#shears talks

[bloodthreadshears]

Going live at 3:30 p.m. EST

Gonna do some fiber spinning and maybe some more progress on the bodice. Link is here. 

See you then! 

[bloodthreadshears]

(ID: A newly organized closet with some items still on the floor. Hung up are gowns and costumes. A green desk with a spinning wheel in front of it reside to the left of the closet. /End ID)

So yesterday was a flurry of Get It Done and I managed to clear and clean my home office closet. Lots of trash, a couple of crickets vacuumed, and organizing the yarn stash resulted with the image you see above. It's nowhere near done. I still have to get things better organized with my fabric stash. And I want to be able to move the hanging stuff over to accommodate for the dresser I want to put in for costume/fabric storage (See previous posts about my plans). But for now, there is so much room on the floor. I uttered "So much room for activities!" ha ha.

This took a solid year to build up the energy to do. And I have an incentive to get it done: Repainting. I am going to need space to paint and not trip over things while doing that. So it may take a few weeks for me to recover to finish up.

[bloodthreadshears]

Home Adventures: Formulating a Game Plan

There’s a Lot to Do! Where do I start?

Sitting down this morning to figure out where to start in organizing and decorating my home office is a daunting thing. Where do I start? What needs to be done first? And how the heck am I going to get everything done and maintain a semblance of peace of mind?

Well, while I was waiting for laundry to run, I went into my home office to see what annoyed me the most and what caused me stress in there and why. Doing a walk around helps me figure out what needs to be done and in what order. Then I can write down problems and solutions.

So, that’s what I did. Here’s what I found:

Things in the Home Office that Stress me Out

Problem #1: Cluttered and too much stuff

First and foremost, the place is cluttered. And that is on me that it got that way. I get busy, make a mess, and quickly put things away. Often not in the most tidy manner. Any time I go in to tidy up I get overwhelmed and abort mission. I need to have a lot of spoons to do a full on tidy. And that takes a lot out of me.

Solution:

The place needs organization. And everything needs to be up and off the floor. This is a practicality; basement often means critters (I’m working on that) and the potential for things to get damaged. So, an organization system in the closet will be needed. The closet may need a redo with shelves being moved and potentially a dresser in said closet to house my fabric and patterns. I want to move the clothing rod to maximize space and store my costumes safely. And for days when the closet is not in use, I want to have curtains to hide it from light and make it neat.

Problem #2: Lighting is weird and makes the place dark

I’ve touched on this posting on Blusky. My home office has track lights on one wall and that’s it. We have no idea where the wiring for that light goes to. And the kicker is that it’s tied to the light switch. I’ve made do with lamps, but would love to have proper lighting that is dimmable. It gets annoying when I want proper lighting that isn’t overly bright or gets hot temperature wise.

Solution?:

I’ve thought about talking with Papa Shears about the possibility of doing pendant lights in strategic places if high hats aren’t an option. Still in the idea stage there.

Problem #3: The Ceiling and Walls need a refresher

Oh, boy. Do the ceiling and walls need a refresher. I’m not a fan of the tiles in the drop ceiling. Some are warped from water damage, and some have been scraped from the door. Same with the wood paneling from the 1970’s on the walls. I’ve grown up with said paneling in my childhood home. But here’s the thing: my late Grandma Shears didn’t do things cheap. So I know when things are done well. This? Not so much. The paneling is just nailed onto studs and that’s it. No opportunity for sound dampening. And since there’s evidence of water damage (I’ve seen that firsthand in this house) there’s warping in some areas.

I have no problem with paneling. But whole wall paneling is not my thing, certain styles notwithstanding. I want to have walls that have some sort of sound dampening and won’t buckle.

Some concessions I have had to make: The drop ceiling is gonna have to stay. If access to the water line is needed, drywall will not be easy. And if replacing the walls right now is not an option I’ll just repaint it. Budget and time are a big thing here. And from what Papa Shears has told me, sanding drywall of spackle is Not Fun At All.

