Third Steppe from the Left

Style, or lack there of...

2010-03-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

I worked for 11 plus years in the environmental wastewater equipment field when I got out of college (where I was relatively recognizable, albeit for eclectic head wear), As you can imagine from both the waste and equipment in the former job description, there were days when what I wore to work was burnt as soon as I made it home. Clothing myself was an odd mix of being able to call on city managers and supervisors, and then needing to be able to crawl under a piece of heavy equipment to work on it, with these two things often happening within minutes of each other. Luckily, the company gave me a bit of a wardrobe budget for replacement clothing so I did not have too much of an issue with having a wardrobe.

What I did have a problem with is defining a personal style.
Mainly for two reasons:

1) The aforementioned job, of which allowed very little style other than business/ technician professional
2) The fact that I am a male of considerable size. 4 to 5 xl, depending on the cut of what ever it is.

"Where is this going?", you ask.

Well, for one (literally) due to the economy I am no longer working for said company, which is, of course, currently in this case both a blessing and a curse. However, it has left me with a wardrobe consisting of mostly ex-work garments, many of which either have my name and ex company logo on them, or have been used as a work garment, acquiring some minor damage. More importantly, and to get to the point of all this, I still lack a sense of personal style.

Granted, I purchased some of these items, and I like some of them. I just need to to figure out what to do with them...

So here it begins.

I am going to try to finally define and build what I want as a personal style (it only took 40 some years, but I got there). I have some solid pieces of wardrobe that I like and are not in too bad a shape that I can't work with them. I have an idea of where I would like to go with it, and some friends that can help me modify accordingly. More importantly, I don't have someone sitting over my proverbial shoulder telling me yes or no. My judge is me alone. I may fail mightily at some things, but a change must come. I need it. Badly. So...

The first project is going to be putting a rolled hem on my khaki BDUs. I have worn BDUs for years as they are comfortable and cheap (rephrase that to read inexpensive) as far a big wear goes, and at this point I don't think I can live without cargo pockets. I just want them to have a bit more 'formality' to them, and I have always liked rolled hems. Plus, if they look hideous, I can always straight hem them.

It is it a place to start. Small, but a starting point none the less. Attempting this style thing, no, doing this, is surprisingly important to me for some reason. Even if I decide that I have it all wrong.

Those who I don't get to see regularly, I will keep you informed through images.

I have so felt this way....

2009-10-26T15:07:00.000-04:00

Dude, I know. I know...

Sigh.

wierd

2009-10-01T16:18:00.002-04:00

I don't know why, but for the last 2 days I have felt...well...empty. Not in a ennui kind of way. Literally hollow, empty. No particular reason. Its not sorry-for-myself type stuff, week-back-after-vacation stuff (after all I spent my vacation at home doing school work), or loneliness. I just feel physically empty (and yes, I have eaten lunch).

WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-19T11:10:00.002-04:00

I have called the entire north american continent (yes folks, us and canada, they don't have a rep in mexico) to find these damn parts. EVERYONE is waiting for the parts shipment from Italy, which is due in September. I personally would loose my job for not maintaining stock properly. At least my customer is understanding. So far...

Brainstorm!

2009-06-19T12:32:00.002-04:00

ouuuuuuuuh!

Did I just get an idea!

Based on the end of the previous post, how about a jabberwocky hunt? It could be set up like a sporting clays shoot with participants having to move to different stations and hit a moving target at each one. There are a bunch of models to design from, including a competitive woods shoot that they still do in actual airgun competitions. Space to do it would be the main issue.

Could be fun. Hey, you safari types!

Extra points for steampunk paintball or airsoft guns, but you can use what you have. Different categories maybe?

Steampunk guns

2009-06-19T12:16:00.002-04:00

Well, it has happened. I finally got off my buttox and started to make to damn things.

Let me rephrase that. I have started to pull the materials together. I already had a pistol, but now I have a long gun to mod. Big deal, you say. Everyone is moding guns, you say.

Yes, but as I said before somewhere on this blog thing, I am making them work.

Now granted, I have no way of making miniature leyden spheres, but I can make the guns.

What in the name of the sacred bean are you talking about you loon, you ask.

Well, to recap, I am building a steam/diesel transitional persona based on the vernsian.
The guns in 20,000 leagues were air guns that shot miniature leyden (look it up you lazy bums) spheres. What is the modern equivalent...paintball guns. Air guns that shoot spherical objects.

BA AAAAAAAAAAH!

So, I have an old paintball pistol that is still functional that I will be steaming out, and I have just found a tippman a-5 used that I will be modding. I have found a company that already makes custom weapon shrouds for the mil-sim people and they have one that I can screw around with to get the effect I want. Then it is just accessorizing.

