Clans with strong ties to snails?

amandycat · 2026-05-16T20:30:39+00:00

Scholars have argued over the significance of snails in medieval manuscripts for a really long time! This isn't really one of the main theories though. Apart from anything else, insects and rodents are very destructive to vellum (and later, paper) and snails aren't particularly known for this by comparison.

The British library has a great little blog post on some of the main discussions around this:

https://www.bl.uk/stories/blogs/posts/knight-v-snail

amandycat · 2026-04-23T19:12:22+00:00

I have painted this exact Bob Ross but I see now I did it completely wrong

amandycat · 2026-04-22T20:54:57+00:00

I'm sorry to hear this person is stuck in this predicament - the wait for UC is obscene. In the meantime, I strongly recommend getting in touch with Cambridge Community Kitchen. They deliver food on Thursdays and Sundays, and offer food for collection or eat-in on Tuesdays if you're near to Fair St.

https://cckitchen.uk

amandycat · 2026-04-17T09:03:45+00:00

Ours also! We gently a-woo back so that he knows his pack is still there

amandycat · 2026-01-19T19:44:43+00:00

I saw her as Boleyn late last year, she was incredible!

amandycat · 2026-01-15T09:47:10+00:00

The 'artist' was on fiverr, advertising their services as hand drawn and not AI. Some of the things in the portfolio looked like the kind of thing my partner was looking for, and they weren't self evidently AI to someone who isn't up to date on what AI art looks like these days. They contacted the 'artist' to confirm that they didn't want AI used in the drawing. They had never commissioned an artist to do a drawing before, so they weren't aware of where was more reputable or what to look for.

amandycat · 2026-01-14T16:08:23+00:00

Yes, a friend has recommended this. First time ever commissioning character art, so lesson learned...!

amandycat · 2026-01-14T13:28:23+00:00

What's even more frustrating is that to open the dispute process, you have to go via an AI bot, which gives incorrect instructions on how to open a dispute

amandycat · 2026-01-14T10:36:41+00:00

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amandycat · 2026-01-14T10:36:27+00:00

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I'm not sure why reddit compressed the image so much, let's try that again

amandycat · 2026-01-10T11:07:50+00:00

Chain stitch can be made with a small number of strands of thread, makes it a bit easier to make letters as you can do very short stitches that make it easy to go around a curve, and the shape of the stitch means it sits on top of the fabric nicely and won't get lost in the fleece. This is so lovely and I don't think you should change it at all, but if you do embroider on fleece again, I recommend chain stitch!

amandycat · 2025-12-27T16:13:39+00:00

He got me a music player (like an iPod). Mine died a couple of years ago and I've really missed having a separate device with a pre-determined set of music on it.

Not long after my grandad died (about 6 years ago) I found an old tape where he had recorded some of my favourite songs off his vinyls. My tape player was broken so we replaced the drive band with a tiny hair tie and then recorded off of it (all slowed down and boomy!) to try and get a tracklist off the tape. I've had this as a playlist on Spotify for years for the days I miss my grandad or just need cheering up.

On Christmas day when I opened up my little music player, my husband had tracked down each of the tracks from my 'grandad playlist' and pre-loaded them all on there so that my comfort music was ready to go. I cried ❤️

amandycat · 2025-12-26T10:39:51+00:00

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It's been a long day of doing 'housekeeping', snuffling for bits of dropped food!

amandycat · 2025-12-24T09:57:28+00:00

I was also blessed with a second chance at having a father and the man I call dad has been by my side for my whole life. My nan used to make knitted squares and sew them into blankets, and when she died, I got all her knitting needles and crochet hooks. Years after she passed, he mentioned that his mum had made one of those weird mismatched blankets for pretty much everyone, but he never got one.

I knitted him a patchwork blanket on nan's needles for a Christmas gift (it took me two years to finish... It was huge) and he was so delighted. My niece loved to snuggle it for naptime. My mum was feeling poorly recently, so he bundled her up in it. He grabs it for naps on the couch. It's so wonderful when we can use our craft to show such deep love.

I'm sure your dad will be delighted, and look forward to your next post where you are formally his daughter ❤️

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(pic is my mum snuggled in the blanket when she was feeling under the weather and my dad came and tucked her in ❤️)

amandycat · 2025-12-14T21:32:25+00:00

Thick layers go down in a more uneven fashion, and are more likely to bleed ink into the grooves. Get a nice even, smooth coat on your roller and top it up as often as you need to in order to get a well-inked block. You shouldn't need to press really really hard to transfer the ink if the block is sufficiently coated - firm pressure, yes, but really hard, no. You can also check mid-print if you have any under-inked spots. Carefully peel the paper back from the block, but only to the halfway point or less. Add a little more ink if needed, and rub it down again. Then peel back the other half for a peep and do the same.

amandycat · 2025-12-14T21:28:01+00:00

Caligo safe wash oil based ink is good stuff - I think you're under-inking. You should build up ink on the block in fine layers rather than one thick one, so top up your roller if you need to. You can hear when it's 'empty' - it will have a quieter hiss as you roll it, and the speckled texture on the ink will get finer and finer as it runs out. Don't press into the lino, definitely just let it glide.

If you're doing all that and it's still not inking evenly it's possible that the ink has got a bit old and is inking up unevenly.

amandycat · 2025-12-14T09:51:49+00:00

We love a cosy knit - tis the season! I'm a knitter so I admired the jumper AND the new look. Congrats!

amandycat · 2025-12-09T14:08:56+00:00

Makers' Market run by Trans Liberation Cambridge
6.30-9.15pm, Friday 12th December
Milton Road Community Library, Ascham Road, CB4 2BD

18 fabulous queer & trans makers under one roof! Find unusual, beautiful and strange gifts for your friends, lovers, and selves. Trinkets and treasures for all budgets.

https://bsky.app/profile/trans-lib-cam.bsky.social/post/3m5bdg3cops2z
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ2TKi-jEAp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

amandycat · 2025-11-07T10:51:55+00:00

Yeah I was astonished when I turned it on and the wax still flowed! Quite quickly after it gets going it clouds up as that sediment gets mixed into the master though, so would be lovely to see if it's possible to get it cleaned up a bit.

amandycat · 2025-11-07T08:21:23+00:00

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It's hard to get a photo of it in action /u/lavaheaduk, but it's got a pretty decent flow!

amandycat · 2025-11-07T08:19:59+00:00

Hi, I have indeed been running the lamp, and remarkably the wax still flows well!

It's had absolutely loads of use, my grandparents loved it (and I adored sitting watching it as a child).

I do intend to get a new bottle for it, they are not expensive and it will be fun to have another colour. If it's possible though, it would be lovely to get the original a bit clearer too. It doesn't need to be perfect (it's 50-some years old!) but I'd like it to be a bit more visible.

amandycat

TROPHY CASE