sam blickhan
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snblickhan.bsky.social
sam blickhan
@snblickhan.bsky.social
1.1K followers 970 following 450 posts
She/her. Chicago. People, tech, museums, research. Zooniverse.org Co-Director & #DH lead at Adler Planetarium. PhD. CW Handbook: https://britishlibrary.pubpub.org/

Lapsed musicologist/medievalist. Fiber artist. Musician: https://umbrellabirds.bandcamp.com
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snblickhan.bsky.social
This is Bowie’s preferred method of getting out of something he doesn’t want to do… hoping the day gets better!
A brown dog laying on his back with paws in the air, with a blue leash attached to a grey harness. The photo shows a pair of legs and feet standing next to the dog, as if a person, the photographer, is waiting for this tantrum to end.
September 16, 2025 at 2:49 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
How it started / how it’s going
#weaving #twill #dhmakes

Still a few details left to add (front closure? maybe a contrast woven binding for sleeves & neck??) but really pleased with my first handmade garment from handwoven fabric.
A woven work in progress on a wooden floor loom, in a twill pattern made from black and white yarn. A paper pattern sits on top of the work, and there is a wooden boat shuttle with a black bobbin. A loose, flowy, handmade top made from the black and white handwoven fabric. It is hanging from a wooden clothes hanger in a doorway.
July 12, 2025 at 3:20 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
When you go outside for a walk and the RealFeel™️ is almost 100 degrees.
A medium sized brown dog standing at the top of a wooden outdoor staircase. He has a thousand yard stare into the distance, and does not seem pleased.
July 11, 2025 at 10:29 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Huge crowd for #NoKings Chicago
A large crowd holding protest signs, marching down the street with skyscrapers in the background. A protest sign showing the Star Trek: Voyager characters Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine with the text “RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE.” A protest sign with black text on a white background that reads “Protect your neighbors FUCK ICE!” A large group of protestors march past Trump tower in downtown Chicago. One sign reads “Fuck fascism.”
June 14, 2025 at 9:09 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
LFG
A white poster with black text that reads “NO TYRANTS! & NO KINGS!”
June 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
For the #DHMakes folks not at #ACH2025 -- here are some recent #weaving update photos. This is a twill complication I'm working on using 8/2 Tencel. Will eventually become a garment, sort of a boxy top? Will see. First time using a boat shuttle, too! It took some time to get used to, esp. left hand.
A wooden multishaft loom with a black and white woven work in progress. There is a wooden boat shuttle with a black bobbin inside resting on the project. A printout of the pattern sits on top of the work. An overhead view of a weaving work in progress on a wooden floor loom. Black and white thread in a small twill pattern with lots of small, repeating diamond shapes. A wooden boat shuttle sits near the top of the work. A wooden floor loom with a black and white work in progress. The work is black and white thread in a small twill pattern with lots of small, repeating diamond shapes. The angle of the camera shows the loom has 6 treadles, to be pressed with your feet while sitting at the loom.
June 13, 2025 at 8:21 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Oh my god.
A photo of a black and white cat with its mouth open superimposed over printed text that reads “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” (repeating across the entirety of the image background)
June 9, 2025 at 7:37 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Research and prep for my next weave. And I got to use the warping mill! #DHmakes
An open book page with twill weaving patterns showing a black and white diagram. On top of the book is a small tan muslin mock-up of a boxy shirt with straight pins holding the pieces together. The cover of a book called “Peasant Chic: A Guide to Making Unique Clothing Using Traditional Folk Designs,” by Esther R. Halderness. There is a photo on the front of a woman with long, braided hair wearing a multicolored patterned skirt standing in the doorway of a cream colored building. A wooden structure with four tall beams connected at the top and bottom, with a metal pole in the middle to allow the structure to rotate. There is white yarn wound around the structure, coming from a cone of yarn sitting at the bottom of the structure.
May 18, 2025 at 12:01 AM
snblickhan.bsky.social
My maternal grandma started 20 quilt blocks ~40ish years ago. I found them in my parents’ basement last September. Today I gave Mom the finished quilt top for Mother’s Day. Fibers hold memory, & heirlooms keep family by our side long after they’re gone. Love to all the caregivers today 💜 #DHmakes
Two white women sit on a brown sofa. One woman has brown hair, one has white hair. They are smiling, holding up a multicolored patchwork quilt with a white background.
May 12, 2025 at 4:18 AM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Finished product (feat. my very helpful assistant) #DHmakes
A white hand with hot pink fingernails holding a rectangular wooden frame with nails in the short side ends. In the background through the frame a sleeping brown dog is visible, sleeping in a grey dog bed. Behind the dog there is a bookshelf and an orange armchair with a blue blanket.
May 3, 2025 at 5:50 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Mini project this AM: a DIY frame loom. Made from a used canvas I found at goodwill and some 1 1/2” nails (with apologies to the @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social schedule that I’ve read and am now using to protect the table). #DHmakes
A wooden frame with nails sticking out of the top edge, sitting on a table next to a hammer, some loose nails, and a drill.
May 3, 2025 at 5:19 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Happy May Day. Here’s a recent make for a tiny new comrade. #DHmakes
a white baby bib, hand embroidered with a rose, wheat, and the words “Baby’s 1st May Day.” There are initials and the year in the corner, surrounding a fist holding a wrench.
