Archivist Blue's Virtual Estate

Blog moving to LJ

2005-07-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am officially starting a new blog on Livejournal. All of my friends are there, So now we can actually comment on eachother's posts. Hurrah!

I have enjoyed Blogger, as it is very user friendly. However, it is time for a change. Best to do it while this blog is still young. And who knows, maybe I'll post more often on livejournal. Big maybe there.

Find me here.

Peace,

~Archivist Blue

Ezra

2005-06-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I really am terrible at this blogging thing. I keep forgetting to post my stuff. I have, in fact, been happily working on many things these past two months, and making good progress. This particular image is of a character in a comic book series that I am attempting to get off of the ground. His name is Ezra. He's a eunuch. Thus the girliness.

More to come, hopefully (though not likely) in a timely fashion.

~Archivist Blue

2005-04-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

thumbnail that I plan to use in my profile. If I can get it to work...

Archivist Blue Self Portrait

2005-04-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

About time I posted a photo of myself, Archivist Halcyon Blue. I look like this. Really.

Why don't you look convinced?

~Archivist Blue

PS... Done in ink with watercolor and gouache. I could have Photoshopped it to look pretty, but I'm lazy.

Virtual Farm

2005-04-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, my ultimate dream is to have a few acres of land, an old farmhouse, and some livestock. Nothing too outrageous. I put together this little image to better visualize exactly what I want some day. It contains:

5 Shetland Sheep
3 Icelandic Sheep
1 Lincoln Longwool
1 Black-faced Suffolk
1 Tunis
3 Pygora goats
1 Llama
Some assorted egg-laying chickens, and one bantom
1 Peacock
Japanese Indigo plant

Silly, but I needed a break. Now I feel absurdly pleased with myself for mapping it all out. All I need at this point is, oh, about $400,000... Ouch >.<

Keep dreams alive, feed them often.

~Archivist Blue

2005-04-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

My spinning wheel pines for me. I broke the drive band, and have yet to replace it. That grey bobbin of yarn that you see there is romney lamb fiber, natural, to be used in socks for my boyfriend. I think I spun it in January, but have yet to do the second bobbin that I need. I've been doing very little wheel spinning at all, despite my fabulous new Woolee Winder, which I love all to pieces. The spindle is just more convenient, because I can spin away from home.

I'm almost done with my second pair of hand dyed socks, the yarn for which was spun entirely on a drop spindle. The first pair the heels came out strange and pointy. I had modified the sock pattern I was using to a different size, and was having some difficulties. I'll probably replace the heels eventually. The second pair I'm working on are thick, odds and ends hiking socks. The first one fits great, and the second one is nearly done. Need to finish the toe, and add a cuff.

My Ultimate Purity Test 2.0 Score Is....

2005-04-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Your Ultimate Purity Test 2.0 Score Is...
	Your Score:	Average For All Users	Average For All Straight Moderate Shacking Up Pinkish 18 to 24-Year old Females (7 total)
Dating	46.15%	30.16%	27.47%	Dated seriously
Self-Lovin'	56.06%	56.55%	66.67%	Master of your domain
Shamelessness	82.26%	75.57%	75.11%	Has yet to see self in mirror
Sex Drive	85.71%	72.98%	76.19%	The Pope is envious
Straightness	12.96%	33.47%	16.14%	Knows the other body type like a map
Gayness	100.00%	74.73%	97.88%	Repressed, are we?
Dominant	73.33%	84.3%	81.9%	Not afraid to tie the knot
Submissive	71.43%	84.65%	83.68%	Bound and gagged a few times
Fucking Sick	91.84%	88.1%	91.55%	Refreshingly normal
Total Score	71.67%	70.79%	72.98%
Take The Ultimate Purity Test 2.0 and see how you match up! (By The Ferrett)

I feel dirty... ^_~ ... Blame Britt.

Crafty content and pictures coming eventually. I've been doing stuff, just need to break out the ol' camera.

Peace,

Archivist Blue

Not Dead Yet

2005-03-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

Hello hello,

Expect serious postage this week, as it is spring break. Pictures will most likely include two chullo hats, hand spun and dyed socks, new drop spindles, hand blended and dyed roving, and pictures of cats and ferrets. Also, a partridge in a pear tree.

In other news, I am getting two new ferrets this month, and building a warp weighted loom. Go me!

Peace,

Archivist Blue

2005-01-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm finally adding a recipe to this picture!

