. It's perfectly fine.

But number 6 - you don't need any fancy items for starting. No hooks, no needles, no loom, no anything. If you have 2 balls of yarn in different color or some remains of your old cross stitch project or whatever and some card-like stuff you won't be sad for making holes in it, you are all set. Back side of the sketch pad is good. Poker cards cut to squares are good. A sturdy enough sheet of plastic is also good. You remember that old pexeso pairs stack you didn't touch since you were 9? Guess what!

My point is that if this looks like something you may be interested in, then you can absolutely try doing it for literally zero cost other than your time.

This reminds me that I have my Thor’s Hammer tablet weaving project still sitting in the closet untouched for the last few (almost 3?) years...  I need to get back to that eventually.

@cryptid-extremist found it for ya! Go wild!

@hauntedbyyarn you've talked about this for ages!

I need to show you guys my mum's card weaving.... She writes with it. She does incredibly incritate patterns. It's stunning and beautiful and I am in awe

A small selection of my mum's work! She got excited and says she has more to show you guys, and some of her best stuff has already been sold! But stay tuned for more. The blue/pink/black band is my favourite: loads of different knot-like patterns going all the way down!

similar vibe to this absolutely unhinged car

I don't have to point out the hypocrisy in Disney not wanting a robust public domain but one thing I want to point out is that the first Mickey Mouse story Steamboat Willie, the tune Mickey whistles is "Steamboat Bill" by the Leighton Brothers from 1911.

Which in itself is sometimes considered a parody of "The Ballad of Casey Jones" a folk song from the very early 1900s about the train conductor Casey Jones who sacrificed himself to save his passengers in the year 1900 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Fascinating story and an example of embedded mnemonic where art or history is embedded in a thing, sometimes several layers down like this. I didn't know about Casey Jones until digging into the song Mickey Mouse was whistling.

Frankly i dont think its an uncommon thing and is how stories, art and history often gets passed down trough generations, be it intentionally or not. I do however think modern copyright law stands in opposition to this.

Casey Jones was, in fact, a real person and is practically the patron saint of locomotive engineers at this point:

(Image from Wikipedia)

A lot of people think he's a made-up folktale character, but he did actually save every single passenger on his train, including his fireman, Sim Webb, who he told to jump from the cab before the crash. (Sim survived with minor injuries and is one of the best primary sources we have for what actually happened.) The accident happened because the railroads actually came down harder on you for being late than they did for speeding, and the freights his train plowed into were so long that they didn't fit entirely on a siding and were on the main line.

He was only two minutes behind schedule after starting at a 75-minute deficit, and he saved every single passenger on his train to boot. Arguably one of the greatest engineers to ever live.

The song itself is believed to have originated with a friend of Casey's named Wallace Saunders, who was an engine wiper (someone who keeps locomotives clean in the yard). Allegedly it spread from there until an engineer named William Leighton whose brothers were vaudeville performers heard it and passed it along to them. You can read more about the song itself here! It actually gets a bit weird, but the basics are:

And now all of this is in the public domain, and we get to use it as we see fit.

Getting back to serious topics today.

If you have the time and flexibility, you can also try out libreoffice.

Just did this on November 14th, 2024, so this is very current!

I had a rough day. Bartender, one glass of the characters kissing, please

giving birth sucks tbh. not only do you and the baby you’re birthing almost die, usually you shit yourself and often you tear your taint. then you have to push an organ out of your body (placenta) and if even a little of that remains in your body, you can hemorrhage to death or develop an infection that essentially rots your body from the inside out. even if you had a relatively “easy birth”, you bleed for weeks on end. even after that stops, your body and brain is changed for the rest of your life, the pregnancy leeched minerals from your bones, that can cause osteoporosis later. minor urinary incontinence is not uncommon, brain scans of people who gave birth show permanent changes in their brain, you’re never quite the same.

I say all of this not to say giving birth is disgusting but it is a harrowing and visceral experience. society downplays how fucking awful it is and makes it out to be a ~magical~ experience but it isn’t a magical transformative experience for everyone. it can be an extremely traumatic experience for someone who wanted to carry a pregnancy to term, much more so for someone who did not want to be pregnant in the first place or someone who knows their baby won’t survive the birth. anyway, abortion is a right. pregnancy and birth aren’t just inconvenient, it’s fucking awful.

I was never more firmly pro-choice than when I was in the hospital actively birthing our daughter.

Our daughter was planned, wanted, was coming into a life with two parents who were able to financially support her, health insurance and paid(!) maternity leave, with extended family and friends waiting in the wings to support all three of us. All these advantages, and I was *still* scared. And frankly, it's still fucking dangerous.

And I imagined being alone and what it would feel like if I had been forced to birth a child I couldn't adequately care for or didn't want.

No one should have to go through that.

they sacked my fucking fiefdom. it's so over. i'll never be able to afford the king's taxes. i don't have a single fucking asset to my name except *winks shyly* my special sex ability🫣

unlock powerful new heroes to ATTACK my pussy!!!

It's fun to think about the extra blood donation restrictions for Gothamites. If you've been exposed over three times to radiation or scarecrow toxin you're ineligible, if you're a mutant or supervillain you're ineligible, if you've ever been part of a dubious human trial you're ineligible, if you were ever resurrected-- you get it.

Aside from what this means for Gotham, another issue is that other parts of the state and other cities won't even take Gotham’s blood supply if they run out. I'm sure WE is hard at work developing methods to try and filter the blood, but you can't get everything out.

Knitting, 2021 - by Joseph Ford, English

this is one of a [series] and they're all fantastic

joseph ford is the photographer and the knitter who made the pieces is nina dodd (ninadoddknits.com)

i love you wasps i love you flies i love you beetles i love you moths i love you non-bee pollinators i love you "uncharismatic" organisms who nonetheless carry our ecosystem on your backs

Image description: 7 rows of the word "fuck" as vintage illustrations and diagrams of embroidery, cross stitch, lace, or other methods of textile adornment.

Fitting that this will be my first post to hit 1,000 notes. Everyone sharing this sentiment: I see you and you are worth more than the hardships ahead.