Topic: Oh dear god get them some testosterone

[interloper]

http://www.theiowachannel.com/news/3710469/detail.html

Sitting around and crocheting!  rofl   

[Gambler]

North High School sophomore Samuel James said they also try to make original, fun stuff like slippers. He said crocheting is addicting.

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire student Andy Pamperin said it just seemed like a cool thing to do -- something that's not normal for guys.

If you're addicted to crocheting, you've got other problem.  The second young man is certainly correct.  It's not normal for guys.

[Clark Kent]

It's men like this that give Gay men bad names...
Perhaps some steroids would do the trick?

[TheJudge]

I'm still waiting for it to load. If any of them are cute, it might be worth taking up the art...otherwise..forget it all...

and yes, they'll need testosterone.  Testosterone is good.  I love testosterone.

[Ravok]

If thats their gig, I guess thats their business. But i cant picture me or any of my friends doing it.

[AlienLXIX]

Well why not?  Do you know that it's very theraputic for your fingers?  In the past 4 months alone I've made about 4 or 5 six foot scarves.  Humm that makes it look like I took about a month for each but I didn't!  I take about a week or so to make one.  I also do cross-stitch and needle point mostly because we are gonna have a pretty poor Yule/X-Mas. 

It's really easy to do and can be very calming.  I mean just think of the things you can do with talented fingers!  mmmmmmmmm yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

[interloper]

Well why not?  Do you know that it's very theraputic for your fingers?  In the past 4 months alone I've made about 4 or 5 six foot scarves.  Humm that makes it look like I took about a month for each but I didn't!  I take about a week or so to make one.  I also do cross-stitch and needle point mostly because we are gonna have a pretty poor Yule/X-Mas. 

It's really easy to do and can be very calming.  I mean just think of the things you can do with talented fingers!  mmmmmmmmm yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

So how many get made when ferret is back?   runs for the door!

[AlienLXIX]

Well why not?  Do you know that it's very theraputic for your fingers?  In the past 4 months alone I've made about 4 or 5 six foot scarves.  Humm that makes it look like I took about a month for each but I didn't!  I take about a week or so to make one.  I also do cross-stitch and needle point mostly because we are gonna have a pretty poor Yule/X-Mas. 

It's really easy to do and can be very calming.  I mean just think of the things you can do with talented fingers!  mmmmmmmmm yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

So how many get made when ferret is back?   runs for the door!

Hehehehe 

Not many!  I think that's why I'm trying to do all the Yule/X-Mas stuff done before he gets home . . .  But at some point I've gotta let him get up and catch his breath you know! 

[Just plain old Punisher]

My aunt makes things like this...its always interesting to open up her presents at Christmas. She makes little booties for me...apparently she hasn't gotten the memo that im a full-grown adult.

::sigh::

My family tree is full of nuts.

[AlienLXIX]

Ya'll should ask Hsta about his quilts!  I saw one of them and WOW it was way cool!  I think he said it has about 6000+ little cloth squares.  Humm I can't remember if I took a picture of it when we went to visit him and his family last year. . . 

I'm sure he's seen this thread?

Ahh damn my post is lame.  I gotta go and get some sleep don't I?

[Hstaphath_XC]

Ya'll should ask Hsta about his quilts!  I saw one of them and WOW it was way cool!  I think he said it has about 6000+ little cloth squares.  Humm I can't remember if I took a picture of it when we went to visit him and his family last year. . . 

Oh dear, now you've gone and done it.  *SIGH*

Yes, being an artist and all, I do work with fabric as my "canvas" on occasion.  My wife is a quilter and I suppose I sort of just got pulled into it after helping her design several projects.

Ferret teased me about it, but then I found out he can do seamstress work so HA!   

Yep.  It's all about keeping my fingers nimble.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

If anyone REALLY wants to see some of the work I've done, I'd be happy to post some pics.  Interestingly enough, my kids have already laid claim to everything I've done, so it's not like anything is up for sale or something.   

[Hstaphath_XC]

... it has about 6000+ little cloth squares.

Forgot to mention, the one in question has 6,840 3/4" squares and took me 6 months to put together.  It was flippin' insane, but I got it in my head to do an 8-bit Theater quilt and it really did turn out very nice.

