Well, as I said in my previous post, I enjoyed my Challenge so much that I don't want to stop! Therefore, I'll be trying to do at least 20 new things in my 40th year :D As before, I have a list of possible things, although it has already got a couple of things on it which weren't there to start with, so nothing much is different in this respect either!
So; here's my starter for 20! Some of them are the same as before, things I couldn't do, but still want to...
Scuba Diving
Urban Exploration
Carriage Driving
Side-saddle riding
Horse-ride along a beach, in the surf :)
Hang-gliding and/or Ride in a hot air balloon
Fan dancing Class
Hang Aerial Class
Hang Yoga
Capoeira lesson
Blacksmithing workshop (PH)
Woodworking workshop (PH)
Stained Glass workshop (PH)
Calligraphy
3D dreamcatcher
Make a hat
Make paper
Box Brownie Photography
Tea wine
Make Ginger Beer
Make a Herman Cake
Watch at least 5 'must-see' classic films
Make Dragon sculpture, since it is Chinese Year of the Dragon! (at least by the end of the CYotD 9th Feb!)
There are more than 20 things, which should give me a bit of lee-way for not managing some, and as usual, I'll swap things in & out as I see fit!
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Final Roundup
This is an overview of what I've done, what I have not done, what worked well, what did not, and all that kind of thing.
I am very pleased with myself for having finished my Challenge, despite some things not going to plan, and others having to be substituted at the last minute!
Things that worked well seemed to be 'trying things out' - making the corset, trying tablet weaving, bookbinding and so on.
What didn't seem to work so well was anything which required a major investment of time (and willpower!) longer term... the money diet didn't really happen, neither did the actual diet. Surprisingly, neither did watching 5 must-see movies; we're apparently useless at sitting down to watch a film!
One thing I have learned about myself from doing this Challenge is that I love trying things out, even if I then don't feel inclined to pursue them any further. For instance, rock-climbing and tablet weaving are things I'm glad I've tried, but won't continue. Corset making however, I will do again, and I'll probably try spinning again at some point. I'll definitely go on another tour of the Victoria Tunnel, and I might even become a tour guide for it!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my Challenge, and in particular, I have enjoyed the variety that the 'scatter-gun' approach has given to it. Therefore, I will be doing a new Challenge, starting after my birthday. Since 40 things was rather a lot, I intend to try 20 new things in my 40th year, so the new Challenge is going to be called 20in40!
This means that I will continue to try new crafts like woodworking, blacksmithing and stained-glass making, as well as hopefully doing some of the things which I could not manage this year (horseriding on the beach, side-saddle riding, and so on).
The final round-up of what I achieved:
1 Thames river cruise (18th April 2012)
2 Visit Stonehenge (17th April 2012)
3 See the Northern Lights (2nd March 2012)
4 Visit Thackray museum in Leeds (12th November 2011)
5 Have a Belly dancing lesson (8th January 2012)
6 Do a day of Falconry (24th April 2012)
7 Handbell ringing (16th December 2011)
8 1:1 Barre class (3rd November 2011)
9 Hold a tarantula (25 February12)
10 Try at least 5 new foods (Finished March 2012)
11 Do something completely spontaneous (Shoeshine) (26th October 2011)
12 Rode the Brighton Wheel (26th October 2011)
13 Visit Mother Shipton's Cave (5th June)
14 Visited parts of Yorkshire Sculpture Park I hadn't been to before. (4th June)
15 Tried Lavender & Lemon Scones (5th June)
16 Visit Lindisfarne (7th June 2012)
17 Go to the Hoppings (26th June 2012)
18 Thai Food (11th June 2012)
19 Read at least 3 classics (20th July 2012)
20 Make a corset (Finished 3rd July 2012)
21 Hold a tortoise (6th July 2012)
22 Wear more colours (ongoing!)
23 Visit the Lit & Phil (23rd July 2012)
24 Try at least 3 new bands (26th July 2012)
25 Rock climbing (2nd August 2012)
26 Learn to use a Spinning Wheel (7th August 2012)
27 Money-diet for a month (July 2012)
28 Tour the Victoria Tunnel (23rd August 2012)
29 Have a 4-hand massage (17th August)
30 Colourful plants in garden (September)
31 Settle Down cafe & Sugar Down bakery (August sometime!)
32 Mariner 9 exhibition (18th August)
33 Make a leather masquerade mask (3rd September 2012)
34 Bind a book (4th September 2012)
35 Tablet weaving (3rd September 2012)
36 See a film I wouldn't normally watch (Verhängnis) (8th March 2012)
37 Drop casting silver (June/July 2012)
40 Spend a night in the Library room at the Witchery (22nd September 2012)
I am very pleased with myself for having finished my Challenge, despite some things not going to plan, and others having to be substituted at the last minute!
