periferal: blond cartoon boy (Jaune Arc from RWBY) squint-glaring off to the right of the screen in a comical manner. (Default)
[personal profile] periferal posting in [community profile] holmestice
Name: Wes periferal
Email: joieuselion@gmail.com:
AO3 username: grossferatu
Treat preference: Sure!
I will create:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic
In one or more of the following parts of fandom: Books: Doyle - Canon; Enola Holmes (books); Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell. TV/Film:Granada TV Show; Ritchie Films; Sherlock BBC; Elementary. Comics/radio/other: Watson and Holmes comic; Bert Coules radio dramatizations, Sherlock & Co podcast. Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson (play)
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: (canon, or not otherwise specified) Holmes/Watson, (BBC) Sherstrade, Johnstrade, or Mystrade, (ACD) Holmes/Watson/Lestrade, (Elementary) Holmes/Gregson, Holmes/Mycroft
I like working with one or more of the following categories: Fluff; Angst; Post-Reichenbach; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Crossover; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; First Time; Friendship; Drug Addiction; Getting Together; Declarations of Love; First Kiss, Omegaverse
With any of the following ratings: delete any that do not apply 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 3) explicit sexual content; 4) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes; 5) moderate to explicit graphic violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes
I am willing to create for the following squicks and/or kinks: dubcon; non-con/rape; bdsm; bloodplay; torture; incest; self-harm; suicide; character death.



I want to receive:
A fanwork of the following type(s): art, fic, vids, graphics, podfic, music
In one or more of the following parts of fandom:Books: Canon; Mary Russell Series; The Final Solution - Chabon; Goodnight, Mr. Holmes - Douglas; The Infernal Device - Kurland; The Seven-Percent Solution; A Study in Emerald; The Doctor's Case. TV/Film:Granada TV Show; Ritchie Films; Sherlock BBC; Elementary; Livanov/Solomin Russian Holmes; Petrenko/Panin New Russian Holmes; Rathbone Films; Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century; Sherlock Hound. Comics/radio/other: Watson and Holmes comic; Bert Coules radio dramatizations, Sherlock & Co podcast.
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: (canon, or not otherwise specified) Holmes/Watson, (BBC) Sherstrade, Johnstrade, John/Sherlock/Lestrade or Mystrade, (ACD) Holmes/Watson/Lestrade, (Elementary) Holmes/Gregson, Holmes/Mycroft
I like stuff in the following categories:Fluff; Angst; Post-Reichenbach; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Crossover; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; First Time; Friendship; Drug Addiction; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Bondage, Declaration of Love, First Kiss
With any of the following ratings: 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 3) explicit sexual content; 4) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes; 5) moderate to explicit graphic violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes
I wouldn’t mind any of the following squicks and/or kinks: dubcon; non-con/rape; bdsm; bloodplay; torture; domestic abuse; alcohol/drug abuse; incest; self-harm; suicide;

Please include further details about what you’d like to receive:
ACD-Canon: I've recently become obsessed with Canon-era stuff that deals with the peril involved with confessing attraction to another man, so something like Holmes or Watson (maybe especially Holmes?) deciding to take a huge leap of faith and confess his romantic/sexual affections after a moment of high drama. It would be especially interesting if Holmes' return is what prompts this.
Elementary: I think Gregson and Sherlock should have some kind of strange situationship going on.
BBC Sherlock: Holmescest that leans into what might have driven them together, mentioning Eurus is optional but if you can make her interesting that'd be amazing.
Johnstrade where they're both using each other as poor substitutes for Holmes.
Enola Holmes: Either some kind of Enola pov shenanigans fic, or what it must be like for Holmes to have a sister like her (with possible bonus background Holmes/Watson preferred)
For more obscure canons, like Servants of Hell: I'm interested in what a Holmes/Watson relationship might look like in that context.

All of this to say, I'm actually pretty open to receiving anything that isn't un-tagged major character death, so feel free to match me with someone you're struggling to match with.

My own major major do not wants are
-piss/shit/general bodily fluids
-vomit
-transphobic language used in a non-con context

back back back again for winter '25!

