#i love this variegated thread so much

[mmxxviii]

new fantasy high crochet! finished it up while watching tonight’s episode :)

figayda phoenix feather earring keychain

(boggy the froggy crochet keychain)

[creations-by-chaosfay]

@anastasiaoftheironwood handquilting Star Story has begun!

I need to find an alternative to white chalk that doesn't stain fabric. Seeing white chalk on nearly-white fabric is a challenge. I've tried Clover and Fons & Porter, but they stain fabric.

Threads I'm using are Sulky, 12 wt, and the colors are 4057 (yellow/gold), 4034 (black/grey), and 4001 (light brown/cream) They're variegated blendables, but stand out just enough to add visual interest.

As for the quilting, details below:

I'll be using a wood star cutout as a template. I found it at a craft shop, and it's supposed to be a wall decoration. After I get the stars quilted, I'll go over it again with crescents. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a crescent nor have one made (lack of funds), so I'm making one with embroidery rings and cardboard.

Why this instead of straight lines and following seams? Time and fun. I use a small quilting hoop to make circles on Halloween Dream, and the handquilting was fast. When I handquilted around thr blocks and border seams, it slowed considerably. Plus, the circles were fun. I'm sticking with templates for this, including the borders, because it is so much fun and faster. My client will get their quilt before the end of the summer. Ideally, within six weeks.

To help speed things along, I'm using a longer stitch as well. About a quarter inch. Tiny stitches are my preference for making parts of a quilt pop, like outlining butterflies other parts of a print. The effect is dramatic and very pleasing...bit it takes sooooo much time. I intend to avoid that here.

I'll be working on Star Story in the afternoon, when my sewing room gets too hot. Mornings will be for seeing, which means more project overlap. Monday-Thursday, from 6AM to 10AM, I'm sewing, take a lengthy lunchbreak, noon-4PM handquilting. I'm up at around 5AM, though that may soon be at 4AM because I love mornings, and go to bed at around 9PM now that we have an a/c unit in the bedroom.

When the handquilting is finished, I'll make a new post featuring it. This will be thr most beautiful quilt I have made yet.

[hidefdoritos]

Galaxy Print Knee Patches

I've just spent two hours locked in mortal combat with my machine, but I emerge victorious with awesomer pants!

Yep, we're working on the same tac pants as always. I have two other pairs of solid black pants, so I can confidently decorate these to match my primarily black-and-blue wardrobe.

Step one was cutting two 9-by-9 patches. (I thought about doing cool hexagons for about 30 seconds and then couldn't decide which way to orient them, so no.) I did my usual trick of putting cardboard in the leg of the pants. Then I folded the edges under slightly and pinned down all around. (Retrospect: Since I didn't iron those folds, I should've used more pins. They kept trying to unfold as I sewed.)

Step two was finding this bobbin of variegated purple thread from my grandma. Rather than hand-winding it onto a spool, I just put it on the machine. Seemed to work!

Step three was realizing this was gonna be difficult. The knee parts of the pants are already two layers thick, and I'm adding another folded layer on top of them. Plus, wrestling the heavy pants under the machine. Eliza has a lovely feature where the bottom comes apart to help you get into sleeves and such, but cramming this fabric in was still a pain.

The above photos are called "Why I'm not a quilter." Also, they show how much trouble Eliza was having with the fabric. The stitch lengths are uneven, I kept hitting pins, and every time I stopped and started, she pulled to one side or the other. On the very first seam, in the first photo, I tried to turn around and do a second row of topstitching, but it came up so uneven that I quit immediately and unpicked it.

Also, she's had this worsening problem where, when I finish a seam, I can't pull the fabric away without turning the top tension back to 0, or the thread will just break. This necessitates remembering to put the tension back to 4. Remember that.

Of course, it wouldn't be a proper sewing project if I didn't sew the pant leg shut on the final corner. So I pulled it off the machine, unpicked it, and went back over it again.

And forgot to reset the tension to 4! Just look at that mess on the back.

I clipped the loops and just sewed it all down again in eagerness to be done. It's a tad noticeable, but I don't care. It's done!