If I ever think something like that is a good idea again, I'm just going to shoot myself and skip the drawn out agony.   

[AlienLXIX]

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!

[Grand Master of Shadows NCC37385]

Rosie Greer, the big pro football player, that took down the gunman that shot Robert kennedy, did needle point for relaxation and was very good at it. I dare any of you guys to go up to him and make fun of him doing needle point. If you have the guts to do it, please tell me beforehand so I will know where to send the funeral wreaths.

My mother taught me to cook, as you all know. Now she is teaching me to sew and design. I have made oriental bathrobes for my family for their birthdays. I also put the fringe on the crocheted afghans she makes. If any of you laugh, I may have to hunt you down.

Since I sculpt too, clay and stone, I have very strong, but very nimble fingers. Any of my former girlfriends can attest to.    

[Hstaphath_XC]

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!

Well, since you asked for it, here is a pic of my very first quilt.  I went with a nautical theme and my 12 year old daughter immediately laid claim to it.  I wanted to start with something "easy," but, for some reason, saying that makes my wife laugh in a strange psychotic way...



Here is a pic of the 8-bit Theater quilt Alien was referring to.  Since both of the boys were fighting over it, we are going to put it up as a wall hanging in their room.  We have now redecorated their room in a matching fantasy theme complete with a dragon and castle wall mural I painted.  I also made simple custom fitted quilts for their bunk beds that match the 8-bit quilt.



And here is a pic of my most recent project.  My wife needed a center block that symbolized "morning" so I designed an applique pattern of a morning goddess drawing back the fabric of night from the rising sun.

... I have very strong, but very nimble fingers. Any of my former girlfriends can attest to.

Yep, that IS a nice perk, isn't it?   

[Ravok]

Hstaphath Those are absolutely beautifully!!!! You should be proud ofthem they are true works of art.

 To be honest this quilting ,has me intrigued. I'm a pretty good artist myself. And have been looking for something new to try.

 Really good work!!

[Storvick_XC]

Well since we are talking about this. I draw and then sew my own style Star Trek and Sci-Fi uniforms. (beats paying an arm and a leg for the stuff at conventions and other places) If I can find a good host I can post some pics of the uniforms I drew and then pics of the uniforms after they are made.

[AlienLXIX]

By the Gods, Hsta!  That last one is just breath taking! 

Oh hey I keep forgetting to ask you; did you or your wife ever find a use for all those squares of aloha type fabric we sent ya? 

[Hstaphath_XC]

Hstaphath Those are absolutely beautifully!!!! You should be proud ofthem they are true works of art...

Thanks Ravok!  They do take a LOT of time and energy, but I really like the idea that something I made could be passed down through several generations of my family.

Well since we are talking about this. I draw and then sew my own style Star Trek and Sci-Fi uniforms...

I would certainly like to see these!  You are entirely right about the cost of having these made, I knew 2 seamstresses back in Indiana that were making a killing doing nothing but ST uniforms for several years.

By the Gods, Hsta!  That last one is just breath taking! 

You should see the matching block I designed for it that we are going to do of the "evening goddess" pouring out the night from a large amphora. 

Oh hey I keep forgetting to ask you; did you or your wife ever find a use for all those squares of aloha type fabric we sent ya? 

Yes, indeed!  We have used several for different round-robin quilts that Jen and I have worked on, but the majority of them are ear-marked for a double wedding ring style quilt we are planning that will "showcase" them.

[Ravok]

Where did you learn to do it? It looks like areally good craft and Hobby to have.
 Plus its very practical.

I have to show my girls the one with the sun on it. They will love it,

[Hstaphath_XC]

Where did you learn to do it? It looks like areally good craft and Hobby to have. Plus its very practical. I have to show my girls the one with the sun on it. They will love it,

I learned from my wife who is an experienced seamstress and quilter.  She asked for my artistic help to design a pattern one day and it just went from there.

[J. Carney]

Hstaphath_XC,

Man, you are quite possibly one of the best quilters I have ever seen- and I know people who have been at it for 70+ years!

Out of curiosity, do you sell them or just show?

[Hstaphath_XC]

Man, you are quite possibly one of the best quilters I have ever seen- and I know people who have been at it for 70+ years!

