the song of lunch

Filmmakers, pay attention. You can make any film you want as long as you make it well.

One hour based on a poem. A poem for the love of all that's holy. With perfect casting, scenery, sets and light. There is no formula. There is no hero, no mythic journey. Just a character, a point of view, a life. And a powerful encounter compressed into clean and honest words. A poem come to life.

Create an experience like this, filmmakers, and you will flourish.

Glassworks: BC Ribbon

  I've been doing stained glass since high school, when an art teacher got me hooked on it.  Over the years I've acquired a lot of the tools of the trade, as well as a sizable collection of glass.  To me, there is something real and genuine about a piece made from glass.  It's cool to the touch, has weight and substance.  There is nothing quite like it.  

  And over the years, when I've made pieces for friends or family I've always said, if it ever needs to be repaired, let me know.  

  A few years ago, I made pink ribbons for all my BC friends.  The design, unfortunately, wasn't the strongest I've ever come up with. It was prone to flexing and pulling apart.  It also tended to break easier when dropped.  So when I friend told me she'd knocked hers off the suction cup, I told her let me see it, I'd fix it for her.  This was the second repair I'd done for her, and I decided I needed to modify the design.

  The ribbon had two broken pieces, so the first thing was to take it apart and salvage the good parts (I took this picture after I started working on it.)  Then I decided that I was going to strengthen it by putting an oval of white glass around it, which would add support and stability to the design.  It also added 8 more pieces of glass.  

   

  It didn't take long at all to cut the new pieces.  I'd learned a few tricks at DragonCon a few years ago that have made that process quicker.  Once the pieces have been cut, I grind the rough edges to make the pieces fit better.  I use a thin copper foil on the glass.  It makes for a neater seam, but sometimes a weaker seam.  Taking off the rough edges gives it a more refined look, and more consistent seams. 

 Once the copper foil is applied and smoothed down, I've ready to solder it.  

  The trick to soldering is to fill the seam completely, then round the top of it, called a bead, on both side, much like creating an "I-beam" of solder around the glass.  First you do one side, then the other, put a little bead on the outside edge and attach rings. 

 Once all soldered I polish the piece with glass polish.  It adds a smoothness to the glass as well as keeping the solder bright.  

  In the end I think it came out nice.  Not to mention stronger.  I hope my friend likes the new design.  She's moving out of the country, so it's going to be harder for her to get it to me should it break again.  But if it does, I'll fix it again.  And should anyone else come to me or repairs, they get the free up grade as well.  Cause as long as I'm able, I repair pieces as well as make them.  

Laptop Cover

I got some yarn from a friend's mother about a year ago.  She wasn't going to use it for anything, so she thought I might like it.  Sure, I'll think of something to do with it.   Let me know if you need anything. 

  About 6 months later the same friend called in that favor.  He had been using the sheet of packing foam to protect his laptop and it had finally torn itself to pieces.  Would I be willing to make him a cover for his laptop.  

  Sure, why not.  

  This, like so many of my projects had a few false starts.  In the end, it was Edward's suggestion that worked, start with a center core and work outward,  Most of the yarn I used was yarn that his mom had given me, some was yarn left over from other projects.  In the end, I simply folded the strip short of half way, sewed the sides and made a flap.  The laptop slips in and out nicely.  

  Both Son and Mom just love it.

Baby Blanket - JL & ML

A Matched Set...

My colleague and his wife are adopting not one, but two toddlers this week. The siblings are twins, a boy and girl who were born in Bulgaria, and turned 2 last Sunday. They have been working their way through the adoption process for the last two years and yesterday they left on the final trip to pick up the kids and bring them home. They are very excited.

So, in my usual fashion, I made them blankets for the kids. This is the first time I have made two blankets at the same time. And since they are twins, I used the same pattern for each. A pattern I have used a lot, simple and quick.

