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The Sewphist

@thesewphist.bsky.social

1.6K followers 870 following 9.5K posts

Drawer of birds, designer of fabric, sewer of gorgeous things you might want to buy from me. I also really like food, walking and cycling. www.thesewphist.com

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 5h

I definitely originally followed you on the other place because of that blog.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 6h

And he is a polyglot who started out working on machine translation…

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 6h

My big bro is very pro-AI (as in he’s been working on it academically and/or professionally since the 80s). Took me, who studied translation at PG level, less than 5 minutes to get him to concede that maybe literary translation was best left to humans. He’d never considered word choice for effect.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 16h

Work happened, but life did too. At least I got several more products set up. Tomorrow I have to work out what my beloved (who is also a web guy) has changed in the shop settings that has disappeared all the categories.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 16h

It was!

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 16h

((Hug))

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 16h

Ouchie

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 17h

Apparently one coaster weighs approximately the same as one female wētāpunga of the Cook Strait variety.

One day I'll get around to drawing some invertebrates, and then I'll be able to sell you coasters that weigh the same as the creature pictured on them.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 19h

So, my apologies, but in the wake my FB post to my personal community, my focus became required in another direction this evening.

So, maybe delayed by another day. Such is life.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 20h

I'm hoping to get my side of the task list done this evening... but in the meantime - who would like to get first dibs on the Bird and Beach 2026 Calendar?

Bird and Beach @birdandbeach.bsky.social · 20h

Elisabeth apologises that the new website isn't live yet... she's still working on her task list.

In the meantime, if you want to get your hands on one of our 2026 Calendars, Ryan has thoughtfully listed a few on Felt.

felt.co.nz/shop/birdand...

Montage of samples pages of the Bird and Beach 2026 Calendar. Shown is the front cover (Oriental Bay), back cover (12 thumbnails of landscape illustrations), May (Lake Wakatipu) and December (Rangitoto Island).
All artwork copyright Ryan Nielson.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 20h

I went down a wormhole on FB prompted by the extension of breast-screening to 74, and wrote a big post encouraging everyone to know their normal and get checked, because younger people get cancer too.

Now I will go load some products.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 21h

So much not a lizard that it has its very own category in the reptile family tree.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 21h

I fully intended for that first sentence to have a "please" in it. Please read it with a please in it.

(I apologise for my shocking manners. I never intend it, but I'm so bad at forgetting my Ps & Qs. I'm always very grateful to those who help me out.)

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 21h

Kia ora team, can I ask for an accountability check in at 9 pm? I really want to see if I can get the new website across the line this evening.

(Those of you who do this for me, I appreciate it so very much every time. It really make a difference for me.)

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 21h

I can imagine. When I first asked for an ADHD assessment, my (then) GP told me that he didn't think it was at all possible given I have a post-grad education (funnily enough, he didn't ask me how many abandoned qualifications I also have...). Told me to use EAP to unpack trauma.
Might be same GP.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 22h

Did the GP give you a referral to a Psychiatrist? Because you're probably going to need one of those, and many will have a long wait.

Also, did they mean neurological rather than psychological?

Someone else suggested EAP - you're not clogging it up if you use it, it's there for you to use.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 22h

In a sanctuary. This one was in an enclosed research area (it's a big area) but there are also many out in the open at Zealandia | Te Mara a Tane. There are no known mainland wild populations.

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 22h

I have only ever been once!

The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

Look what I saw today!!!!

A baby tuatara, maybe 10-12 cm long, sunning itself on stony ground.

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Reposted by The Sewphist

Carol Green @carolgreen.bsky.social · 1d

I saw a giant wētā on Little Barrier and its body was the size of a mouse. Preeetttty hefty.

A giant wētā in some leaf litter. Unfortunately nothing else for scale.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

Oooh, I'm on the lookout for a good pattern for my next project. I can't wait to see what your one looks like once it's all stitched up and wearable!

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

"guilt is not an ingredient"?

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

But thank you, I think I’ll need to play with some settings.

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

I realised I was accidentally using Safari, so I switched to DuckDuckGo and that doesn’t have the problem!

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The Sewphist @thesewphist.bsky.social · 1d

This latest iPhone update is bad. Sticking the translucent address bar over the bottom of the page where it makes content/buttons inaccessible is not a good idea.

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