Isn't it always down to the acessories?

Did I mention that they will still be functional paintball guns when I am done? Anyone up for a steampunk paintball team?

Again with the changing!

2009-06-16T15:58:00.002-04:00

Yep, Again.

What I am going to be adapting to now is a more pan polynesian persona. 5 bucks 5 bucks. Sorry.

I can work with this. It just brings me back to the Maori thing. Not that I have a problem with that mind you. It seems to be the stuff that WANTS to be made, as it keeps falling into my lap. I just don't want to be monotonous. I also don't want to piss anyone off.

For those of you who don't know me, and most of the people who would see me in this stuff and get excited wouldn't know me or my background (and honestly not even care), I am a LARGE white guy, who for the almost 3 years before he moved to Atlanta, spent at least 5 nights a week and most of the weekend with Kalena's Polynesian Ohana, a hula school in Orlando, drumming for Tahitian, doing Wero (Maori challenge), and hanging out with my Samoan, Hawaiian, and Chamorro family. I miss them like gangbusters. I have never come across such a strong sense of family and community in my life. I am proud to be able to say I am a part of it, even after so much time.

And if any of you out there have a problem with a fat haole, palagi, pakeha, or...whatever dancing and drumming, get out and do it yourself.

ALOOOOOOHA!

2009-05-11T23:02:00.002-04:00

I Think I finally managed to figure out what I am going to do with my steampunk hawaiian. I have been focused on trying to make a shark tooth knife for so long that I have lost track of other projects, since I haven't the tools, but have the teeth, to create the thing. It has been stagnating. Plus, I have had a time documenting and, more importantly, remembering, the proper pronunciation of the submarine's name. But things may change here soon.

1) Found a place on ebay that I can order CLEAN swordfish bills out of which I can make daggers.
2) I can remember how to pronounce a'u which happens to be the hawaiian for swordfish (vowels are suprisingly like spanish and a vvowel typically indicates a sylable break, so it is two sylables)

So, projects adapt. HEE!

Mea Culpa.

2009-05-04T17:23:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I know.

Okay, enough of that. Okay. Well there have been some changes in the old Yul's internet presence...
I have succumbed to Facebook.

Yea how the mighty have fallen. Yadda, yadda.
Enough.

Okay, need to get this thing back on track. Projects need to get posted, since I have them again.

Working on:
mongol belt, as I have finally gotten the knife to go with.
Name- Passed, now arms?
Needle felted alien space tentacle...getting there.
Car fixed...trying to figure out if I want to splurge for the off road bumper I have always wanted (not Cheap)
Ring...waiting to see Bob about stones.

As they happen there will be updates, finally. I promise.

Latest project

2008-10-19T20:52:00.005-04:00

I always joked about the therapeutic value of needle felting. You just think of it as someone's eyeball. So for the upcoming holiday...

Since this I have finished the hazel one.

yeah, its scary

2008-07-01T18:20:00.002-04:00

Lke i said before, sometimes it just drops into my lap.

I just found a history of the military of sovereign Hawaii.
With pictures.

Just what I need. If I can interlibrary loan it. or just come up with $18.

Sorry about the delay

2008-07-01T15:59:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the delay all you peoples out in cyberland. I have been busy. Unfortunately not with fun projects, but that will be changing.

There is a new live
journal community in town. Specifically, TerminuSteam, for the Atlanta, GA area. I have fallen into the rabbit hole/thing I usually do when I get obsessed with something and it all seems to want to come together. It is rather frightening.

But I digress.

This gives me many more projects to do, of which it seems I already have 90% of the materials to do so. This is a major rarity. Especially since it allows me to do something kind of neat. At the meetup we had for terminusteam I was rather (I apologize now) jealous of some of the AMAZING props that came with people. I was actually thinking of trying to fall into my old pattern of not doing anything because it would not be as neat as some of the stuff I had seen out there in cyberland and up close. But then, with the illustrious help of Mr. J. Verne, and my inherent pack-rat nature, I had an epiphany. Yea, my stuff may not look as cool...but I can make it OPERATIONAL. No I won't be making steel shrouded Leyden spheres, but i have the working air gun that would launch them. Oh and for ranging to target (will get to that later) I already own a visual range finder! Just need to punk it out!

It may not be all brass and shiny gages, but it WORKS! For REAL!

Life can be fun sometimes!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 'puff, puff, AAAAAAAAAAH! They're here!

2008-05-12T15:34:00.003-04:00

They're here!They're here!They're here!They're here!They're here!

