#(Thing is this is the fourth time I've started a project with that yarn and I don't want to unravel it again)

[moongothic]

‘Tis a yarn haul 🧶 

So yeah, my only local yarn shop is closing down, so today I went and bought an absurd amount of yarn from the remaining stock they had. It wasn’t a lot actually, like pretty much all the yarns I would normally get were completely sold out, and the color selection in the remaining yarns left a lot to be desired (but it is what it is)

Like you know my favorite color is black, and there really wasn’t a lot left of any black yarns. It kind of broke my heart a little because amongst the medium sized hanks, there was a fuck ton of that orange yarn, but just ONE hank of black. Like had there been more, I would’ve gotten just black and orange because then I could’ve made something with a Halloween-y color palette, but no, there was just one black 💔

But yeah, this is not a selection of yarns I would’ve ever gone for normally, but it was mostly what was left, and it was discounted, so I’ll just have to take it.

So I got that one sparkly cake of Katia yarn- I usually stay away from plastic blends (and plastic yarns in general) but this was the only one they had left that had a monochrome color scheme (the others were pretty gradients in misc colors), and like. Even if I didn’t buy it, it still wouldn’t make the plastic go away anymore, so I grabbed it. The yarn is super soft though and while I don’t like the sparkly bits in it that much, I’m sure I can make something cute with it

Then I got four lorger Malabrigo hanks, two white and two red. They’re 100% merino wool sock yarns and I’m sure I can think of something cute to make with them (in fact a while back I thought it could be cute to make something with like a peppermint swirl on it, not sure what but, well, I certainly have the yarn to make something now). ((These were the only remaining reds they had the shop, they also had one more white and a green but I left those because I figured someone else might like them))

And all the remaining hanks are silk/wool blend. They had a bunch of misc colors left (and a fuck ton of that orange), I ended up grabbing pretty much all the remaining greens and some whites to go along with them (since I don’t think those hues really go well together), and the last black with one orange to go with it.

So yeah. I normally would never do a yarn haul like this, I prefer to buy yarn when I know I have a specific project to use it with. But considdering the situation, I think this one yarn haul won’t be the end of the world. God fucking knows I am not buying any fucking yarn for the rest of the god damn year

[citrinemystic]

Spellcrafting from start to finish: Travel Companion

It's probably hubristic of me to post this, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Step into my metaphorical parlor, and take a peek at how I construct a spell. This is not the only way to do it, this is just how I did it in this particular case.

The first step is identifying the need. In this particular case, my need was a safety charm for the road trip I had planned.

The second step is deciding on a method. I chose to create a physical charm in the shape of a bunny, using this pattern. There were a few reasons for this decision. One was I associate rabbits with luck, so the shape was a good fit for encouraging good luck while driving. The second was the fact that I could include whatever correspondences I wanted in the stuffing. The third I'll mention is that I knew I could create it with ease, since I've made such stuffed bunnies before, and I knew I had all the components I would need already. In general, I try to use what I already have in my spells and workings, partially because it's the responsible thing to do, but also because I already have spent way more than I've needed to on witchy shit.

The third step is to design the spell, which in this case meant deciding on what correspondences to incorporate. I was intentional in the color I chose, how many stitches were in each row, what stich pattern I used, what stone I would use, and what herbs I would use. I chose things I associated with safety, protection and luck.

I was less discerning about the material of the yarn and stuffing, mostly because of the whole using what I have concept. I also chose a psalm to pray over it, but I didn't choose that until after the bunny was constructed. I intended to make use of a psalm from the beginning, but I didn't start the project with a particular one in mind.

The fourth step is to make it happen. I grabbed my yarn and needles and knit the base square,

... put in the stitches for the head, and put the selected crystal in with some stuffing to form the head and then sewed up the back. Next, I grabbed my bag of "activated" herbs and put that and stuffing in the body,

And then sewed it up so that everything stayed inside.

My final step was to select the psalm, and then say it over the bunny. I said it multiple times when the bunny was first created, but I intend to refresh the spell periodically by saying that same psalm over it again.

So there you have it, a vague recounting of my constriction of a spell. I'm happy to answer any questions, and welcome discussion of different processes and methods, but please be respectful in comments about my, and anyone else's, practice.

[corvus--rex]

I don't like resolutions usually since they end up feeling so forced. So I'm not doing that, but what I am doing is instead of saying "I'm going to do xyz this year", I'm promising myself that I'm going to work on finishing things - ie, working through the backlog of yarn, sewing, cleaning, etc projects, and also all my unfinished fics that have been just sitting there half-done.

