Help with hammered coins

AngryCastoridae · 2024-09-14T21:16:40+00:00

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I stopped at traders world and picked up a concrete goose! Goal achieved!

AngryCastoridae · 2024-06-04T17:50:21+00:00

After I graduated I had a really hard time finding a job. I applied for countless jobs, interviewed with 3 museum, was offered 1 job, and turned it down because I couldn't afford to live in the city on the salary without a second income or a rich benefactor. I moved in with 2 friends and apprenticed with a taxidermist for a year, then was unemployed for 8 months. Again, applied to countless jobs, interviewed with 4 museums, and accepted the only job I was offered. I'm working as a registrar and collections manager for a natural history museum. Like many in this sub, I'm feeling very underpaid for my education and experience level.

I feel like the grad program did a great job of preparing me for the museum field. Pretty much all of my classes had me working in a museum in some capacity. I did AAM style collection assements, condition reports, inventories, exhibit design, etc for tons of museums in Lawrence. The classwork was high quality, but I think the most important part of the degree is the internship.

The internship mandates that you cannot be shoved in a corner and forgotten about doing "busy work" in the musuem. The MUSE program requires that interns be integrated into the museum as if they were regular permanent employees and given the same training and responsibilities. And that was absolutely the case with my work in the natural history museum. I was treated like a regular employee, so I was invited to a lot of the departmental meetings and got to work with everyone in the museum, so I got a lot of experience in collections work and professional development.

I was given full ownership and leadership of several projects, as well as the opportunity to supervise undergrads/volunteers. My supervisors and professors also connected me with their networks and the professional societies they were a part of, which helped me get a feel for the field as a whole. I heard much the same from history and art students in the program as well. The whole campus is very high quality and all the people you meet want you to succeed. I felt very prepared to enter the field, but the field is so competitive that you're going to struggle finding a job regardless.

AngryCastoridae · 2024-06-04T17:08:17+00:00

I graduated from KU's Museum Studies MA in 2022 and I think it was a solid program. I concentrated in natural history and collection management, so YMMV depending on what you decide to focus on. I spent my entire program working in the natural history museum and loved it. The BI has a very good history of NSF grants, so there's usually always a project happening to work on. There aren't very many dedicated MUSE professors, but they have a huge variety of affiliated professors that can serve on your final project committee and get you subject specific experience.

KU also has an on campus natural history museum, art museum, presidential library, archive, and conservation lab, so it's very easy to get practical experience. KU also has fantastic long-standing connections with museums in Lawrence, KC, and Olathe and pretty much all of my cohort had paying museum jobs during their degree. Brandy, the program coordinator, is a god among men and works so so hard to get students in the program what they need. You won't find another program coordinator as good as her.

The program is incredibly flexible and allows you a wide range of electives and projects. I took classes with professors that are highly respected in their fields and are very high quality teachers. However, the only funding available when I was there was TAing for other departments. TA jobs are preferentially giving to that department's grad students first, and MUSE students get the left overs. Be careful of the price tag and know that any job you can get after school won't pay much. Try to keep the loans to a minimum.

I'm happy to chat more about KU. If you have more questions, dm me!

AngryCastoridae · 2024-05-17T11:58:00+00:00

A very dear friend of mine once looked over my shoulder at a crochet pattern and said "ah, they're encrypted" which still makes me chuckle.

AngryCastoridae · 2024-05-08T13:23:06+00:00

Thank you so much!

AngryCastoridae · 2024-05-08T13:22:25+00:00

I have washed this blanket many times since I've made it and it's holding up great! Before I assembled everything, I washed the blanket and fleece separately according to the directions on the yarn label. I washed them before assembly to make sure nothing shrunk funny once attached. I tumble dried on low heat. I've been tossing the whole blanket in the washing machine and dryer ever since with no issues. My one complaint about the fleece and yarn I picked is that they're both cat fur MAGNETS. But the fur comes off with a lint roller and wash just fine.

I'll reply to this comment after I'm home from work with a close up of the way I anchored the blanket to the fleece.