What you may ask? Come on, I know you wanna. Come on. Ask.

PLEEEEEEZE? I'llbeyourbestfriendforeverandwecanplaygameandcampoutandfishand...

'SMACK'

Now, that that's over, may I introduce my new set of vintage (Sounds odd I know. Go with it.) 1950s faux alligator luggage.

Unfortunately they had already auctioned off the matching briefcase, but I got the three others. It cost me more to get them here than total I paid for them.

Oh and did I mention that they're wardrobe cases.

HEE!
Interior pics to follow.

Ipod Cozy

2008-05-12T15:22:00.002-04:00

Okay, Okay. I know I don't actually own an Ipod. I have a creative zen M. But it needed a pouch as it was getting bounced around in my briefcase.

The "front"

The "back"
Whatever the roving that Megan (yes that Megan. She of the amazing giving me of stuff.) had I need to know what the fiber was. The blue felted like a dream.

Project Update

2008-05-12T15:16:00.002-04:00

It seems that trying to make 9 little things takes longer than 1 big (yea, I know alot of you out there are saying "DUH"). Here are the completed 9 belt plaques for those of you who are interested. Sorry about focus...still learning an automatic camera. How is that?

Belt

2008-04-14T10:57:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to come up with some way to make mongolian belt plaques for my belt. I had ordered some 1 inch from a really well known company on line, and they were beautiful. Unfortunately, they were really 3/4 inch instead of 1, and since I put them somewhere safe (so safe that I can even get to them right now...no they're not lost, they're hiding!), I will be using them on some other project'ing in the future. I have been contemplating making metal ones with cut outs or etching, but that would envolve a set of tools and skills I have yet to aquire. So I was at an impasse.

Then it hit me ( It was nice. Honestly, had it been me, I would have hit me harder.)

Why not needle felt them, stupid. You won't have to worry about the metal bending and breaking (much like my circlet at the event this weekend), and you can make them any size you want, with any design you want. More importantly, you have the skills and the MATERIALS sitting next to you (which I did at the time).

SO...

here are the first three. I decided I wanted something simple for right now, since it IS an experrrriment and I need to make about twelve of them. They are 2"x3" and I can sew them directly onto a leather belt.

Papa's got a brand new bag

2008-04-11T12:29:00.002-04:00

I was running out of space in my old bag:

old army 3 fold medical bag

So I went looking for something bigger. I have always wanted a big messenger bag, and at a local bike shop I found what Iwas looking for
.
How big is it you ask? Well:

The big green bag on the right is my OLD bag. The new bag is a CHROME Kremlin and is 3000 cubic inches my friends.
Fully loaded with ALL my roving (including the stuff I had to take out of my old one when I FIRST ran out of space) and tool bag.

Now, I need to find out if I can needlefelt it as the liner is free floating and yes, I can get a pad in between.

quick project

2008-04-11T12:26:00.002-04:00

I did a quick little pouch to hold my astrolabe and the supporting infosheet.

The front

The flap and the back, with astrolabe.

The smoking cap

2008-04-09T09:06:00.005-04:00

For Dragon-con a number of us were going as a twisted Alice in Wonderland group (unfortunately due to work schedule...you know the rest) and I was to be caterpillar. After looking at some classic illustrations of said character, and practicing my "And Who are YOU?" ala Disney, I started on my costume.

This was going to be my smoking cap for the costume. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wear it anyway. Damn, damn it to heck. (GRIN)

I hand needle felted the entire thing. The cool thing was just as I was considering needing a hat form to round the top, someone gave me one. Yea for Megan!

Me and said hat. (God, I so look like a younger version of my grandfather!)

new camera

2008-04-08T17:33:00.002-04:00

As the title states, I now have a new camera that will be dedicated to my work bag (of which I have a new one of as well). So, pictures and words forthcoming, as I get re organized to do this.

ow, stop it with the hitting...

2008-04-07T18:08:00.003-04:00

I have been inform'ed that I have been lax in my updating of this bloggish endevour. I admit that I have not been...well, overly abundant with the project info, but in my defense, I have never been a diarist (that and I keep leaving my camera at home). I apologize.

The steampunk watch.

2007-12-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about watches the other day as the steampunk forums were going crazy about some new skeleton watches that were out on the market. A skeleton watch for those not in the know is a watch in which the movement is visible. But the new watches they were discussing.... not cheap by any means, so I hit ebay. I actually wanted a transitional wristwatch with a top crown. Before the wristwatch became what it is today, they used to take pocketwatches and mount loops on the case for a band to pass through. Then when a pilot or airship captain needed to check the time, he did not need to take his hand off the wheel to check his pocket watch. But when I saw the prices on the ones I could find.... my rememberances of wayward youth started to de-frost/fog and I remembered my old pop swatches.