May 1, 2025 at 11:53 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Please enjoy this Nick Cave timeline cleanse. Video from Tuesday night’s concert at the Salt Shed.
May 1, 2025 at 2:44 AM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Sunday was my birthday and my partner gave me some small binoculars, to support my neighborhood birdwatching habit. Thanks to the better view, I think I can ID this gal as a female Cooper’s hawk! 🐦
A circular image of a white chested hawk with brown feather detailing sitting on a tree branch
April 22, 2025 at 7:31 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington (1991)
April 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Watching critical funding programs for your field be canceled in real time kinda makes you want to just go to bed at 4:30, huh
A screenshot of the NEH 'Digital Humanities Advancement Grants' funding program website, with an orange banner that states "The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants funding opportunity is cancelled for FY2026 and is not accepting applications."
April 8, 2025 at 9:32 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Photos for easier zooming! This is its temporary hanging spot until I figure out where I want it to live. #dhmakes
The bottom of a pink, green, orange and cream colored woven sampler The middle of a pink, green, orange and cream colored woven sampler The top of a pink, green, orange and cream colored woven sampler
April 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
A few weeks late to share, but I finished my 6-week sampler #weaving project. With new techniques like twills, weft-facing weave, lace weave, tapestry, and danish medallions. Finished off with some macrame & a stick I found in the neighborhood (inspired by @quinnanya.me’s bark collecting!) #dhmakes
April 8, 2025 at 2:27 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
A brief update on my weaving lessons, we have made it to inlay + tapestry, and I’m so grateful for the deep focus of learning — that diagonal angled tapestry section took me almost an entire class to weave. #dhmakes
A woven sampler in progress on a wooden loom, with beige, brown, green, orange and pink threads making a pattern that looks like a series of small boxes A woven sampler in progress on a wooden loom, with beige, brown, green, orange and pink threads making a pattern that looks like a series of small boxes, followed by thick sections of single colors. A woven sampler in progress on a wooden loom, with beige, brown, green, orange and pink threads making a pattern that looks like thick diagonal stripes in each color
March 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Durbin’s Chicago office is still accepting voice mails in case anyone wanted to call today and leave their opinion on the Continuing Resolution vote #votenooncloture
A screenshot of an iPhone contact page for IL senator Dick Durbin, with his DC office number (202) 224-2152 and IL office number (312) 353-4952
March 14, 2025 at 1:36 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Seems like as good a time as any to share the updates from my new weaving project. Working on a sampler, learning lots of new methods, being messy, feeling awe in the act of making and learning. #DHmakes
A wooden table loom holding a pink, yellow, green and beige work in progress, showing weaves of varying lengths and widths. A wooden table loom holding a pink, yellow, green and beige work in progress, showing weaves of varying lengths and widths. The camera angle shows the front of the loom where the project is winding into a roll as it progresses. There is a small pair of scissors on the table next to the loom. A wooden table loom holding a pink, yellow, green and beige work in progress, showing weaves of varying lengths and widths.
February 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
👇
A screenshot from the quoted article, reading: “Doge is many things—a dismantling of the federal government, a political project to flex power and punish perceived enemies—but it is also the logical end point of a strain of thought that’s become popular in Silicon Valley during the boom times of Big Tech and easy money: that building software and writing code aren’t just dominant skills for the 21st century, but proof of competence in any realm. In a post on X this week, John Shedletsky, a developer and an early employee at the popular gaming platform Roblox, summed up the philosophy nicely: “Silicon Valley built the modern world. Why shouldn’t we run it?””
February 7, 2025 at 3:36 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Shout out to this cute lil February friend from the 2025 @avondalegardeners.bsky.social almanac/calendar
An illustrated antique valentine showing a small child with a radish for a head, with the root on one side and leaves on the other, holding their finger to their mouth and looking coy. The text reads “Your hair is a little sweetheart.”
February 2, 2025 at 7:32 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
Well, I finished my first weaving project. Fully obsessed, can’t wait to start my next one. #DHMakes

For locals interested in learning, I cannot recommend The Chicago Weaving School highly enough, it’s an incredible community. chicagoweavingschool.com
A purple, green and yellow woven scarf with twisted ends, sitting folded on a wooden surface, surrounded by green houseplants. A top-down view of purple, green and yellow woven scarf with twisted ends, sitting folded on a wooden surface. A white woman taking a selfie in a mirror. She is wearing a brown hat, white oversized button shirt, and a handwoven scarf in purple, green and yellow plaid stripes.
February 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM
snblickhan.bsky.social
A #weaving update for the #DHmakes crew & anyone else interested. This is lesson no. 2, so I got to actually start weaving!
A wooden floor loom with an in-process project. The threads are purple, green, and yellow. A pair of legs can be seen at the bottom of the photo, belonging to the photographer, who is sitting at the loom. A side view of a floor loom showing a work in progress made of purple, yellow and green thread. A top view of a floor loom showing a work in progress made of purple, yellow and green thread.
January 26, 2025 at 6:12 PM