That said, I've started going through my wips folder and realized that I actually have almost half of the next chapter of Here Come the Vultures already done. I've mentioned it a few times as this is the chapter with ~1350 words dedicated to just their clothes (send help). It's probably not going to be finished for a little while, but I'm posting the first part here anyway.

The first two chapters are up on ao3 here, and the accompanying, basically unedited (and fuck does it need to be), oneshot is here. There are already two songs in this chapter, Combustion and Tragedy of the Commons. Also I do have links/reference photos of their outfits if anyone's interested

☆・* ♪ *・☆

The next outfit change went as smoothly as it could.  Keith was clinging to Lance, and Shiro was flirting with Adam, but it was still successful.  The last part of the day was the one Allura had the most anxiety over.  The fourth, and final, shoot was for their tour outfits.  They would be doing the main promo shots for the tour while in what they would be wearing on stage during the actual shows.  While they all personally picked out and bought what they were wearing, Allura kept their outfits at Oriande under lock and key until leaving for the tour.  This was the first time the six saw their clothes in person, and would be one of the last until the tour actually started.  Back in the dressing room, every section had a black garment bag and shoebox waiting for each member of Castle of Lions.  The room was silent except for the sounds of clothes changing for the next few minutes.  Even when they were done, no one left their dressing areas, taking in their new outfits.

“I, um…I am never taking these off,” Keith said to the sound of a soft swish of fabric.

When Pidge had first opened her garment bag, everyone heard, “I like this even more in person.”  A few minutes later, “Oh.  I really like this even more in person.”

A soft shifting of chains came from Matt.  “Ooh, nice.”

Shiro was still getting dressed and making frustrated grumbling sounds.  “How in the absolute fuck…ah.  Got it.”

“Oh, this is even comfier than it looks,” Hunk said appreciatively.

Lance stomped on the floor once, making chains somewhere on him rattle, and giggled.  “I Love that.”

Allura came back after what she had thought was more than enough time to find the main dressing room empty.  “Aren’t you six dressed yet?” she asked.

“Oh.  Shit.  Sorry.  I think we all got distracted,” Lance said.

All six members of Castle of Lions walked out of their dressing areas at the same time, looking each other over when they gathered in a loose circle.

Hunk always favored practicality with his fashion.  His hooded sleeveless top was a textured black, leather accents at the shoulders, antiqued brass rings and buckle on his right, all brought together by the front lacing.  He always wore shorts on stage, and these ones were covered in zippers and buckles, the cargo pockets featuring their own leather straps, studs, and rings, all of the metal hardware in the same antiqued brass as his top.  Finishing his outfit were thick-soled, combat-style boots that featured a pair of wide straps, their hardware in antiqued brass as well.

Beside Hunk was Matt, who had also opted for a lack of sleeves, although he cared far, far less for practicality.  A tight-fitting tank top sat under the mesh overlay, the solid black broken up by two diagonal lengths of lacing in bright silver chain.  Skin tight black pants had a subtle sheen to them, two exposed silver zippers over the right pocket, but it was the V-shaped lacing over both knees that made them out of the ordinary.  At their core, Matt’s boots weren’t dissimilar from Hunk’s, but where Hunk’s had two thick, buckled straps, Matt’s had five, all with bright silver buckles, complete with grinning skulls in profile.

Taking up Matt’s other side was Shiro.  His outfit was overall more subtle than either Matt or Hunk, and the details were far less likely to be noticed on stage.  At a distance, his top looked like not much more than a long-sleeved black tee.  Up close, the asymmetrical hem was obvious, as was the black lacing on both his right shoulder and left side from ribs to hem, and the fact that it was just a little sheer.  The more unique feature was at the bottom of the sleeves, which ended in a thumb hole and a sort of half glove up his index fingers.  Shiro kept his tight black jeans simple only featuring a patch with pewter D-rings on his right hip and a buckled strap around his right thigh that connected to a black chain which clipped to a belt loop.  All of the deceptive simplicity let his boots take the spotlight.  Knee-high black leather, three thin pewter-buckled straps, layered leather that swept up to his calf, and black leather lacing that stopped just below the top two straps.

Pidge was the most colorful of the band.  While her pants would be taken over her cold, dead body, she allowed herself to indulge in her secret love for dresses on stage.  This one was deep emerald velvet, black spaghetti straps disappearing into the black ruffled trim along the neckline.  The skirt ended at mid-thigh, but the deep, black lace trim brought it almost to her knees.  Her favorite lace-trimmed black velvet choker fit perfectly, as did the black and green spiderweb-patterned, elbow-length fingerless gloves topped with wide buckled straps.  One thing she would never compromise on were her shoes.  Giant chunky 10cm heels and thick platforms every time.  It was no different for the knee-high black leather boots with full lacing and three buckled straps that finished off her outfit.

