Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

I found a mint condition vintage mechanical pocket calculator (with a vintage insensitive name) along with part of the box and instructions at a local thrift store for $5. Only missing a stylus.

I realized I'm bad at estimating how much time ⁨#weaving⁩ will take. First I estimated a napkin took about 3 hours, then after weaving 2 hours this morning and not finishing I figured it would take 9. Another hour and now it's done. So maybe 5 hours?

Weaving napkins is like making pancakes. The first one doesn't count. The second one is better but not quite there. But by the third one you finally got it down. ⁨#weaving⁩

I'm practicing ⁨#weaving⁩ doubleshot patterns by making a full set of napkins with free and cheap yarn I already had. I'm learning a lot about weaving complex patterns with this project. It will be hard to wipe my mouth with these napkins when I'm done.

Since the Librem 5 runs the same OS as Librem laptops, it has the same software. I recently got an SDR (Software Defined Radio) dongle, and I can connect it to the Librem 5 and use the same tools (gqrx) as on a laptop. Gqrx isn't adaptive, so I just dock the Librem 5. Pretty fun.

Update: I finished threading the heddles. It took me about 5 hours total. This is why I'm making a set of 8 napkins, not just one at a time--the up front work to "dress the loom" is the same regardless of how long the warp is.

I'm warping the loom to weave a set of patterned cloth napkins. A 20" napkin x 24 ends/in = 480 individual threads. These are threaded through metal heddles in a particular order to make the pattern. Imagine threading 480 needles but which needle you pick next *really* matters.

All in all this is a nice little adding machine, if a bit limited. The cover and carrying handle is a nice touch. ⁨

The red lever on the side is used to clear the registers. All of the registers are spring-loaded on the inside so resetting them is fast (when they are oiled properly). ⁨

Like other simple adding machines you subtract by the complements method. Use the tiny digits next to the larger digits for the subtrahend. The red buttons along the top prevent the carry mechanism. Here's 1000-1, which you get by adding 9999. ⁨

Adding is similar to on a chain adder like the Gem Pocket machine I featured earlier. In this case instead of a stylus, you put your finger next to the corresponding lever and pull all the way down to add the digit to the register.

Here is what it looks like after restoration and cleaning. There is a hinged lid that can come down to protect (and even lock) the adding machine when it's not in use.

Here is a view of the machine from the front, and a look at the internal mechanisms. A few of the input registers were pretty sticky and as a result wouldn't reset properly so I spent some time oiling and working those mechanisms to loosen things up.

Today I'm restoring a Star Adding Machine made by the Todd Protectograph Company in 1925 or early in 1926. Later in 1926 these machines were redesigned and sold as the Todd Visible.

This weekend I finished the krokbragd pillow I was ⁨#weaving⁩ for my mom. I used a Damascus edge for the fringe and hid the fringe in the fabric. It took three tries to hand stitch the seams in an envelope fold I was happy with. Now I just wait for the pillow form to arrive!

Off the loom! #krokbragd #weaving

I'm over halfway through with this krokbragd ⁨#weaving⁩ project. It's amazing how much faster this is on a floor loom compared to on a rigid heddle.

I'm finally getting to the fun part of this project where patterns start to emerge. ⁨#weaving⁩

This doesn't look like much, but it took me over 5 hours to warp this loom today (mostly because I was trying a new back-to-front warping technique). #weaving

I used the leftover yarn from my wife's tweed scarf (left) to make myself a plaid scarf (right) so they match without being identical. #weaving