If you know anything about David Lynch, he’s been at peace for years.
“Swirl the numbers.”
bookmark_borderDavid Lynch, Rest
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bookmark_borderHemp Sankakudai Braid
I was making a simple drawstring bag out of some surplus fabric, and found myself in need of a reliable drawstring. I had previously purchased some hemp beading cord with which to experiment, so this seemed like “the opportune moment”.
I measured out a “quadruple length” to start with. Typically, I clamp my warping posts to this chest of drawers I have in my studio. If I use the full width of the chest, a “single length” is about 52 inches. If I use all three pegs, a quadruple length (approx 17 feet) is pretty simple to measure out, but sometimes is not easy to transfer to the braiding stand. It went OK this time.
Since the hemp cord is stiff, I used my heaviest tama to make a nice tight braid. With only one color in the braid, it looks just like a “3-set” braid, but it really does have 5 strands. With these simple sankakudai braids the structure all looks the same unless you have more colors worked in the braid.
It took me a while to work through all of this material, but I wound up with plenty of hemp cord for all my drawstring needs, about 12 feet.
bookmark_borderComet Pennons
More than six years ago, the Baroness of the Debatable Lands asked me if I would organize people to make new pennons to hang from the new Baronial “list ropes”. The list ropes are used to form the boundaries of the fighting lists (think “boxing ring”) during tournaments, especially where you might have multiple fights happening at once. Penons hanging from the ropes makes them more visible and more festive. In the SCA, people fight for fun and honor. Festive is good!
These penons are about 12 inches long and are made from the same cotton/poly material we use for windscreens. We painted comets on them as a group activity at the Baronial 50th Aniversary event, and I finished them up over the holidays. There are Seventeen of them!
The paint is just Jacquard Neopaque White. These might get caught out in the rain, or might need to be thrown in the washer. This is not the time for historical re-creation, but practical thing-making. I still need to get my hand on the list ropes themselves so I can attach the pennons, but that should happen later this month. I don’t have a block or screen for printing these, so each comet is a unique little snowflake. I hope people enjoy recognizing the ones they painted.
bookmark_border“Polostan” by Neal Stephenson
I am pleased that Neal Stephenson has finally convinced his publisher that a series of 300 page volumes is preferable to a single 900 to 1200 page tome. However, since the story contained in the first volume of Stephenson’s new “Bomb Light series” is really just the back story for the main character, it is difficult to review. I will say that this first volume is told with Stephenson’s characteristic flair, and with skillful arrangement. Exposition is accomplished through flashback, and history (and History) combines with forward narrative at a steady pace until we are all caught up and ready for the drama to shift into racing gear. Even when you are expecting the end of the volume to occur, since with physical books it is unavoidable to notice when it is near, the turn that breaks act one from act two is somewhat surprising. Leave it to Stephenson to create characters who surprise even themselves with their sense of dramatic turn!
Anyway, the “Polo” of the title really does refer to the game of Polo, as played on ponies, and the “stan” really does refer to a culturally unified geographic region (a capital-S “State”, if you will). The main character is a Wyoming pony-trainer outlaw communist operative hero of the highest order, and her manipulations bring the State of Polostan into existence just when she needs it to make the leap from state of mind into (fictional) reality.
There’s no way for me to tell where all this is going. Even Stephenson only vaguely refers to the “shape of this thing”. However, the characters are fully aware of Things that are Important, and I expect them to follow through on their personal histories with decision and aplomb.
This is a reasonably quick read, with a good foundation in world history and a strong plot with a relatable main character. Aurora is not a genius, but she is smart and brave. She does what she needs to survive, but she cares for others and tries to limit the harm to the uninvolved. A real hero! I hope she survives.
bookmark_borderA Calendar for You
2025
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bookmark_borderAcquired Music 2024
- Zombi, ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1 (2022)
- Art of Noise, In Visible Silence (1988)
- Moby, Resound NYC (2023)
- Moodswings, Psychedelicatessen (1997)
- Zombi, Direct Inject (2024)
- Tosca, Osam (2022)
- They Might Be Giants, Live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (2015)
- MONO, Oath (2024)
- They Might Be Giants, Beast of Horns (2024)
- Polyphia, Remember That You Will Die (2022)
- Underworld, Barking (2010)
- William Orbit, The Painter (2022)
- Joe Satriani, Elephants of Mars (2022)
- Joe Satriani, Shapeshifting (2020)
- Gary Hoey, Dust & Bones (2016)
bookmark_borderRed Hexagon Shibori Kosode
This kosode is made of linen that has been hand-dyed in madder, using a stitched-resist shibori technique to create hexagonal patterns in the fabric. From purchase of fabric to completion of garment took more than a year, though obviously I did not work on it constantly for all of that time.
I started by purchasing some soft white linen from a merchant at Pennsic. This soft linen uses shorter fibers, which means it will not last as long, but I like the texture and have found that it works very well for shibori dyeing. I then cut all my pieces and serged the raw edges to create false selvedges and to keep the cut ends from fraying during the rest of the process. This was the easy part.