And here's the end result!

Would it be neater by hand? Probably! Is Eliza due for a spa day at the repair shop? Yes! And am I thrilled with the end result?

ABSOLUTELY!

[epitomereally]

Celestial Navigation by @sabrecmc

18 year old Omega!Tony finds himself Bonded to Captain Steve Rogers. He isn't happy about it until he is.

An absolutely gorgeous story of learning to love yourself, even when you feel like you don't fit in & that you grew up wrong. I'm so happy to have gotten to bind this mammoth work for Sabre & as a gift exchange for @mourningmountainsbindery (who bound me this beautiful copy of Astolat's Let the River Run—JUST LOOK AT THAT COVER!).

Also to anyone who has @ed me lately (looking at u, em @powerful-owl & tacky @tackytigerfic particularly) & I've been derelict in responding, here is WHY.

This has been the longest binding project I've undertaken, both in page count and in time. My original message to Sabre was on March 16th—can't decide if I want to use the laughing or crying emoji here—and the colophon says I made the book in April 2023 (which was when I started typesetting, maybe). I had been randomly perusing dying videos on Youtube in bed on a Saturday morning, as one does, and came across a video showing how to spiral tie-dye. I IMMEDIATELY had a design premonition of the full design for this fic as a two-volume set, planted into my brain wholesale by the binding gods. I learned many new techniques throughout the process (edge painting, edge trimming/sanding, tie-dying/dyepainting, embroidery, typesetting meta from tumblr which copy-pastes with the worst goddamn formatting in the world, kill me now). Overall, alternately extremely painful & wonderful, and I'm extremely proud of this set.

Design-wise, I went whole-hog with the scifi stars theme. Endpapers are recolored versions of the star charts from the Apollo 11 mission:

Title page & chapter titles are both rips in the galaxy:

Epigraphs both star-themed:

Some more glamor shots because I'm so proud 💕

8.6 lbs // 3.8 kgs worth of books (~3000 total pages) 🥰

Celestial Navigation is also INCREDIBLY popular, and Sabre has been incredibly generous answering asks on her tumblr + writing additional one-shots in the universe. There is also a veritable volume of fanart. I was so inspired by seeing @robins-egg-bindery copy of ********, with its appendix of fanart & meta, that I promptly copied them.

fanart redacted because lots of the artists are no longer active on tumblr but just know i am ECSTATIC about the amount of art in these books

Lastly, I love how @clovenhoofbindery includes their 'Illustrator mess' with their bind posts, as a behind-the-scenes look into the wild process of designing these books. I don't actually have an Illustrator mess for this book (the chapter titles & title page pretty much came in one take), but I do have a DYING MESS. It took me sososo many tries to figure out how to get the dye to look how I imagined in my head. I ended up 'dye painting' instead of tie-dying in the end, but my inbox is always open to chat hand-dying/tie-dying/dyepainting (or what I did differently between any of these attempts). Numbers are the dying attempt.

Last process shot: I hand-dyed variegated linen thread to match the colors of the bind, which ends up being incredibly difficult to see on the finished bind, but was super fun while I was sewing!

Materials:

Body font: Kepler

Title font: Compaq 1982

Chapter number font: aliens & cows

Endpapers: recolored versions of the star chart used by Michael Collins during the Apollo 11 mission (archived at The Smithsonian)

Bookcloth: dyed using Dharma Trading Procion Fiber-Reactive Dyes

Title page and chapter headers: designed in Photoshop using the Ultimate Space brush pack by jeffrettalyn on DeviantArt

Metallic embroidery thread: Cosmo Nishikiito thread

I would dye for this embroidery thread. It is LIGHT YEARS better than the classic metallic embroidery thread from DMC: much easier to work with & much more sparkly. Literally so eye-catching; it truly doesn't translate to photos.

Paint for edges: Daniel Smith watercolor tubes in Iridescent Sunstone and Prussian Blue

Note: these are GORGEOUS watercolors. The color is so saturated and strong and beautiful BUT I don't think I'd recommend watercolors for edge painting. They went on very differently depending on the grit of the sandpaper I used for the edges + they sometimes bled into the pages + they had to be set with fixative, which then stuck the pages together.

