About Me

Barbara the Inventor

I like to make things. I like to figure out how to make things from parts I can afford without requiring a huge investment in set-up. I've been working on a board game project since 2017 as an exercise in small scale manufacturing. Most board games require ordering thousands at a time to divide the set-up costs across a lot of units. I wanted to see if I could only use small run technology. That's why my board game is made on a printed circuit board. That automation is geared to making 5 boards instead of 5000. Also cutting odd shapes is no problem. Computer controlled routers don't care what shape it is, same price. 

Barbara the Conservationist

I live in the woods in a tiny house I built myself. I am a steward of the Longleaf Pine Wiregrass Savannah. Some of the things I make come from the rare ancient heartwood from the tops of these trees. I collect it only from windblown trees and make art that you can get on my Etsy store, like earrings and suncatchers. Everything you buy from me directly supports the ecosystem. But I only really plug it for the wooden stuff. 

Barbara the Knitter

Here's a few things that define my approach to knitting
  • I live in a hot, humid climate
  • I am a highly sensitive person
  • I am allergic to lanolin
  • I have dyscalculia
  • I went to engineering school
  • I don't have a job
  • I don't have a partner
  • I don't have any kids
  • I don't have any pets
I had an idea that knitting would help me learn to focus on one thing and would improve my innumeracy problems. It actually hasn't. I am still not great at counting. I get to 29 and have to pause and think about 30. It's a legitimate issue with the interparietal sulcus of the brain that makes it so I don't perceive numbers the same way as people without this disability. This is not to say I can't still do geometry and trigonometry and calculus. I just can't add 8+6 in my head. I have to do 8+8 and subtract 2. Of course on a calculator it is absolutely no problem. Spreadsheets are really useful too.

It's possible that the take-away from that explanation is that I am extremely stubborn. I was bad at arithmetic in school and I went to Georgia Tech anyway. I was a good writer, but it never even occurred to me to go to a liberal arts school. I do not pick activities based on my talent, I do what I find interesting. I don't think I am a talented knitter. I am just determined to keep at it until I get it right. Because knitting does not comes naturally to me maybe I can be a better explainer.

Being highly sensitive means I can't tolerate uneven lighting or strong smells and I find most natural fibers itchy. I wear a hat with a brim all the time. I avoid yarn from the fabric store because it reeks of fabric sizing. My hands are less sensitive to texture than my neck, so I can knit a scarf I could never wear. This means if I want to experiment with animal fibers I can't use the finished product. My mother is not sensitive though, and she loves scarves. She is my main tester.