Things that worked well seemed to be 'trying things out' - making the corset, trying tablet weaving, bookbinding and so on.
What didn't seem to work so well was anything which required a major investment of time (and willpower!) longer term... the money diet didn't really happen, neither did the actual diet. Surprisingly, neither did watching 5 must-see movies; we're apparently useless at sitting down to watch a film!
One thing I have learned about myself from doing this Challenge is that I love trying things out, even if I then don't feel inclined to pursue them any further. For instance, rock-climbing and tablet weaving are things I'm glad I've tried, but won't continue. Corset making however, I will do again, and I'll probably try spinning again at some point. I'll definitely go on another tour of the Victoria Tunnel, and I might even become a tour guide for it!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my Challenge, and in particular, I have enjoyed the variety that the 'scatter-gun' approach has given to it. Therefore, I will be doing a new Challenge, starting after my birthday. Since 40 things was rather a lot, I intend to try 20 new things in my 40th year, so the new Challenge is going to be called 20in40!
This means that I will continue to try new crafts like woodworking, blacksmithing and stained-glass making, as well as hopefully doing some of the things which I could not manage this year (horseriding on the beach, side-saddle riding, and so on).
The final round-up of what I achieved:
1 Thames river cruise (18th April 2012)
2 Visit Stonehenge (17th April 2012)
3 See the Northern Lights (2nd March 2012)
4 Visit Thackray museum in Leeds (12th November 2011)
5 Have a Belly dancing lesson (8th January 2012)
6 Do a day of Falconry (24th April 2012)
7 Handbell ringing (16th December 2011)
8 1:1 Barre class (3rd November 2011)
9 Hold a tarantula (25 February12)
10 Try at least 5 new foods (Finished March 2012)
11 Do something completely spontaneous (Shoeshine) (26th October 2011)
12 Rode the Brighton Wheel (26th October 2011)
13 Visit Mother Shipton's Cave (5th June)
14 Visited parts of Yorkshire Sculpture Park I hadn't been to before. (4th June)
15 Tried Lavender & Lemon Scones (5th June)
16 Visit Lindisfarne (7th June 2012)
17 Go to the Hoppings (26th June 2012)
18 Thai Food (11th June 2012)
19 Read at least 3 classics (20th July 2012)
20 Make a corset (Finished 3rd July 2012)
21 Hold a tortoise (6th July 2012)
22 Wear more colours (ongoing!)
23 Visit the Lit & Phil (23rd July 2012)
24 Try at least 3 new bands (26th July 2012)
25 Rock climbing (2nd August 2012)
26 Learn to use a Spinning Wheel (7th August 2012)
27 Money-diet for a month (July 2012)
28 Tour the Victoria Tunnel (23rd August 2012)
29 Have a 4-hand massage (17th August)
30 Colourful plants in garden (September)
31 Settle Down cafe & Sugar Down bakery (August sometime!)
32 Mariner 9 exhibition (18th August)
33 Make a leather masquerade mask (3rd September 2012)
34 Bind a book (4th September 2012)
35 Tablet weaving (3rd September 2012)
36 See a film I wouldn't normally watch (Verhängnis) (8th March 2012)
37 Drop casting silver (June/July 2012)
38 Face Painted. (21st September 2012)
39 Take a tour of St Mary's Close (22nd September 2012)40 Spend a night in the Library room at the Witchery (22nd September 2012)
Edinburgh
My 40th Birthday was somewhat like my 39th, in that it didn't all go quite to plan. However, it was a lovely day & the bits that did work were lovely!
I had a lovely birthday breakfast of thick pancakes with a variety of things sprinkled on them, then went into Town.
