mem_somerville

mem_somerville, 5 days ago to random

Wow. Jury duty is pretty wild these days.

"Juror in Feeding Our Future case excused after being offered bags of cash to acquit"

https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/06/03/juror-in-feeding-our-future-case-excused-after-being-offered-bags-of-cash-to-acquit/

mem_somerville, 8 days ago to SciComm

One of the people I used to follow at the Bad Place is Raven the Science Maven. A great scientist #scicomm account.

I looked at the NYT and saw her and thought: yay! NYT feature....

And then I read the headline. Not science--#racism, aimed at her.

Grrrrr....

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/realestate/race-home-buying-raven-baxter.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wE0.TyEO.-VkwsUkj28h0&smid=url-share

mem_somerville, 8 days ago to climate

In other news, this surprised me. I knew that they were planning it, but it is actually today!

New England's largest fossil fuel electric plant is shutting down today | Mystic Generating Station

"shuttering the plant shows the era of burning fossil fuels for electricity may have peaked, at least in New England"

#ClimateChange #FossilFuels #SomervilleMA #EverettMA

https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/05/30/mystic-electric-station-massachusetts-closing

mem_somerville, 10 days ago to random

Reminder: Historic New England has open house on Saturday June 1. All sites open for free.

Looks like great weather this year.

https://www.historicnewengland.org/youre-invited-to-our-region-wide-open-house-2/

mem_somerville, 10 days ago to Lace

For #WIPWednesday, some #tatting underway. I'm currently on a kick to do denim doilies, and have done 3 in #BobbinLace so far. But now I want another style.

Using the wonderful hand-dyed thread from @yarnplayer called Blue Skies.

Pattern is by Anne Orr. I recently discovered what a #TextileHistory rock star she was--art editor, writer, entrepreneur, pattern designer... and no #Wikipedia page. I'll be fixing that eventually.

https://quiltershalloffame.net/anne-orr/

mem_somerville, 11 days ago to climate

Had a fabulous #FieldTrip today with Long Now Boston folks. We toured the #DeerIsland wastewater treatment plant. Yes, Long Now Boston is a nerd club.

But it gives me hope: some really smart, thoughtful, and capable people are keeping our infrastructure going and planning for #ClimateChange--no matter what the other noise around is.

Great tour, take one if you get the chance. #BostonMA

The tour starts in this lovely old brick building that retains some of the 1890s pumping machinery around. Now it's set up as a sort of classroom or visitors center. There's an MWRA podium up front and a bunch of state and national flags behind where a speaker would be, but in front of the massive iron pumping equipment. A large American flag hangs down from the high ceiling at the second floor height.
In the visitor center near the pumping equipment, there is a large topological map of Boston. It was reportedly displayed at the World's Fair in 1900. It's about 2 feet off the floor, larger than a typical kid's pool, and the class covered surface holds a real 3 dimensional rendering of Boston and the harbor.
Near the place where they disinfect the water, there's this open gravel covered area. To the right of the disinfection long cement pools there's an odd object that looks like an early space capsule shape, but it's made in cement. It is one of the diffusers that matches the ones sitting 9 miles out in the harbor where the cleaned water comes out from the tunnels. It has a series of small sort of portholes around the cement where the water would come out if it was at the end of a tunnel. This one was defective though, and so it just sits up here for discussion purposes. Off to the background there is some greenery on a nearby hill with a water tank. That water is the stuff that come from the MWRA clean water reservoir system to serve the island.

mem_somerville, 17 days ago to Bloomscrolling

I don't know what this plant is, but it spawned from a sidewalk crack and I love it for weirdness and resilience.

#Bloomscrolling

mem_somerville, 18 days ago to SciComm

Fauci: " two credible attempts on his life that prompted the arrests of two people". I did not know this.

#scicomm #misinformation #harassment

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01468-9

mem_somerville, 21 days ago to Lace

My supervisor monitors my progress as I try to rescue this piece of antique lace from the nasty sticky backing paper someone put it on decades ago.

It is an impossibly delicate piece with super-fine thread.

Similar to this museum version, it is Brussels bobbin lace appliqué on a netting.

https://www.si.edu/object/brussels-bobbin-lace-applique-droschel-ground%3Anmah_639512

#BobbinLace #Caturday #TextileHistory

A close up of the now-unstuck lace on a blue felt backing for contrast. It shows the floral edge of the lace and includes two American coins for scale. The flowers are about the size of a 10 cent silver piece. The threads are incredibly thin, and the flower is worked with a heavier outline edge. There are also tiny picot decorations on the outside edge. There are coin-sized flowers on the edge and smaller ones as you go up, as well as some leaves and vine details. Some of this seems to be embroidered on the netting and some additional needle lace details.
Another close up of the flowers to see the details. I cannot express how thin this thread is, but was woven with bobbins by some woman in the past in poor lighting, for probably pennies.

mem_somerville, 24 days ago to Lace

#WIPWednesday is attempting to recover from transporting this Tønder lace. I took a workshop with Bobbi Donnelly and ended up trying 2 pieces, without enough bobbins. So I had to unwind my first set. Trying to re-wind them now. So far, only one thread broke.

First time I used 140/2 cotton thread. It scares me. So thin. But it is lovely and delicate in the completed pieces. I can see the appeal.