[finalfrontierpublishing]

The Lightness of You // This Soul Outstreaming - a @rendherring duology

The entire origin for this bind was because I was extremely excited to use my newly purchased legal paper and I had wanted to make a tête-bêche quarto - and I just had so many feelings about Good Omens after watching the second season and I needed very much to bind something that is my love letter to Good Omens and express ALL MY FEELINGS ABOUT THOSE TWO LOVEABLE IDIOTS.

Stats:

36055 words || 153 pages

Body text: EB Garamond 11 point

Accents: Alchemist Serif font

I bound these two little fics written by the same author (in 2019, so they are spoiler-free fics), of which they are opposing points of view but also are slightly different stories. I mainly used the character point of views to guide a lot of my design choices.

did quite a few new things with this bind: a tête-bêche, also a quarto! a legal quarto! plus edge gilding! and a half-bind which i have legitly not done since my first bind 1 year ago.

the tête-bêche is a trial run for an author copy - and thankfully is easier than expected.

i chose decorative papers (renato crepaldi, because i have a Stash) that specifically gave me aziraphale and crowley vibes - and leaned into the elements of light and dark, contrast and harmony, while matching it with forest floor colibri. AGAIN PLANT VIBES, JUST BECAUSE.

I kept my typesetting very classic - a) because i wanted to speed bind this (which i did in 2 days) and b) because i wanted to preserve old book vibes. i also practiced++++ and took the electric sander for a whirl because by god i was going to get some foiled/gilded edges on this bind so it would look like a fancy pancy book Aziraphale would covet for his shelf. this is my third attempt at sanding and gilding and it's still a little patchy - not perfect enough yet for a consistent result but i hope to get there one day and to be able to do foiled edges for author copies, hopefully soon. i would say despite the patchiness, it looks pretty fucking fancy and i really liked how it turned out.

Endpapers are the same papers on the cover but on the contralateral endpaper sides, which is a great contrast and an amazing idea from @pleasantboatpress because i was befuddled by Options.

For the endbands, i took inspiration from @celestial-sphere-press's recent beautiful gradient endbands, but leaned more with the usage of sunlight breaking through the contrast of light and darkness, for Aziraphale's side, while Crowley's side is done with green, black and gold because PLANTS. i stitched the main textblock with lovely variegated galaxy thread (IFYKYK :)) hand-dyed by @pleasantboatpress.

i actually really like how the bind came together and i'm rather proud of its simplicity and how intentional it feels as a bind, design-wise. every design choice was done with love, for the show, the book, the author, the characters and the fic and i am just FILLED WITH FEELINGS, Y'ALL. i'm not ashamed of them.

my only (small) gripe is my legal paper grain snafu because i am one of those grain purists and i only ever like using the correct grain but despite the textblock being in the wrong grain, it is still a lovely book and my fears were unwarranted, the book lies flat and open (it's not a monster book of monsters, which i had always assumed erroneously was a grain issue) and is still very readable other than a little sticky-outyness of the pages. am also very grateful because paper supplier is replacing it for free (they are legit the nicest).

[cjgladback]

[ID: Three photos of a purple to pink to orange gradient yarn sitting on weathered wood planks in direct sunlight. In the first, the yarn is a single, unplied twist wrapped into a ball around a disc shaped core (the cardboard of an empty masking tape roll).

In the second, it is a loosely tied hank of three-ply yarn; it has been chain-plied, so neighboring segments of yarn are wrapped together, preserving the color change with minimal variegation.

The third photo features the hank laid with the opposite side up next to a shallow dark-orange mug with a spindle resting in it at a 40 degree angle. The spindle was 3D printed horizontally with a rainbow colored filament, from a spot of orange on one side through red, purple, blue, and to green on the other side. It is about nine and a half inches or twenty-four and a half centimeters long. The spindle is a supported Russian style, its base an inverted teardrop shape before a waist and the shaft of the spindle that's widest just above the waist and tapers down to as thin a spike at the top as possible. End ID]

I spun yarn! And plied it! This spindle and spinnable fluff were an incredibly generous gift from @dangerphd amid excess from 3D printing experiments! I'd previously spun one skein on a drop spindle in high school -- and I loved it for the process and made a chunky shawl of the Stephen West Spectra scarf design with it, but boy was it an uncontrolled thick and thin mess. Whether due to actually carrying over that learning more than a decade later, or the lighter (supported) spindle, or marginally more patience with age, this went way better!

