Making, Crafting, Creating... aka Whatcha workin' on?

Thanks, I’ll get more info on it and see if it’s worth the aggro and cost of delivery. :smiley:

Yeah, you seem to really know your stuff. :slight_smile:

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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. :crying_cat_face:

ETA: NVM. Knitting is what the devil’s hands get up to when idling gets boring. :laughing:

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Anyone have use for a knitting machine?

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Back on task this week: clubhouse is in its final stages! Just need to do the door, entry steps, and exterior paint. Then do the pirate theming, I guess.

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Pictures, model #, price? Because mmmmmmaybe!

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It’s older, Japanese, and I will have to get back to you about the rest of the details. Hopefully it is still in good shape, but I had it my outside storage unit. Like a tiny shed.

I’ve realized I haven’t been keeping people updated on my progress…

I bicycled all the way from Austin to San Diego. I have found an apartment in Tijuana that’s extremely affordable, and I’m applying for temporary residency in Mexico.
I CAN STILL SELL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! (Somebody I know thought it was a dumb idea to sell to the Mexican population until I pointed out that I’m 30 minutes from the border and most of the world has internet)
I have a once-a-week job that takes care of rent and bills from the U.S., but I still need to earn about twice that much to rebuild my life and fix up the apartment (there’s not really an enforcable deposit scheme here, and hoarders lived here before me).

I only managed to get one customer the entire trip, a rancher in Texas who had a lot of property. Here’s a painting I made of one his favorite bulls. The reference photo was taken near Langtry, TX, right next to the Rio Grande. The hills you see are in Mexico. This painting is only 8 inches by 10 inches.
Miniature is hard! I should have charged more.

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Love that painting! If I was working, I’d seriously be pestering you to sell me some of your art.

Do you have a website?

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Fucking awesome. Nice job, you!

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I’m loving it.

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I’m on Instagram as kellyhicksscreenkiss, with contact info. Feel free to ask questions.

I may be a little slow and methodical, but I only charge $250 a sqare foot - calculated by time, about $10 an hour. This is about half or less of what professionals in the area with solid fan bases (like say, Danny Griego) charge. My standard size is 2.5 square feet.
For those who might be economically disadvantaged (like myself), I am more than willing to take payment in installments. I only require a non-refundable deposit to cover basic setup, and you can take as much time as you need with delivery upon final payment.
I’m living in Mexico. I think I can get by with a little less until I earn my fame.

Edit: I’m really wanting to do more portraits. If anybody knows someone who thinks my art would be a decent investment, please pass the word along. I need a refrigerator, and all the rest. :wink:

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Thanks for the info. When I’m gainfully employed, you’ll be my first priority. (We can even do a hand-off and make CBP bit nervous. :smiling_imp:)

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(@Snowlark suggested I add this here.) Last year I built a very lightweight teardrop trailer to tow behind my puny Honda Fit. Total empty weight is less than 200 lbs. A big part of the weight savings was achieved by using aluminum honeycomb composite panels for the sides. (Google “Plascore Honeycomb Panels” and you’ll find what I used) I was able to purchase the panels for about $400 plus $100 or so for shipping, then paid another $110 to have them cut to shape at a local waterjet shop per a drawing file that I sketched up. (I could have laid it out by hand and cut it all with a jigsaw, but waterjetting was much easier and cleaner). The base trailer came from Harbor Freight for $240, some assembly required. Aluminum sheet metal and trim from a metal supply place. There was a lot of miscellaneous hardware, along with the windows (from Amazon) but I think that with everything put together it came to somewhere in the neighborhood of $1k. Maybe slightly more. For those unfamiliar with teardrops, they typically sleep 2 and your legs go in the space under the “galley” counter area in the rear of the trailer. I get a lot of people asking me if there’s really room to sleep in there. Someone recently had thought it was meant for my dog.

The base frame was light enough for my kids to pull it around the driveway with their trike.

There is a frame to hold the ice chest of the front. This trailer has a pretty low drag coefficient. My car has an easier time pulling it on the freeway than it does with my stuff on a roof rack.

The area for your feet is filled in with a folded mattress in this photo, but you get the idea. I haven’t added any interior shelves yet, but I should.

I didn’t get too fancy with the galley. No running water or built-in stove. Lights are cheap battery-powered units from the dollar store. My butane camping stove works just fine for cooking, and I get water from a jug.

All the trim is attached with pop rivets. All the trim was bent into shape manually, with a lot of coaxing with a rubber mallet. That was probably the most technically challenging part of the project for me.

This year I added a solar powered vent fan for better air circulation.

Originally I built the shell to hinge on two forward supports, so that I could lift it up in order to fit larger items into the trailer for transport. This turned out to be a bad idea. The weather stripping I used wasn’t enough to fully weatherize the lower edge, so water leaked in an eventually ruined the wood floor, which had to be replaced. I’ve now permanently attached the shell and sealed it better. I also coated exposed portions of the wood with a rubberized truck bed liner product.

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That looks awesome, but where do you put the kids?

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In a separate tent, of course!

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Kintsugi with resin detail…

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Not sure if it’s on the menu, but that would make a slick clock face :thumbsup:

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