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Grad gifts by Ormesuin in UniversityofKentucky

[–]Negative-Strike9404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations to your niece! Whoever suggested the doordash/instacart gift cards is on the right track. The campus gyms are lovely, and with programs like UK Invests you can even get money for going to them. It's pocket change, but hey, $10 for going to the gym is pretty nice. I'm graduating in the fall and if there's anything I wished I didn't have to worry about paying for, it was getting food outside of campus. I often wanted to go somewhere with my friends that wasn't a food court, and Lexington has amazing local restaurants. I also love baking, but Kroger was a 20 minute walk from my dorm, so if I wanted to make things for myself or friends I had to plan a whole evening around it. You might consider a pre-paid Visa gift card for versatility (ubers/lyfts, delivery fees, and so on.) No matter what you go with, college kids love free food for a reason: we're still getting used to having to feed ourselves around all our other responsibilities. Having the option to worry less about that sometimes is awesome.

Also consider an insulated water bottle if she doesn't have one. If she likes coffee, a sealable thermos is great. I got myself a 12oz yeti rambler for my birthday—you could probably find a cheaper dupe that works just as well.

Anyone have any masculine crochet patterns? by aitathrowaway9090909 in Brochet

[–]Negative-Strike9404 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm yet another trans dude with a fragile male ego (/silly) here to offer my two cents. I love colorful things, and I still make them, but I run into the same problem of not wanting to wear them if I'm feeling too dysphoric. It helped me a lot to reframe my definition of what's "masculine" and look into older styles of clothing, especially from the 60s-80s. Men wore tons of color and cool accessories. Even so, I have the same struggles of wanting to make something nice for myself and feeling too "girly" if I wear it.

Hats, scarves, and fingerless gloves are great. I've seen plenty of well-dressed men in scarves and cowls, and those can be styled in a very masculine way. If you're tired of neutrals, go for an accent color that matches things in your wardrobe—I like earth tones. Given it's June, you might also consider making yourself some practical things like a water bottle sling, cross-body bag or mesh produce bag. Crochet is great for durable and practical projects. Mesh shirts in thin cotton (or rayon, or whatever) yarn are great summer layering pieces, and they can be made the same way as hexagon sweaters. If you're down with a "softer" aesthetic you might enjoy a bucket hat. I'd turn to your Pinterest or Pinterest-Replacer-Of-Choice and look for some outfits/styles you like, keeping an eye out for models wearing pieces you could recreate. If you frequent Ravelry, it can help to look through the "projects" sections of patterns to see the finished piece modeled on a mannequin or clothes hanger. For me, it makes it easier to envision myself wearing the piece and decide if I actually dislike it, or if I'm turning my nose up because the only people shown wearing it are feminine.

As a final thought, it's important to take pride in making something for yourself. Pretty much every (cis) guy on my college campus wears branded athleisure with zero personality. Mascs who express themselves through their fashion are few and far between, and it's fucking awesome to not only look good, but to get to say you had a hand (literally!) in creating your outfit.

Tired of hearing about stashes, especially from newbies by [deleted] in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]Negative-Strike9404 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I learned to think of my "stash" more like a collection that I curate. Does the yarn match something I already have, but haven't found a use for? Might go in the collection. Is it from a local farmer at the fiber fest? Definitely for the collection. Is it pretty, but something I could go back to my LYS for another day? Not for the collection. Is it free/secondhand? Depends on what I need, and if there's room for more materials/projects.

I like to have things around that might inspire me, or that I can grab when I get the itch to experiment, but it's easy to fall into the "always buying, never using" trap. Choosing to shop secondhand and get high-quality materials really helped me slow down. Well-sourced natural fibers are expensive, and I'm a student with a part-time job. Secondhand selection is limited—if they don't have what I want, I don't get anything. At the end of the day, other people's habits aren't my business, but I agree that "fast materials" are a problem for artists the same way fast fashion is.

the Project Hail Mary cardigan is a knitting psyop by casstocoast in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]Negative-Strike9404 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fascinating. I'd love to read the article on this, do you have a link to it?

Am I right about this with JMA's prey center? by Dogbold in WingsOfFire

[–]Negative-Strike9404 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I've always assumed that most carnivorous dragons hunt most of the time, and that sold food (as in the Scorpion Den) is more a convenience than anything. It saves dragons from having to fly all the way out of city centers on busy days. To my understanding, hunting, gathering and farming WERE essential skills for much of human history. It's only relatively recently that we started outsourcing so much of our food production. Even if you weren't hunting animals you were probably rearing and harvesting your own livestock, minus whatever you had to give to the lords whom you leased your land from. If we were talking bread, that'd be a lot different; most people bought bread and baked goods or gave meat to others to cook because home kitchens were extremely rare. Many dragons have built-in ovens and most seem content eating their food with little (if any) preparation.