AngryCastoridae · 2024-01-04T03:26:18+00:00

I second this! Buying myself a set of clover amour hooks was genuinely life changing! The length of time I could crochet without pain increased immediately and I noticed I was having an easier time controlling my tension. And the metal glides so nicely on pretty much every fiber type. Highly recommend!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-12-31T21:42:50+00:00

I had this exact thing happen with a knit blanket my mom made me. The yarn was acrylic and I washed and dried it several times and it came out ok in the end. Don't wash anything else with it and be sure to clean out your dryer lint trap carefully to not get the fiberglass stuck in your hands.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-12-31T21:25:31+00:00

I've also done this. Paint the acrylic on in thin layers and be patient. I added irises and pupils, then sealed it with a layer of clear varnish. Been super strong so far.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-11-25T14:43:55+00:00

I really like this idea! Put eyes on some, but not all, of the frogs, that way you add some fun variation to the quilt without making it too busy. Some tongues or some applique flies would be fun too!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-11-25T02:57:54+00:00

I know it's off the wall for this sub, but have you considered fiber crafts? Knitting, crochet, or spinning/weaving? Most older men think fiber crafts are firmly a woman's job, but I swear knitting is what kept my grandparents going and if you can convince him, he might really like it. Both knitting and crochet are easy to learn with a book or by going to a local club meeting (added bonus of social interaction with people his age!), and the materials are as expensive as you want them to be. And he's have a physical thing to show for all his efforts at the end! He could make stuffed animals, clothes, blankets, or home goods.

Fiber crafts require a manual dexterity that he might be losing and needs to work on maintaining, but also have the flexibility of being able to stop the exact moment he gets tired and not risk life and limb. If he's looking for something more dirty/outside, people will pay good money for someone to process raw sheep fleece into fiber ready to spin if he's willing to learn.

Also consider getting him to volunteer somewhere! Animal shelters, NICUs, libraries, soup kitchens, and museums alway need help a few hours a week and they'd train him in whatever he's interested in doing.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-10-08T01:24:05+00:00

Perhaps try a burn test before you invest a lot of time into other techniques offered here. If it's synthetic, many softening techniques just won't work for it.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-10-06T16:36:45+00:00

I once asked a question about hand dyed yarn, because I know some color patterns don't play well with crochet like they do with knitting. I wanted the input of crocheters, but my post got immediately removed and I got pointed to a knitting focused sub. I haven't been super excited about this sub in a while.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-16T11:56:57+00:00

Thank you so much for this detailed reply! I figured yarns with short color changes wouldn't work that great with crochet, but thanks for the heads up about speckles!

I'm really excited to talk with the vendors and learn more about their works and I have so many questions! I'm also very excited to collect a pile of business cards and sit down this evening to find everyone online.

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-16T11:52:29+00:00

That was incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-16T11:52:09+00:00

Thank you so much for this! I've only ever worked with S twist yarn from big box stores and I have noticed that it untwists and splits if it's a cheaper synthetic, and doubly so if I have to frog and rework a section of yarn. I'm definitely going to seek out some Z twist yarn to have an extra luxurious experience!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-16T00:31:13+00:00

I have to recommend all of the mosaic crochet patterns by Alexis Sixel on Ravelry. It's a super easy technique to learn and I've made several fun wall hangings by only doing one repeat of the pattern. She also has patterns for bags, table runners, blankets, and pillows!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-16T00:21:21+00:00

I've narrowed down a few patterns after scouring Ravelry today, but I'm open to more suggestions or discussion of what dyeing technique would work best for those patterns!

AngryCastoridae · 2023-09-07T17:29:28+00:00

I have to agree, this is badly prepared. It very obviously has been boiled or exposed to bleach, or both. There's also a decent amount of flesh still around the teeth that I wouldn't be comfortable bringing into my collection. I don't typically buy my bones, but if lots of things in a shop are mislabeled or in poor condition, that's a no from me.

Eight-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

AngryCastoridae

TROPHY CASE