I was definitely struggling with repeated breaks at the start and compromised my intention to go as thin as possible, but by the end I felt like I got decent control and consistency in my single's weight. And seeing how much less fragile those once-broken sock-weight singles are once plied should help me keep up the confidence with future fiber to really push for the thinner threads that I want to use. I had just learned about chain plying and wanted to try it when Danger sent the gradient fluff, so it wasn't a problem when there were several spots that I was sure would need plying for strength--and overall it's still less chunky than the thicker parts of the single I had made before! And much more even than I expected.

I haven't been brave and tried fulling it yet, just barely dampened and hung with a minor weight (a thick flannel shirt on its hanger) while drying. (It smells like wool once wet, though less strongly than some and I don't actually know its fiber contents.) But it's already pretty well behaved. It's a bit less than 20 feet of yarn, and I have to get into and through a different project right now, but I'll find something that lets me use it soon enough.

[alittlebirb]

Continuing the trend of posting very big tapestries lately, here is my most recent piece that I literally finished today ^^

It is. so long lmaooo, I think it's actually the longest piece I've ever made. I'm really really proud of it! It's so pretty, I love the color choices, and the variegated thread in particular is such a fun touch that I feel really brings out the ~magical~ feeling.

I also did something new this time around in regards to using metallic thread! I used a special golden one in order to reallyyy bring out that lustrous golden color, and it turned out beautiful! The metallic thread was much thicker than my usual ones, which messed with knot sizes a bit, but not terribly. Additionally, the one I used was much smoother, so it was more difficult to knot and keep in place. Overall, I would definitely say it was worth it!

Pattern: 116292 (cut and color edited)

[gaviicreates]

National Crochet Month - Days 12-18

12. Favorite Yarn - I have a few because of the different types of projects I do. In the world of doilies, my favorite crochet thread is called Alize Miss Batik, which can be a little hard to come by. It's a size 10 mercerized cotton and each colorway has long strand variegation to create such beautiful final products. In the world of what I purchase from my LYS - my heart sings Malabrigo. While Arroyo/DK is my preferred weight here, I've worked more with their ult sock and sock weight. As far as value yarns, I'm partial to Lion Brand's options. I have a bit of a collection of Mandala cakes. Though Caron Simply Soft is where I started. In the world of cotton - I like hobbii's friends cotton.

13. Something [color]

I asked my fandom to send me a color for this, and then I crocheted a granny square in order of each color received until I couldn't find a color in stash close enough. It was lilac that did me in. So I'd be happy to share the randomness of with you for this part of the challenge. Random Rainbow:

14. 3 Crocheters I love My mom, obviously, and my friends here. But I imagine this question is to share creators and entertainers that inspire us on line. For that, here are a few I follow:

Toni from TLYarnCrafts Juan - JuantheYarnAddict For patterns - especially those do mandalas and might want to give some thread crochet a try, I recommend grace fearon and draiguna and handmadebyraine.

15. Blanket

The blanket you're about to see is not one I made, but it's one that I've always known. I've shared this story before on my instagram, and it felt right to share here for this part of the challenge. As a child, I loved all the bright colors and I liked playing with the fringe. I didn't find out until I was older that it was made by the grandmother I'd never known. Years before me, my mom taught her mom how to crochet as an outlet for when she was sick. She had just turned the corner of fringe before passing away, and mom couldn't bring herself to finish it.

It means so much to me that this craft can create a bond. Even reach across generations.

16. Crocheting in Public Yes, it depends though. I don't always carry around a project bag that's portable, as I also prefer to be at home more often than not. One of my favorite places/times to crochet is when I am on vacation, so I've been known to bring some projects down to the beach front.

