anime-academia

[anime-academia]

Today I am thinking about weaving.

I can knit and crochet, but those crafts didn't exist in Roman times. Any historically accurate Roman cloth must be woven. So when a little potholder loom jumped into my shopping basket for 50 cents, it felt like a sign I should learn.

One potholder that was 50% yarn and 50% weird gaps later, I looked up a tutorial, and realized why the damn thing was 50 cents. I needed a better, more adaptable loom. And, because I am a cheapskate and slightly loony, I decided to make one instead of buying it.

So, how does this thing work?

First, you string the warp threads up and down, around the pegs. Here, I made a zigzag shape. Then, you use a needle or shuttle to weave more yarn over and under the warp, horizontally, back and forth. This produces woven fabric.

Some looms weave from the top, some from the bottom. This Greek urn shows two weavers working from the top. The left weaver uses a rod to compact the woven fabric upward, keeping it even and sturdy. The right weaver is passing an oval-shaped shuttle through the warp threads to form another row.

Most Roman looms would have looked like this, with the finished cloth at the top. Unlike my looms, these are warp-weighted. That means you keep the warp yarns taut by hanging weights at the bottom, rather than through a bottom row of pegs.

Warp-weighted looms also have a big advantage over my little potholder loom: you can easily create multiple sheds.

A "shed" is a temporary gap between lifted strands and non-lifted strands. Instead of having to go over and under each strand individually, you raise the entire shed, then pull the shuttle or needle straight through. This saves lots of time! Then, to weave the next row, you close the shed, lift up a different set of threads to create a new shed, and send the shuttle/needle through the other direction.

On a warp-weighted loom, the sheds are opened by loops called heddles (H), which are attached to a heddle rod (G). When the rod is down, shed (1) is open (middle diagram). When you pull the rod up, shed (1) closes and shed (2) opens instead (right diagram). Most warp-weighted looms also have a pair of forks you can rest the heddle rod on, to free your hands.

Here, there are three heddle rods and sets of forks, the heddles are white, and the warp thread is red. This gives you four different sheds, and the potential to weave very complex patterns indeed. Not bad for a device invented over 6500 years ago!

I liked the multiple heddle-rod design so much, I tried incorporating it into my DIY loom, too. I've tested both yarn and paperclips as heddles:

I actually got both sheds and heddle-rods working, too. Which is pretty cool for a lap loom - every other lap loom I found only has one shed, so you have to go over-under the individual threads on alternate rows.* More time-consuming. However, the sheds here are narrow, and I'll need a smaller and smoother shuttle to pass through them smoothly. This wouldn't be an issue on a warp-weighted loom, where the warp hangs freely downward, and can move more flexibly with the heddles.

Anyway. I may get a "real" loom at some point, but I wanted to build one first, and I think it gave me more appreciation for just how resourceful ancient weavers were. They created technology, clothing, and artwork out of very basic materials, and civilization depended on these skills.

Now, I need to go finish the...whatever the hell it will be. Big thanks to Wikipedia and to the lovely Youtubers who make this craft easier to learn. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

(*Edit - found out a rotating heddle bar can make two sheds on a lap loom! Exciting!!)

#weaving #textiles

[anime-academia]

Joan of Arc, specifically historically accurate Joan of Arc if possible?

Yes, Joan of Arc (alternatively spelled Jeanne d'Arc or Jehanne Darc) from Real Life could kill Macbeth!

She applies for the Gender Clause.

Thank you for your submission!

#joan of arc

[anime-academia]

imagine two mated wyrms twisting around each other, possessing an uncountable number of limbs, each claw of good or evil interlocked with its opposite, the coil twists further around itself into a skein of flesh. how i would describe DNA to a wizard

#txt

[anime-academia]

Hey, stop scrolling for a second. If you’re feeling down or anxious, you can come and sit in my room with me. It’s raining today, but the birds are still singing. We can hear them through the open window. I’ve got some crocheting to do, why don’t you chat to me whilst I do it. Or you could read or watch tv. Why don’t you put on your favourite series or movie and you can tell me all about it. I’ll get us some snacks and put the kettle on. I’ve a pile of crocheted blankets you can choose from. You can just curl up in the arm chair and we can pass time in contended silence if you want. Remember that you’re safe here, stay as long as you like and you can always come back. Everything will be okay x

#break time #me 2 q

[anime-academia]

2024年四月二十七日(土曜日)

今日は緑です。

Started the day with a gym session. It was early so there weren't a lot of people which was nice. The downside is, I've been sleepy the whole day. But I did finish all the work I wanted to today, except doing any Spanish. Idk it always seems to come last place now that Duolingo has become pretty useless for it.

This week's JP focus is learning numbers (mostly the Kano) and I've just got 10 new kanji to learn since it's the end of the month and I've got some other things I want to work on (including reading 美少女戦士 サ－ラ－ム－ン).

