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fantasy is so fun until you have to name your countries and make a map someone please end my misery

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Beginner Sewing Equipment

So! I’ve seen enough of you in my notes now going “ooh I wanna take up sewing”, so I thought I’d start giving some tips for how to do that. And the thing that comes first with any hobby is equipment. It can be a bit of an outlay at first, which is daunting when you’re not even sure you’ll enjoy it. However you honestly can get away with the bare-bones amount of equipment - further tools make it easier, but aren’t necessary straight up.

If you start on a small project, the only things you’ll really need are:

Pack of basic needles

Dressmakers pins

A spool of thread

Seam ripper / unpicker

The fabric/material you’re working with (for the love of all that is holy don’t start with velvet or faux fur they are the devil incarnate in textile form).

Then once you go “yeah ok I’m kinda enjoying this”, I recommend adding:

An iron!! This is not only to keep fabric flat, but to press seams, and help with edges. Hopefully you already have one as a household item. (If you don’t have an ironing board, lay some towels down on a table).

A pair of fabric scissors. I cannot stress enough that if you can you should buy the expensive ones it makes such a difference. (In the meanwhile, paper scissors can *technically* work they just don’t work WELL).

Dressmakers tape (before you have one of these, use a piece of string and a common ruler to do the measurements)

Tailors chalk / some kind of washable pen (a normal pencil can do the trick at first - the area where you’re marking often ends up on the ends of a seam, and can’t be seen on the finished garment).

A thimble (good for hand sewing thick wools or other dense fabrics)

A long ruler for patterning (a broom handle is an acceptable substitute for a while though)

That’s it, those are the items I use for 90% of my projects! Any other equipment will likely be specialised, which you can then buy on a needs-basis.

(The only other thing is a sewing machine, but that’s going to be a personal means thing; they are not a cheap piece of equipment! See if you can borrow one from a friend or family member to start with).

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i made a roast tonight for the first time and it actually turned out really good

at 35 i'm finally a real adult y'all

#reference

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In a 2017 study titled Do Women Ask?, researchers were surprised to find that women actually do ask for raises as often as men — we’re just more likely to be turned down. Conducted by faculty at the Cass Business School, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Warwick and using data collected from over 4,600 Australian workers, the study was expected to confirm long-established theories around women’s reluctance to negotiate. Instead, the analysis showed that men’s and women’s propensity to negotiate is roughly the same.

These findings pose a significant challenge to the commonly accepted wisdom on this topic, as well as the findings of other well-known studies, specifically that of economics professor Linda Babcock. In 2003, Babcock co-authored an era-defining book called Women Don’t Ask (the general thrust of which is pretty obvious from its title). Her book and the studies underpinning it have been cited ever since as evidence of women’s reticence to ask for more in the workplace. (It’s worth noting that Babcock herself didn’t suggest that women’s supposed reluctance to negotiate stems from innate “feminine” qualities, as others have done. Rather, she believed it was a learned trait inculcated by various external social forces.)

Unlike other studies that have been carried out in this area, the Do Women Ask? researchers had more detailed data that revealed a crucial fact: Women are far more likely than men to work in jobs where salary negotiation isn’t necessarily possible, such as low-skilled hourly wage jobs or part-time roles. Previous studies that reached the “women don’t ask” conclusion often failed to account for certain types of jobs (and industries) being dominated by one gender, focusing instead on the overall number of men or women who’d reported salary negotiations, which — given the number of women who work jobs with “non-negotiable” salaries — skewed their findings.

The Do Women Ask? study, on the other hand, found that when comparing men and women who do similar jobs (and jobs where there are genuine opportunities for salary negotiation), women actually ask for raises at the same rates as men. Other recent studies reinforce those findings, including two separate studies by leading consultancy firm McKinsey, the most recent of which surveyed 64,000 North American workers to find that women actually negotiate for pay raises at a slightly higher rate of 31 percent to men’s 29 percent.

Now for the bad news: Both McKinsey’s research and the Do Women Ask?study found that while men and women ask for pay raises at broadly similar rates, women are more likely to be refused or suffer blowback for daring to broach the topic.

read more

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How I Modify My Google Doc for Outlining and Drafting

I previously talked about setting up my document to look like a formatted paperback book to help writing not feel so daunting.

Today, I bring you a different way I change my document that is more appealing to me than the standard Doc.

For Drafts

first, go to Page Set Up

this is what the default is

For my setup: Margins will change to .5" for top, bottom, left, and right.

this is the page color I chose but it's totally optional.

Then, I change my default font. Here is how to find the ones I like. Go to the font option, then click More fonts.

These are the fonts I love. You can search them or browse for ones you like.

next, i change my first-line paragraph indent to .25"

For Outlining

(and also character profiles, world-building, etc.)

You are going to follow the same steps as above first. The only difference is you don't need to mess with any of the indent settings.

I use boxes as dividers and organizers. To do this, go to Insert > Table > 1x1.

Then, change the border thickness to 2.25pt. I usually have a color palette for these, so I'm choosing a darker brown than the background for the borders. But white paper and black table lines work just as well and are more print-friendly ;)

Next, I change the Headings, Subheadings, and Subtitles. To begin, I am changing my Title heading. I choose my font, how big I want it to be, and then I like using a highlight color as well. Here, I'm using a standard light/pastel color and 18pt font.

Highlight to select this new title. Go to the dropdown menu that says "normal text", hover over "Title", then choose "Update 'Title' to Match". Now you can click that every time with no hassle. And it will begin an outline for you to the left.