Lance stood between Pidge and his mate.  Much like Hunk and his shorts or Pidge’s boots, Lance had his own signature piece.  For him it was black damask dress shirts – which started when Keith once told him just how damn good he looked in them.  Like every other one he owned, this one had been tailored to his broad shoulders and narrow waist.  It was left untucked with a pair of points dipping down at both the front and back.  The long sleeves echoed those points, finishing the deep, turned cuffs.  Lance usually went for the more traditional button-down, but this one had a zipper, intentionally left partially open and exposing his collarbones and the tattoo-wreathed mating mark that sat just above them, blue-highlighted black wrought iron curling and twisting around the scar Keith left there two years earlier.  His flair for drama continued with tight black pants with lacing from hem to thigh up the right leg, more lacing on his left hip, and a leather buckled strap wrapping all the way around the same thigh.  Rounding out his outfit were black combat-style boots like Hunk and Matt, with a pair of buckled straps, but it also revealed where the rattling had come from – several heavy pewter chains wrapping the back of each boot, just for that little extra bit of chaos.

Completing the circle was Keith.  Narrow, grommeted leather bands that ran from hem to left shoulder framed the cutout and made up half of the wide v-neckline of his black light, woven cotton top.  He’d picked it even knowing that its long sleeves were inevitably going to be pulled up under the heat of the stage lights, despite the lacing that ran 4 inches up from the bottom of each sleeve, and that the leather and pewter left shoulder weren’t going to make it any better.  Inside the cutout was a layer of sheer black under distressed deep red lace, black lacing crossing over and connecting the bands.  The lower neckline showed off his own mating mark, wrapped in a similar tattoo to his mate’s, the more lace-like wrought iron design highlighted in a deep rose-violet.  Individually, most of the components of Keith’s black painted-on jeans were nothing out of the ordinary for him.  Three buckled straps, one the the thigh, two around his calf, exposed side zipper with spiked studs and dangling zipper pull, and the fact that the pants themselves were shredded, not just ripped, were all things that could be seen on any number of his extensive collection.  But these had, attached to a narrow belt threaded through a second set of beltloops that sat just below the usual ones, a pleated half-skirt that wrapped around his left hip and fell to the knee.  Not much could top that, and he kept it simple with his choice of footwear.  Black leather ankle boots, with two studded straps, studded heels, and a 3cm platform and its 8cm heel completed his outfit.

They all looked each other over appreciatively, some more so than others – Lance and Keith could not take their eyes off each other.  The rest of Castle of Lions ignored them, while Allura had gone back to the interview schedule for the rest of the week.

Lance took a step into Keith’s personal space, something that didn’t exist when it came to his mate.  “Fuck, you look good.”

“Yeah?” Keith answered, closing the distance, “So do you.”

“Oh my god,” Pidge groaned, no longer able to ignore them, “You’re practically eye-fucking each other.  Save it for later.  Way.  Later.”

“Aw, you’re no fun, Pidgey,” Lance said, not looking away.  He slipped his hands around Keith’s waist, nuzzling his omega’s mating mark, despite the scent blocker.

The purr that rolled out of Keith was a soft rumble, the interested and inviting hum that accompanied it anything but innocent.  He slid his hands up his alpha’s chest and around his neck, and pulled Lance in for a kiss, the taste of a promise on his lips.

Shiro’s voice broke them apart.  “Oh for fuck’s sake.  Do I really have to pull you two apart like horny teenagers?”

“Nothing you haven’t threatened before,” Keith shot back although any heat in his voice was muffled by Lance’s neck.

“Alright, last shoot.  And if we want to end on time, we need to go now,” Allura said then turned and left the room, not waiting.

Keith refused to let go, even when Pidge, Hunk, and Matt all followed Allura.  He squawked indignantly at his brother’s arms around his torso, pulling him away from his mate.  Shiro didn’t stop, holding Keith off the floor, leaving him to hang there, looking every bit like a disgruntled cat.  Lance, of course, found this hilarious, but took pity on his mate, rescuing Keith from Shiro.  Keith sent a pathetic scowl Shiro’s way, wrapping himself around Lance as they left to catch up with the others.

They missed the first few quiet notes filtering down the hall, nearly running into their bandmates who had stopped at the end of the corridor.  But then they heard the next echoing chords, what they knew were two different guitars playing together in perfectly synchronized tandem, a keyboard setting the stage.  The seven of them fanned out, Keith tucking himself against his mate, all watching the video playing of a concert from their last tour.