Oct. 12th, 2025 04:37 pm
beamkatanachronicles: <user name=ushitora_icons site=livejournal.com> (🪲 14)
[personal profile] beamkatanachronicles posting in [community profile] holmestice
Name: [personal profile] beamkatanachronicles / Danni
Contact email: purewhiteglastonbury@gmail.com
AO3 username: [archiveofourown.org profile] beamkatanachronicles
Treat preference: Treats are fine and loved!

cut for length )

A Surprising Victory

Oct. 11th, 2025 07:05 pm
pennswoods: (Default)
[personal profile] pennswoods
Tomorrow is the Chicago Marathon and I am not running that. My marathon season is over and instead I am focusing on 5k races to work on speed (the marathon is 42.2k so one runs that a lot slower). As part of my kickoff in my 5k training, I ran a 5k race today which was one of my university's homecoming events. This race is meant to serve as a time trial to gauge what my current speed is so I can build upon it and get faster for my next race, the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot!

The course is a bit hilly and I'm not as fast as I was a few years ago, which is a little hard for me to handle. I'm always worried about the effects of aging on my ability to do things and the specter of perimenopause and the dramatic changes it inflicts on the body (e.g., accelerated muscle loss) is eating into my confidence. On Thursday, I walked most of the course to get a feel for where the hills would be so I could adjust my pacing and expectations. I didn't sleep well last night due to a number of factors but I arrived 50 minutes before the start of the race with something of a plan. My goal was to run under or as close to 25.00 for 5k which is 5:00/kilometer or 8:03/mile. A part of me was worried I was overestimating myself and that I'd end up coming in well over that, but I tried to put that out of my mind and just focus on running smart. Running smart also means adapting to the course (e.g. not getting down when my pace drops on the uphill) and also not starting too fast and blowing all my energy on the first kilometer.

I'm not going to lie - it was hard and I doubted myself along the way. I made the decision to look at my watch minimally and to focus on distance and only on pace at certain times (mainly to check I wasn't going too fast the beginning and to also check my speed once on each hill). The big hill did hurt and I found myself gasping a lot as a way to tighten my stomach so I would not vomit. I've never gotten sick while running but today might have been the closest I came.

Early on, I was passed by a boy who was supposedly 13 but looked 8 years old and then a man pushing a double stroller with two children in it. That was humbling. There were not a lot of women near the front of the race, but there was one that I took turns passing and being passed by until about halfway through when I passed her on the ugly hill. The final kilometer was both downhill and flat, but I was feeling tired and anticipated that I would be passed by other women. I let go of my goal of sub 25 minutes and focused on running sub 26. No other woman passed me and based on the time between cheers behind me by race volunteers, I was well ahead of whomever was behind me. I pushed until the finish line, feeling shock to see the time read 24:18 because I knew my pace was nowhere near that fast. When I stop my watch, I saw that the course was short (4.84km) explaining the surprisingly fast finishing time. My actual pace for a 5km was a 5:02 meaning I would have finished in around 25:10 which was still pretty close to my goal considering the long ass hill.

What was shocking but gratifying was being approached after I finished to be notified that I was the first place woman overall.  The woman I had been jockeying places with in the first half of the course finished 40 seconds behind me in second place. I thought I'd have a good chance of winning my age group (Women 50-59) but in no way did I think I'd be I the top 5 for this race. Here's me crossing the finish line looking super exhausted and clueless that I was first. 

This was a bit of a morale booster and it gives me a nice starting point for my 5k training. And I also got a ridiculously giant trophy.
pegkerr: (Default)
[personal profile] pegkerr
This past weekend, my family had another wedding, with more family events the next day. Actually, it was on the other side of the family (Rob's family): one of his nieces got married.

Rob and I always said that one of the greatest strengths in our marriage was our family ties. Both of our families had very strong and warm family bonds and got along well, and we genuinely liked each other's family and enjoyed spending time with them.

I have talked to many widows, in person and online, and I know that for some, after their spouse dies, the spouse's family can drift away or even treat a widow cruelly. I am so very glad that is not the case for me. I feel as much a part of Rob's family as I ever have, and I was pleased to join them to celebrate my niece's wedding.

Rob's Mom and his siblings (two brothers and two sisters) gathered from all around the country, and I was so happy to see them all and catch up on their lives. It was also a special day because my mother-in-law got to meet M for the first time. Alona had dressed M in a lacy, frothy concoction that she herself wore as a child (at one point when M got fussy, perhaps bothered by the slightly scratchy lace, Alona remarked that she looked like an angry cupcake. Yes, she was utterly adorable. Yes, I admit that I am biased.).