Solutions:

A new coat of paint for the walls, along with trim for crown molding to fit in with what I want in the ceiling. As for the ceiling, new tiles. I’ve looked into tin tiles, and they sure are pretty. However, money and flexibility are gonna be needed. According to Papa Shears, the clearance for the tiles is not that high. So, I did more research.

I found that there are faux tin tiles I can have to have the look while having the soundproofing qualities needed for the office. I’ve also seen that I can use covers for the tracks to change the color without painting. I’m not lazy, I just want time saving and not strain my neck to paint.

Adding trim will make it look more fancy and some decals on the walls for that added touch of whimsy.

Problem #4: Room feels too barebones

While I’ve done my best to make things more comfortable and cozy, there’s still elements of the room that look and feel unfinished. Specifically, the bookshelf behind the door and the floor. There is proper flooring (see previous post about that) and floor trim. But the floor is too bare. I’ve had friends tell me it needs an area rug.

As for the bookshelf, that boy is CHONK. Solid plywood and surprisingly well made. I’ve put the heavier things there like an old PC for storage. But it looks unfinished.

And finally, the door. It’s getting the job done, but it scrapes the ceiling constantly. I’ve had to resort to felt circles to lift the one ceiling tile to prevent that from happening.

Solution:

I’ve tracked down a few rugs to meet the style interpretation I’m going for. Initially, I found a rug that was an absolute stunner: wool, roses on the design, and absolutely beautiful. However, the size I would need means it would be very much out of my price range for the time being. So I’ll be going for an alternative for now that is in my price range. I’m also going to get a rug mat for extra sturdiness and sound dampening. I have one in mind, and put to my wish list for a later time to buy it.

As for the bookshelf, I want to frame it and put edge banding to make it look more like it belongs there. The fame is to hide unsightly things and be pretty. I’m debating whether to paint or just put up wallpaper inside the shelves.

I want to replace the door with a solid wood door. I want it to look pretty and dampen sound for privacy. At one point, I debated on doing a Dutch door; the one where it opens separately from top and bottom. But reading up on how much money and strain on the door frame it creates, I decided against that. The criteria is that it cannot stand out from the rest of the house. Mama Shears has stated it can’t be different. I’ve also floated the idea of a hidden bookshelf door. We’re still discussing it.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of work to be done in the home office. And I don’t expect this to be done overnight. That’s not realistic, especially since I’m still recovering from surgery. I am limited in budget, time, and physical ability currently. So this list is a starting point for me. I am aiming to get things done next year and take the year to get the major projects done. Décor, minor details, and feeling out the room will be an ongoing thing. If I am able to save up, I’ll have professionals take care of the walls and electrical. Especially the electrical. I’m not touching that without supervision.

So, I’ll write up my progress when I can and when I have time to do so. Smaller updates will be over on Blusky. Thanks for reading!

[bloodthreadshears]

Home Adventures: I'm Gonna Need to Pull Out My Spring Cleaning: The Musical! Sheet Music

Ah, yes. Spring is (trying to at a glacial pace) arriving fairly soon. And I've got the itch to do The Big Clean.

I do what I call the big clean twice a year: once in the spring to clear out what got built up over the winter, and in the fall to get ready to close up windows and hunker down. It's a top-to-bottom clean and meant to be my big hurrah.

I started doing this as a way to combat my difficulties with keeping my own room clean. I struggle with keeping things tidy when I have so much to do and it's very easy for me to get overwhelmed with dealing with...that. So I began scheduling it for an entire month to spread things out. Dusting, cleaning my windows, vacuuming out whatever dog fur my late dog Lexie left behind (It's the gift that keeps on giving).

This year is a bit bittersweet. For those who know, Lexie passed away last year and the anniversary of that is coming up. So for the year of 2024 it was very hard for me to do anything but just the motions. I have a ko-fi post about that and won't go into detail here, but a lot has been happening and motivation is hard to come by.