They had a top crown because you coud pop them out of the holder and wear them as a pocket watch or a lapel watch if you had the clips for that. And they made skeleton movements. So after ripping my storage closet apart trying to find my old classic, ebay awaited.Eight bucks later (with shipping) I had an eighties (that's 19-80s for you jokers out there) flashback sitting on my desk. A skeletonized one at that. But what to do with it? It didn't really look all that steampunk at this point. WeeeeeeL....Needlefelting to the rescue!

I figured that if you were up in a cold gondola under a big explosive bag of gas you would probably want something warm. But this is only the beginning. I found a website that I can buy old pop swatches from europe. What I am going to do is use this as the band but the watch is going to be a pocketwatch. There is a retro popswatch that looks like an old train conductors watch that will go on this band. Why two watches you ask?

The wristwatch will be set to greenwich mean time, the pocketwatch to local.

Back for more.

2007-12-13T12:48:00.001-05:00

I have new roving. Nylon of all things. It will needle to itself and other items, providing the ability to create jewel and luster tones. It is neat stuff. I have:
Jade

Gingerbread
and Stormy Sea
The pictures don't really do justice to them. but you can do effects like I did on this pouch with them and it looks VERY deco if not tiffany studio-esque.

ugh.

2007-11-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

I have a problem.

I keep giving people stuff before I have a chance to take pictures of it. I need to get a small, cheap, digital camera to keep in my work bag. What is the use of this blog thing if I can't post pictures of what I'm doing?

Nell's camera case

2007-11-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

This just happened to fit her camera perfectly. And her birthday was coming up...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!

2007-11-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

I knit.

I have been assimilated.

Resistance was futile.

Damn, Damn it to heck.

At least now I can have a greater colour choice with what I am doing. It will allow for stronger projects as well (in theory).

Plus, I learned today that I can needle felt applique on a cotton hoodie. Yea for books!

small stuff...bigger

2007-11-07T16:59:00.000-05:00

My second bag is just a bit bigger. Same technique. To get the finer lines for outlining, I "unplied" the yarn and used single or double plies in places. The brown corner is where I demoed the technique for someone at Knitch. Oh well. I use it as a tool bag.

Small stuff

2007-11-07T16:54:00.000-05:00

My first small bag. I wanted something that looked like a printed circutboard. This was a test of colour really. I think it will work. The lines are wool yarn, again. My first attempt at felting the seams shut as well.

The bag

2007-11-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a messenger bag when I get done with it. The picture shows the front flap.

My first major project is going to be mostly applique work (at least that's what I call this) so I wanted to see how it worked on a larger scale. The base is a russian 100% wool army blanket i purchased.

The central design is supposed to be a dorje, a buddhist thunderbolt. I did it from memory, freehand, if that explains why.

2007-11-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

Second attempt... same as the first!
The small circles on this and project one are actually small balls I felted on. I needle felted the base and then did the purple. black outline on this is black wool yarn. On the first it is actually pulled roving.

2007-11-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

On with the project pics...

Attempt one:

I basically wanted to just get used to the material. It isn't anything specific.

Oh, well.

2007-11-05T18:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally have enough roving that I had to reorganize my bag and take some out. I also removed some tools that I really don't use much now. I'll guess I'll just have to put together a demo bag or something....

Oh, shucks.

I am so put out (tee hee).

My problem is that I love this woman's roving, but you can only purchase it in a 2 oz. multi colour pack. Only ONE colour series has the red I want.

http://www.leighradford.com/wool2Cart.html

Inspiration

2007-11-04T21:10:00.001-05:00

I have always admired the work of Leon Bakst(1866-1924), a Russian painter, costumer, and set designer. Probably most famous for his work with Ballets Russes on the set and costume design for Scherherezade, I would really like to be able to become good enough to produce some of his patterns in my work.

For examples see:

My photobucket album:

http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g215/iaymael/Leon%20Bakst/

And Fine Art Museums of San Francisco Image Base:

http://search.famsf.org:8080/search.shtml?artist=Bakst

First time

2007-11-02T19:15:00.000-04:00

Screw gentle. Dive in headfirst, that's me!

Well, apparently this is the inaugural post of the Third Steppe from the Left.

I have to apolgize beforehand...I have never been good at this journaling thing.

But as EVERYBODY seems to do this now a days...Bandwagon!

This is mostly going to be felting projects and the odd "other" projects page. I getting sick of myspace, and most everyone I know has sort of grown out of it. SO....

Here I is.

Teehee.