In other news, I might have a matcha problem.

#asra's journal #studyblr #gradblr #langblr #japanese langblr

[anime-academia]

You can tell that Laios has an accent. His letters are more squishy and soft and Marcille's are more angular. He pronounces a ㅁ like it's an ㅇ.

#ohhhh #dungeon meshi

[anime-academia]

yeah as soon as I wake up no longer fatigued for the first time in my life I'll be set

#mood #txt #me 2 q

[anime-academia]

Nyan Koyomi - Natsume Yuuchinchou Desktop Calendar 2024 - April/Aries

#natsume yuujinchou #calendar 2024 #japanese

[anime-academia]

#sailor moon

[anime-academia]

JLPT N2 文法・もの

In this post let's look at various N2 grammar points involving もの.

★ものなら★

if I/we could; if A is possible, then B; if one can do something, then ～

This grammar structure implies that the task is either impossible or very unlikely.

Verb (れる form) + ものなら Verb (れる form) + もんなら (spoken)

例文

帰れるものなら、今すぐ、国へ帰りたい。 If I could, I'd like to go back to my country right now.

やれるもんなら、やってみろ。 If you can do it, then let's see you try.

★ものだから★

so; therefore; the reason for something

This is often used when telling an excuse or declining an invitation.

Verb (casual) + ものだから・ものですから・もんだから (spoken) Noun + な + ものだから・ものですから・もんだから (spoken) な-Adjective + な + ものだから・ものですから・もんだから (spoken) い-Adjective + ものだから・ものですから・もんだから (spoken)

例文

すみません、風邪を引いてしまったものですから、今日は欠席です。 I'm sorry, I caught a cold and so I will be absent today.

私の変わりにこれをしていただけませんか。私���大変に忙しいものですから。 Could you please do this on my behalf? Because I am too busy to do it myself.

★もの★

because; indicates reason/excuse/dissatisfaction

This is used to express a reason to justify something.

例文

私何も話すことなんかありませんよ。だって何も知らないんですもの。 I have nothing to say. I mean, I don't even know anything.

謝ることはないよ。君が悪いわけじゃないんだもの。 There's no need to apologize. You didn't even do anything wrong.

★ものの★

but; although; even though ～

Verb (casual) + ものの Noun + である + ものの い-adjective + ものの な-adjective + な + ものの

例文

私のアパートは駅からはちょっと遠いものの、静かできれいな住宅街にある。 My apartment may be far from the station, but it is in a very quiet and beautiful neighborhood.

秋であるものの、まだ暑い。 Although it's fall, it is still hot.

#日本語 #japanese #japanese langblr #japanese grammar #langblr

[anime-academia]

OFFICIAL VIBE CHECK, which Death Note character are you??

https://uquiz.com/KXAUEY

#Near #You are baby. You are also very cozy. You realize that liking toys and other childlike things is perfectly acceptable and you are #LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE. But still #you should just maybe try and learn how to go on a plane by yourself. #You also probably don't know what gender is #i actually can go on a plane by myself #and yes idk whats a gender #uquiz #i need to finish watching death note #anime

[anime-academia]

#depends #if its a bigger one ill put it outside #otherwise i leave them be #polls

[anime-academia]

Being a young adult is so strange. You enter a coffee shop. The 20 year old girl waiting behind you cried all night because she just came to a new city for university and she feels so alone. That 27 year old guy over there works a job he is overqualified for, he lives with his parents and wants to move out but doesn't know what to do about it. That one 24 year old dude already has a car, a house, and a job waiting for him once he graduates thanks to his dad's connections. The 26 year old barista couldn't complete his higher education because he has to work and take care of his family. The 28 year old girl sitting next to you has no friends to go out with so she is texting her mother. That couple (both 25 years old) are married and the girl is pregnant. The 29 year old writing something on her laptop has realized that she chose the wrong major so she is trying to start all over. We are not alone in this, but we are actually so alone. Do you feel me

#txt

[anime-academia]

you never know what someone is going through. for instance i didnt know i was going through anything until about 2 years later. i thought i was just chilling

#lmao me #txt

[anime-academia]

pop up ads on pirating websites are so fucking funny. "do you want sex?" if I wanted to have sex do you really think I'd be watching doctor who. answer quickly

#txt #me 2 q

[anime-academia]

i hate when i send someone a meme in another language and they're like "uhm... translate? 😒" fucker i sent you a meme where 90% of the words have an english cognate and/or you don't need to know what they're saying to find it funny. can you at least TRY

#langblr

[anime-academia]

If anyone is interested in checking out the manga for Tsukutabe in Japanese, the first volume is currently available for free on Renta and the rest are 50% off 🥞 The language isn't very complicated, so if there are any Japanese learners in my followers, it's good reading practice!

#reading in japanese #日本語 #japanese books #作りたい女と食べたい女 #japanese