How's Robb?

... Like so many people, I've been making masks to wear when I leave the house.  California is now requiring them, which seems like a prudent decision. I often have to wear different kinds of protective masks at work, so I have strong opinions on how a mask fits my face.  I wanted a mask that had both nose and chin shaping, and that had straps that did not go all the way around the back of the head.  (I have a lot of hair, which doesn't work well with this style of strap.) This is the style I settled on.  It has a dart for the nose, and two darts under the chin.  I think it's both face-shaped and not overly bulky.  It also uses a minimal amount of fabric, which lets me use of the scraps that I've been incapable of throwing out over the years.  It's nice to finally make something out of this material. This is the pattern I used.  The video is Thai, but it's very easy to follow, as all the dimensions are notated in Arabic numbers.  Ther

... Every spring, for years and years, I've hosted an egg decorating party. I hosted this party in Baltimore, in Hartford, and the Bay Area.  I've taught friends the traditional craft of wax-resist, which is typical of Easter eggs decorated in Eastern Europe.  When the party grew too large (and messy) to host at my home, I moved it to the studio where I work. It has always been a joy to teach this craft to my friends.  Even people who are convinced they're not creative end up making wonderful miniature artworks. Some folks follow traditional forms, while others invent their own forms. It's lovely to see everyone socializing and making things. I 'm always impressed by the variety of designs that everyone creates.  Each these eggs were decorated with an entirely different approach, and each is delightful.  There really is no right or wrong way. I particularly enjoy photographing the eggs, using whatever my friends brin

... During this time of pandemic lockdown , when we humans are all hunkered down in our homes, nature continues to go about its business. When we venture out into the world, we are obliged to stay far apart from one another, but the same rules do not apply to bees.  Swarms of bees that are protecting their precious queen are going to stick close together. My friend Lori contacted me yesterday to let me know that one of her colonies of bees had "thrown off" a swarm, and to ask if I wanted it to replace the colony I'd lost. We talked through the logistics of maintaining appropriate distance between us, in preparation for collecting the swarm that had landed in her neighbors' apricot tree.  Greg and Lori live on one side of this hedge, and the bees had flown over to the neighbors' yard. Bay Area residents are now required to wear face masks when we go out in public, and Lori and I wore our masks under our beekeeping hoods.  It was all very wei

... Every year, I grow fennel in my tiny backyard garden. Fennel is a host plant for anise swallowtail butteries, which means that the female butterflies lay their eggs on these particular plants. Because I'm a bit of a lunatic, I keep a very close eye on my fennel plants, and if I find any butterfly eggs or caterpillars, I move them into a protective tank, to allow them to grow unmolested by predators.  The caterpillars grow, and change form dramatically several times, before eventually enclosing themselves in chrysalises. Typically, it takes a couple of weeks for butterflies to emerge from their chrysalises.  When they do, their wings are crumpled and feeble, completely incapable of flight.  It's easy to think that something has gone terribly wrong, and that the butterfly will never survive.   Patience is required at this point.  The butterfly has to summon its strength and use its own innate ability to inflate its own wings.  This can take

At this time of pandemic lockdown, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to focus on new projects. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Instead of beating myself up because I'm not being wildly productive, I'm finding solace in repairing damaged things.  I realize that this is an almost laughable metaphor, and I'm okay with that. Today's project was a wool skirt that I'd bought at a Great Bay Area Costume Guild sale.  The skirt was beautifully made, but had a bad tear, right on the front. The previous owner had attempted to repair the damage with an iron-on patch, but for whatever reason, the torn part did not adhere to the reinforcement.  When I bought the skirt, I planned to darn the hole.  But instead, I stuck the skirt on my Pile of Denial, where it sat for longer than I'd care to admit. Initially, I thought I'd harvest some threads from the skirt, and use those threads to re-weave the rip.  This turned out to be imp

As folks may know, I have an amazing job where I run the scenic painting studio for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California. We build massive, ambitions stage sets for the shows we present.  My team is in charge of all the surface treatments of the scenery we put on stage. This includes so much more than just painting.  We might find ourselves helping to build trees, by coming up with techniques for attaching foliage to custom-built structures. Or we might be tasked with making brand-new beautifully built steel grates look old and crusty. This is just the first layer in this process. We applied a primer to the steel our co-workers had welded into gates, then applied lots of gloppy texture, and then painted on multiple layers of paint.  The goal was to make something newly-constructed look like it had existed for decades. We often find ourselves with the fun task of replicating a very heavy material out of something more suitable f

As the citizens California enter another week of coronavirus lockdown, and we unexpectedly find ourselves with more time than we're used to, I suspect we're all tackling neglected or time-consuming projects. In my case, I'm dealing with some beekeeping tasks. Over the winter, my colony of honeybees slowly dwindled to nothing.  It was painful, watching the colony falter, but I didn't feel there was much I could do.  It's not wise to open up a beehive in cold rainy weather.  The disruption and chilling is too damaging. Over the last week, I've been harvesting the honey and wax that the bees left behind.  I want to remove the honey from the hive before the ants discover it.  The legs of our hive-stand sit in water-filled cat food cans, as a sort of ant moat.  But of course, if even a single blade grass touches the hive, the ants can use it as a highway. California is over-run with Argentine ants , which are an absolute scourge. I don't own a f