It looks like we all should be wearing masks for a while, which isn’t anyone’s idea of a rollicking good time, so here’s my thinking about how to make them as unobjectionable as possible.
An idealistic plan for elementary schools
So here is my idealistic plan for elementary schools: Forget exact grades, for the moment (it’s always seemed weird to me to stick kids together just because they’re the same age), and cohort the heck out of siblings/close neighbours/groups of friends/kids with similar interests/or something. Figure out creative ways to make sensible, consistent small groups […]
LE BOUQUET FRANÇAIS QUILT: Quilting & Binding
I put this quilt aside for a while because making pandemic masks seemed rather more pressing. I recently had a bit of time to pick it up and finish it. The batting is a polar-fleece throw, one of a pile I bought from Lands’ End when the combination of a sale and a promo code […]
LE BOUQUET FRANÇAIS QUILT: Backing
I turned all the waste triangles — well, 48 of the 52; I mangled one triangle in the machine and so threw away three more to make it an even 48 — into small squares, as illustrated in my first post. If I’m going to have fabric left over I’d rather be left with a […]
LE BOUQUET FRANÇAIS QUILT: Final Quilt Top Layout
Continuing the fairly random approach I laid out the final sixteen small squares on the intersections between the blocks to make the second set of triangles, trying to keep a good mix of light and dark fabrics and not put any fabric too close to itself. Lola continued helpful. Here’s a close-up of some of […]
LE BOUQUET FRANÇAIS QUILT: Initial Layout
I left the big squares with the first triangles attached to them unpressed, so I could nest the seams once I decided on a layout. In the interest of randomness I decided to just figure out the nine blocks independently and then arrange them later. I was aiming for a mix of light and dark […]
Le Bouquet Français quilt: first triangles
Now that all the squares are cut, it was time to decide which fabrics to put together for the first corner triangles. I have five dark-ish and seven light-ish fabrics (plus a few plain off-white small squares) and I like contrast, so I set them out somewhat randomly but with contrast in mind. I also […]
Le Bouquet Français quilt: initial planning
Since we’re all self-isolating, I thought I’d post a bit about my process for a quilt I’m working on. I often post final pictures of things I make but I don’t typically get a chance to mention all the weird little constraints and decisions and mistakes that happen along the way. Maybe it will encourage […]
It’s Not About Greta.
I mean, Greta is great. She’s fearlessly speaking truth to power, and I agree with everything she says, including the ruder bits and the yelling. Ditto for Autumn Peltier, the teenage water activist, and so many others, although Greta’s getting most of the press right now. I hope they keep on keeping on. I’ve been […]
*Entire* Jelly Roll Quilt Top
This is a strip-stack quilt top + border + binding I worked out to use up one *entire* jelly roll (forty 2.5″ fabric strips, each about 43-44″ long). Because it uses pretty much every inch of every strip, you really do have to use the wonky center bits of the strips — if you’re a […]
This world is ruining my reading
I’m so tired lately. A lot of people have been saying they’re tired. It’s hard to get up every day and read about what horrible new thing has made “normal†move another step towards “intolerableâ€. We’re all frogs in the pot at the moment, aren’t we? (Cue Bruce Cockburn: The Trouble With Normal Is It […]
Some disjointed thoughts on needles and pitchforks
A month or so ago, I was part of a discussion on … some social justice issue, I don’t remember exactly what, and I felt calm. Some policy thing hadn’t happened as fast as someone wanted. My comment was along the lines of: but we’ve moved the needle. It’ll move again. And I felt ok […]
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed Sep 07, 2016
Lunar Cycle Influences Spontaneous Delivery in Cows Lunar Cycle Influences Spontaneous Delivery in Cows: Nothing mentioned about what phase the moon is when the cow jumps over the moon. More research required. Digest powered by RSS Digest
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed Apr 13, 2016
"The study focuses on one of the most debated international types in the literature: ATU 333, ‘Little…" “The study focuses on one of the most debated international types in the literature: ATU 333, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. A number of variants of ATU 333 have been recorded in European oral traditions, and it has been […]
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed Apr 06, 2016
The Detection of Prosocial Lying by Children – Eskritt – 2016 – Infant and Child Development – Wiley Online Library The Detection of Prosocial Lying by Children – Eskritt – 2016 – Infant and Child Development – Wiley Online Library: “Child lie detectors, unlike the adults, were also able to discriminate between adults’ truthful and […]
Book review: The Smart Girl’s Guide to Privacy, by Violet Blue
I read a review copy of this (it comes out August 25), so the text isn’t necessarily final. Still, I’m quite confident that I can recommend it: it’s a good overview of basic privacy principles and techniques. It pays special attention to the ways in which girls and women are targeted online. There’s a useful […]
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed May 06, 2015
"Indeed, the question isn’t whether we’re going to have more fun doing something with friends rather…" “ Indeed, the question isn’t whether we’re going to have more fun doing something with friends rather than not. It’s about those times when we don’t have someone to see a new movie with, or eat at a newly […]
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed Mar 18, 2015
PLOS ONE: A Wider Pelvis Does Not Increase Locomotor Cost in Humans, with Implications for the Evolution of Childbirth PLOS ONE: A Wider Pelvis Does Not Increase Locomotor Cost in Humans, with Implications for the Evolution of Childbirth: Interesting, but it doesn’t seem that they looked at pelvis size vs size of birth canal. I […]
Neat Stuff from Elsewhere Wed Mar 11, 2015
PLOS ONE: The Long and Winding Road to Uncertainty: The Link between Spatial Distance and Feelings of Uncertainty PLOS ONE: The Long and Winding Road to Uncertainty: The Link between Spatial Distance and Feelings of Uncertainty: Why the first time you walk anywhere always feels so far: “a feeling of uncertainty leads to a perception […]
This is what happens when you’re married for a long time
Apparently we’ve reversed personalities. Me: Hey! There’s a truck across the street from a stoves and fireplaces shop! Shall we mount an assault? Do you want the distract-the-driver bit or the unloading-the-back bit? Him: What? Me: A truck full of stoves. And fireplaces. Him: And you want one? Me: I was thinking of all of […]