Then, I started adding my hexagonal resists. The process for this was to trace a pattern hexagon with chalk, then hand sew a running stitch around the chalk using about three times as much thread as needed. Once all of the pieces were stitched, the hexagonal stitches were then drawn up, and the ‘extra’ thread was wrapped around the small bundle of fabric this creates. I stitched, drew-up, and tied 103 separate hexagons. You can see in the above photos two places where the stitching broke or the binding came loose during the dyeing process. Such is life.
The next step was dyeing. My friend Rei kindly offered her assistance and the use of her dyeing studio full of equipment. I bought my own madder powder, and reimbursed her for the (considerable) cost of mordants and other chemicals. It took a full day in the studio (~10am to ~6pm) to prepare the dye baths (I used 4 pounds of madder powder for 2 pounds of fabric, plus a little alizarin to boost the red), stimulant bath, and mordant bath, soak the fabric in the baths, and undo all of the stitching so that the fabric could dry overnight. This process would not have been possible without Rei’s knowledge, amassed references, equipment, and time. Thanks Rei!
Once dry, I laundered and ironed all the pieces, then sewed it into a kosode. It is large, and kind of heavy actually. After washing, the hexagons became even more defined, and the color gradations across the fabric from all the wrinkling and folding caused by the bound hexagons give it an interesting visual texture. I’m very happy how this all came out. Every bit of money and time I spent on this project has been worth it to me.
bookmark_borderMizuoke – Water Bucket
Sometimes I do woodworking demos at SCA events, and I have been wanting a less modern water source for sharpening than my plastic container. I was watching the animated film “Spirited Away” and I was like, “I need that bucket.”
I think that in Japan, this low and wide type of bucket was basically used as a basket. In the movie, she has it full of candy (konpeito, basically little bumpy sugar balls) that she’s feeding to the soot sprites. I’ve seen large ones in other movies used to transport cooked rice.
I bought about twelve feet of cedar 1by6 (sold as 4/4 S3S) and planed it down to 3/4″. Then I cut 10 6″ long bits for the staves and 2 15″ long pieces for the handle staves. I tilted the table saw blade to 15 degrees and beveled one edge, then spun each piece around to both bevel the other edge and narrow each piece down to 3+7/8″ wide (on the wider side). Switching the table saw over to a dado stack, I cut a 3/4″ wide by 3/8″ deep dado on the interior of each piece, to accept the floor of the bucket.
I used the band saw to shape the handle staves, then cut the through-mortises on the drill press and chiseled them square.
The floor of the bucket is cut from three pieces of cedar that I edge-glued together and then shaped using a circle jig on the band saw. I cut that as a 14″ circle, but I wish I had gone up at least a quarter inch more.
I dry fit all the pieces using blue tape, so I could figure out how long the handle needed to be. Once I had that length, I sketched out the curve of the handle and cut the shape on the band saw. A bit of sanding smoothed away the blade marks.
Since I already had the pieces taped up, I could apply plenty of glue, roll the bucket up around the floor (inserting the handle at the right moment), and clamp it together with elastic bands. I should have used ratchet strapspn as that would have let me get them really tight. Since I knew cleaning dry glue off the inside would be a pain, I washed the squeeze-out off the interior before it could cure. I left the whole thing to dry overnight.
The next morning I removed the elastic and tape. I scraped the squeeze-out off the exterior, then sanded the angled edges of the exterior to round it up a bit. I drilled some holes in the handle tenons so I could secure them with pegs. To finish up, I tied some palm rope around the bucket with constrictor knots.
It leaked almost as fast as the hose could fill it, so I guess it’s not the best bucket anybody ever made, but it looks good, and I learned some lessons that will help me when (if) I make another one.
- Cut and shape the staves, then measure the dry fit to figure out how big the floor should be.
- Cut the dado to be a tight fit for the floor.
- Use ratchet clamps for a tight fit while the glue cures.
In Japan, they take pride that the joinery in their coopering (and boatmaking) is tight enough to be leakproof before it gets wet. The swelling makes it even tighter! I knew ahead of time that my joinery would not be up to Japanese level. Traditional buckets (and barrels) also have good quality hoops that keep the joinery tight as the wood swells. In Japan, making hoops by braiding strips of bamboo is a craft all on its own. I knew my rope hoops would be a little loose, and that I am not capable of metalworking at this level either, so glue it was.
I did not put any glue holding the bottom in place, because I knew that had to be free to swell. In my future tries to learn this craft, I will make the staves first, then measure to determine what size I need the floor to be. I’ll also leave the boards for the floor a little bit thicker, to match what is apparently a slightly over-width dado stack.
After a few days, I decided to seal the bottom of the bucket with clear finishing resin so that I could use it for its intended purpose. I sealed up the outside of the floor as best as I could with blue tape, then I poured in about 2 cups of mixed resin. I probably could have gotten away with only a cup of resin, since the hardened resin is pretty thick in the bucket now.