I started already at time of writing this by doing a clear out of all the laundry that has been building up. Laundry for neurodiverse folks is hard. My problem is finding time to do the laundry. I tend to prioritize my mother's over my own so she can get her stuff for the week. In the past, I would take everything to a local 24 hour laundromat and spend a few hours there. I talked about this on bluesky, but I liked going. Why?

I got out of the house, the sounds of the machines was comforting for me, and I got a lot done. At the time, I would budget $60 for coins, soda/snacks, and anything else that came up. And everything got done in one shot. My family would be so frustrated with me. We have a washer at home, so why do that? And it makes sense. I would do it at home, but given the fact things would either sit or Lexie would find it and call it her bed for a time I had to really clean everything. So a speed wash was not gonna cut it. At my childhood home the laundry/boiler room was small. And with other folks needing it and me needing things to just get done I figured it made more sense to just do it all in one shot.

Now that Mama Shears and I are in the current home, our laundry room is much larger. But there are some things I would love to do/have. A folding station is top priority for me. It makes more sense for us to have a station in that room so we can bring things up and put them away. I eventually want to pretty it up so it's not so dreary in there.

But back to my tidying up.

Since moving in, I have repurposed the area rug from the dining room for my room. It's nice, browns and greens to complement the bright walls and my feet don't feel cold in the mornings. And more importantly, it makes cleaning easier.

Before anyone asks, hear me out!

Rugs and carpets are a pain to clean, but when you have dogs it is the perfect magnet. I'd rather vacuum than to have random dust bunnies of fur around.

So vacuuming had to happen. Then the moving of dirty laundry and airing out the room had to happen, as well. Why the airing out? Well, I was moving around and housework always builds up a sweat. And fresh air after months of not being able to was a welcome change. Got the dust out, too.

The main focus right now is to get laundry washed, mended, and put away. Once things warm up it'll be time to swap out my seasonal wardrobes. Some things, like sweaters and certain shirts, will stay. Others will be washed and put away for the next Fall/Winter season. I will give my windows a good cleaning and see if I can repaint the sill. If not, I'll get some mats to keep the dust at bay.

So what are my goals for The Big Clean?

One: Get laundry under control. I want this to be something I do where even if it's small I wash it immediately. I only wear the same five things, so anything close to skin will get a wash and prepped for the next day. I've already moved my laundry basket away from my door to avoid it from becoming a drop zone for stuff.

Two: Dust Everything. I am going to have to get things under control. Mental health was not very good in the last few months, and all I wanted to do is just sleep. I have hurricane lamps that were my grandmother's and they need to be dusted/cleaned. Same with the furniture. I've done myself a favor and put down pretty mats to cover the tops of my night tables/dressers to protect from dust. But I also will have to take some wood polish and furniture wax to them to keep them looking their best.

Three: Take Back My Closet. Since moving in, I've not had time to properly organize my closet the way I want to. I have wanted to make it more my own, but time and money was at a premium. Still kinda is, but I would love to organize it in a way that makes sense to me. And perhaps put in new sliding doors.

Four: Shelves and picture rails. I want to put up shelving so I finally can put up all the books I have collected over the years. And not some flimsy shelving, I want the sturdy floating shelves I had as a kid that were bolted to the wall. There's a lot of opportunity to make it look like a magical Tumblr Attic Loft and I want to put in picture rails so I can hang up my artwork and change it out on a whim. The Shelving is so I can go in and just relax, read, watch TV, or whatever I want when I want to. The picture rails I'll just paint the colors of my wall, but the shelves I want to match my furniture. Bright walls and dark furniture makes the brain go Brr in the best way.

So that's the feasible goals, the ones that may take time would require more money and time. I would LOVE to have a smaller bed to not make the room look so small. I also don't need that big of a bed; just a Full sized one would be enough for me. My current is a queen and it's too big for its own frame. A murphy bed would be awesome, but unfortunately concessions would have to be made. So for now I'm just waiting for the washing machine to finish and get a move on with laundry.

