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Hobbies 2023/24

Andrew, my wife who is considered a master quilter and sewer advises that tatting is a form of crochet. Usually done with a small hook.
Not something I will get crotchey about :).

On the subject of small hooks, anyone used one of those hooks with a hinged piece closing the hook opening to make rugs. We used to have those bundles of pre cut coloured wool that we folded over the hook, pushed into a mesh sheet (sometimes with a printed picture on for colour guidance), and then did a sort of loop and pull (the hook, not me), to knot it in place. Hours of fun :(, and RSI.

Andrew.
 
Not something I will get crotchey about :).

On the subject of small hooks, anyone used one of those hooks with a hinged piece closing the hook opening to make rugs. We used to have those bundles of pre cut coloured wool that we folded over the hook, pushed into a mesh sheet (sometimes with a printed picture on for colour guidance), and then did a sort of loop and pull (the hook, not me), to knot it in place. Hours of fun :(, and RSI.

Andrew.
A latch hook, I believe, Andrew. I helped mom make Reddicut rugs from kits as a child. Or at least tried not to hinder her too much. We also had an older rag rug which had been made by knotting pieces of fabric through hessian. Derek
 
On the subject of small hooks, anyone used one of those hooks with a hinged piece closing the hook opening to make rugs. We used to have those bundles of pre cut coloured wool that we folded over the hook, pushed into a mesh sheet (sometimes with a printed picture on for colour guidance), and then did a sort of loop and pull (the hook, not me), to knot it in place. Hours of fun :(, and RSI.

Andrew.
my dad did he used a hook and wool off cuts to make rugs out of old sack bags when we was kids.
 
Not something I will get crotchey about :).

On the subject of small hooks, anyone used one of those hooks with a hinged piece closing the hook opening to make rugs. We used to have those bundles of pre cut coloured wool that we folded over the hook, pushed into a mesh sheet (sometimes with a printed picture on for colour guidance), and then did a sort of loop and pull (the hook, not me), to knot it in place. Hours of fun :(, and RSI.

Andrew.
Somewhere!
 
Tatting is done with a shuttle to make knots on a little loop and a very small hook for joining the loops together. I tried it but can't get it neat enough. It's for doilies and collars etc. I have a selection of shuttles in my needlework box though as I collect old sewing tools, darning mushrooms and thimbles.
rosie.
 
Seeing mwOnjm's photo of a bee in Our Garden section this morning brings back memories for me. My uncle was a member of the Birmingham University Microscopical Society and I used to spend hours with him in his little room full of microscopes looking at all manner of things. When I was able to buy a very small microscope I followed in his footsteps. Even cross sections of plant stems were a marvel in my eyes, and things like the miriad of hairs on a tiny flies legs caused me to marvel at nature
 
Seeing mwOnjm's photo of a bee in Our Garden section this morning brings back memories for me. My uncle was a member of the Birmingham University Microscopical Society and I used to spend hours with him in his little room full of microscopes looking at all manner of things. When I was able to buy a very small microscope I followed in his footsteps. Even cross sections of plant stems were a marvel in my eyes, and things like the miriad of hairs on a tiny flies legs caused me to marvel at nature
i loved looking at insects under the m untill it broke,i might invest in a new one its fasinating viewing
 
I had one bought me a few years ago that I could connect to the computer, but it was only cheap and the results were not good. If you are thinking of buying the 'old fashioned' type may I suggest you look on the auctioneers sites. I regularly look at Richard Wintertons site, based in Lichfield, and often see them on there. really top class and going for a pittance
 
Last Sunday we went to the excellent West Midlands Police Model Society show at the Tally-Ho club (I guess sadly the last time we will be able to do this). Here are a few photos of some of the excellent models on display - wish I could make mine as well as these!!

1695375238400.png
1695376838914.png
2 different 1:32 Lancaster Bombers - each has a wingspan of about 1m

1695376914897.png
Sea King Helicopter

1695376963206.png
Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster - the face colour is correct as this produced the correct shade of grey on the original B&W film

1695377075486.png
BR Wagon - possibly an Austin?? Help please folks!!!
1695377121809.png
Superbly weathered road digger

1695377199797.png
And Thunderbird 1 Launch Bay - complete with lemon sqeezer on back wall as per the original studio model set!
 
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Last Sunday we went to the excellent West Midlands Police Model Society show at the Tally-Ho club (I guess sadly the last time we will be able to do this). Here are a few photos of some of the excellent models on display - wish I could make mine as well as these!!

View attachment 184697
View attachment 184698
2 different 1:32 Lancaster Bombers - each has a wingspan of about 1m

View attachment 184699
Sea King Helicopter

View attachment 184700
Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster - the face colour is correct as this produced the correct shade of grey on the original B&W film

View attachment 184701
BR Scammell Wagon
View attachment 184702
Superbly weathered road digger

View attachment 184703
And Thunderbird 1 Launch Bay - complete with lemon sqeezer on back wall as per the original studio model set!
Mark, is this the last time for the show?
 
Last Sunday we went to the excellent West Midlands Police Model Society show at the Tally-Ho club (I guess sadly the last time we will be able to do this). Here are a few photos of some of the excellent models on display - wish I could make mine as well as these!!

View attachment 184697
View attachment 184698
2 different 1:32 Lancaster Bombers - each has a wingspan of about 1m

View attachment 184699
Sea King Helicopter

View attachment 184700
Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster - the face colour is correct as this produced the correct shade of grey on the original B&W film

View attachment 184701
BR Scammell Wagon
View attachment 184702
Superbly weathered road digger

View attachment 184703
And Thunderbird 1 Launch Bay - complete with lemon sqeezer on back wall as per the original studio model set!
That's not a Scammell but could be an Austin, regards, John.
 