We didn't make it to the Jekyll & Hyde pub, thanks to the sat-nav on my phone being unreliable :(
Instead, we went straight to the Mary King's Close tour. This was a fascinating 'living history' tour of the underground streets beneath the Royal Mile. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic, and really made the streets come to life. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos while we were down there and the infra-red photo that we had taken really didn't come out well enough to spend money on.
Then on to the Library suite at the Witchery; the final item on my list, and a real treat. The bathroom was amazing, underfloor heating and a huge bath! We had a picnic supper & watched a movie before snuggling up in the lovely cosy bed :D
I had a lovely birthday breakfast of thick pancakes with a variety of things sprinkled on them, then went into Town.
We didn't make it to the Jekyll & Hyde pub, thanks to the sat-nav on my phone being unreliable :(
Instead, we went straight to the Mary King's Close tour. This was a fascinating 'living history' tour of the underground streets beneath the Royal Mile. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic, and really made the streets come to life. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos while we were down there and the infra-red photo that we had taken really didn't come out well enough to spend money on.
Then on to the Library suite at the Witchery; the final item on my list, and a real treat. The bathroom was amazing, underfloor heating and a huge bath! We had a picnic supper & watched a movie before snuggling up in the lovely cosy bed :D
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| The Fantabulous Bath! |
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| The Bed |
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| The 'hidden' bookcase door to the corridor. |
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| Lounging on the Chaise. |
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| My Best Beloved and me. |
Something from before, and a random new thing.
Luckily, I'd kept a couple of 'new things' in reserve until the end in case I needed them. This was a good move, as I'd planned to do the Box Brownie photos last Thursday, but I found myself really flustered with getting ready to go to Edinburgh, so I postponed that until another time... more news about that in another post!
So, for your delectation; drop casting of silver!
I'd previously drop-cast pewter, which was fun, but I knew that silver takes a bit more effort, as it has to be heated to a much higher temperature than pewter. Also the dropping of the hot metal into cold water has to be done into a bucket or other deep container, unlike pewter, where I used a tall glass.
I've had my makeup done many times, but I have never had my face painted before. So when my dear friend Gill asked if she could paint me, I said 'yes!' and this is the result. I can't believe she's only been doing face-painting for a bit over two WEEKS! She's brilliant, and will only get even better with practice ;)
So, for your delectation; drop casting of silver!
I'd previously drop-cast pewter, which was fun, but I knew that silver takes a bit more effort, as it has to be heated to a much higher temperature than pewter. Also the dropping of the hot metal into cold water has to be done into a bucket or other deep container, unlike pewter, where I used a tall glass.
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| A 'cup' with a drop of silver nestled in it |
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| I love the patterns on this one |
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| A couple of weird mushroom shapes |
I've had my makeup done many times, but I have never had my face painted before. So when my dear friend Gill asked if she could paint me, I said 'yes!' and this is the result. I can't believe she's only been doing face-painting for a bit over two WEEKS! She's brilliant, and will only get even better with practice ;)
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Cool!
The Red Arrows just flew over our house!
They're flying at today's Great North Run... Good Luck to everyone running today, especially to you Michael :D
They're flying at today's Great North Run... Good Luck to everyone running today, especially to you Michael :D
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Not Challenge related, but a minor epiphany and a small realisation
I have been doing a lot of reading and sorting things out on my computer over the last couple of days. This is due to me finally leaving Firefox for Chrome as my browser of choice; so I've been sorting out my bookmarks, pruning dead links, and reading some of the articles I've had bookmarked for a long time.
In particular, I've been reading Puttylike (thanks Liz!), looking into the Pomodoro Technique and a simplified Getting Things Done and I've realised something about how I do things...
I have lists. Lots of lists. And some things on those lists don't belong where they are. I've been mistaking a lot of my Projects for Items-to-do, and that has overwhelmed me. Just now, when I was sorting out some lists and re-assessing some things, I put some Projects on a To Do list & felt wretched. When I realised that I needed to make a separate Projects list for them, and only put the next step on the To-Do list I felt so much lighter. I think this might work better for me from now on!
The epiphany was that at some point, I have to stop organising (be that reading, sorting files & lists on my computer, or physically organising things like my jewellery findings) and start doing something with that knowledge (or list, or organised things).
