Needles & Nilbogs

 So tomorrow, to steal the term used by some bloggers I like, is my “blogversary”, the 1 year anniversary of my first post. I’m really proud because it means I’ve kept this up for a whole year! One thing I learned from blogging is that writing regularly is really hard. I keep putting things out that I’m not proud of, because if I miss a week for no reason, I feel guilty. I don’t put up well-written posts as much as I want because I’m usually busy, and sometimes even shoving pictures onto the world is really hard.  I think I also learned something about taking good pictures— it’s really hard to get pictures that show my work in a good way with a phone, but I just keep trying. Eventually something turns out okay, and I put it out there anyways. I learned about the importance of lighting and of good photos when I started writing patterns, and that’s going to help me as I try to get better at writing good entries. I don’t really know where I want to go next in life, but I’m going ...

 Alternatively, call this blog entry The Frugal Dyer. I’m doing natural dye things this week, inspired by the huge amount of oxalis pes-caprae in my yard. I thought I’d share how to dye with plants without using more than some hot water, possibly a strainer, and a few glass jars to process them.  This is O. Pes-caprae. It’s really common in my part of North America, and it’s an invasive weed here so I don’t see a problem with picking some to dye with. Check your local regulations on picking things, though. You can use any plants with high tannin contents or that are acidic; they shouldn’t need mordants but do your own research. I like onion skins, oxalis, or avocado pits.  Find some yarn, fiber, or fabric. Wool is best, but cotton or linen might work. You really don’t want to use synthetics because they won’t take the dye well.  You’re also going to need access to hot water (boiling helps but it’s not necessary), a glass jar or two, a couple small rocks, and some way...

 I know it’s late, but bear with me. I’ve had a bad day today and couldn’t really write much. I’ve been tatting more lately, and I thought I’d share a thing I tried for my attempts! I’m actually not using a traditional shuttle. They click too much and make it hard for me to work silently like I prefer. Instead, I’m using the plastic clips that hold bread bags from my local grocery store closed. They hold a decent amount of thread, and they’re really surprisingly easy to use.  That’s all. I had a migraine and that’s everything you’re getting. Sorry. 

Tuesday I got my preordered copy of a book I’ve been waiting for since forever!!!!! It’s the third book in the City Spies series by James Ponti, and it is just as good as the first two (maybe better. We’ll see). The really frustrating thing, though, is that there is literally no City Spies fanfiction. None. Go check, I’ll wait.  See, no fanfic (seriously, I google it regularly and can’t find anything). I’ve written some, but so far it’s only been for my sister, who also loves the City Spies. But since there isn’t any out there, and I’m now really excited to write city spies fanfic again, I’m going to put it here so that there’s something. Depending on what people think of these (and what I want to do) I may share more or I may not. These are links to google docs so that scrolling through won’t take forever, and my author’s notes are here too. I welcome comments on these and I hope that even if you haven’t read the books that you give them a try. Middle grade books can be amazing fo...