iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

I have spent the last hour painstakingly trying to type something up on a typewriter for a rehearsal tonight bc I'm not well enough to get to the library and I have no printer, and some crucial part of my typewriter has just broken D:

A photo of the inside of a typewriter, beneath the carriage. A flywheel is visible with a snapped piece of thread coming off it

100

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

So the half of the post that said that refrigerating the batter would fuck it up was correct

eight very thin overlapping green discs on a baking tray. They do not even slightly resemble macarons.

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

I'm listening to a Lord Peter radio play (The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club) with Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter. Since my childhood introduction to Carmichael was the 1983 Wind in the Willows, I'm amusing myself by imagining Lord Peter like this:

Ratty from the 1983 Cosgrove Hall stop motion Wind in the Willows. He's an anthropomorphic water rat wearing a soft blue jumper/sweater and a spotted cravat.

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

I really, really can't just stay up all night ‘just this once’.

Screenshot of a sleep tracking app, showing the sleep debt gathered from September until now in February: it's a sharp downward slope past the ninety hours mark.

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

May I recommend... (it's Bluetooth)

A tiny keyboard which is solely the numpad and immediately surrounding keys

110

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

I love this dish, ‘Bottom half of waffle with blueberries and scattered crispy squares of waffle'

Demolished waffle as per the skeet itself.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

"Non-stick" was the greatest lie ever told.

A plug-in waffle iron with the top plate still mostly covered by the top half of a waffle.

The same waffle iron several agonising minutes later, with the outside of the top half of the waffle removed, but a few tenacious squares still clinging to their central piece of baked good

100

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

It's pretty regular that Australia helps, especially since our fire seasons are at opposite parts of the year. It's so regular that iirc the two countries share firefighting equipment in common. No idea if that will happen this time since this fire is during *our* fire season.

A screenshot of the website My Fire Watch, with a map of Australia covered in many small red and orange dots, to show where there's a fire.

131

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Every time I see an American write a couplet that *does not work* in my English, I'm reminded of David Crystal’s work in reconstructing the Shakespearean/Early Modern English accent, which was partly done through looking at rhyming poetry. (This couplet is from the latest Discord update.)

A screenshot of a rhyming couplet that reads: 'Is your phone a square? A Rectangle? An oval?/Our app better adapts to many shapes on mobile.'

350

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

It's a long way from done, but the end is in sight.

The white silk back piece for a waistcoat. The centre seam has been nearly finished, as has the top and bottom hems. The armscyes are as yet unfinished, and it is not sewn to the fronts of the waistcoat as yet.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I've spent the last couple of days making a start on the finalFINALwaistcoat3(thisone)2.jpg. As predicted, the fact that there's no stripes and the silk's not shredding itself to oblivion at the edges, the difficulties the silk itself presents feels very surmountable.

Two white silk front pieces of waistcoat, one with a visible welted pocket, basted with pink thread. One piece shows the armhole in the middle of being whip stitched to the interlining fabric.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The waistcoat is taking shape! I'm probably going to start the actual thing tomorrow, since I'm short on time. At least the difficulties of this fabric (stripes, fraying) means that I'm far more sanguine about working in silk next.

One half of a waistcoat front, still unattached from the rest of the garment. It has a shawl collar, a deep U-shaped front, and a welted pocket, and is made of a brown fabric with alternating orange, red, and dark brown stripes.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I've been dragging my feet on starting this because the fabric was $$$*, and I've not made a tailored waistcoat, or a welted pocket before. I decided last night to not just make a toile but also a trial run. Et voila, baby's first welted pocket. *I'm on a pension, so this is relative

A welted pocket being held open showing an orange lining

An unfinished waistcoat front with graduated stripes of brown, red and orange, and a welt with stripes carefully matched 2/3 of the way down.

130

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I just opened the curtains in the bedroom to discover this door bump on the sill. Where did it come from? There are no doors anywhere nearby whence it might have fallen. And I live alone.

A small transparent soft sticky bump of the kind affixed to walls or doors to protect them from collisions sits on a white window sill upside down.

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

So I spent several hours drafting the shirt today. Had to stop after that because I don't have a working printer, which means I'll need to attempt a library trip soon. I forgot to take a screenshot before shutting the computer down for the night, but this is the diagram:

A diagram from an antique tailoring manual for a ‘yoked and fronted shirt’. The diagram has measurements on it to give an idea of how to draft, as well as an illustration of what the shirt would look like made up.

100

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Finally got down to some #sewing tonight and had the muslin made up. Needed a little taking in, but mostly pretty good! Next I need to buy fabric.

A white man with short curly hair and a van dyke beard taking a selfie in a mirror. He wears black trousers, a green floral shirt, and a formal waistcoat made of muslin, with no visible buttons.

1140

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I've got the pattern printed and pieced together, but now I'm staring at it while my brain whispers that if we never start cutting and #sewing, we’ll never find out that it doesn't fit

Three waistcoat pattern pieces (front, back, and collar) lying on a blue tablecloth.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

I'm coping v badly with the heat today, so I made A Drink.

A glass with purple flowers on with a darker purple liquid inside.

320

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

I found 1920s drafting instructions, so I've done a first draft. Let me tell you, this is a lot easier using pattern CAD software than the period techniques using a graduated ruler. Next: a library trip to print it. Then it's muslin time.

Scan from the Progressive Tailor of the Waldorf Full Dress Vest instructions with diagram

Screenshot from Seamly2D of a drafted formal waistcoat

020

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

This guy gets me. (from the 1920 Progressive Tailor magazine.)