Lance was closer to the center of the stage and Keith, who held his own blood red and black guitar.  As the music picked up, another stage light came on, illuminating more than just the matepair, Shiro emerging from the shadows.  The other lights gradually came on, revealing Hunk, Matt, and Pidge.  Keith and Lance alternated between playing together and separately.  When asked later, they said that that part wasn’t the most difficult.  The hardest part came when all six of them played in total synchronicity, each part keeping perfect time with the others.  Keith picked up the melody, switching off with Lance not long after, leaving his alpha to finish the song.

The few seconds of silence between the end of one song and the beginning of another was filled with the roaring scream of the crowd, quieting when the first notes began.  Keith’s smoky vocals quickly joined the instrumentals.  Unlike the last song, he returned to his usual show behavior, wandering the stage, never staying in one place for long.  The rest of Castle of Lions joined in for the backup vocals during the chorus, but the crowd exploded again at the beginning of the third verse when Matt stepped up to provide the growling lyrics.  The song began its path to the end, Keith repeating the second half of the chorus, Lance layering over him as that section was split in half.  The video stopped only seconds from the end when Adam and Curtis realized they were no longer alone in the studio.

[countthelions]

@plantpretender hope you dont mind me replying in a new post so I can ramble!!

Ahaa!! I guess I am pretty prolific !! Knitting is my best and biggest distraction from worries so I love having lots of projects for all sorts of situations since sometimes I need a focus project (like the mkal which needed my full attention) or absent busy work (space shawl is one of these!) or something in the middle!!

My yarn situation is a lot better than it used to be I'll admit. I was very bad at just buying yarn because it looked pretty or was on sale and not really thinking it through. I don't really have the storage space for a proper Stash as other crafters have and tbh I don't want a big stash like that anyways! I really enjoy getting to finish projects - it helps me feel present, and that I exist because look!! I made this cool thing with my hands and my self!!! - so having this small stash brought specifically for upcoming projects is important for that continued good sense of self.

I saw a post too about how you should be careful not buying for the potential rather than buying intentionally and that's helped limit excessive purchases. I'm also trying to use What I have first instead of getting new stuff anyways so I have a big queue on ravelry of stuff I'm interested in making and favorites too that I'll pull from with what I've got stashed!!

I've gotten through most of the riff raff so a lot of my stash right now is stuff I bought for patterns that didn't work out. The feel good shawl is the third project I tried with that yarn, and the moth shawl I started yesterday is the fourth. Those yarns were bought for other projects but I ended up marinating and finding something that worked even better! There's new patterns all the time so I'm sure to find something that'll work out for all my yarns <3

[dolls-and-cats]

Tutorial: crocheted snood for 18" doll (or child or adult); same pattern can be used to make a netted market bag

The pattern assumes no prior knowledge of crocheting. Hat tip to my Mom who initially taught me to do this!

materials:

*yarn or string.

*scissors

*crochet hook (I'm using H6 but this can be done with variety of hooks. I'll provide measures in inches/cm so you can get there with different size stitches. Size E4 is smaller than I'd use for this.)

*measuring tape

*your doll (about 2/3 way through to size your final product).

*ribbon to make the tie. Alternatively, I'll talk through making a tie with the string/yarn as another option.

*optional: your cat to “help”

I'm writing this for an 18" doll, but you could adapt this for a snood for a different size doll, child, or adult. You can also riff on this pattern to make a fruit/veggie market bag.

Big picture: we're going to make a flat oval or circle bigger than the doll's head and then add a ribbon to cinch it around the doll's head.

1. Make a loop around crochet hook and knot it.

2. Daisy-chain about 10 stitches ( or 4 inches/10 cm). Daisy chain means bring loop through your loop (one stitch), then a loop through that loop (another stitch). Later in the pattern, I’ll just say “chain three” etc and I’m referring to the daisy chain.  

3. Think of your chain of stitches as having a top (2 pieces of yarn per stitch), a bottom (1 piece of yarn per stitch), and windows (holes in the middle).

This thin chain is what we’re starting with. Now we’ll make it wider, so that it becomes an oval. We're going to do this by making single stitches around it. Start by putting your crochet hook into a window and working with the bottom of the stitch (1 piece of yarn). Now do a single stitch. A single stitch means: go in the window (pre-existing hole) and then pull the yarn through the window with your hook. Now you have 2 pieces of yarn on your hook (pic below).

Now catch the loose line of yarn with your hook and bring yarn through both pieces of yarn on your hook. That makes a yarn thing that is a little taller with a window inside of it and you have one loop over your hook. That is a single stitch. Now go to the next "bottom stitch/1 piece of yarn with a window" of the original chain and make another single stitch.