I decided to go for a more traditional color scheme, blues and pinks, but didn't go with strictly traditional pastels. Using a darker blue and darker pink as part of each. Made the body of each one first then the borders to finish them, to be sure they were a matched set done the same way.

The new parents, were just thrilled. I liked the way they came out. Hopefully, they'll actually get to use them sometime in this winter.

When You Don't Have the Right Picutre...

... Photoshop it.

Got inspired to do a little writing the other day. We had a storm approaching, with some heavy rain. Right before it got here, a crow landed on the street light out front, as if to caw a warning that things were going to get rough.

Like Edward, I like to include a picture with the things I write. But I didn't get a picture of the crow. So, I created one.

I started with two pictures. Crows in a tree and a street light.














I ended up using two different crows, because I liked the body position of the top one, and the head of the lower one. So I combined them.





Then I isolated the light post and trees, reversed them, and changed the sky. Photoshop has a function that will create clouds, or a diffraction pattern that looks like clouds.
           
Next I desaturated the lamp post (took all the color out of it) and added a gradient to the sky to make it darker.

I think it came out OK. And it fits the story I was trying to tell.

We Needed the Rain

Baby Blanket - ND

My first, ever, commissioned crochet project. A friend at work asked me if I would be willing to make a blanket for her friend's new baby boy. She had remembered that I had made a blanket for a mutual friend many years ago. She said she wanted something special. It took about 3 weeks to make it. And since I had some left over yarn, I made a hat to go with it as a bonus. I hope I didn't disappoint. Hope the new mom and dad like it.

Sandy's Box

More than a decade ago, I got Sandy a log to scratch on. She mostly ignored it, but it was always her log. After she lost her sight, she used it to climb onto the milk crates.

We almost burned it last year. But I decided we shouldn't and then this year, for Edward's birthday, I made something out of it that we'll keep forever as a reminder for our friend.

This is Sandy's Box.










For the full story of building Sandy's Box and more pictures, click here.

Lakeside Mist

A little photo editing. This morning it was misty over the lake at Walsingham Park. The water was glass smooth and the sun wasn't up yet. Kind of a dull picture. I tried a little photo editing to make it more interesting. Some intentional speckling, took out the color, added a little sepia. Oh, and took out the light towers on the far side of the lake. Makes it look a little less civilized.

Here's the final version.

Baby Blanket - DCNI

So, she isn't a baby, she's a really cute little girl, and this is her blanket. She and her new family are getting to know each other halfway across the world. Like her brother, she got to open the box herself...

I think she likes it.

Baby Blanket - ALA

Baby Blanket Number 2 in this recent run of crocheting. For a former colleague and current friend. I hope she likes the colors...

Imbolc Sunrise

Boca Ciega Bay, St Petersburg, FL

Crow Hunting

Edward will be putting out the Imbolc message on Tuesday and he wanted a picture of crows sitting in a bare branched tree.  I've been seeing huge flocks of crows for the last few weeks on the way to and from work.  As luck would have it, after he mentioned it, the crows disappeared. 

Of course.

Saturday, when we were coming back from Lowes, we came across a a small flock.  There were a couple in one of the bare trees.  I didn't have a camera with me, so we had to go home and get it.  We went back and I got a few pictures, but they weren't very exciting. 

Then I got them into photoshop.  Nothing like a applying a few filters to make them look a lot cooler.  Oh, and photoshop is great for adding birds when you need more and the birds themselves aren't cooperating.  Five birds can become seven birds pretty easily.  As you'll see on Tuesday.

We got a picture that we like.  And then I started playing some more.  Nothing like some heavy photoshopping to make a dull picture more interesting.

Champagne Mead

  The 2009 Indian Spring Mead turned out a little... bubbly.  We had an unintentional secondary fermentation after we bottled.  The good news is we were the only ones to suffer a spill, when a cork popped.  We've been thinking about trying to make a sparkling mead for some time...  Now we have, albeit accidentally...