Let's make that box within a box! Make sure you are typing inside the first box. Then insert another table. I am going to use a 2x3.

Because this table is more than one cell, you can go to the three dots up top and click "Table Options" to change every table border selected at once. Again, 2.25pt with the same color as before. The cell background color says white but you don't have to change it to match the page color.

You can save both your Heading preferences and page setup as your default style. Every new document you make will use these settings automatically.

I really hope this was helpful and/or interesting!

As always, take what you want and leave the rest. Happy writing!

[call it good] writing

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“Jolene" 

 Your beauty is beyond compare

I shudder from your Eldritch stare 

With scaly skin and fins of emerald green

#monsterfucker PowerPoint

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Uncommon Questions for OCs and their creators:

Send me a # (questions for OCs) or a letter (questions for creators) and I’ll answer

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

How easy is it to earn their trust?

How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

What animal do they fear most?

How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

What makes their stomach turn?

Are they easily embarrassed?

What embarrasses them?

What is their favorite number?

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Why do they get up in the morning? 

How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? 

How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? 

 Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? 

 What are their thoughts on marriage? 

 What is their preferred mode of transportation? 

 What causes them to feel dread? 

 Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? 

 Do they usually live up to their own ideals? 

 Who do they most regret meeting? 

 Who are they the most glad to have met? 

 Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

 Could they be considered lazy? 

 How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? 

 How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? 

Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap? 

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? 

What memory do they revisit the most often? 

How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? 

How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

How do they feel about children? 

How badly do they want to reach their end goal? 

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS

A) Why are you excited about this character? B) What inspired you to create them? C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story? D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look? E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you? F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)? G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most? H) What trait do you admire most? I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe? J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

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I can barely contain myself right now

holy shit

HOLY SHIT

#reference

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After a long hiatus (sorry, RL ate me), I am doing braids! Here are the first two pages.  

On my list of braids to go in depth into are cornrows, micro braids, box braids, ghana braids, and tree braids.   Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks and I will release them one by one, and then put them together in one big compilation. 

More Black Hair In Depth:

Drawing Natural Hair

Dreadlocks

#reference #black hair #braids

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BOOK OF KELLS BOOK OF KELLS BOOK OF KELLS BOOK OF KELLS

#reference #book of kells #medieval manuscripts

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Nothing brings me more joy than people learning from history and then modernizing it up a bit.

Like you wanna grow your hair long? Stop washing it so often and brush it more to keep it clean. Your hair will be way healthier too. And stop cutting it (and use a boar bristle brush, it’ll work better as it’ll actually absorb the oils, distribute them better, and work a hell of a lot better than non-absorbent plastic would) Edit: Early on, some well meaning person kindly asked me to inform you that the boar bristle brush technique does not work on curly hair, however I have since been informed by multiple parties that it does! My hair is as straight as a pin so use your own judgment!

You want to keep cool in the summer? Out with the polyester and in with the linen and cotton. Natural fibers are going to keep you cooler because they’re literally made to breathe

You want to preemptively stop the underwire in your bra from poking through? There’s a very simple embroidery stitch you can do that the Edwardians used to do to stop their corset boning from coming through.

We don’t have to just learn from our ancestors mistakes, we can learn from their stakes too

#reference #fashion history #historical fashion

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#reference

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Things that People Forget About When Writing Sword Fights

You don’t have to dodge by a foot. You only have to dodge by an inch.

Not all swords are made the same way. You wouldn’t fight with a katana the same way you would fight with a broadsword.

You don’t need to aim for the heart or the head. Get the vein in wrist, and you could incapacitate that hand.

Small cuts matter. If you’re cut up enough, you’re going to start suffering from blood loss, and that’ll put you at a disadvantage.

The blade isn’t the only thing that matters. There isn’t some set of rules in sword fighting where you can only stick the stabby end into the other person. Hit them in the head with the hilt, and they’ll feel it.

If there are multiple attackers, you want to incapacitate or kill each one as quickly as possible. Endurance matters, especially when you’re not only swinging/stabbing/aiming something that is 2-5 lbs (ceremonial ones were a lot heavier, but wouldn’t be generally fought with) but also taking/blocking heavy blows from at least one opponent.

#reference

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Are you interested in sword fighting or the medieval art of combat but don't know where to start? Well let the amazing folks at the Hawkwood's Troupe help you out.

Here's we have a collection of some of the best pieces of literature when it comes to the study of the sword and much more.

A huge thank you to the troupe for letting me share these images, and to Sven Lugar for a meaningful lesson on feeling the blade.

If you know of other good recommendations please feel free to leave a comment below. :)

You can find out more about the Hawkwood's Troupe at http://www.nwarmizare.com/Newsite/

Includes:

The Rapier Part One: Beginners -Workbook- by Guy Windsor

Medieval Wrestling by Jessica Finley

16th Century Single Sword Combat: Bolognese Fencing by William E. Wilson

The Art of Combat by Joachim Meyer

English Martial Arts by Terry Brown

Venetian Rapier, The School or Salle by Nicoletto Giganti's

The Complete Renaissance Swordsman by Antonio Manciolino's Opera Nova

Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer

Fior Di Battaglia ("The Flower of Battle), MS Ludwig XV 13 by Fiore de'i Liberi

#reference #hounds

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Throwback Thursday: It was 5 years ago when we were celebrating award season for The Shape Of Water, and I got to live my dream of being in an old musical dance number (dressed as an Amphibian Man, of course) with the amazing Sally Hawkins.

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#reference