#BobbinLace #TønderLace

Close up of the mat project. You can really only see the tops of a lot of steel pins. You can kind of see the edge work on the right. It alternates between cloth stitch sections that appear fully covered, and the Copenhagen hole stitches that leave a gap in the center of the oval and all the stitches are smushed up against the edge. The pattern notes solid | hole | solid | hole, so I can remember which one to do at each section. The unworked part has the thread outline and the pin holes for the next sections. Various threads hang off the incomplete part.
I didn't think I'd get to a second project so I didn't bring more bobbins. I hastily set up for this second one. But I was able to try another new-to-me stitch, the gimp fingers. They are tricky to do with threads winding back and forth in really short order. The advice was to make sure you deal with the tension of them constantly so they don't slip around. Anyway, my little practice piece is a mess, sitting on red felt next to the pattern printouts. My honeycombs are a mess but I just wanted to get to the fingers to be sure I tried them a couple of times during the workshop with the instructor there.

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to boston

I'll admit: I had no idea there was a #MonkMobile. #Boston

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to random

Hey #NewEngland folk: my friend Val reminded me today that June 1 is free admission day to many houses in the Historic New England collection.

Plan those trips now!

https://www.historicnewengland.org/youre-invited-to-our-region-wide-open-house-2/

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to Lace

Antique store cat wonders if you really need more doilies....

To be fair, she's right (her name is Beatrice, at Howard's Flying Dragon Antiques). But you can't get linen like the fineness of these squares now, perfectly hemmed. Seriously great stuff.

And that goose. I mean, of course I needed the goose doily.

#BobbinLace #FiletLace #Caturday

A round linen doily about 7 inches in diameter. It has a triangular trim with a little flower motif in it, made of filet lace. The center of the doily also has about a 2 inch square motif of a goose with a long bent neck in that angry goose pose. The circle of linen in the main area also has drawn thread work removed so that it looks like a tic-tac-toe grid (with the goose in the center). The initials ADH are embroidered in the top center square too.
A pile of fabulously soft and fine linen rectangles, with drawn threads to make one inch squares around the edge. It also has a perfectly sewn folded over hem all the way around. It has a safety pin holding the batch, and it says $10 set of 8. I can make a lace trim around the edges of these that will look divine. And that means I don't have to sew the center part, which is just not my favorite part of the whole thing.

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to random

This giant insect sculpture both compels me and haunts me, every time I visit the #IpswichMA Museum.

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to history

ICYMI: if you are a textile artist, you might appreciate this piece by Elena Kanagy-Loux.

"My Grandma’s Doilies Are Not a Joke

When will art institutions finally pay respect to our foremothers’ artistry?"

#TextileHistory #histodons #BobbinLace #NeedleLace #tatting #CrochetLace #KnittingLace

https://hyperallergic.com/906788/my-grandmas-doilies-are-not-a-joke/

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to Copenhagen

Ok, I didn't expect to see this. They have a squad for this??

"People rushed into the building to help save the building’s extensive collection of historic artwork. The National Museum also sent 25 employees to the scene to help evacuate the art, it tweeted."

That's dedication to art.

Very sad to see history in flames like that though.

#GiftedArticle #Copenhagen

https://wapo.st/3TXQ3nW

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to random

Hey, some guy named Paul Revere came by today with a message for #SomervilleMA .

#PatriotsDay2024

In the parking lot in front of Foss Park in Somerville, Paul Revere rides in on Brown Beauty with a message about some troop movements out of Boston. He si accompanied by the modern-day clad Lancer's rider from the state, in a shockingly red coat which is sort of a mixed message here. He is in colonial costume, and rides up to a greeting throng of Somerville residents, some also in costume. A fife and drum play a colonial tune in the background.

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to Lace

My #WIPWednesday this week is tracking down this historic lace pricking [the paper or parchment with the pin holes for our pattern].

Found in Gertrude Whiting's "Tools and toys of stitchery" from 1928.

I found the ship--it is an Edward Savage rare print from 1799. I couldn't believe it. Anyone with insights--please share.

#BobbinLace #IpswichLace #histodons #TextileHistory

mem_somerville, 1 month ago to solar

My housemate and I were joking about our #solar production during the #eclipse.

They ran the numbers in this piece.

#eclipse2024

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/magical-eclipse-created-temporary-solar-power-void/

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to random

Wha?

Bird flu detected in milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas

#GiftedArticle #BirdFlu

https://wapo.st/3xbn6wU

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to random

WaPo says #BostonMA will have a 93% #SolarEclipse with a peak at 3:29pm.

This is mostly a note to me, because I keep forgetting to put it on my calendar.

You can enter a city for an estimate.

#GiftedArticle

https://wapo.st/3TKcFZY

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to FiberArts

Oh, the joy of having the exact right color thread already in your stash...

Recutting a goofy collar of this $8 jacket from eBay.

#upcycle #sewing

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to climate

Well well well. What could this be about?

"Earliest ever ‘ice out’ called at Lake Winnipesaukee"

And at the other end of the state the beach is washing out. What a coincidence.

#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2024-03-18/earliest-ever-ice-out-called-at-lake-winnipesaukee

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to random

Cleaning out an old desk. I found my airplane ticket for Sept 10 2001, out of Boston to California.

The day before everything changed and planes from Boston flew into buildings... I was supposed to fly on the 11th, but we changed it a few days before.

mem_somerville, 2 months ago to Lace

My supervisor inspects the newest hobby....#tatting! She has figured out how to sit directly on the pattern so work cannot proceed.

#Caturday