A chap with a cigarette holder clenched in his teeth wearing a stylish lounge suit with a full skirt and wide trousers. There is inexplicably a goldfish bowl avec fish on a decorative pillar nearby. The caption reads, 'to the chap who lingers "late o' mornings" in his chambers this chic lounge suit of maroon towelling will prove a boom "sans alloy".' (possibly means a boon? dunno what sans alloy means.)

120

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Reading a 1918 tailoring magazine sure is instructive about fashion and social history. I'm guessing this is when the tuxedo overtook tails in popularity for the first time.

A cartoon from 1918 with four male figures. The heading is Keeping Clothes (Close) to War-Time Rations. The first man is plump with a patchwork waistcoat and a cigar, labelled 'old scraps make fancy vests'; the second man is in eveningwear but with a tuxedo jacket instead of tails, and says 'no more tails with evening dress'; the third man is scruffy with a patched coat, with the label 'He'll be glad to wear any old thing'; the fourth is a boy in a newsboy outfit labelled 'What about me?'

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Anyway I have the choice: follow modern mores or buck fashion and choose an old fashioned DB. The odds are good that I'll be the only person in white tie, so it's not as though I need to blend in. There is a DB I like the look of, tho not with good instructions, and maybe SB is better for summer?

A picture of four dress vests from a UK drafting manual. The first is a standard single breasted; the second is double breasted 'heart shape', with five buttons in a v shape; the third is a plain double breasted, and the fourth is an unofficial court dress vest, which is single breasted, and does not have the low U-shaped neckline.

100

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

I want to draft a formal waistcoat for my sister's wedding. It's a good excuse and I have all these antique tailoring manual scans. A modern website said SINGLE BREASTED ONLY for white tie, which seemed odd, since every manual had single- and double-breasted versions. Found this from a 1918 mag:

A table of dress guidelines, cropped to the Evening Dress part. In the Evening Wedding, Ball, Reception, Formal Dinner, Theatre line has the waistcoat guidelines: White silk single or double breasted with semi U shape opening

120

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

If you mute words that are making up about 60% of your timeline, it turns out that the Bluesky app does not appreciate it. Warning for flashing.

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Name a TV show you're positive no one remembers but you

Image of what looks like a junk shop with "T. Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom" overlaid as a title card

120

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Also the people writing the how to vote instructions have definitely met people with ADHD before.

A list of how to vote instructions. The circled one at the bottom is number 5: "Post it straight away".

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 02/03/2024

This was my second attempt at setting up this phone today 🙃 On the plus side, I guess it's giving me more motivation to troubleshoot why my Android suddenly stopped letting me make or receive calls

Two iPhones, one older that says "Enjoy your new iPhone" on it, the other which says "Data Transfer Cancelled. Reset iPhone to start setting it up again."

100

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 22/01/2024

Listening to the Behind the Bastards episode on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and boggling at the bosses Blanck and Harris complaining that people weren't seeing them as workers any more now that they were *oppressing* the workers, instead of even once going

Screenshot of David Mitchell in a Nazi officer uniform with the caption Are We The Baddies?

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 11/01/2024

I should possibly close the Apartment Therapy tabs I have open, because I’m contemplating making a list of the unhinged things they recommend. This is my new favourite one, which is so incredibly applicable to every renter who only has a shower, and won't look dated within six months at all:

Screencap of an article with the text:
“Let’s get rid of shower caddies,” says Dallas-based designer Traci Connell. “These items are inexpensive and unnecessary for an organized life.”

A built-in tiled niche for all of your toiletries may be a pipe dream that requires a gut reno, but other caddy alternatives are within reach. Instead Connell recommends investing in a teak or water-resistant stool to park in an empty corner near your shower, as seen in the bathroom above, or an over-the-tub tray that marries form with function.

000

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 11/01/2024

I'm back semi hate reading Apartment Therapy today, and IN WHAT WAY IS PALE PINK BEING BOLD WITH YOUR BEDDING.

A section of an Apartment Therapy article with the subhead 5. Be a little bolder with your bedding below a set of pale pink sheets in – naturally – a blank white space

010

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 04/10/2023

oh lovely!! No basil here yet, although I ought to plant some in my tiny hydroponic thing for when it starts to warm up. I went with Tuscan kale pesto, and added charred red capsicum & zucchini. (No toms in house & I'm not meant to eat them anyway.)

Spelt spaghetti with kale pesto and red capsicum & zucchini

120

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 24/09/2023

I made a mid-century gingerbread house last Christmas, which I was just telling @mostlymartha.bsky.social about

A gingerbread house in the shape of a mid-century A-frame house, with a green Fruit Tingle on the door as a wreath, and a couple of gingerbread Christmas trees resting against it

The back of the gingerbread house, showing an open square through which a couple of electronic tealights can be seen. Above the square is a couple of jubes cut into a rose-window style shape of a red centre and four semi-circle 'petals' around it

The front of the gingerbread house, showing off the coloured-sugar stained glass windows, which are lit up.

Another view of the gingerbread house, so you can see the roof tiles drawn on the enormous roof in white royal icing.

230

Dorian @sin-de-siecle.bsky.social · 10/09/2023

Using an image, show a movie that you are sure you have watched more than 10 times.

A still from Clue (1985) of several characters (Plum, Mustard, Peacock, Scarlet, White, Green) standing in a kitchen and looking concerned.

000