17. Something for Me

At the moment, the big crochet blanket is the thing that's most for me. It was a huge splurge for nice yarns, has been an absolute joy to work with as hand-dyed merino, and the end piece isn't going to mean much to anyone besides myself and my husband. I think people who also play ffxiv might appreciate the idea, but we've also added yarns to represent our Warrior of Light, so the final product is going to be subtle, special to us, and probably look like it doesn't go together at all to everyone else. It's making me happy though and that's what matters. Though, I am also terrified of it getting ruined, so it might end up carefully bagged and stored until I want to use it. #blanket of the seventh dawn 18. Crochet Buddy Most of my crochet friends are online, which is great because it's such a great way to bond over timezones. I love seeing progress, being a part of inspiring each other - sometimes not always with crochet, and just chatting life and projects. On the other hand it means no yarn-y friends to take to the LYS or craft store with me. I have to be my own reality check (admittedly though, I'm often my own enabler). Anyway - you know who you are :D

[clonehub]

someone in the tags of that meme said they dont understand why tbb stans take criticism of their shows so personally. while i have a range of theories as to why, in general, fans of a show cannot just let people not like the show, the tbb stans in particular seem to....idk, think the bad batch is Doing Something? i did literally see someone say that you cant criticize the show because the animators work so hard on it, and they conflated negative feelings about the series with a lack of desire to see *any* aspect of the Bad Batch, like "yeah youre complaining but look at these nice visuals do you not want those anymore???" which was a false equivalency.

and of course there's the whole fandom-as-identity and stan-as-personality and a lot of people's growing inability to take variegated and holistic approaches to the series. even the ones who admit that the show has flaws regarding how they write wrecker seem to be unable to realize/point out that wrecker's writing is problematic because it is racist.

racism as a factor in the poor quality of the writing is one that ive noticed gets ignored almost COMPLETELY. i and others like me who do not like the bad batch are able to point out the stereotypes and poor optics and everything else while talking about the writing. people who love the bad batch cannot. i guess because then, admitting that the writing and animation are inextricably racist would make them look a little silly for loving the show so much, because you can say the character development was slow but you still love it. but you can say "yeah he's a racial stereotype and there was a weird reverse racism thread to their back story and they do make efforts to prove these white characters are better than these nonwhite ones--but i still love it".

but in general, since ive deviated a little, like....i remember when uwwtbb first came out and it was *incredibly* difficult for people to separate themselves from what they were consuming. people complained about the racism in the show and they complained about the more or less explicitly racist fans of the bad batch and you had other stans (who often had to bring up that they were poc, but obv not always) saying "well im not a bad person for watching the show" or asking if they could watch it. like i cant control what you watch. me passing judgement on you specifically makes no sense. although one does have to consider how much they're willing to tolerate, praise, or brush aside for the sake of their own personal entertainment. i am watching season 2 of the bad batch to keep track of any other racist developments that happen (which, thankfully, have been minimal). you are watching because you find joy in it. we are not the same. we dont need to be.

but connecting to what id said earlier about tbb stans i guess not understanding their own "buying power", so to speak--if criticizing a show means criticizing the people who watch the show, and if a lot of people who watch the show definitely don't care about the whitewashing that much, then there is no sense in acting shocked when the by products of a racist show are racist. the confusion over tech's 1/6th model as if he doesn't look like a boring white man in the series was irritating. you asked for this. you can't say tech is hot and you can't spread whitewashed fanart and you cannot implicitly and explicitly support the racist design and then turn around and be surprised when you are given exactly what you asked for.

[somediyprojects]

The Fruits of Plenty WIP stitched by temporary_bob. 2021 SAL (€19,80) designed by Jacob de Graaf of Modern Folk Embroidery.

“I was so inspired by nuclearxstitch that I had to make this SAL with the same variegated thread. I'm loving it so much! Thank you for the inspiration! (Pattern is Fruits of Plenty 2021 SAL by Modern Folk Embroidery).

I'm using delft blue variegated thread (DMC 121) and I'm actually putting more thought than I expected into how to start and end each stitch.

