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I have been using silicone ear plugs as thread conditioner for about a year and at this point I can't tell which of my little containers are thread magic and which ones have been refilled with earplugs. Highly recommend this sewing hack and I'm generally not into that sort of thing.

Quick Tips: Thread Conditioner

I had a theory and it checked out.

Historically, people have been running sewing thread through beeswax since many years ago. Waxing thread before hand sewing stops it from twisting and tangling as easily and just generally makes things easier. I talk about waxing thread in the old Reasons You Hate Hand Sewing post.

The main reason why waxing your thread might be bad is that the wax comes off on the fabric, just a bit, and if you hit it with an iron it will fuse the wax into the fabric forever.

To combat this, there’s thread conditioner. You run the thread through the conditioner and it gets some of the conditioner on the thread and it acts like the wax does, but without the problems of wax. There is Thread Magic and you can buy another called Thread Heaven. Both of these are very mystical about what they contain on their websites. They use words like “inert” and “non-toxic” and “non-staining” but they don’t tell you WHAT they are.

As y’all know, I’m not ready to just accept that something is mysterious and corporate secrets. I want to know what it is. I’ve done great research and I have learned many things.

This is Thread Magic. A tub of Thread Magic costs $10.

This is what the box of Thread Magic looks like when it’s opened. Mine’s been used a little bit, but that doesn’t change how it looks too much, except that it’s got some extra lint going through the putty.

This is a 8-pair pack of silicone putty ear plugs that I got at Target for $4.69.

This is what it looks like when you put two of them in the Thread Magic box.

Folks, I’ve done the testing, I have the facts, and Thread Magic and two silicone putty ear plugs operate exactly the same when you put them on some thread.

Now all you need is to go find a little jar.

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We have always existed, and we always will.

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cast on bear mitten #1 today! i'm gonna do them at the same time, section by section, so once i'm done with the (absolutely beautiful) corrugated ribbing, i'll start the second one.

here's hoping they turn out well -- its my first time doing self-designed colorwork!

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If you are like this (as I am) I highly recommend becoming the person who orders the pens for the office.

Having a good pen that you use at work is like. If anything happened to this pen I would kill everyone in this building including my coworkers

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Two mother of all set ups, two threads.

One of the very early harbingers of the industrial revolution were spinning wheels upon which a single operator (spinster) could spin multiple threads. This led to increasingly mechanized spinning and weaving and the explosion in textile technology during the 18th century was the driver for the entire industrial revolution in the 19th century.

Anna Forsvik, 1870-1957, Sweden.

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just learned about the ginkgo trees that survived the nuclear blast in Hiroshima

you cannot kill me in a way that matters

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they should invent a january that doesn’t make you go through every emotion known to mankind every day

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Computer Component Insect Sculptures by Julie Alice Chappell on Etsy

See our ‘sculpture’ tag

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We have this old purple fleece or felt (I have no clue what this thing is made of but I guarantee every middle class household in the 90s had one) blanket that we inherited from my mother in law when we moved into her house. It had some holes but it was still mostly together and it held no sentimental value so it was perfect for me to practice on.

I started doing a weaving type mend with some yarn I had laying around. This green yarn (Lion brand homespun) came in a lot I bought and the previous owner had cut it into short lengths (like 36”) for a project but had never finished. So it really wasn’t good for crochet but it was perfect to use for weaving.

I started with the green and then I was liking the earthy feel with the purple background so I just kept going with some crazy Pom Pom yarn I had a tiny bit of.

And that was looking like moss or fungi so I threw in some yellow.

Then threw in some brown to bring back the earthy feel.

I just kept going in different directions with different yarns until I had filled the hole. And I am so pleased with the result.

I adore the texture this Pom Pom yarn made. Sadly I don’t have any more and I can’t find it online to save my life.

On to another hole. Went for brown base threads (warp threads???) instead of the string I had been using. I have to get more pictures of how this one is turning out because I’m almost positive I’ve finished this hole but I put the blanket away for some reason.

These are some pictures of moss? lichen?? On a tree for inspo because this is what the weaving reminded me of.

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i have to make a pair of needlepoint smoking slippers (you know how it is) but before i committed to the distribution of the motifs in the needlepoint upper-shape, i wanted to make a quick rough draft in case there were any kinks to work out. i drew the pattern on a taped last and transferred it to cardstock, then cut it (oversized, to trim back post-quilting) out of silk dupioni and scraps of quilt batting. the beetles are little trapunto guys — you make them by basting higher-loft batting to the back of the top fabric, and drawing the outline of the beetle or whatever in water-soluble thread; then snipping all the batting away from outside the outline, sandwiching more batting behind it with a backing, and quilting densely around the shape and along any lines inside it that need to be preserved in conventional thread (i used 30wt variegated cotton). afterward, a soak in water will dissolve the initial sketchy thread outline. i left them to dry, cut out the shape of the upper, and zigzagged all the way around to compress the raw edge and limit fraying while it was exposed.

other than the quilting they're a plain, unlined smoking slipper. the layered dupioni is quite dense and stiff with all that extra thread in it. to limit bulk at the back i joined the heel seam by abutting the two ends, zigzagging over them to secure them together, and fell stitching a strip of silk over the seam, inside and out. the topline is finished with bias tape (with twill tape underneath it wrapped around the heel from the midfoot to stabilize it where it is likely to stretch), attached by machine on the outside and by hand inside after i folded it over the raw edge, so there are no visible machine stitches there. i constructed them with aquilim 315 around a 4oz veg tan insole with 2mm rubber outsoles. eventually i’ll make a decision about lining suede and add insocks.

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Child me had a love affair with fettuccini alfredo

Hey guys be cool and normal but reblog this with the homemade meal that would get you the most hyped as a child. I need it for reasons.

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Video I've been thinking about a lot recently

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Some of the principle actors of the stonewall rebellion

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Yes.

hear me out,