I had found a new dress for the occasion and felt elegant. It was so wonderful to be there with Eric, and to have my children and their partners there, as well as Rob's family. It's such a joy to me that our ties remain strong. I wish the same for my niece and my new nephew: that they continue to draw strength and delight from both sides of their family.

Image description: Top: Peg's family: Peg and Eric, Fiona, M, and Alona (M's face is blurred) and Delia and Chris. Middle: The groom holds the bride in a dramatic dip/kiss. Bottom: Rob's mom and his brothers and sisters.

Wedding II

40 Wedding

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Why Not?(First time for Holmestice!)

Oct. 10th, 2025 03:14 pm
[personal profile] clearwingedmaven posting in [community profile] holmestice
I've always wondered about this event, so I decided to join for this year.

Name: clearwingedmaven
Contact email: WhovianAgent@gmail.com
AO3 username: LadyofthePhantomKnights
Treat preference: I suppose so? Sure!

I will create:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic! I'm afraid I'm no good at art, so I will stick to fic.
In one or more of the following parts of fandom:Books: Doyle - Canon TV/Film:Granada TV Show; Elementary; Livanov/Solomin Russian Holmes; She Comics/radio/other: N/A
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: Oh gosh, I'm okay with working with a lot of everything! I'm cool with doing Holmes/Watson, Holmes & Watson as just a friendship, Watson/Mary, so I'm not too squicked out by relationships.
I like working with one or more of the following categories: Fluff; Angst; Post-Reichenbach; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Crossover; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; Friendship; Drug Addiction; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Mystery
With any of the following ratings:1) suitable for general audiences; 2) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes; 3) moderate to explicit graphic violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes
I am willing to create for the following squicks and/or kinks: Oh jeez, I'm not really into Explicit fics/smut, so I'm not willing to create anything smutty/kinky, apologies! I am okay with getting into some mature territory though, so I can cover some things like abuse, heavy angst, murder, and things like that. I'm also okay with exploring some sad territory with Reichenbach too(depression and what not)



I want to receive:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic, art, podfic(though I'd really love a fic! Never had a podfic before, either, so that'd be delightful)
In one or more of the following parts of fandom: Books: Canon TV/Film:Granada TV Show; Elementary; Livanov/Solomin Russian Holmes
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: Holmes/Watson, Holmes & Watson, Watson/Mary
I like stuff in the following categories: Fluff; Angst; Post-Reichenbach; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Crossover; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; Friendship; Drug Addiction; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Mystery; Emotional Hurt/Comfort
With any of the following ratings: delete any that do NOT apply 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes; 3) moderate to explicit graphic violence or depictions of non-sexual mature theme
I wouldn’t mind any of the following squicks and/or kinks: Again, I'm not really into kink/explicit things, so please don't give any of that to me. I'm okay with some of the mature things that I'm willing to create, like Reichenbach Angst.

Please include further details about what you’d like to receive: Your more elaborate prompt goes here.

Oh boy! I love love love case fics! I find them so fascinating, and I love getting to solve the mystery alongside the boys. I'm also especially fond of AUs for Holmes and Watson, like anything supernatural or magical/folklore or even sci-fi, I don't mind at all(I'd absolutely adore an Urban Fantasy Holmes!), so really, no AU is too bonkers for me. I am also probably the world's biggest sucker for 'The Adventure of the Dancing Men', so I will literally come running if it has anything to do with that story.

I'm also oddly fond of the idea of Holmes and Watson doing their thing in another country? So if that gives anything else, I hope that helps.

Oh! I also love Gothic literature(My area of study is fin-de-siecle Gothic Literature), and I have a fascination with the Victorian spiritualist movement, so anything during the 1890s is a winner for me too.

As for triggers/hard nos: Explicit/smut fics. They're just not for me. Also nothing to do with like. Graphic death or anything like that. I am also really not fond of miscommunication/betrayal, nor am I of hypnotism/mind control. I... don't know how that'd pop up in a Holmes fic, but I figured I'd cover my bases.

Special requests: This is my very first time signing up for Holmestice, so I don't think so? Can't wait to work with you all! (I also do the Holmes December Calendar Challenge on FFN, so this is exciting.)

Oh, go on then!