I have the thread precut to lengths the all go from darkest to lightest, then I look at each area and plan where I want the gradient to start. Then I start usually with darkest and try to stitch roughly in a reasonable path.

For the area that's symmetrical I just started top down then went on one branch out and decided to start from the middle and work out and just do the two sides the same. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out so far!

It's 28 Count Cashel Linen-Antique White. Also my first time doing 1 over 1 on linen so there's that extra aspect of having to think about how to cross one's x's. It was rough starting and now it's second nature. Hard to express how much I love this project.”

[frogsandfries]

Was anybody going to tell me my sister is out of town for the weekend or was I just supposed to find out for myself on Friday evening.

At least she took the dog. It'll be a nice lovely weekend in the office for me, not having to let the dog have his outside time. The only bad thing being, I may not be able to get my meds or anything to supplement the food we have in the house. Like, a block of cheddar (my sister refuses to buy shredded cheese, so I have to shred all the cheese) would've helped with the final quiche that I'm going to be making for quite a while; spinach would be great as well. If I had more broccoli, I could make more chicken broccoli casserole. Sure, we have plenty of food in the house, but it means nothing if you can't prepare anything from what's left. So I guess I'm just stranded with what I have........ Most likely............ Unless I just use this little chunk of change I have left to get those couple things.... Man, I was going to use that money to get some embroidery thread.

So as she was rushing out of the house, she advised me that she's inviting the gene donors to live with us. I advised her that if she's inviting them to pay to live here, she better make them sign a contract. Honestly, I should've signed a contract with her. I wasn't expecting the move to be so difficult, and then for her to break her leg. But I am working to figure out some kind of solution. I could see at least one of the gene donors never paying rent and then wanting to hoard up the entire house with the crap they'd spend their money on instead. If my sister told me tomorrow to pick one room because she's renting out the other, and also I need to get all my crap out of the other places it is in the house, a) I could do that, b) I would. Our gene donors wouldn't be so respectful. Which is ironic because who pounded my manners people pleasing and bending over backward to accommodate others into my head?

I'm kind of cracking; I kind of can no longer resist: I need to do my New Mexico State flag wall hanging. And it is going to take unimaginable amounts of embroidery floss. I want to put together my wefts before I try to estimate the amount of embroidery thread; I'd rather order the right amount of thread or more. I'm pretty clever at blending out colorways, but I would, of course, rather not have to do that.

There's this Haku in his river spirit form wall hanging that I really want to work on, but I'm even having a bit of trouble focusing on the pattern. Speaking of patterns, I'm also having trouble with this decently sized, realistically colored Luna moth.

In addition to all that, I think I found the pattern I was going to use for this one WIP. I knew I had plans for the threads; I never put a bundle together like that till I have something planned, but I misplaced the plan for it. I need to figure out some kind of organization for that. A sketchbook would be pretty good, but printing would be a pain. On the other hand, I could try doing that digitally, since the patterns are already in my tablet. The issue is going to be "out of sight, out of mind." I could also just get better at starting my bracelets before I put them away.

By the way, there's this one blue and yellow themed chevron I also really really want to do, and actually, I could use a little more practice with chevrons. I was going to pull aside the threads for it, but I ran out of time. I still want to do this variegated chevron. Eventually I want to do a variegated bracelet with a distorted stripe......ooohhh maybe I should work harder to find some variegated threads like what I have; or maybe I could try using two different colorways..... Either way, a distorted stripe with variegated threads???!!

Well, since I'm not doing pretty much anything at all this weekend, maybe I'll try to finish those big patterns, and some bracelets. I'm thinking about taking off the weekend from gaming for money as well. Like I keep saying, if I'd known about this while I was working from home, this would've been amazing. A nearly solid eight hours with a solid handful of games to cycle through? And an extra gift card every couple weeks? But I'm just trying to earn just any functional money at all and this is just not it. Honestly, a pile of friendship bracelets has more certain earning potential, even if the profit margins are painfully, sadly similar.