In case my description of single stitch isn’t clear, here’s what I got when I googled: https://www.anniescatalog.com/crochet/content.html?content_id=68

ok, la la, keep single stitch crocheting until you get to the end of the row. Now we're going to do something weird; we're going to crochet around the narrow end (that is about a quarter-inch or 0.5 cm wide) and then we're going to crochet on the whole other side of this thing. In other words, we're crocheting an oval around the original chain. So to get around the end, make several (approx 4) stitches in the same window and then start single-crocheting on the other side.

Now you're single crocheting around that secomd side, and put several stitches (3) in the window at the end of the row. Now you do a slip-stitch with the original stitch where you started the first row. Slip-stitch means go through the window of the original stitch and bring the loose line of yarn through everything with your hook. Now you have a tied-up oval.

Now chain one (just pull a loop through your loop). You finished row 1 and are ascending to row 2.

4. row 2: same thing. Single crochet around the long ends, put several stitches (approx. 3) through the same window on the short ends, making an oval around the whole thing. When you've finished row 2, slip-stitch through the original stitch and then chain 1 to ascend to the next row.

Big picture: make a flat oval shape that is gradually growing outward. If it's curving in on itself like a bowl instead of lying flat, pull the string to undo some stitches and then add more stitches in the same window at the ends.

If you need to leave the project for a while, pull a loop through and then pull it toward you several inches so that the stitch won't come out.

5. It may get hard to tell where your rows begin, as you keep going around this thing. Optional: on a temporary basis, pull a small piece of different-colored yarn (or a small piece of paper) through the place where your row starts. You'll pull this out at the end of the snood.

6. row 3: same as row 2. As the ends grow wider, you'll want to add the extra stitches in more than one window on the ends. Think of adding them to the "corners" as if this were a rectangle. Slip-stitch with the original stitch, chain 1.

Now I have a flat oval that is 5 inches/13 cm long and 2 inches/4.5 cm wide. Smaller is fine. If it's a lot bigger than that and it's for a doll, I'd probably tug the string and pull out a row because you want your snood to be mostly netting, not solid.

7. row 4: Now we'll do a super awesome stitch that I think of as the "market bag" stitch, but it probably has a different name. This part will go faster than all the single stitching.

On the outside of your oval, you have stitches - the two pieces of yarn per stitch are on the outside and each stitch has a window. We're going to go into some of those windows and not in others, which is what is going to make this like a net.

To prevent the oval from turning in like a bowl, add extra stitches at the corners. Now that you're making chain-loops, this is how you add extra stitches on the corner:

Now you have an oval with ome row of chain-loops all around it.

Chain 5, go in the 2nd stitch (instead of the 3rd/middle stitch) of the previous chain, slip-stitch. Chain 5, go in the 4th stitch of the chain, keep going.

8. rows 5 through approx. 8. If you're tired of learning, you're in luck. It's easy peasy from here.

Continue doing what you did for row 4. Use the middle (3rd stitch) of previous loop- chains for the basis of each new loop-chain. Except for at the corners, where you use the second and fourth stitches of previous loop chains. Do that until you have a mostly-flat oval that's about 9 inches/23 cm by 8.5 inches/22 cm for an 18 inch doll. (A little concave like a bowl is ok, especially at the last row, but a completely flat oval will also be fine). For another sized doll or human: about twice as long and twice as wide as the face. For a market bag: whatever seems right.

If you need to tie your string/yarn to another piece, push the knots and messy stuff to the side facing you, which will be the inside of your snood.

9. Last row: now you're going to riff on what you've been doing, but you just want to make a smooth edge of the oval now instead of continuing to make it bigger. So chain 3, go in the top stitch (3rd, or middle stitch) of a chain from last row, slip-stitch. Repeat until end of row. Tie off by making a final slip-stitch, make a knot, cut a tail of a couple inches, and then thread it through your snood to hide it, letting the tail point into what will be the inside of the snood.

10. Now cut about 40 inches/101 cm of ribbon and thread it through the last row. Pull it closed around the back of her head. This will be your snood! Alternative to ribbon: daisy-chain (loop through loop) until you have about 40 inches/101 cm, then tie off.

Now Addy can keep her hair out of her face while doing chores or playing!

For a market-bag: I do everything for the snood, but keep going until I have a bigger oval. After I’ve done the last row to make a smooth oval, I make a daisy-chain from one side to the other for a handle, and then single-crochet a couple times to make the handle more substantial. Repeat for a second handle.

This is the first time I've written out a crochet tutorial. Feel free to let me know if parts are unclear.