Manda
talzhemir.bsky.social
Manda
@talzhemir.bsky.social
Painter, illustrator, co-creator of ttRPGs Cavemaster & Quicksilver, co-creator of Furcadia, writer on the Ultima series, atheist, and champion of teaching the difference between 'direct' and 'circumstantial' evidence, paleolithic textile artist
#Chestnuts are a traditional autumn/winter food, and they've been scarce since the Chestnut Blight hit in the 1910's. Their popularity encourages conservation of this tree. "Galil's" are from Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

#chestnuts and #rice

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[RECIPE] Holiday Chestnut Rice | Manda
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November 19, 2025 at 12:20 AM
New Hand-spinners!

We had far more kids wanting to learn how, than we could teach.

#handspinning #fiberarts

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[FIBER ARTS] New Hand-Spinners! | Manda
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November 16, 2025 at 10:43 AM
I'll be teaching classes in crank-spinning with a stick, and then the Mayan Paddle Spinner. I'm making them with cardstock layers for the students. A wildcat is the school mascot.

#Crankspinning teaches the basics before #dropspinning
#handspinning
November 9, 2025 at 3:46 AM
After shaping the 'akshas' with a corner store pedicure sandpaper tool, they soak in 'linseed oil', which is a "drying oil". It goes into the wood (or bamboo), and strengthens it. Drying oils are the 'medium' part of oil paints.
November 1, 2025 at 8:49 AM
It turns out Pepe the Frog's creator successfully sues those who co-opt him as the alt-right mascot.
#SavePepe
"𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩?" | Manda
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October 13, 2025 at 6:57 AM
This Halloween, you might find these hair bands on sale. It's easy to make fuzzy kitty ears. #Needlefelting
October 1, 2025 at 11:18 AM
If religion was treated like gender:

"𝙉𝙤, 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡. 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚."
October 1, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Manda
Manda @talzhemir.bsky.social is playtesting Lost Age, her sequel to our Paleolithic #ttrpg Cavemaster. Here are two ‘character tablets’ from tonight’s game. We’re using a diced variant of the Cavemaster “Habilis system”. I’ve tried to draw pictures in the style of Copper Age sites like Gobekli Tepe.
September 4, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I made myself a Native American weaving loom. The spine is a palm leaf's center spar. There are two chopsticks for the beams (horizontals).

I think the 'Vytis Cross', Jogaila's Cross, is a similar loom with one beam and a beater-pick. ‡ Jogaila was a pagan. #Lithuania

#primitive #weaving
September 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The point where twist is halted is the 'pinch'.

The off-center axis where the string acts like a fulcrum is the 'tula'.

The string between pinch and tula is the 'pend'.

#Minoan #Labrys
#Arkalochori
#Herakleion
#HandSpinning
#CrankSpinning
#ShetlandSheep
#Indigo #Wool
#ExperimentalArchaeology
August 26, 2025 at 8:29 AM
How to Make a Stick Spindle!

The best stick for crank-spinning has a few slight bends, and a pointy tip.

For an archaeologist, this is circumstantial evidence a stick was the tool of an expert spinner.

Use jujube, blackthorn, Gambel oak.

#HandSpinning
#ExperimentalArchaeology
[CRAFT] How to Make a Stick Spindle | Manda
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August 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The Labrys: I'm pretty sure it's a crank spindle.

If it isn't, then I have discovered the most wonderful way to repurpose an enigmatic ancient artifact to make oodles of beautiful thread.

BTW-- the eight-pointed one works even better.

#labrys #handspinning
#CrankSpinning is
#NotDropSpinning
August 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
A Portable Pocket! Nothing hard or fancy; just a phone-toting bag with an over-the-shoulder strap.

If your hand-spinning makes yards of cord, not miles, here's a small yet rewarding project.

www.patreon.com/posts/136301...
[Crafting] My Portable Pocket | Manda
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August 12, 2025 at 9:59 AM
#prehistoric #handspinning

The spindle is a stick from the back yard.

The fiber is Shetland wool wrapped "barber-pole" to make a puni. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚.

Move the spindle as if reeling in a fish. "Crank" but let slip.

Draft is fehu ᚠ, not algiz ᛉ (delta).

@jillianeve.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 11:54 AM
I dyed my yarn with Rit. It's reddish purple in memory of Queen Penelope.

It's mock-Tyrian-purple, a color once made with billions of murex snails.

The mordant was water from soaking black rice.

It's shiny because it's crank-spun using a labrys (pélekys), not drop-spun.

#handspinning
July 31, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Here's the short-fibers spun up into string on that same chopstick. The grey color is from lanolin and dirt. Blodwyn swears she's white sheep. We'll see. Gonna make a tiny micro-mini hank to clean and dye it.

#handspinning
#experimentalarchareology
July 21, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Stone-age #Handspinning

I made a puni with a chopstick. Now I'm spinning it into thread with the same stick. The fiber becomes a slim snake of roving. **happy**

#experimentalarchaeology
#softsoft #thel
July 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Paleo Method #2: Puni

After pulling 'tog', I'm left with 1.5" 'thel'. I wind it onto a stick at a 45° angle.

The puni survives as a no-carders cotton prep style in India. When spun, it spirals, midway between worsted and wool.

#handspinning #experimentalarchaeology
@jillianeve.bsky.social
July 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
This is a non-fiction tale just for my Patreon backers. The short version is that James Mellaart, 1 of 3 discoverers of Catalhoyuk, was a major con artist. On the basis of his forgery, the Sea People (Peleset) are equated with the Philistines and Palestinians.

www.patreon.com/posts/134322...
Jimmy Bey and the Treasure of Dorak | Manda
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July 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
How To Prep Wool for Spinning, Paleo-style

If you don't have carders or combs, you can still make roving. That's fleece in a belt or tube shape.
The tool I recommend is a standard chopstick. 1/4" x 8-9"

www.patreon.com/posts/133727...

#handspinning #prehistoric #wool

@jillianeve.bsky.social
[CRAFTS] How to Prep Wool for Spinning, Paleo-style | Manda
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July 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
A Low-key Look

This is UV hardening 'gel' enamel. It's two layers which, together, resemble amber... or yellow popcorn kernels.

I used the manicure buffing sponge to carefully prepare the nail surface myself.

It's meant to be "natural", not "glamorous".

The whole process only took 27 minutes.
July 8, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Cheon Sa Chae is a Korean invention from the 1980s. The main ingredient is brown seaweed extract, and it's crunchy. It's served as a banchan (condiment) with mayo.

Did you know it's also a source of Vanadium? It lowers cholesterol + acts like Insulin.

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Crunchy Alginate Noodles and Vanadium | Manda
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June 4, 2025 at 9:52 AM
VAMPIRES COULD MAKE SENSE AFTER ALL...

Mitochondria aren't your body's only source of ATP. Your red blood cells also make it-- out of Citric Acid.

They donate any excess to any cells in need, at the capillaries. (They can also consume Lactic Acid.)
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CITRIC ACID!!! | Manda
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May 22, 2025 at 6:33 PM
May 16, 2025 at 7:11 PM
This character, Hei Tiki, is a New Zealand icon who became a beloved mascot for surfers. He is made of a kind of jade called Pounamu. What is jade? A magnet for money? A shield against harm? What else do people believe about it?
#jade
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Jade Mysteries; Jade Revelations Post 4: Ten Thousand Superstitions | Manda
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May 7, 2025 at 4:24 AM