When it started to thicken, I brushed the resin up the sides of the bucket, sort of to make a plastic bucket inside. I knew the wood was porous, and I was hoping enough resign would soak in that the wood bucket and the plastic surface would be fully bonded together. One thing I did not take into account was that these pores are all full of air. Since the resin heats up as it cures, the air expanded and bubbled up through the resin. I did not get a perfectly clear layer of plastic in the bottom of the bucket, but it did seal everything up as hoped.
It looks good overall though, and I am happy with it. Once you get some water in it, you can’t really tell the difference between bubbly resin and bubbly water. I have my bucket and it really does look like the inspiration. One commentator suggested that I make two more. The theory is that by the time I make the third one, I’ll have all the problems worked out and the third one will be perfect. That will have to wait for Spring, but I just might do it.
bookmark_borderGrocery List Holder
Way back in the mists of before-me time, Sharon‘s sister Megan (with Sharon’s mom’s help) made a grocery list holder as a gift for Sharon. It holds an old-fashioned roll of receipt paper (and a pencil) up on the wall so that you can quickly and easily jot down items for the next grocery trip. Sharon has used this holder for grocery lists ever since, and I dutifully started using it when I moved in with Sharon in the Spring of 1996. When you are ready to go grocery shopping, you pull down on the list until it is below the crossbar, then use the crossbar as a tearing guide to remove the list.
There is only one problem: we make two grocery trips a week because the two stores have different merchandise. Most weeks, Sharon goes to one store and I go to the other. Keeping two lists on one holder doesn’t work very well. If the “upper” list needs to be detached before the “lower” list, then the lower list winds up getting tucked into the crossbar and it is difficult to add things. Also, the detached list now has limited room. The solution was for someone (me) to make a second grocery list holder.
I made mine from some of the pine board that I planed down to 5/8-inch for the Medium Japanese Tool Chest project. That’s why it looks a little smaller than the original. I did all of the cutting on the band saw, and smoothed all the saw marks by hand with a plane and some sandpaper. I used copper nails instead of iron nails, because I like the way that looks. Megan and Ivy used a rustic stain-only finish, which is fine and enables it to develop a patina. The pine on my list holder is finished with blonde shellac to seal it more completely for a brighter look.
Ivy says that she based the first one on a list holder that was on the wall of her parents’ house while she was growing up. When I sent a picture of these two to Megan, she said that she could really use one of these, so I will probably wind up making at least one more. Megan’s oldest offspring is now living in his own place, so he should probably have one as well. Maybe I should draw up some plans and write some instructions so that I don’t have to do all of these myself.
bookmark_borderI’m Starting to Worry About this Review of Jason Pargin’s Latest Book
There’s a quote that I think about quite often from Jame’s Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day: “There’s no fate but what we make for ourselves.” If there are messages in Jason Pargin’s latest novel, I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom, one of them is that there are no black boxes of doom but those we make for ourselves.
There’s a quote that I think about quite often from Christopher Nolan’s Inception: “An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.” If there are messages in Jason Pargin’s latest novel, I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom, one of them is that the black boxes we make for ourselves can grow to define or destroy us.
The black box in the title of the novel is not the physical black box in the narrative of the novel. I’m not spoiling anything here, this is all explained quite early on in the novel. Applying that information to the philosophical black boxes in the rest of the novel is left as an exercise for the reader. If all that seems like a bit of a bait-and-switch con, keep in mind how much bait-and-switch happened with those two movies. The actor who played the main antagonist in the first movie plays the main white knight protector in the second? The eponymous inception is perpetrated not just on the target of the heist, not just on the instigator of the heist, but primarily on the perpetrator of the heist?
That said, Black Box is a bit of a bait-and-switch. When you find out the true meaning of the philosophical black box, and when you find out the true contents of the physical black box, your concepts of most of the main characters are switched and turned. This is not to relegate this novel to the trash heap of the “twist ending”. There is a twist beginning, a twist middle, a twist climax, and a twist denouement as well. One character who is cast as the only competent and experienced professional turns out to be kind of a nitwit. One character who is cast as a relentless machine turns out to be one of the most tragic and sympathetic characters in the whole story.
All the while, we are forced to contemplate how information is presented to us in this world, and how that affects the way we interpret it. A clandestine road-trip quickly becomes one of the most comically public endeavors on the planet. What the characters think they understand about each other becomes as unreliable as what we think we know about them.
This novel is not part of either of Jason Pargin’s two successful series. It is not a John, Dave, and Amy novel or a Zoey Ashe novel. It is good to see a writer branch out in new directions and work on things that are different. This is not a horror novel or a science fiction novel. These situations are all too real, these landscapes are too mundane, and these people are very real. Everybody makes mistakes and has regrets. There are no color-coded hats or billowing capes.
At times, mostly in the middle, this novel gets a little bogged down in conversations that are mostly exposition. At the end, most threads get tied up maybe a little too neatly. If those things are “flaws” in the novel, I’m not sure how Pargin could have fixed them. Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s good. Very good. I continue to think that Jason Pargin is a novelist who started out strong and just keeps getting better. I recommend this book to all adult readers, and most YA. What I really don’t understand is why this author’s publisher hasn’t updated his promotional web site.