living vicariously

Here is what the backside looks like. OP notes this takes more fabric than paper piecing, but that excess fabric makes it already triple-layered. Besides not needing backing fabric, I don't think you'd need batting for this quilt at all. It's already thick and soft just from folding all that fabric into a hexagon.

Each hexagon begins as a 6" circle. camelscrafts does this by creating a paper template using a compass. According to the video, a 6" circle will create a hexagon that is 2.5 inches tall.

These hexagons are hand-sewn. Thread the needle.

With the fabric right side facing, find the center of the circle by folding it in half right sides together, then folding it in half again (wrong sides are facing). The top of the triangle shape is the center of the fabric circle.

Make a small stitch into the center of the fabric. The wrong side is still facing.

Unfold the circle. There will be a small stitch in the center.

Now the hexagon is created by folding the circle into itself: With wrong side facing, take the needle to one of the edges of the fabric (it doesn't matter which one). Pull the needle through and pull the thread tight. This will fold down the fabric and create an edge of the hexagon. Crease the fold with your finger.

This fold has two corners, one at the top and one at the bottom. Put the needle into one of the corners and pull the thread taut. This will create another fold.

Continue this going around the circle until all of it is folded down, creating the hexagon. camelscrafts notes that the last corner pulled in may be a little bit "wonky" (no precise point in the corner) if the corners were not done precisely. However, that corner is pulled into the back, so is not visible from the front.

The hexagon is now formed. Sew around the folds in the middle of the circle to hold the folds in place. Tie off and cut the thread.

scrap fabric in my stash:

this altered my brain chemistry

So Tierney mentioned in an interview that he didn't expect Hudson Williams to go big and dramatic with Shane's freakout after the dad caught Shane and Ilya together at the cottage. Tierney expected it to be more contained. He thought it was way too much at first, and that he'd have to edit most of it out, and it was only later, in the editing room, that he decided it worked.

The thing is that Shane does have a much more quiet, contained freakout later in the episode, in front of his parents — the kind of freakout that was probably closer to what Tierney was originally expecting, where he shrinks in on himself and hides his face and goes quiet and small.

The contrast between these two freakouts is so telling.

It's says so much about Hudson Williams' understanding of Shane, and his understanding of Shane's relationship with Ilya that he chose to go big and dramatic for Shane's initial freakout when he's alone with Ilya, and chose to shrink it down in front of Shane's parents.

It tells the audience that Shane doesn't feel like he needs to contain himself in front of Ilya. Shane feels like he's allowed to have the big dramatic meltdown in front of Ilya, without being afraid of what Ilya will think of him or wondering whether it will change the way Ilya sees him. Shane lets loose in front of Ilya in a way he would never allow himself to let loose in front of any of his other friends or loved ones. He allows himself to lean on Ilya.

And I think this, more than anything is what gives Ilya the confidence to invite himself to Shane's parents place and come out with him.

This vulnerabilty Shane shows Ilya when they're alone is what gives Ilya the confidence to stand beside Shane in front of Shane's parents in a Boston t-shirt and say that he and Shane are lovers, that his name is Ilya, not Rozanov, that he would love some more pasta and some more good Russian vodka, thanks. This is the reason Ilya can sit in the Hollanders' dining room like he belongs there, like the extra seat at the table exists specifically for him to fill.

Shane gave him this big, dramatic demonstration of complete, perfect, unconditional trust, to let himself lean on Ilya, to show Ilya this panicky, dramatic, uncontained side of Shane that no one else has ever been allowed to see.

And it's easy, after that, for Ilya to give Shane his complete, perfect, unconditional support in return.

Ilya doesn't have to question whether he's wanted by Shane, whether he's needed by Shane, whether he's a burden to Shane, whether he deserves Shane, or whether he's good for Shane. He knows.

Tutberidze's school and how they treated their young skaters left such a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn't bring myself to keep watching ladies figure skating. Frankly, after the disaster that was the Olympic 2022 (and everything before that, really), I was fairly certain I wouldn't go back to it. I haven't watched any competition since, not even in the other categories.

So I don't know what led me to watch tonight's event.

When I tuned in late in the event, it was to a skater I didn't know. Which is not that surprising, since I didn't know who was the favorite for tonight, or even who kept competing and who retired in the last 4 years. She was nice, attempted a quad but missed. What I was drawn to was her hands and arms; the way they moved constantly, mezmerizing dance that is usually almost forgotten by the other skaters. It's the kind of thing that made me fall in love with Yulia Lipnitskaya's skating, then Evgenia Medvedeva's. It brought a pang of bitterness, only intensified by the last spin — it was such a Yulia spin— and then I saw her coach. This man, still here and still doing the same bullshit. I hate them for teaching me to love something so pretty but that is built on so much violence and abuse. At least I got to appreciate his dejected face when they didn't place on the podium.

It gave me some peace to watch the Japanese skaters, jumping and dancing with ease, not overdoing it on dangerous jump sequences and being the top dogs anyway. I remember thinking, maybe the ladies figure skating had already started healing itself.

Then Alysa Liu took the ice. I had watched the video of her short program earlier and I had been very pleased with it. I had liked her early in her career, despite how similar she looked to the young Russian athletes, with the quads, the quick rise in the ranking— And then she retired at 16. I remember a sigh of relief and the thought of "Good for her!" because now there was no risk of watching her crash and burn. Seeing her come back on her own terms years later, healthy and happy, was probably what brought me back to this event. I wanted it to feel like watching Jason Brown: you know he most likely won't win, since he doesn't have all the fancy quads, but he is delightful to watch, has enough artistry to shame all the other skaters and a longevity on the senior level most could only dream of.

I didn't care if Alysa Liu didn't win; I just wanted to watch something enjoyable.

And boy. She skated like this was a party. Sassy but in control, efficient and careful. Free. Every twist and turn was saying "I'm doing this for the love of skating." Her body was the one of a woman, not some impossibly lean and unhealthy body that I kept seeing in competition back then. Her jumps were impressive and her technique brilliant, but there was no desperate reach for overly difficult jumps to try and go higher and higher. She didn't care about anything other than having fun. And the crowd was right there with her.

[record scratching] I suddenly very much cared for Alysa Liu winning that gold medal.

Because this is exactly what figure skating should be: healthy and carefree. I watched her and her fellow skaters hyping each other, laughing and crying together, supporting each other despite them being from different countries and it being the fucking Olympics. As the French commentators were saying, watching her skate didn't even make you feel tense or worried. At the last 2 Winter Olympics, everything was tension, worry, and then somehow even the gold medalist couldn't really be fucking happy. I left both feeling disgusted by how it turned out for those girls, and disgusting for having been there to watch it like I was supporting such a thing.

She won that gold medal and I could have weeped.

earlier this week Twitter user ppuccin0 tweeted about a fashion article that advised against tops with large floral patterns, saying the wearer was in danger of looking like a "ロマンティックおばさん," or a "romantic auntie." the tweet went viral with many agreeing that a "romantic auntie" sounded like a very nice thing to aspire to be, and some even posted illustrations or photos tagged with the trend

illustration by Toyota Yuu (author of Cherry Magic)

illustration by 141shkw/Sora Midori (author of Beautiful Curse)

photos by Takinami Yukari (author of Motokare Mania and Watashi-tachi wa Mutsuu Ren'ai ga Shitai or "We Want A Painless Romance")

illustration by m:m (mangaka of Matataki no End Roll)

illustration by ooinuai (mangaka of Onikui Kitan)

illustration by ma2 (mangaka of The Reason We Fall In Love)

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