[bloodthreadshears]

Home Adventures: The Heart Chair

You know how some projects seem easy at first but turn out to be more difficult the longer you work on them? That's this project.

In short, this chair that my family call the Heart Chair has been in my family for decades. From Mama Shears tells me, she's not sure if Grandma Shears (paternal grandmother) got it from a yard sale or if Papa Shears built it. So those posts of me saying dad built it may be inaccurate, but it's hard to tell.

The one thing I do know is we use it for everything, stool, step ladder, I've used it while I would spin yarn, and many many other things. And it has seen better days.

For one, the stain on the chair had worn away from years of my family using it. The wood went grey on the seat from exposure. It was rickety from the nails coming loose, causing us to use a mallet to get it back into place. It would rock anytime you sat on it or used it as a step ladder. Last year the top where the heart shaped hole is broke off (I think the wood just said NOPE) and had to be hastily glued back. The bottoms of the chair were badly chewed up.

Needless to say, it needed some work.

After working on the desk I found on the side of the road, mom asked if I could do something about restoring/revamping the Heart Chair. I decided to give it a go, but not before finishing a table I salvaged to practice on for staining (That's another post for another time).

Initially, I was going to sand it down all together and stain it. Call it a day. However, since it was wobbly as hell, I made the decision to take it apart. You can imagine how shocked my parents were on that.

I had to carefully take out the nails, sand down the glue, and VERY carefully sand down the chair to the bare wood. After I did that, I had planned on using a darker stain than what it was originally. Mom asked if I could just keep it the same, I wanted it to match our furniture.

I did do a couple of passes of pre-stain conditioner after learning my lesson with the table to avoid splotches. Then, I did a test pass with Minwax's poly stain in Ebony. I thought it was nice, Mama Shears did not. Welp.

So I sanded it down again and this time I remembered to plug in any holes from years of use with a combo of wood glue, sawdust, and bamboo skewers so things would be secure. I used wood filler to fill in any cracks.

Then I did a pass in Minwax's Pecan color stain. There was still some evidence of the ebony in the cracks, but I just went "This is fine." I then saw splotches from the wood filler. Dammit.

I did my best to sand that out. I had this issue when I did the table. So after a couple of passes, I knew it was just gonna have to stay. Note to self: don't use that wood filler anymore.

So now, everything is out in the sun drying. The back is on it's first pass, the smaller pieces on their second. The pecan stain is taking very well. For the feet, I'll put in some felt protection to preserve the chair.

Photos to come when I can.

[bloodthreadshears]

Pax Unplugged Con Etiquette: Shears Edition

Well lookie there, I'm gonna be at PaxU! This is my first time going, and I'm excited to see all the cool things and meet all the cool people. And since a twitter (I refuse to call it X. No.) was doing that Things to Expect quote tweet, I figured I elaborate for folks on some Shears Etiquette aka rules of engagement with me in person. 240 characters was not gonna have enough context. So here's the basics:

The Basics

Pronouns: They/Them. I am non-binary, and will remind folks.

If I know you, and we have interacted long enough that I trust you: Just yell SHEARS!!! and I'll respond. I'm okay with that! Being in roller derby kinda conditioned me to that. So we're cool!

If I don't know you well: Please, please, please introduce yourself. I am very reserved in large crowds due to being Autistic (more on that in a bit). If someone comes at me and I don't know them I go into Freeze, Fight, and Flight-in that order.

Hugs are okay, but please ask and wear a mask. Mama Shears is immunocompromised, and I don't want to bring anything home that could make her sick. I will also not be removing my mask for photos.

The Advanced/Full Context

If I get overwhelmed, DO NOT TOUCH ME. No joke. Let me take some time to recharge my batteries. There's very few folks I allow to touch me (Hugs, arm around shoulders) when I'm in meltdown mode. Err on caution and ask first. Please be patient if I need space/quiet time. When I'm back to baseline, I'll let you know!

