Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

I wound this #antique alarm clock and put it in my office next to the adding machines from a similar era. I can't tell whether the mechanical ticking in this otherwise quiet room will end up being endearing, ignorable, or infuriating.

I finished ⁨#weaving⁩ my overshot table runner! I had some extra warp at the end to play with so I experimented with a darker brown cloth weft and lime green pattern weft.

I have finished the third volume of Durant's Story of Civilization. This volume covers the history of the Roman Empire and Christianity up to the fourth century. Eight more volumes to go, but first a break to read some other books on my list. ⁨#history⁩ ⁨#reading⁩

You can get a better sense of the pattern now that it's repeated a few times. This is called "Wandering Vine" (from Davison's famous ⁨#weaving⁩ pattern book) but is also known as "Cat Track" or "Snail Trail" which makes more sense once you can see more of the pattern.

I finally sat down and started ⁨#weaving⁩ the overshot table runner last night. The set up for this took quite a while, but I think the actual weaving will go pretty quickly.

This weekend I'm threading the warp for my next ⁨#weaving⁩ project, a table runner with a "Wandering Vine" overshot pattern. Threading 452 warp threads is a lot all at once so I'm splitting it into multiple 1-3 hour sessions.

I mean just look at the lines on this! Antique Singers look nice and all but don't really compare. #sewing #antique

Before clicky mechanical keyboards in the office were controversial, Toshiba was stirring things up about clicky mechanical calculators to sell their electronic alternative.

So I made some progress with refurbishing the Comptometer this weekend. I freed up many stuck registers, but that revealed an issue with the carry mechanism on a few digits I will have to investigate further.

This evening I'm cleaning, repairing and refurbishing a Comptometer model 3D11 from the 1950s. This was the last Comptometer the company made and has its final speed and accuracy improvements before the world moved to electronic calculators.

Check out this giant electric accounting machine! It's a combination typewriter and adding machine that is basically the electromechanical Excel of its day.

I'm speaking ⁨at LinuxFest Northwest⁩ this weekend on Saturday and Sunday:

https://lfnw.org/conferences/2022/program/proposals/652
https://lfnw.org/conferences/2022/program/proposals/653

It's being done virtually and I don't know if there will be video, but if so and you are wondering what all that stuff is in my background, here's a better picture.

I finished my handwoven overshot napkins! They are ready just in time to (maybe) use for Easter dinner. I learned a lot about weaving complex patterns and was able to make all of my mistakes in a project where they didn't matter much. We're wiping our mouths with these after all!

This weekend I finally started work on the mechanical calculator museum in my office! I plan on hanging more memorabilia on the walls and will type out placards for the calculators on display.

Estate sales are the way to go for quality yarn if you know what to look for. I just bought this collection of yarn (mostly wool and cotton) for the price of a single small skein of the yarn you see in front, if it were new. ⁨#weaving⁩ ⁨#yarn

The fabric is off the loom! The next step is to do a quick zigzag stitch across the end of each napkin to keep the ends from fraying when I separate them later. Then I'll wash/dry/iron the fabric, clean up loose threads, then separate and hem the napkins.

Yesterday my Comptometer Model 3D11 arrived! This last Comptometer model was made in the 1950s-60s and has all the final refinements they made to what was the fastest calculator for accounting before digital calculators dominated. I'll clean and refurbish it this weekend.

Here you can see the yards of fabric as it wraps around the cloth beam. In between each napkin is two or more passes of another yarn so I can more easily separate them later.

Last night I finished ⁨#weaving⁩ the 8th (and final) overshot napkin! I *barely* had enough warp left for it. Now to take them off the loom and hem the edges.

I found a gold-plated Stahly "live blade" vibrating safety razor with case that matches the vintage ad hanging next to my sink! It cleaned up really well with some metal polish and cotton swabs. ⁨#shaving