My mantra from a an early AM chem course: “This is not coffee. This is not coffee…”
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Just finished the Jedi mission via Abafar QT-KT
…and am starting a Tatooine variant of R4-D5 in which I’ll need to blow a wee motivator on… Got started for xmas way early, all this sick time had left me with a bit of modeling time on my hands. Something good right? Right. 
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Nice work!
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Awesomesauce!
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Totes not trying to monopolize this epic thread, but I just started something out of necessity & it works surprisingly well.
Gouache for the first layer of grime (4th+ layer of background shading basically)
I do art stuff pretty much as often as I’m able (which has been a bit more of late 
) & is why I happen to have Gouache just lying around. I used it on the KT & BB as well and it’s working out surprisingly well. A water mixdown is needed followed by buffing it down however you want.
I used to use oils for this on an upper layer, but I’m finding this works a bit better cuz it dries - but! add water & its malleable again 
. I would likely still use oil for accents on a by project basis, but this is a new use for Gouache I’d never thought of before.
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If you can get it threaded without wanting to murder yourself (or someone else) consider it a victory. 
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So true! I can’t count the number of times I wanted to throw mine out the window because I just couldn’t get the threads in the right places and in the right order.
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If you’re willing to spend the money, Baby Lock has sergers that use some sort of pneumatic voodoo magic to literally suck threads through the lower loopers making threading really fast and painless. (Of course this doesn’t help you a bit if you don’t thread in the right order or through the right tension discs but at least it makes one of the worst parts of serger threading a (pun not indended) breeze). If you do a lot of serging I’d say it’s definitely worth the premium for not having to deal with all that frustration.
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Just been offered an ex-industiral overlocker for a stupid low price on account of it needs fixing and I can probably fix it.
So, errm, good idea/bad idea?
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It came threaded, with 4 different colors so you could easily see the thread paths. I’m missing a spool cap, though, and I’m not sure if my thread’s gonna fly off the pin without it. But I specifically chose this one because it was touted as “easy to thread”.
I’m cutting some jersey right now to try a quick practice top. If I manage to get it done with all the vacation planning distractions I’m having right now.
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Ohhhhh, one day, once I’ve rejoined the workforce and saved up some dough! Until then, I’m stuck with my 20±year-old Baby Lock Protege.
One thing I did find out when I’d taken the machine in for service a long time ago is that the thread you use in the machine matters quite a bit. Cheaper threads tend to have more teeny little imperfections and will get caught/stuck, messing up the stitches.
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If it’s a stupid low price, go for it. The sewing machine industry these days is very homogenized so if it’s something made in the past 10-20 years parts should be findable even though they may be under a different manufacturer/brand name. Parts are also stupid tiny and easy to lose/misplace so make sure you keep a good inventory and take lots of pictures while you’re doing repairs. Find a service manual if you can.
Source: I dabble in sewing machine repairs as a hobby
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Thanks, I’ll get more info on it and see if it’s worth the aggro and cost of delivery. 
Yeah, you seem to really know your stuff. 
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Nah, just enough to be dangerous (and occasionally actually fix things!)
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And more importantly:
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Read this as ex industrial overclocker. Was wondering when you needed a special machine for that.
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Ergh. Knitting woes on the socks. I knit the heel flap and now I’m on the turn. It’s telling me “slip 1, purl 17, turn leaving remaining stitches unworked” and goes on actively leaving a pile of stitches on the far left needle (I assume) and never doing anything with them as far as I can tell.
I already had to frog this entire sock out once over a misunderstanding. I’d really appreciate any help anyone can give. 
ETA: NVM. Knitting is what the devil’s hands get up to when idling gets boring. 
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Anyone have use for a knitting machine?
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