So my new mantra is going to be "Less organising, more doing!"
We'll see if it works ;)
Having said that, though, I do know that I have to work with whatever my mood dictates; today is a doing things with the computer day, rather than a making things day, so I'll do some more blog related work, and so on. Maybe tomorrow one of the more physical projects will get a look in, like making some jewellery for the upcoming Newcastle Alternative Expo. If you're around, please pop in, it looks like it will be lots of fun!
In particular, I've been reading Puttylike (thanks Liz!), looking into the Pomodoro Technique and a simplified Getting Things Done and I've realised something about how I do things...
I have lists. Lots of lists. And some things on those lists don't belong where they are. I've been mistaking a lot of my Projects for Items-to-do, and that has overwhelmed me. Just now, when I was sorting out some lists and re-assessing some things, I put some Projects on a To Do list & felt wretched. When I realised that I needed to make a separate Projects list for them, and only put the next step on the To-Do list I felt so much lighter. I think this might work better for me from now on!
The epiphany was that at some point, I have to stop organising (be that reading, sorting files & lists on my computer, or physically organising things like my jewellery findings) and start doing something with that knowledge (or list, or organised things).
So my new mantra is going to be "Less organising, more doing!"
We'll see if it works ;)
Having said that, though, I do know that I have to work with whatever my mood dictates; today is a doing things with the computer day, rather than a making things day, so I'll do some more blog related work, and so on. Maybe tomorrow one of the more physical projects will get a look in, like making some jewellery for the upcoming Newcastle Alternative Expo. If you're around, please pop in, it looks like it will be lots of fun!
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Bookbinding, tablet weaving and mask making
Many thanks to K for showing me how to make a book! I am very pleased how it turned out, although in hindsight I would have used the flour paste glue for the cover instead of the fabric glue as I think it would have stuck better! However, several days under a heavy weight seems to have sorted out the last few blisters which hadn't stuck down quite right!
Thanks also to Jo for showing me tablet weaving & mask making... all problems with these parts of the challenge are entirely down to pilot error!
The mask was going fine until I cut the eye holes... too big :( I am going to try to remedy it with judicious use of decoration, but we'll have to see how that goes. Here's a few pictures from the process, before it went wrong!
As for Tablet weaving - I think that's one for you Jo! I tried, and the first little piece I made was OK...
Then I tried something a little more complex, with a border either side. I had a lot of trouble with the S & Z threaded cards next to each other getting caught up together, and forgetting which way I was turning the cards to make the pattern!
I tried another variant, tubular weaving, which worked OK, but still not spectacularly well.
Remembering what Jo had said about tablet weaving needing more cords to make it worthwhile, otherwise I might as well be doing finger-braiding, I figured I would look up finger-braiding too... and I tried that as well. Once I realised how it was supposed to be done, it was fine, but I don't think I'll make a habit of it!
Finally, I decided to try out normal weaving, since Jo had loaned me a loom to do the tablet weaving on... the sides kept pulling in and I just don't think I have the patience for this kind of thing!
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| My first codex |
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| All four codices |
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| Sewing the codex |
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| The finished binding |
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| The finished article! |
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| The endpaper |
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| On display |
Thanks also to Jo for showing me tablet weaving & mask making... all problems with these parts of the challenge are entirely down to pilot error!
The mask was going fine until I cut the eye holes... too big :( I am going to try to remedy it with judicious use of decoration, but we'll have to see how that goes. Here's a few pictures from the process, before it went wrong!
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| The base mask. |
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| Shaping the decorative cogs |
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| Cogs fixed to the mask, all painted & pretty! |
As for Tablet weaving - I think that's one for you Jo! I tried, and the first little piece I made was OK...
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| Once I got going, all was well! |
Then I tried something a little more complex, with a border either side. I had a lot of trouble with the S & Z threaded cards next to each other getting caught up together, and forgetting which way I was turning the cards to make the pattern!
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| Not so good.... |
I tried another variant, tubular weaving, which worked OK, but still not spectacularly well.
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| Tubular! |
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| A simple finger braid |
Finally, I decided to try out normal weaving, since Jo had loaned me a loom to do the tablet weaving on... the sides kept pulling in and I just don't think I have the patience for this kind of thing!
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| Nope! |
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