Re: DIY

1

DIY shit usually looks like DIY shit

If you do something yourself don't you want it to look like you did it yourself, not like it was made in a factory?


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:06 AM
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I want it to look as though it were made by dedicated craftsmen who had spent their lives perfecting their skills, and probably going blind and becoming permanently gnarled in the process. Not like a lawyer made it.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:09 AM
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I had a band practice this morning, and I realized I had forgotten a shaker, which I really wanted for a particular song. Hence: DIY shaker. Note: it was not nearly as loud as a regular shaker.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:11 AM
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4

Not everything becomes art just because you hang it on a wall.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:12 AM
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2: Good point.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:12 AM
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6

I'm about to try regrouting the bathroom, so let's not give me nerves.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:13 AM
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4: Yes, it depends on what wall you hang it on.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:13 AM
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8

1, 2: We're still talking about shit, right?


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:14 AM
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9

6: It'll be fine, Moby. You're not a lawyer, and you're not me.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:14 AM
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9: But I guess I can't make my wife help.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:16 AM
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6: Oh, that kind of DIY is fine. I'm talking about "Take an old bathing suit and pin it up on the wall and put a frame around it!" and "Put clothespins around the edge of a mirror like a sunburst!" and "Your old shit doubles as a planter!"


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:18 AM
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Looks like we are.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:18 AM
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I'm about to try regrouting the bathroom

If you make a mistake, you can use a wet/dry vac. Those things are wizard caulk suckers.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:18 AM
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14

11.last to 8.


Posted by: Sifu Tweety | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:19 AM
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15

Dangit.


Posted by: Sifu Tweety | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:19 AM
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11: Oh, yeah. We used to watch HGTV.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:20 AM
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17

Well, shit is good for plants. But still.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:22 AM
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18

Should I be creeped out that an internet stranger named Peep watches me?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:23 AM
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Not everything becomes art just because you hang it on a wall.

How about if you drop it on the floor? I once saw a pile of peppermint candies on sale at one of the big auction houses. For the high six figure price it came with a guarantee of a lifetime supply.


Posted by: teraz kurwa my | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:26 AM
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I made us a table. It looks like a table I made -- or, at least, it does not look like a table somebody would buy -- but it goes outside, and it works well, and shut up.


Posted by: Sifu Tweety | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:26 AM
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21

DIY shaker

There are only three real ones left.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:27 AM
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YOU DON'T WANT THE TRUTH BECAUSE DEEP DOWN, IN PLACES YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT AT PARTIES, YOU WANT ME ON THAT WALL. YOU NEED ME ON THAT WALL.


Posted by: OPINIONATED OLD BATHING SUIT | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:30 AM
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23

Huh, I never thought about it, but Jack Nicholson does kind of look like a stretched out old bathing suit.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:32 AM
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24

So twee crafty bits for mostly uncreative people? Yeah, no.

On the other hand, a year on I remain unhealthily smug about our last big DIY project (before, after).


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:34 AM
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25

23: "You make me wanna be a better mankini."


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:34 AM
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26

Oh wait we made a roll-up projection screen. That's pretty good, too.


Posted by: Sifu Tweety | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:38 AM
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24: Good lord. That's totally gnarled-craftsman-worthy.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:39 AM
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24: That is gorgeous.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:41 AM
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The role of gnarled craftsman was played by my dad. It turns out that it's easier to adhere to "measure twice, cut once" if two separate stubborn people each measure.


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:42 AM
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30

Yeah, wow.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:42 AM
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31

Our gnarled craftsman is JRoth.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:45 AM
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32

Sifu, how did you make the screen? And of what?


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:47 AM
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32: Tweety's exaggerating. He applied this paint to the insides of his eyelids, and now he thinks he's watching movies. But really it's just hallucinations caused by the paint fumes.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:51 AM
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34

DIY art like that is transient, I think. Usually enthusiasts have messy living spaces, so the exuberance doesn't stand out. This includes kids-- small doses of kid art are fantastic, but of course, real life presents either feast or famine.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0Y_LB_ugujxBw2XV0CNrGg


Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:52 AM
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The screen itself is drapery liner from Joann Fabrics. Blume sewed a pocket in one end so we could thread it on to a dowel, we attached a strip of wood to the other end to weight it, then I mounted a couple of metal loop thingies on the ceiling using toggle bolts, to support the ends of the dowel. We roll it up by hand, standing on chairs, but it looks nicer than the cheap roll-up screens you can get.


Posted by: Sifu Tweety | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:55 AM
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36

Yes, I bet it does. Clever.


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:57 AM
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37

(That was not meant to be sarcastic.)


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 11:58 AM
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38

I'm just finishing a shawl (this pattern) that I think I could hang on top not in lieu of of a regular shade on the large window under one of the stained glass windows in our new house, though I'm not sure which the sea green will match better. It'll probably look twee and DIY, but I think I'm okay with that because what on earth else am I going to ever do with a fancy lace shawl? Actually, probably Lee will veto this plan and I'll put the shawl away somewhere forever.

It is no wall of built-ins, though. Wow!


Posted by: Thorn | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:00 PM
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38: Also gorgeous. I do look at lace shawls like that and think that they look spectacular and challenging to knit, but then, like you say, what do you do with a lace shawl? Maybe throw it over the back of a chair like a small afghan?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:15 PM
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40

How long did it take?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:19 PM
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40: I guess since mid-April. I may not finish until next week, but I've only been able to work on it during work hours. My job is unusual in that it allows me knitting time, thank goodness, though I'm also multitasking then.


Posted by: Thorn | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:23 PM
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My job is unusual in that it allows me knitting time

Now I'm picturing you trying to get to the top like the kid in "How to Succeed in Business."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:32 PM
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43

throw it over the back of a chair like a small afghan

I really wish you'd stop doing that.


Posted by: Diminutive Tajik | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:36 PM
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44

I almost linked to a picture of an afghan hound puppy on those words, but the coat doesn't really develop until they grow up.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:39 PM
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45

38.1: Oh my, that's lovely.


Posted by: Gabardine Bathyscaphe | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 12:50 PM
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18: I'm sorry heebie. I thought you knew and liked it. Anyway, as was implied, I don't watch HGTV anymore.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05-25-11 2:02 PM
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