[makeitcajun]

The LAURA TOP (version 2)❣️❣️ When I posted my first look at my test version of the Laura Top by @namaste_and_crochet I told you that I loved the top so much that I made 2️⃣ YES….it’s that quick of a make.👍 For this version, I did a little experimenting. I used 2 strands of #10 crochet thread held together (yep 🤔 2 strands of #10 thread held together equals a sport weight yarn). Plus, I wanted to explore a little bit with color blocking, so I used a solid and a variegated color scheme. I also went 2 inches shorter with the length for more of a “cropped” look. Honestly, what I love most about this top is that it gives me a sense of security, so that I can finally wear halters, tanks, and all those cute bralettes that I don’t have the confidence to wear alone. (Saggy arm flab is real 🤷🏻‍♀️ it and prevents me from going sleeveless) #lauratop is designed so that whatever you wish to wear underneath can shine through. Pssst🤫🤫🤫🤫. I have a secret project that I will be announcing 📣 this coming Monday and I’ve already planned that this project will include a bralette and the #lauratop…which means that I’ll have 3️⃣ …that’s the number 3 Laura Tops in my wardrobe made within a 2 month span. This pattern is so versatile…you can make it the length you want and the sleeve length is adjustable as well….And the sleeve cinching makes this such a trendy design.🥰 The Laura Top is available on Dominique’s website namasteandcrochet.com Pattern The Laura Top Designer: @namaste_and_crochet 
🧶: Aunt Lydia’s #10 Crochet Thread 🧶: @hobbii_yarn Twister Solid (sport weight) Color: Silver Gray (at Maurice, Louisiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXT6GpumRu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[oonajaeadira]

I haven’t stitched in ages, but mostly crosstitch. Some felties. 

Some pics under the cut.

Peacock in a Pear tree took me 6 years to finish because it has blended threads, 1/4 and 3/4 stitches, metallic threat, beads... It got me through much of my nightmare years. It’s been finished for over a decade and I still have to get it framed.

 Then I stupidly started on a version of Hiroshige’s Cat in Window and it’s been an on and off thing for years.

Here’s a quick piece I did for an asshole that didn’t appreciate it (so I took it back) and a blackwork start

And then there’s my beloved Ink Circles. I love her designs.

Tanglewood was my favorite to do and had hand dyed threads

I did all of IC’s Dragons of Sumatra when I binged Game of Thrones for the first time. And had to drive all over two cities during winter to find enough of the one color of variegated thread I chose like a dummy.

Right now I’m working on IC’s Aztec Sampler design and shot myself in the foot when I decided to do metallic thread again for that one

Sorry it’s so wrinkled. It’s been folded up for easier stitching.

I do a little embroidery, but I tend to give it away. Here’s some

How is it that I never have the color embroidery thread that I need for a new project?

I don't have a huge stash, but it's a box and a half at least of threads. And I don't have one color for this new project? 🤦🏼‍♀️

Embroidery thread is the real cryptid. You have a bunch of it, but never the right colors.

[shig-a-shig-ah]

Gangbang by the lov

Anon I know I have ignored this for a week and I am sorry for that, but let me tell you: I got this request and I was like ‘fuck it, if I’m going to do it I’m going to do it right’ and was all set to do a full fic because how do you even fit something so involved into a few paragraphs? 

Except here’s the thing: it’s fucking hard! Who knew? Not me, because I am a fool and I thought I could just pop out 3.5k words of gangbang in a week or something and be content with it, but lemme tell you, it took that way longer than I expected just choreograph some sequence of events. Like, just the set up and making it clear who’s doing what, let alone making it actually read well took so much time. So, hats off to anyone who’s ever accomplished that task, you’re more man than me.

Anyway, in the end I abandoned the set up and I wouldn’t quite consider this a full fic, but it got pretty long anyway. 

» pairing: male!LoV Members x afab!reader

» cw: gangbanging, obviously. Also double penetration, eating ass, anal sex, masturbation, a sprinkle of voyeurism and a lil’ bit of dirty talk, and maybe degrading language if you squint. 18+, minors DNI. 