Oct. 10th, 2025 07:31 pm
happyeverafter72: (Default)
[personal profile] happyeverafter72 posting in [community profile] holmestice
Name: happyeverafter72
Contact email: holly.turner02@googlemail.com
AO3 username: happyeverafter72
Treat preference: abso-flipping-lutely!

I will create:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic, essay, poetry
In one or more of the following parts of fandom: Books: Doyle - Canon; Art in the Blood series - Bonnie MacBird. TV/Film: Granada TV Show; Rathbone Films. Comics/radio/other: Bert Coules radio dramatizations.
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: Holmes/Watson; Holmes & Watson; Violet Hunter/another lady.
I like working with one or more of the following categories: Fluff; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Humor; Case Fic; First Time; Friendship; First Kiss; Love Confession; Mutual Pining; Autistic Holmes; Trans Holmes; Gender Nonconformity; Holmes’s Retirement.
With any of the following ratings: 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 3) explicit sexual content
I am willing to create for the following squicks and/or kinks: None this time please.



I want to receive:
A fanwork of the following type(s): art, fic, poetry
In one or more of the following parts of fandom: Books: Doyle - Canon; Art in the Blood series - Bonnie MacBird. TV/Film: Granada TV Show; Rathbone Films. Comics/radio/other: Bert Coules radio dramatizations.
For one or more of the following characters or relationships: Holmes/Watson; Holmes & Watson.
I like stuff in the following categories: Fluff; Alternate Universe; Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Established Relationship; Humor; Case Fic; First Time; Friendship; First Kiss; Love Confession; Mutual Pining; Autistic Holmes; Trans Holmes; Gender Nonconformity; Holmes’s Retirement.
With any of the following ratings: 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 3) explicit sexual content.
I wouldn’t mind any of the following squicks and/or kinks: Light bondage; Dom/Sub dynamics.

Please include further details about what you’d like to receive: In general summary, I love fluff and happy endings! More detailed stuff under the cut.

Read more... )

The one thing I really do not want is any reference to vomit. I find it very triggering.

Special requests: Nothing really. Thank you, mods!

Finally doing this!

Oct. 10th, 2025 01:04 pm
jabbage: (Default)
[personal profile] jabbage posting in [community profile] holmestice
Name: teaspoonnebula
Contact email: drconductoroflight@gmail.com
AO3 username: teaspoonnebula
Treat preference: Yes please <3

I will create:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic, artwork
In one or more of the following parts of fandom:
ACD Canon; Gillette play; Granada; Ronald Howard Holmes tv series; The Great Mouse Detective; My Dearly Beloved Detective; Coules BBC Radio series; Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century; Rathbone Films or radio; The Great Mouse Detective

For one or more of the following characters or relationship
s: I love 'em all, honestly. I don't have any strong shipping preferences, and I'm generally most drawn to exploring dynamics between characters that aren't focused on the 'getting together' bit (established couple, family, friends, qpps, mentor/mentees, enemies, rivals...)

I like working with one or more of the following categories: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a happy ending, Established Relationship, Sickfic, Friendship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Speculative Fiction elements, Crack treated absolutely seriously.

With any of the following ratings:
General Audiences, Teen And Up Audiences, Non-sexual mature themes.

I am willing to create for the following squicks and/or kinks
:None

I want to receive:
A fanwork of the following type(s): art, fic

In one or more of the following parts of fandom: ACD Canon, Granada, Ronald Howard tv series, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, Rathbone Films or radio.

For one or more of the following characters or relationships:
I'm open to anything, Holmes and Watson are always wonderful, and I also love explorations of the wider cast and more obscure characters.

Please include further details about what you’d like to receive:
  • Time travellllll
  • Holmes having a childhood which isn't completely dire. There's a tendency to assume that Holmes must have had a very traumatic or lonely childhood, so I like takes which explore him perhaps going through hardships a probably neurodivergent kid was going to have in that time period, but also having support.
  • Anything Mycroft, I just love me some Mycroft. 
  • Explorations of side characters from the canon. I like "Whatever happened to X client/character?" stories. 
  • I love slightly out-there speculative fiction or magical realism takes on the characters.
  • That robot from 22nd Century. The entire concept of him just fascinates me. If you've ever wanted to write some slightly angsty robot fic, this is your excuse to do it :D
  •  Silliest idea ever but if anyone fancies exploring the framing device of the Rathbone radio show where Watson is apparently living in California with a bunch of puppies and he has a close friend who really loves Petri brand wine, that would be amazing. Where is Holmes? How did Watson meet this wine fiend?!

