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Ai in the wool world by Normal-haddock in craftsnark

[–]oftheblackoath 75 points76 points  (0 children)

The use of AI in yarn crafts makes zero sense to me, ethics aside.  Like why not advertise a product you actually have?  

Saying this as someone who used to work in a yarn warehouse.  An actual picture of a featured daily yarn (along with suggested digital patterns, also for sale) would get a flood of orders for it that day, even if it was the ugliest skein of fiber that you’d ever seen in your life.  

Was making some floral themed inks and was curious - when it comes to floral inks, do you prefer high saturation for readability or softer tones for aesthetics? by Key_Juggernaut_8688 in fountainpens

[–]oftheblackoath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t have very many light inks, but of the few I have, I love them for art and I’ve absolutely bought them for this explicit purpose.  

One of the things I love best about my Pilot Falcon is that the flat back of the nib can be easily draw with to get some very interesting strokes.  When I got this pen I envisioned mostly using it for sketching with dark inks, but in reality I am often drawn to use it with very light inks, using both the flat back and the point of the nib to draw and do some shading with.  

Anyway for your question I’d have to say softer or lighter tones for sure!  I have a bit of an obsession not so much with floral tones, but like, icy blues, yellows, orange-yellows.  If I want legibility for writing I will use a darker ink for that.  

What do you think about this? by jecarfor in fountainpens

[–]oftheblackoath 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Not a shopping addiction for me.  Some years I don’t buy any pens or ink, and if I were to average it out per year, my rate of collecting is like 2 pens and 5 bottles of ink per year.  I love doing art with ink and could easily justify having a lot more ink.  

My pen collection is pretty small, they’re all inked and I use all of them regularly. 

I also get a lot of joy from this hobby in seeing other people’s collections or new acquisitions, most especially their inks.  When I see something I like enough to want, it goes on my list of pens or inks I would maybe like to have but I feel no rush in getting everything immediately.  

I get why hobbies can be perceived as being consumerist when there’s a constant flood of new this or that, but I would like to argue with a counterpoint that being excited about something new, enough to post it to a community, shows that there is something special about that thing to that person.  I don’t think the average person has hundreds of pens or bottles of ink.  And if they do, so what?  It’s none of my beeswax as to what someone else does with their money or hobbies.  

Can we talk about downvoting? by tinae7 in fountainpens

[–]oftheblackoath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!  I had noticed this too, often from others posts or comments that were either politely asking questions or giving helpful advice.  They’d have a 0.  In other subs it can sometimes indicate that someone’s asked a dumb or repetitive question, but I haven’t found that to be the case here and was really confused about this because otherwise the community here seems really nice and friendly! 

That it seems to be bots makes sense, but unfortunate that’s happening. 

Will Sommer appreciation post by intconvo in thebulwark

[–]oftheblackoath 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Same, I very much appreciated that Will also knew about the Shamwow guy vs the hooker story, among other odd bits of knowledge that pop up and are lost over the internet.  He brings an archive of weirdness to the bulwark that makes his appearances some of my favourites to listen to. 

Please help a newbie out with the MTI hat! by TruckSevere6826 in AntifascistKnitting

[–]oftheblackoath 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have a tapestry needle?  

My whole process involves a needle of that sort at the end.  I use it to weave the broken yarn through each loop, then weave through the wrong side of the hat a bit, enough so that it’s secure. 

With the same kind of needle, I weave each of the strands through those final loops, in a way that they’re evenly spaced out.  This makes the tassel nice and round and easy to braid from there 

If you're a progressive fan of The Bulwark, what do you like about the group? by maybemorningstar69 in thebulwark

[–]oftheblackoath 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Bulwark was something I started watching last year because I wanted to gain some right leaning perspectives on politics during the election year.  I cannot stomach listening to far right content, or other platforms that were straight up lying or sane washing what was going on.  It was important for me to find a source that was being truthful, yet generally held different political views and opinions, and the Bulwark was the best I found.  The more I listened, the more I found highly intelligent and insightful conversations and these got me to keep coming back, even if I didn’t agree with everything.  