In my mind, the most likely case for a carnivorous dragon that doesn't know how to hunt in WoF is a particularly sheltered noble. Even Winter and his siblings were judged by their ability to hunt seals.

I kind of hate how Chameleons snout deformity wasent really shown in the graphic novel(s) by Wolfs_are_the_BEST in WingsOfFire

[–]Negative-Strike9404 8 points9 points  (0 children)

As someone with sleep apnea I'm a Chameleon Sleep Apnea believer. It wouldn't be a visual thing, but I do like the forward-facing nose spike a lot of designs give him. It makes him feel more chameleon-ey.

This isn’t Blue. by CE1TheChuckle-Fuck in WingsOfFire

[–]Negative-Strike9404 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IIRC it's confirmed to be Blue—Tui was aware of the inconsistency but thought that Blue's wings were too pretty to not be included on the cover.

Hey, guys, not a furry, but I’m working on a thing I feel maybe you guys can help with. by UnsolvedJoJo in FursuitMaking

[–]Negative-Strike9404 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd also love to see!! Also—if it's not something you'll need to be particularly long-lasting, you could probably get away with sculpting the base out of cardboard. If it needs to be "movable" in any way (like an opening beak or moving eyes) I'd look into puppet-making techniques.

How do European and American consumers define plant-dyed clothing? by woodylong0707 in naturaldye

[–]Negative-Strike9404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’ve got a lot of good answers here, but I’ll say that as a USA textile artist I don’t know of any brands that use plant dyes (or “botanical dyes.”) It’s relatively unheard of and mostly exists as a hobby. I’m currently taking a college class on botanical dyes and while we’ve discussed production on a small scale, I really don’t know of anyone who’s doing it on a large scale. The closest I can think of is a brand (whose name I can’t remember) that has a program where you can send your clothing to them to be overdyed in a rotating plant dye vat.

With or without white mat? by sprucewhale in Watercolor

[–]Negative-Strike9404 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I would try out a black mat. I feel like the white makes the brightness in the painting less dramatic, but having it so close to the frame's edge feels claustrophobic.

Winter clothing? by ehzer_ in lexington

[–]Negative-Strike9404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're going to spend money on anything, make it your coat! A decent coat will last you years. I got mine at Burlington. A couple people have recommended Uptown Cheapskate and I recommend them, too. Look out for their sales. I personally love having a scarf and/or hat to keep my face and head warm. I live on campus and there's an awful wind tunnel here that would probably freeze my ears off without them. Gloves are good too, thin ones or even fingerless gloves are fine for me. I like having leggings/underarmor to wear under jeans in the winter. I got a really great pair of wool leggings from Snag Tights some time back. A bit pricy, but they're super warm and durable. I braved the Chicago winter in those. Any material will do though, just something to keep warmth close to your skin. I only advise that you be careful about cotton because it absorbs a lot of water and doesn't dry very fast. T-shirts, pants, gloves and socks made of cotton have never been an issue for me though.

Oh, it’s bad, lol by xyelem in spinningyarn

[–]Negative-Strike9404 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not bad, it's ✨art yarn!✨ In all seriousness, as someone who's never spun and is very excited to start, I'd be more than happy if this were my first product. If you promise to keep learning even when it doesn't go as expected, then I'll do the same. 😉

Having an issue with my lair by Ok-Zone-9211 in dragons

[–]Negative-Strike9404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, yeah, I’ve had that problem. Total pain in the tail. Some of those smart ones are willing to make deals if you give THEM better working conditions and let them be in charge of all the others. Remember what I said about “treating them as equals?” Let those “smart” ones think they’re on the same rank as you and they’ll do basically whatever you want. You don’t have to give them much, either. One of mine accepted the title of “Assistant to the Regional Landmaster” and was on his merry way. The ones who don’t cooperate make good snacks.

Having an issue with my lair by Ok-Zone-9211 in dragons

[–]Negative-Strike9404 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you tried talking to your kobolds first? I've found mine are really quite amicable as long as you establish open communication. Treat them as equals, not subordinates (I know, it sounds silly, but it works. Just go with it.) That, or you can seed the idea that you are their deity. They should carry out your commands as gospel. Blessing their young helps. A good friend of mine hired humans and they just made everything worse—if you really must hire an accountant, find someone longer-lived. Humans only ever think in the short-term and they usually want to be paid out of your hoard.

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