As a cheaper alternative (the equivalent Canon lens is getting on for £3K) I bought one of these for my Canon DSLR:-
View attachment 179615
Comes with a 2x teleconverter, and you can get adaptors for most DSLR brands. Manual focus only - but that is better for telephotos I find. Quality is excellent for the (cheapish) price - this is a daytime hand-held shot of the moon:-
View attachment 179616

Or a night time hand-held shot of a crescent moon:-
View attachment 179617

With a tripod and the 2x teleconverter quality is also excellent:-
View attachment 179618
Bargain alert - this lens is currently reduced to only £103.20 in Amazons Black Friday sale:-
1700213324876.png
 
i bought 2 tri-ang power supplies for my models and they come with these 1960 plugs fitted :grinning:2 pin plugs.jpg
 
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i bought 2 tri-ang power supplies for my models and they come with these 1960 plugs fitted :grinning:
They look like continental SCHUKO type F plugs. Uses side contacts for ground rather than a socket mounted pin and a hole in the plug. I think Germany uses them, and possibly a few other places. They can also come with a hole for the grounding pin on a French socket, (type E), to make them compatible in both sockets, and are sometimes moulded on to euro electricals, to avoid different plugs for multiple markets, even though the F socket without the pin cannot be fitted over here.
Andrew.
 
They look like continental SCHUKO type F plugs. Uses side contacts for ground rather than a socket mounted pin and a hole in the plug. I think Germany uses them, and possibly a few other places. They can also come with a hole for the grounding pin on a French socket, (type E), to make them compatible in both sockets, and are sometimes moulded on to euro electricals, to avoid different plugs for multiple markets, even though the F socket without the pin cannot be fitted over here.
Andrew.
Andrew, I was wondering why there is a lack of standardization/commonization. Is it in part because the UK is using 220volt systems when most others are at 110volt?
Thanks,
 
Andrew, I was wondering why there is a lack of standardization/commonization. Is it in part because the UK is using 220volt systems when most others are at 110volt?
Thanks,
From memory, the UK was on 240v, and went down to 230 to make inter-continental connects easier. Over here we are on 230v. The issue with 110v is that current is doubled for the same work, and this is reflected in cable and connector pin sizing which is a physical constraint. (Think fuse wire thickness versus current rating). The advantage of the lower voltage is relative safety. I have seen 110v 'centre tapped to ground' supplies, where each pin is only 55v with respect to ground, and possibly more survivable.

The UK 3 rectangular pin system with long ground pin is safer in that the ground pin opens the socket shuttering meaning 2 things to poke in to electrocute yourself. The continental type opens the shutter with the active pins, so only one thing to poke into the socket to light yourself up. On the other hand, a 2 pin double insulated device goes into the same socket.

Standardiz(s)ation ! There is an old joke that there is a new standard needed to amalgamate the 10 standards currently in use. Now there are 11 standards.

Andrew.
 
From memory, the UK was on 240v, and went down to 230 to make inter-continental connects easier. Over here we are on 230v. The issue with 110v is that current is doubled for the same work, and this is reflected in cable and connector pin sizing which is a physical constraint. (Think fuse wire thickness versus current rating). The advantage of the lower voltage is relative safety. I have seen 110v 'centre tapped to ground' supplies, where each pin is only 55v with respect to ground, and possibly more survivable.

The UK 3 rectangular pin system with long ground pin is safer in that the ground pin opens the socket shuttering meaning 2 things to poke in to electrocute yourself. The continental type opens the shutter with the active pins, so only one thing to poke into the socket to light yourself up. On the other hand, a 2 pin double insulated device goes into the same socket.

Standardiz(s)ation ! There is an old joke that there is a new standard needed to amalgamate the 10 standards currently in use. Now there are 11 standards.

Andrew.
In the US on a grounded plug there is also a double check. The ground pin is longer than (usually) the left pin is long and wider, that also manages the polarity of the plug. Of course you can still buy some adapters to get around all of this.
Your standards comment reminds me of USB (universal serial buss) plugs. I thought that was a great idea. Now there is nothing universal about it. Our phones, both Apple have different USB plugs as do our ipads. My wife’s computer, an Apple has a different size than my Lenovo. They should call them SB plugs!
Thanks for your explanation!
 
Hi all.
My hobby is playing the ukulele. I started a club (Yardelele) in 2021 and had quite a few hiccups due to Covid ;)
If anyone is interested in coming along (Playing, watching, singing etc), we meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at Westhall Court, 1 Sheldon Heath Road, Yardley. It's not all George Formby, although I do like him myself. :grinning:
More info is available on Nextdoor or Facebook (Just search for 'Yardelele' in Groups...). Or send an email to; [email protected]

Be good, play nicely
 
Hi all.
My hobby is playing the ukulele. I started a club (Yardelele) in 2021 and had quite a few hiccups due to Covid ;)
If anyone is interested in coming along (Playing, watching, singing etc), we meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at Westhall Court, 1 Sheldon Heath Road, Yardley. It's not all George Formby, although I do like him myself. :grinning:
More info is available on Nextdoor or Facebook (Just search for 'Yardelele' in Groups...). Or send an email to; [email protected]

Be good, play nicely
“It’s Turned Out Nice Again!”
 
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