I often struggle to connect faces IRL to names. Just remind me who you are. It literally took me months to connect a friend's face to their name. Yes, that happened.

Being Autistic, I sometimes have a hard time with loud noises. So I may try to focus on what I want to do. But please don't let that put you off, I would love to chat! Just be respectful.

I'm there to have fun, and if you know any cool vendors to support let me know! I am a lover of a good bargain.

When I'm ready to move on, I Irish Goodbye fast. Like, fast. My ability is to navigate a crowd quickly and quietly. Please don't be offended if I do the goodbye of my people. *Laughs*

I get distracted and will infodump sometimes. Roll with it.

Most importantly, I'm just a random person on the internet. We all are! And as such, parasocial stuff happens. Know that we are all people, and don't really know each other very well. I am a fairly open book, but I share what I do because that is what I am willing to share.

Note: There's gonna be a streamed panel about parasocial relationships on friday talking about this. I highly recommend attending it if you are there Friday. If not, here's a link for an amazing roundtable on TheOperaGeek's channel.

Lastly, we're here to have fun! So here's to a fun weekend at Pax!

Love and Music,

Shears <3

[bloodthreadshears]

Home Adventures: It’s SO PRETTY

Short post but THE BATHROOM IS DONE!!!

It’s PRETTY! And ACCESSIBLE!!!! It’s got pretty grab bars with grippy pads on them!! It’s LORGE!!!

I cannot understate how sweet this bathroom is. It’s got a chair height toilet. Humidity sensor exhaust fan. Two shower heads-one for when you want to stand, the other for sitting. 

IT’S. SO. PRETTY!!!!

[bloodthreadshears]

House Adventures: The Contact Paper Saga

So I’ve made it known that I absolutely haaaate contact paper. More on the removal of it. Like, why. Dear gods, why.

A heads up: I will be swearing and this will be a rant. Long post incoming!

For those who don’t know what contact paper is, it’s kinda like wallpaper with very strong adhesive on it. It’s used as shelf liners (and occasionally wallpaper) as a quick way to line your cabinets. I get the why. It’s fast, cheap, and can come in an assortment of colors and patterns. And it can be easy to clean. 

But what happens when said paper is to be removed?

(Kagome from Inuyasha twitching her eye and hand in annoyance)

That is where my annoyance comes in. Unless you have a hair dryer to make things easier on you, you have to scrap that bastard out and it can take a while. And if it’s clear??? HAHAHAHAHA good luck. 

I had a busted shoulder (Sore as hell) after removing the clear contact paper from one shelf for over an hour. Took a spackle knife to it to dig it out. Granted, I managed to have some music on to keep focused and not want to say eff this halfway through. But holy shit. 

Ya know, I once thought of using contact paper as a improvised wallpaper to make the laundry room look nice. But now? No. Absolutely not. What the absolute hell was I thinking. 

But WHY was I removing it, when I could have just ignored it and went about my day? 

Food particles under the damn thing. It was driving me to distraction and annoying the hell out of me. My goal was to sterilize and disinfect the kitchen cabinets to my standards before lining the rest of the shelves. 

Since last Wednesday (at the time of writing this, I have rested up and recovered so I don’t do anything to my shoulder that would cause permanent damage. That is how bad and sore it was, neverminded the stress I was going through outside of that. Like, holy balls. 

I’m fully aware all the work I’m putting in will be done away once Mama Shears and I can afford to fully renovate the kitchen (Then I’ll be learning to make extra shelves and line those SOBs) but I want it to look pretty in the meantime. So that contact paper has to go! 

***

I’ll be talking more about my adventures in the new home here and on my ko-fi (On there I’ll post photos of my progress to paid supporters), so do expect to hear more when I have the spoons to do so. 

*Grabs spackle knife* I’m off to remove more of that stuff.