Special requests: Nothing which focuses too much on physical relationships please - it's just not my jam. Kisses/hugs/physical intimacy is fine, just no extended sexy scenes please <3

we're so back (???)

Oct. 9th, 2025 09:39 am
mistyzeo: (Default)
[personal profile] mistyzeo posting in [community profile] holmestice
Name: [personal profile] mistyzeo 
Contact email: mistyzeo@gmail.com
AO3 username: [archiveofourown.org profile] mistyzeo 
Treat preference: open

Read more... )
hamsterwoman: (Avengers -- flying monkeys)
[personal profile] hamsterwoman
Catching up on Taskmaster s20, the most recent two episodes:

Episode 3 -- I got to see this episode on actual UK TV (on catch-up), with not just the ad breaks but also with really annoying ads, and also with [personal profile] cafemassolit's cats periodically distracting me, heh. So that was an interesting experience! As for the episode itself, WTF is Maisie wearing XD spoilers from here )

Episode 4 -- spoilers )

*

Also, this seems as good a place as any to talk about the stuff I watched on planes. (I also read on my return trip, but have not yet finished the new RoL book, because my phone battery was low and either the USB port on my seat or my cable weren't working, and I didn't feel like trying to fish out my powerbank from the backpack stuffed with half a dozen books from England, so I had to switch over to watching the in-flight entertainment).

Thunderbolts* -- it has been a while since I watched anything MCU related -- OK, less time than I thought, because I did watch Agatha All Along in Nov'24, but even that was almost a year ago, and I guess Deadpool and Wolverine was technically also MCU. Anyway, still a while, and much longer since I've watched a 'main storyline' kind of thing, with GotG 3 in summer 2023, and it was 2022 when I was watching anything MCU related regularly. And I still have not seen, and chose not to bother with, though it was also on offer, Captain America: BNW. More, with marked spoilers )

The Ballad of Wallis Island -- This is a kind of movie I would've never even been aware of before my descent down the Britcom rabbit hole, but because Tim Key co-wrote and is costarring in it, it was mentioned on Elis and John (John was grousing about not being invited to the UK premiere, except he probably was and couldn't go and forgot) and also [personal profile] qwentoozla went to a special screening in LA, with the creators there, and posted about it. I probably still would not have gone to the effort to track it down, because I always find Tim Key at least slightly annoying, but as I was scrolling through Virgin Atlantic's entertainment list, the movie was right there, near the start, and I was like, hey, I'm on a Taskmaster-adjacent trip to the UK, I should watch a Taskmaster-adjacent movie as part of the experience. And I did, and actually really enjoyed it, and found it both funny and moving.

More with spoilers )

[personal profile] qwentoozla's write-up also mentioned that the film was an expansion of a short film that could still be found on YouTube, so, because I'm always curious to see different versions of the same story if it's a story I like, I went and tracked it down (part 2). And I don't know what I was expecting from the short version, but my main takeaway is basically that everything I liked best about the feature film was new to it -- Herb's backstory, Herb/Chris and Nell, Charles's backstory, where it leaves Charles -- and also the acting was SO MUCH BETTER. I mean, it makes sense, right, because it's the same people after 18 more years of practice, and as writers they had both the same extra years of practice and a bigger canvas to work with. But everything just works so much better in the 2025 movie. I'm glad I watched it first, because I probably would not have bothered with it if the short film had set my expectations first.

And also I tried War of the Rohirrim, and made it a couple of scenes in but it was too anime-y for me, and nothing interesting was happening, so that also didn't last very long.

The rest of the time on the plane I watched random TV shows that were available to me, and might as well capture my thoughts here, although I didn't watch anything in full, and mostly not in any kind of coherent way either.