Sausage Sandwiches
(serves 2-4 for dinner or hearty lunch)

Baguette
2 Tbs. Olive or vegetable Oil
1 large onion, cut into thin rings or half rings
2-4 italian sausages (sweet or hot)
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Large splash balsamic vinegar
1 bottle or can of beer or hard cider

Use a large pan with a lid (or make a lid out of tin foil). Heat the oil over medium-high heat. If things stick during cooking, add a bit more. I usually slice the onion and mince the garlic at this time. Add the onion, and cook until golden and translucent, but not brown. Add the sausage, and season with salt and pepper. When the outsides of the sausages are brown (the insides will still be raw, but don't worry about it), add the garlic. Add the vinegar soon after to prevent the garlic from burning. After about a minute, add the beer or cider. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and let simmer for 30 minutes. The sausages should be fully cooked. Remove them from the pan, and nestle them sub-style in a sliced segment of baguette. Turn the heat back up to high. Stir the onions while the liquid cooks off. After about 5- 10 minutes, it should condense into a thin gravy-like substance. Turn off the heat, and spoon the oinions and "gravy" over the sausages. Eat the sandwiches messily and happily, preferably in the company of good friends.

Notes: Paprika is also good with these, but optional. Add it with the salt and pepper. Low sodium broth or stock could be substituted for the beer/cider, though it would not taste the same. Apple juice mixed with broth/stock may be another idea.

The above picture shows the sausages in the pan after the liquid has been condensed into gravy. I should have used a different picture, because if you cook the sausages on high with the onions at the end, they get tough. Also, you would burn your mouth trying to eat them.

Coming soon: Pictures of 2 comlpeted Third-Eye Chullo hats (pattern from Knit Wit, by the editor of Knitty.com). So fun, so easy. Actually, I could really do with a challange right now. I've been knitting simple things, because I can knit in class that way. Maybe I'll buy som lace-weight yarn for a shawl when I go to my LYS on Saturday. I may also post pictures of some of my bad oil paintings and lino-prints.

Coming eventually: Pictures of a pirate themed fair-isle hat, possibly with matching scarf and knee stockings. In the planning stages. I will be posting my original colorwork motifs, as well as the completed objects. I may even post a full pattern or two (but don't hold your breath).

I'm a happy little Archivist right now :)

Stay warm folks,

~Archivist Blue

Knitty SP3 has Begun!

2005-01-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Secret Pal round 3 in the Knitty Coffeeshop has begun! Exciting stuff! I'm looking forward to getting a package together over the next couple of days for my SP. I have some good ideas.

No new knitting FOs, or even any current WIPs, but I did get a bit of spinning done on some grey romney sock yarn. After I finish the grey, I'll spin some white, so I can do intarsia with it. So far, this yarn looks much thinner and less lumpy than the green stuff my hat was knit from. I've come to think of the color as hospital scrub green. Creepy association for something so warm and snuggly.

I meant to post a hot sausage sandwich recipe today. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), they were so good, and my boyfriend and I so hungry, that by the time I remembered to take a picture, they were eaten! So I'll wait to post the recipe until I have a picture. Most likely next week.

Until next time,

~Archivist Blue

Hat from above

2005-01-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Hat from above

Self explanitory. See other photo below. To me, in my lumpy homespun, this hat looks like a green brain. Mmmm. Brains.

I should make one in pink and grey ;)

Homespun hat and fingerless gloves

2005-01-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Homespun hat and fingerless gloves

My first real post, whoo-hoo! Celtic cap and basic hand warmers (I guess they're not really gloves, so I'll call them hand warmers). Made from very own hand spun yarn, which I also dyed myself. It's pretty lumpy, but I'm proud of it. It's the first yarn I've spun on the wheel that I got for Christmas. My first wheel, and some of my first homespun. I'll think of it as novelty yarn. Wheel is a Kromski Minstrel, for those who care. I'll probably post pictures later, like a proud new momma showing off her firstborn ;)

The cap was knit from a pattern that I bought here. I also plan on knitting the Rogue hooded pullover, and have bought the pattern for it. I just need to spin the yarn for it. Of course, the fiber that I'll be spinning it from is in transit somewhere, so it may be awhile before anyone gets to see that sweater. The gloves were made without a pattern, since they are plain enough not to need one.

In any case, I've babbled long enough about my scary looking crafts. To let you know, this is the general format that this blog will be following. Pictures of my work, be it crafty or fine art, and possibly pictures of other things that I find especially nifty. Text will (hopefully) be relevent to the images. I consider this blog to be more of a portfolio/ photo album. What it will NOT be is a personal journal. No long rants or whining about my personal life. No monologues on current existential quandries. Because honestly, who wants to read that? It's the reason that I don't read most other people's blogs. Here there will be pictures, recipes, and other things of interest.

That's my mission statement, and I'm stickin' to it.

Building the Estate

2005-01-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hello all, and welcome to my virtual estate. It's just begun, and under heavy construction right now. It will soon have flora, fauna, and a wealth of hand made artsy-crafty things to entertain you. Or to entertain me, at least.

It is my estate, after all.

Feel free to visit any time. And try not to tread on the ferrets, please.

~Archivist Blue