What count aida do you use? I think mine is 22-count, which allows for tiny detailed x-stitches (although the structural integrity isn't great compared to lower count, and the stitches are a bit more uneven.) Edit: possibly 24 count. It's certainly v small.
I've done most of my work on 14, though I know my store stocks 20-somthing count, which is whatt I was planning to go for. Though I'm also considering messing around with one of my quilting-weight scraps and seeing if I can manage to eyeball the weave well enough to manage even stitches. And I think that if I get the time tonight, I'm going to experiment with making some smaller charts for robutt faces! I know it's something I'll be able to stay invested in at least, the only trouble is that I need to finish my bigger chart wip first (it's easy, but it's like fourteen inches across on 14-count fabric, because I make bad decisions), and it's on my work computer, so I can't open it without feeling guilty over all the extra overtime I'm not doing :PP But this sounds fun! And so much faster and so much less expensive than the silly giant projects I've been spending all my time on.
Progress shot for the stupidly-huge starscream cross-stitch! Even though Starscream himself mostly exists in the negative :P (you can see his back and part of his waist, plus a really clear outline of his thighs) It's slow, doing so much dark-on-dark stitching, but I only have one other dark color, and then there are SO many greys, pinks, and whites. It's going to feel so good working with those light colors, oh my god
So, does anyone know where to go to learn how to spin? I have some wool already and my sister just got a lamb to be friends with her goat. she says I can shear it before she has it slaughtered in the fall, so I'll have a little bit more wool to play with.
there's a lot of videos on youtube! my advice is mostly just play around and don't expect anything usable at first, like set aside a big whonk of wool for just fucking around. twist it in your fingers, pull it apart, get a feel for how it interacts with itself and with twist. are you using a spindle or a wheel?
I'd probably start with a spindle. Wheels are a big chunk of change, unless I can figure out how to build one. I'd love to get one eventually though.
I made a log! Spoiler: it a log (featuring Syd's new vivarium in the background ^^;;) It's actually both a doorstopper and a draft excluder, and it's my contribution to the handicrafts competition at my local country fair this year. I know I've fucked it up too bad to win any of the actual serious prizes, but I might get the booby prize for most unusual piece?? Spoiler: age rings A different angle, so you can see all the age-rings I hand-embroidered on each end. It's actually a whole bunch of different ribbons sewn together, then ended with these embroidered bits and topped with the 'branch' you can see. It was a bugger figuring out how to do those leaves. I think I wasted about three times as much green ribbon as you can see there ^^;;; BONUS: Spoiler: unimpressed lizard is unimpressed.
i had trouble with the drop spindle at first because if i screwed up i'd literally drop it on the floor. my solution was to spin it in a cup at first, and raise my arms instead of letting the spindle fall.
I finally updated my ravelry so if anyone wants to be yarn nerd friends there: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Keffy
Yeah! It's really pretty... I'm stalled out bc I didn't know you aren't supposed to just knit from the hank if you have yarn in a hank. So... mine's on hold until I feel like doing some massive detangling / winding.
The beginnings of a Very First Scarf Spoiler: scrf One claret red Aran dk and one 'natural' Aran dk knitted together on 10mm needles, twenty stitches to a row. Should hopefully be big enough that it knits up fast and I don't lose motivation and quit, because I desperately want it to be a present for my mother. Ideally I get it done and then I put TASSELS on it. >>
Nnnnnew prrrroject It's going to be Kel of Mindelan's shield, from the Tamora Pierce books! I need to find some watercolour or something to wash the fabric with tho, because it's white and should be pale blue. I couldn't find any authentic medieval owl designs :( I think it should probably have wings outstretched, but it's too late now. Edit: "There was the Mindelan device: a gray owl, wings outstretched, on a blue field rimmed with cream. There were two differences between this shield and those of her brothers. On Kel's, the owl hovered over a pair of crossed glaives, cream embroidered in gold, matches for a Yamani glaive. The other difference was the shield's border: it was formed by two thin rings, the outer blue, the inner cream." Aww shit.
PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED THAT IS SO AWESOME iirc there are some occasions where it would be wings spread and others not, and they all mean different things? I do not...know much about heraldry I also kinda always wondered if they did her artwork in standard tortallan or with a bit more yamani hints? like either would be SO COOL
@keltka I guess a nice thing about middle-ages-plus-magic high fantasy is no mass production, so I can just be like "eh, someone probably coulda painted it like this." I did some googling on heraldry a while ago when I was first thinking about this project but I didn't find much about owls - I'm assuming TP wanted wisdom/intelligence symbolism? So I don't know how appropriate a, um, rampant owl would be. But then Kel is a knight, so. Also now I want to try a yamani-inspired version. Aaa.
@EulersBidentity I know right!! There's always SOMEONE trying out SOMETHING weird :D A lot of my heraldry knows come from...er, well. A brief bit in...Feet of Clay, I think? About them, and the ensuing googling. I think either or could work! Also it would be GREAT because I think the japanese/yamani style is VERY fluffy :D (so intimidating right)