Fleabag, season 1 -- Well, that was a bit darker than I enjoy my comedy. Like, I did find it really well done -- in particular SPOILERS from here )

Peep Show, season 9 -- I've been aware of the show for a while, but had no real interest in it, despite enjoying David Mitchell as himself on WILTY. But I decided to give it a shot, hoping to catch Dobby (the character played by Isy Suttie, i.e. Elis's wife, for reasons-for-the-trip-adjacent reasons). It was a season that didn't have Dobby as a regular, but I did get her for an episode later on, which suited me -- but there in the very first episode I watched was Tim Key again XD Dobby was adorable! I wish there had been more of her (but, like, I already think Isy is adorable). I was reasonably amused by David Mitchell's character, although he feels like the worst parts of his comedic persona + choices that make me dislike him. This was my first exposure to Robert Webb, and I was originally a lot less fond of Jeremy, but he did kind of grow on me by the end. Some of the scenarios did make me laugh, though. If I had easy access to this, I'd probably watch more series, but mostly for Isy...

On the way back, having run out of British shows I recognized as something I wanted to watch (I also gave The IT Crowd a shot, but did not make it past the first scene -- the laugh track was annoying me, and I really wasn't finding it that funny), I switched to an American show I'd heard good things about:

Abbot Elementary -- looking up the titles, looks like it was the first 5 episodes of season 4. At first I wasn't finding it that funny, but I think it's just that I don't find the younger characters (Janine, Gregory, and Jake) that funny, and once the show moved on to episodes more focused on the older cast, I was more on board.Spoilers ) I also found the principal lady a lot of fun, and quite enjoyed Barbara the Jesus-referencing kindergarten teacher. It's not something I feel invested in enough to want to watch more of, but it was a nice way to pass the time on a plane.

I then moved on to a British show whose title I *didn't* recognize, and didn't quite have enough time to finish out the series:

Amandaland -- I did not realize until looking it up later that this was a spin-off of something else. I think I made it 3 episodes in, and it might not have even been the full 3 episodes, until we landed. This one was a show where I didn't actually recognize any actors (except, retrospectively, I do know Joanna Lumley, who plays Amanda's mum, I just didn't recognize her now she's older). Mal looked intensely familiar, but looking at his filmography, I've not seen him in anything, so presumably what I recognize him from is Doctor Who gifs on Tumblr... Who I did recognize in the credits was Holly Walsh, as one of the writers, as I've enjoyed her on panel shows. Mal was definitely my favorite character, and I also like Anne and Della (the chef). (Possibly the fact that I liked both Della and Anne a lot means I should finally watch Derry Girls, like people have been telling me to do for ages...) As for the show itself, I did find it suitably engaging. My favorite moments were spoilers ) From reading the Reddit thread on this show, it sounds like the season maybe goes downhill / the resolution is not as good as the setup, so maybe it's just as well that I didn't finish it out.
pegkerr: (All we have to decide is what to do with)
[personal profile] pegkerr
I had two Year of Adventure meetings this week, both dedicated to teaching me how to make something new.

I met with my sister Betsy, who showed me how to make an apple pie from scratch, including the pastry. The secret, I was duly informed, is the use of lard (which makes the pastry light and flaky) and tapioca to thicken the apple filling. Okay, I will admit that the pastry cover was placed a little crookedly, but I can assure you that it was delicious.

I also got together with [personal profile] carbonel, who invited me to her home to give me my first lesson on spinning wool into yarn. I had some experience with a drop spindle many years ago, but spinning on a spinning wheel takes a degree of coordination that I obviously did not master in the time we were working together. First, the treadle must be worked in the correct direction at a steady rate--I kept hesitating on the pedal, and the wheel would aggravatingly start turning in the wrong direction. And the hand coordination was another thing: I kept holding the roving (the combed wool) in the left hand too tightly ("hold it lightly, as if were a baby bird" [personal profile] carbonel kept chanting in my ear with only a hint of exasperation), and my clumsiness with the drafting (feeding the wool with the right hand) meant that the yarn kept overtwisting.

But at least I have my first effort of spun wool sitting on my dining room table, and I keep glancing at it with an interesting mix of pride and embarrassment. It is very, very bad, but at least I can now say that I have tried spinning.

This collage is not one of my favorites, being both too busy and too monochromatic, but hey, that's what I have.

Image description: Center: a smiling woman (Peg) stands at a counter with a rolling pin and an unbaked apple pie. Top left: hands cut a pastry cutter through pastry dough in a bowl. Top right: hands work pastry dough in a bowl. Below that: various apple pie ingredients. Lower left: a hand holds unspun wool. Lower right: a spinning wheel. Lower center: a butterfly of (badly) spun undyed wool.

Making

39 Making

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Profile

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