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Jul. 18th, 2008 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Do you do any craft type things? What do you make? What makes it awesome?
It has been advised that I try something less exclusively thinky than writing, see.
It has been advised that I try something less exclusively thinky than writing, see.
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Date: 2008-07-18 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:43 am (UTC)*grins*
(And I've totally bookmarked the post of pie to copy into my little book of cooking things. :D)
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Date: 2008-07-19 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 08:52 pm (UTC)Whereas if I'm lazy, whatever I buy or throw together is often -- not invariably, but often -- pretty heavy on the starch and cheese.
It's true that it's definitely easier to cook when I have people to share the work and the results with. There's something to be said for the lots-of-frozen-leftovers approach, though.
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Date: 2008-07-18 10:39 pm (UTC)It also lets you collect scraps of pretty paper and dried flowers and pretty leaves and such! Because it's project-material. It's great!
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Date: 2008-07-18 10:40 pm (UTC):D
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Date: 2008-07-18 10:45 pm (UTC)Whoo! Will try not to take a month to get it to you. XD
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 10:40 pm (UTC)As for anything else, if it's made with 'string' [as my husband calls it], I can make it: sewing, tatting, bobbin lace, macrame, embroidery and needlepoint of all types, weaving and dyeing. I've been in the SCA [a medieval recreation group] for coming up on 30 years and you learn stuff like that. :}
And then there's pretty much any style of cooking, canning, jam and jelly making. I also do beading and wirework for jewellery, music, etc. You name it and I've probably at least tried it.
You get to where you do a bit of this and that over 50-some years.
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:47 am (UTC)I'm also impressed the litany of all else. So many possibilities, I have no idea where to start! My instinct is to bury myself in a book about it, but that's procrastination again. XD
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Date: 2008-07-18 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:48 am (UTC)How d'you get started?
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Date: 2008-07-19 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:55 pm (UTC):D :D :D
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Date: 2008-07-19 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:53 am (UTC)That's definitely what I'm after. How did you get into it? I have no idea how I'd start!
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Date: 2008-07-18 11:11 pm (UTC)I mean, I am usually too lazy to actually sew for myself, but it is such a feeling of accomplishment to have made a garment from start to finish. Seriously.
OH YES and cooking. Another feeling of accomplishment: buying people's love with cookies. Works every time!
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:49 am (UTC)I eat too much anyway, though!
And sewing... actually sounds interesting, although I don't really have the spare cash to invest in a sewing machine right now unless I can find a cheap one on ebay.
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Date: 2008-07-19 04:13 pm (UTC)The beauty of making cookies (at least for me) is that by the time I've made the dough and sampled the dough throughout the process and so forth, I don't really want to eat them. I just want to shove them on other people!
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Date: 2008-07-18 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:51 am (UTC)It usually takes a lot for me to keep from going back and forth between projects and getting bored
Same, totally. My counsellor actually suggested stained glass making, which was kind of... odd but awesome? I dunno, maybe I should take a class in something I can then carry on with myself.
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Date: 2008-07-21 08:53 pm (UTC)But still, it looks so cool.
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Date: 2008-07-18 11:17 pm (UTC)I do a bit of sewing, mostly for my own cosplay costumes -- the one I'm most proud of is my PotC East India Company uniform jacket, all hand-cut and hand-sewn. I also knit, and have made some nice things including a full-size afghan for my parents' wedding anniversary. I've been stalled on a few of my knitting projects recently, though -- probably because of the hot weather.
For me, it's all about making useful things that I've put a lot of effort into creating. I like knowing that I can mend my own clothes if they're torn, and recycle old clothing into something new instead of just throwing it away. I also see it as a connection to my grandmother, who made a fair amount of her children's clothing on a very tight budget. It's thrifty and creative and a bit of a challenge -- and best of all, it's a great way to multitask when you're on a bus or watching television.
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:55 am (UTC)*INVOLUNTARY LUSTFUL DRIBBLING*
Being of use is definitely important to me - I feel guilty when I do things without purpose, which is why so frequently my fics are dedicated to someone in particular. *laughs*
I just get discouraged by being crap at things. Practice is hard.
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Date: 2008-07-19 01:45 pm (UTC)It took me almost a month to teach myself how to knit, because I kept screwing it up. But I had some plain practice yarn and a set of steel needles, and kept working at it when I felt like it and putting it down when it frustrated me, and after a while I got the hang of it.
Block afghans are good knitting projects to start with because they're made up of smaller blocks that are then sewn together with extra yarn -- essentially, practice squares that are then pieced together. I followed the Warm Up America guidelines of making a slew of 7"x9" knitted blocks with three different colours of heavy yarn (Rowan brand chunky, IIRC). It was really, really good practice to get the basics down before trying anything more complicated, and my parents adore the afghan. (My father calls it the 'narcotic blanket', because it's so warm and heavy that it will put you to sleep very quickly. ^_^) So a project like this is both practice and practical.
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Date: 2008-07-18 11:23 pm (UTC)I like it (well, the building, as opposed to the other things) because it's specifically NOT thinky. And you can see something concrete at the end. Knitting has that, too. I really love seeing what I've made, myself. My ADD just doesn't like the process...
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 01:00 am (UTC)And I cook! Baking is fun too, but it's got a little less experimentation wiggle room than cooking.
And, drawing. I doodle a lot, and it sometimes works out being really cathartic.
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 01:03 am (UTC)But one thing I do sometimes, and used to do much more when I was younger, is work with clay. not so much the gloppy natural stuff- that is messy, and you need a kiln for it anyway. but polymer clay, which comes in lots of colours or can be painted and can be cooked in your oven so if you make something you like, you can keep it. but sometimes I like to just play with pieces, just for the feeling of working with the clay and rolling it out and whatnot. it makes for good stress relief.
also I like to paint things.. decorate boxes, mostly. but, again, occasional frustration from things not coming out the way I want. but working with clay has never steered me wrong.
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:58 am (UTC)*makes note*
Isn't it a little expensive, though?
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Date: 2008-07-19 02:36 am (UTC)Usually while I'm crochetting, there's a more abstract part of my brain that can run free, and take flying leaps on problems that I can't get a grip on straight.
I also enjoy sewing, but that can be a really expensive hobby, with a very high investment (a sewing machine,) necessary to get you started.
I'd suggest knitting or crochet, but if you do well with visual stimulation, consider counted cross-stitch, and if you're very dextrous with your fingers, look into more classical types of embroidery, or lampwork.
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Date: 2008-07-19 12:27 pm (UTC)Knitting sounds good, but I have no idea how to get started.
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Date: 2008-07-19 05:16 am (UTC)Er, thus far I have become very good at... scrambled eggs. And stir fry of various kinds. But that is just because I'm lazy.
(I tried to make cupcakes once. Much lulz ensued.)
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Date: 2008-07-19 12:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:36 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-07-19 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 12:30 pm (UTC)I miss my piano, SO MUCH.
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Date: 2008-07-19 11:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 08:49 pm (UTC)Plus, now I will never ever hurt for warm fuzzy scarves or fingerless gloves.