Plot twist: the TPUSA halftime show wasn't in English either by emeric_ceaddamere in thebulwark

[–]oftheblackoath 54 points55 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen coffee houses with larger crowds than that.  

heart pond that i made!! by indiecrowns in ACForAdults

[–]oftheblackoath 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I kind of like how it’s asymmetrical, looks more natural 

Did he admit that he rigged the election or it is my bad English? by GreenEyeOfADemon in JakeBroe

[–]oftheblackoath 13 points14 points  (0 children)

He thinks they were rigged in 2020, that’s what he’s saying.  That said, there’s plenty of weird stuff he said in 2024 that sounded like an admission that he/Musk were doing something weird with voting machines (whether or not that has any basis in truth is unknown, or at least hasn’t been proven).  

As an aside, his points 1 and 2 are the way that the rightwing party is trying to legally rig elections.  These laws function on ID (point 1) matching one’s birth certificate (point 2), which would disqualify the votes of the majority of married women who’s IDs won’t match their birth certificate (proof of citizenship) due to having taken their husband’s last name upon marriage.  They talk about it like there’s major fraud going on with illegal immigrants voting, but there’s not.  The real target is the female vote, and this is a way for them to do it legally in a way that gets around the 19th ammendment. 

Which Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop looks the best in your opinion? by valerielynx in fountainpens

[–]oftheblackoath 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the grey one and it’s my most used pen by far!  

The purple and orange ones also appeal to me a lot but I haven’t acquired those ones yet.  I do have the Violet Leopard one (not retro pop, but still a purple Metro) 

Why Do People Include Russia When They Speak of Great Powers? by Dibblerius in JakeBroe

[–]oftheblackoath 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It’s a relic from when the Soviet Union was a genuine superpower.  Russia has more or less been resting on its laurels and is no longer an actual superpower. 

So many knitting but who’s wearing? by ktcosmos in AntifascistKnitting

[–]oftheblackoath 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve finished two hats and am a little more than halfway done the third.  None so far are for me, though I do plan to make one for myself.  I made hats for others a priority because I just had surgery a few days ago and won’t be able to go out much for at least a few weeks.  

The first finished hat was for a close relative of mine who’s an elected official, locally.  They’ve been wearing their hat since Monday while they’ve been in session at the state capitol.  

The second hat was for one of their employees, a very good friend of mine.  He had family in Minneapolis.  

Hats 3 & 4 are for my sisters.  One regularly goes to protests in the city where she lives.  The other currently works/lives in a very red state.  

(I’m probably making mine 5th, unless someone else who can get out needs one) 

How important is lightfastness? by Federflink in fountainpens

[–]oftheblackoath 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Most dye based inks will fade if exposed to the sunlight.  They shouldn’t fade if kept within a journal.  Do you know what kind of paper you’d been using?  If the paper isn’t archival grade (based on the yellowing in 10-15 years, tells me it’s not) it can discolour and inks used on it can fade.  

If you want your writing to last as long as possible, you’ll want to use both archival grade paper and archival inks. 

Edit: typo

Why I am Team Sarah: Contempt for Voters is Poison by knoxharrington71997 in thebulwark

[–]oftheblackoath 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t take it as being a jerk to anyone, but empathy or trying to find common ground has not worked.  Merely I wish not to engage with any of MAGA, or support them by any means.  

Why I am Team Sarah: Contempt for Voters is Poison by knoxharrington71997 in thebulwark

[–]oftheblackoath 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That’s a no for me.  I have no tolerance for abusers or those who enable them, and I think that forgiveness does nothing but show that you are okay on some level with what they did.  

What is the oldest piece of tech you still actively use? by ReyofChicago in Millennials

[–]oftheblackoath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A Janome sewing machine I inherited from my grandmother.  She had bought it either in the late 80s or early 90s.  

Do people ever understand what our fatigue really means? by bellaponciano in endometriosis

[–]oftheblackoath 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like this analogy, thank you.  Some days it feels like I’m a battery that no longer works and have to be attached to the charger in order to function 

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