Craft: Ye Olde pen and ink

Work and other general life has ramped up, therefore, the B&W&P dress remains unhemmed. Soon, I hope.

As a break during work, I've picked up a calligraphy pen again. I took the first class in 3rd grade (hated the class, but found the calligraphy fascinating). My Chancery font (the common, slanted one) has always been terrible... just can't keep the slants consistent. My Gothic and Unical fonts (the Germanic and Irish-ish ones) are pretty good, though. I need to re-find my copy of the Speedball (yes, as in pen) textbook. So many ways to write an "S"!

Following the realization that letters could look different from the Printing Teacher's directions, I have consciously changed my handwriting three times in my life. I've also taken steps to make sure that my signature is something that I think looks good (and is legible). Guess I'm kinda bragging there...

There's a couple of links on the side of this page for beautiful works of calligraphy from different cultures, like China and Arabic Ottoman and Persian. Completely amazed by some of the zoo-graphical Arabic designs. This link is cool hand-lettered manuscripts from all over. John Langdon does "ambigrams" (the words that look the same upside down), and shows how to create them.

I've also just found this really neat blog on calligraphy. No, not just the thick-thin-lines calligraphy, but the more general use of the word, which applies to writing and communication in general, also including history of the art and accouterments. Check out The Calligraphy Alphabet.

Things that get me going

Cleverness and tradition. For the most part, these terms are probably considered unrelated and/or exclusive.

A friend posted an article containing furoshiki links to her Facebook page (which I will re-post here).

So, waaay back when, just what did they use instead of kerbillions of plastic bags? Why, cloth! Such a novel concept! And sooo eco-friendly! And when you've unwrapped your present, you can stuff your new handkerchief in your pocket and use it to wipe your nose.

I'm not sure why this simple square of fabric has its own name (furoshiki), but it probably means it won't be your next snot-wiping hankie. They also seem to be pretty large, thereby making a useful bag once tied. There's a tutorial for sewing the edges of furoshiki (I might keep this in mind for sewing a set of napkins). The Japanese environmental ministry has a pdf of how to fold furoshiki for various-shaped contents. And there's YouTube videos demonstrating tying the bags (this one shows three ways).

Am I the only one who thinks that a length of black satin could turn into an evening bag?