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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 12:25 pm

Morning inspiration!

I know some of you have probably never held a Dumbbell in your hand.  

Maybe you have never even been in a room where there were dumbbells lying on the floor, or waiting for you on a strong metal rack.

But it's never too late to start.  You can even get them in 1 lb, 2 lb, 4 lbs... (That 15 pound weight is 6.8 kg. )

And don't forget to take your Vitamin D, just as the doctor prescribed. : )

Have a good Oestara weekend!

**

PS: The Thinker should not be touching his face with his hand - he should be doing a bicep curl! 
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 6:24 pm

I have no idea if any of you are making your own masks or if it is easier just to purchase them online

However, I have come up with a new (and easier) design than the one I posted a few nights ago.

So, no pleats, but still a good fit and also - it now has a pocket that closes with small metal snaps, where you can put a piece of extra protective fabric inside.

I happen to have a supply of sterile surgical drapes on hand and these will be very good cut into 6x7 blocks and inserted into the mask.

So, in case you or someone who cares about you are sewing masks, here are the basic instructions.

1) Cut a piece of cotton fabric (normal cloth, not jersey or flannel) 10 (12 for Large)* x 14 (inches).
2) Turn up the 10 (12 L) inch side edges 1/2 an inch, iron and stitch (just turning up the raw edges and hemming here).
3) Fold in half - right sides together (e.g. the outside of the fabric is facing in) and stitch 1/2 inch seams along the 7 inch sides. (you can do 1/4 inch seams if you are skilled in sewing, but it is not necessary).
4) You now have a 7 (height) x 10 (12 L) (width) inch block.
5) Turn the block inside out, so the right side is now on the outside.
6) Place the block so that the bottom is the open edge (where you did the hemming), and stitch the front and back together 3 inches in each from outer edge towards center, using a 1/4 or 1/2 inch seam - this will leave a 4 inch slot at the center where you can fit the extra protective layer inside later on. 
7) Add one or two metal snaps evenly spaced to close that slot. Hand stitch these.
8) Cut two strips of fabric 2 x 30 inches long for the ties. Fold in half (so now 1 x 30) and iron.  Turn the raw edges in 1/2 inch each and iron.
9) Sew the ties with 1/2 or 1/4 inch seam, so raw edges are folded in nicely.
10) Return to the mask and sew pockets for the ties on either side - just turn the fabric in by 1 inch and use a 1/4 or 1/2 inch seam.
11) Insert ties into the pockets.  Now they will adjust very well to fit your face and the desired height of the mask.
12) You are good to go!

* For proper sizing - take a piece of string and measure from mid cheekbone to mid cheekbone, across your nose and then add 2 inches). This is the width you should start with and the finished mask will be about 2.5 inches narrower than that.

If anyone really is trying this and you have questions, please feel free to post here.  I can explain further, take pictures of my work, and  draw diagrams to help you. The ironing is really important here, so do not be lazy.  You all iron your dress shirts (unless you send them out to the pros), so you can handle this!

And if you are buying your masks from Armani, - you are looking cool and staying safe at the same time. : )

**

How to pull a mask tie through the pocket - use a safety pin and a stiff plastic or wire tie (that come with computer gear sometimes).

 
 
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katastrofa
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 8:20 pm

Dumbbells in the shape of famous sculptures is an idea! They could sit on the shelf as a decoration, from where from time to time one could grab and do some workout. Curls biceps with The Thinker or squeeze David :-D
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 8:29 pm

Dumbbells in the shape of famous sculptures is an idea! They could sit on the shelf as a decoration, from where from time to time one could grab and do some workout. Curls biceps with The Thinker or squeeze David :-D
Haha!  I bet the men around here would have some ideas about that too - Venus de Milo? Bathing Nymphs?...

A few days ago, Paul asked what we would have as the backdrop for video conference calls (NOT bookshelves lined with wisdom, apparently! Too showy).

A number of risqué things came to mind, but I decided to wait. However, in the dumbbell vein, this would be very good.

Nice but actually NSFW.
An Athlete Wrestling with a Python
Frederic Leighton, 1877
Last edited by trackstar on April 14th, 2020, 3:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
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katastrofa
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 8:57 pm

Magnificent. Today's "athletes" push keyboard buttons writing code in Python. It's not even a proper programming language! How low can masculinity fall?
 
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Cuchulainn
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 9:03 pm

I have no idea if any of you are making your own masks or if it is easier just to purchase them online
No. I haven't left my lonely room since March 9.
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 9:06 pm

How how can masculinity fall?
Not an ill-posed question, hehe.

But i am more interested in knowing how masculinity can succeed....

Research continues. Very well-funded, I might add, but concrete findings have been elusive. : D
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 11th, 2020, 9:11 pm

I have no idea if any of you are making your own masks or if it is easier just to purchase them online
No. I haven't left my lonely room since March 9.
LOL.  Good thing we all have the Internet!

I am not getting antsy about going back to normal socializing yet, although I took a drive out and about yesterday and when I went by some of my favorite cafes I did feel a little wistful. 

Why does a cappuccino that someone else makes for me seem better than one I make for myself?

But spending idle hours in coffee houses and so forth aside, we can't all hide at home forever.

So, I'm making lots of masks.  Evaluating surgical drapes and other possible disposable liner materials and will see what works best.
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 12:59 am

Last word on masks (at least for today).

My sister requested a green print, so here is one for her - long view and detail.

I realized that with slight modifications to this design, I could make loin cloths and swimwear.

So then we are back to Raquel Welch and 1,000,000 years BC - dinosaurs and all!
 
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katastrofa
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 1:59 pm

How how can masculinity fall?
Not an ill-posed question, hehe.

But i am more interested in knowing how masculinity can succeed....

Research continues. Very well-funded, I might add, but concrete findings have been elusive. : D
I've decided to become a promiscuous sexually-adventurous bisexual woman for the time of the lockdown.
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 2:09 pm

And I have decided to declare my property a Buddhist convent - it's  been true in spirit, if not in name, anyway and becoming a religious non-profit entity will help with the tax status for my organic farm. : )

Image
 
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Cuchulainn
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 2:30 pm

What did the bishop say to Raquel Welch  when adrift at sea?
Or was it vice versa?
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 2:32 pm

What did the bishop say to Raquel Welch  when adrift at sea?
Or was it vice versa?
Can I borrow one of those life preservers?

?

Here she is in a deerskin bikini - clearly not vegan, but who would complain about that in this case?

Image
 
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 4:16 pm

Close, very.
they're not buoys! (or matso balls for rabbis)

Was that the movie "4004 BC"?
 
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trackstar
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Re: trackstar's Needle Exchange

April 12th, 2020, 4:30 pm

...

Was that the movie "4004 BC"?
No, it was 1,000,000 Years B.C. 

when Homo sapiens Man (and Woman!) walked the Earth with... the *Dinosaurs*.

"This is the way it was!"  Hmmmm.

Well, she looked fabulous - who cares about evolution!

And some things are timeless and eternal....  : D
Last edited by trackstar on April 14th, 2020, 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.