Wow, thanks, that is incredibly nice of you to say!  I have been dragged through two quilt shows now, though, so I know I'm still just a novice.   

Out of curiosity, do you sell them or just show?

I originally thought I was making the 8-bit Theater quilt to sell on the Nuklear Power boards at http://www.nuklearpower.com/index.php, but my boys became so attached to it I just couldn't deny them of it.  Like I mentioned, they have even gone so far as having us redecorate their entire room just to showcase it.  The highest offer I hadn't gotten for the 8-bit quilt was $250 anyway, though that isn't to shabby for a custom made queen size winter quilt.

I think the goddesses are going to be put up as framed wall hangings in our dining room.  The next major quilts I am planning are king size summer and winter Native American Indian themed ones for our bedroom.

So, to date, everything I have made or am going to make has been for the immediate family.

My wife, on the other hand, does seamstress and quilt work as her at home business.  She has more work than she can keep up with and I always end up helping her out.  In fact, I think she has started to factor my assistance into her time estimates and it is starting to cause a bit of contention between us.

Anyway, even though she is constantly working, her income doesn't even cover the cost of her college loan payment each month for that degree in Genetics she has never put to use.   

[J. Carney]

Well, you have the kind of imagination and style that a little old lady doesn't have a prayer against. Geometric patterns are pretty, but they are too darn simmilar even when they are different. You, sir, have Style and Panache- these are the halmarks of a true artist.

And what a loss for knowing that you don't do sales. The 8-bit was a hit with all the friends I have linked to the pics... all 20-somethings with fond memories of the old Final Fantasy game on NES. $250 would not be fair for the thought and time you put into that.

As for the Goddess quilt, I personally love it and an art major I know at U of MN directly asked if it was for sale.

Good luck with your art, Sir... you have a lot of God-given tallent at it!

Oh, yeah... make the wife get some use out of that degree!

[Hstaphath_XC]

Well, you have the kind of imagination and style that a little old lady doesn't have a prayer against. Geometric patterns are pretty, but they are too darn simmilar even when they are different. You, sir, have Style and Panache- these are the halmarks of a true artist.

Thanks, that is excellent justification for why I always refer to myself as a "fabric artist" instead of a quilter.  My wife has been teasing me that it's because I must think being a male "quilter" sounds to girlie, but I've maintained being called a "quilter" just doesn't describe what my interest in this hobby really is.

And what a loss for knowing that you don't do sales. The 8-bit was a hit with all the friends I have linked to the pics... all 20-somethings with fond memories of the old Final Fantasy game on NES. $250 would not be fair for the thought and time you put into that.

I'm not above being commissioned to create a quilt/wall hanging/fabric art for someone, I just haven't been asked yet.   

For a queen size quilt, it can take up to a year to complete and most people just don't plan out that far in advance to want to wait.

As for the Goddess quilt, I personally love it and an art major I know at U of MN directly asked if it was for sale.

That is only a 4'x4' block which is meant to be used as a center block in a large quilt or as a stand alone wall hanging.

I want to clarify that my wife did all the stitch work on it (I'm still learning how to applique stitch), I just designed it and helped cut up the fabric.  Honestly, we can always make more.  How much did your friend have in mind?

Good luck with your art, Sir... you have a lot of God-given tallent at it!

Aside from playing computer games, rewriting the Lord of the Rings movies as if they had been done by Monty Python (I'm over half way through the 3rd movie now!), and raising 3 children... I just have to have SOMETHING to do with all my free time.   

Oh, yeah... make the wife get some use out of that degree!

I forgot to mention that she ALSO has a 4 year degree in Asian Cultural Studies.  After having children seriously derailed her job at a genetics lab, she got into quilting and seamstress work full time and has since decided that she would rather spend the rest of her life doing something that she is good at and that she loves... particularly if my income is able to maintain that life choice.

It's a shame and seems a waste, true, but I'd rather have her happy.   

As for myself, since I spent 6 years in the army, I had enough time to figure out what the things were that I loved and were good at before I hit college and racked up a bunch of student loans.  Plus, being wounded in Gulf War 1, I got a full ride on VA Rehab without even using the GI bill money I originally went in for.