» wc:  1.7k

They let Jin start you off—the League doesn't want to wreck you too badly after all, wants to get you nice and ready so they can keep doing this, again and again for as long as you're willing to be their good little slut. You never know when it's coming either, some of them will exchange a look and suddenly Jin is pulling you to him, nestling his broad chest against your back and letting his hands wander, groping at your chest and pinching your nipples, sliding beneath the waistband of your pants to toy with your folds, telling you that you're “such an obedient slut” for him in one breath and “such a useless whore!” the next, his face flushing at the outburst while he grinds his cock against the curve of your ass.

It's Compress who joins next—what kind of gentleman would he be, after all, if he didn't help get you warmed up for them? He and Twice will guide you somewhere comfortable like the couch in the corner, peeling off your clothes along the way, and the next thing you know Jin is tugging you into his lap, making you face him as he sinks you down on his cock, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he whimpers at the feel of your warm, wet pussy enveloping his length. Compress is already kneeling behind you too, hands spreading your cheeks wide so that he can tongue at your ass; it's important after all to get all those holes ready, because god knows they'll be using them.

When Jin gets close to finishing, he'll reach down to stroke your clit, getting you mewling. Those sweet little sounds pouring from your mouth are more than anyone could resist—can't let 'em go to waste, after all. This is when Muscular steps in, stroking that intimidatingly large cock, pressing it's fist-sized tip against your lips until you part them to give kitten licks around his head, all you can manage to start, when it's so thick.

Your hips buck when Compress slips one of those agile fingers into your puckered hole, chuckling softly at how the invasion makes you squirm and then adding another slick digit. The way you writhe has Twice gripping your hips harder too, thumb rubbing more furiously at your sensitive nub, and all those sensations are enough to have you cascading over the edge, crying out and shuddering as you cum. Muscular takes advantage of the way your mouth gapes when you cry out, forcing his way past your lips, stretching your mouth impossibly wide around his length, all while Jin is twitching beneath you, the feel of your cunt clenching around him more than enough to have him painting your walls white as he shouts his appreciation, "Thank you, thank yo—fuck—thank you."

And then Muscular and Compress are lifting you from Twice's lap, arranging you on all fours so that Muscular can fuck your mouth more properly and Compress can start the work of sinking himself into your tight ass. He whispers in your ear the whole time, praises and reassurances to help you take him.

"Deep breath now, that’s it," he'll croon. "Just relax, I assure you I'll take excellent care of you."

There's something about his voice that’s soothing. Hypnotic even, perhaps one more trick the mysterious man has mastered, and it never fails to work, your whole body going limp and accepting those invasions in the best possible way, leaving you tight yet compliant for Compress as he buries himself in your ass. It helps for Muscular too, your throat and your jaw relaxing enough for him to surge past the tight ring of your throat so he can fuck your face properly, growling lustily as you accept him without complaint. They rock you back and forth between them, a seemingly endless and exquisite fullness that has your sex dripping, slick running down your thighs as you clench around nothing, and you swallowing eagerly when Muscular finally releases his load down your throat.

When he withdraws you catch a glimpse of Moonfish, leaning against the wall on the other side of the bar. It's impossible to tell if he's watching with that leather hood covering his face, but you know he's enjoying himself one way or another, the same way he always does—thick threads of spit running down his chin and an obvious bulge at his crotch as he ruts against the air, writhing his way to his own hands-free release.

But that view is blocked when Shigaraki and Dabi settle in to take Muscular's place in front of you, stroking themselves gently and grinning widely. Dabi runs one hot thumb along your spit-slicked lower lip.

"Ain't that cute, you looking all fucked out already?" he murmurs, and then his hand is on the back of your head, guiding you to lick at his cock. You run your tongue along the underside of his shaft, tickle at the line of barbells placed there before sucking lightly at his tip, moaning against it as Compress's thrusts grow rougher, more erratic, sending you gasping every time he sinks himself deep into your rear entrance. Dabi draws a hissing breath and then guides your head towards Shigaraki instead.

"That's a good little fucktoy," Shigaraki whispers, dry lips twisting into a fond smile as he pinches your tongue with two fingers, tugging it out and ordering you to keep it that way as he brushes his tip back and forth over that hot, wet muscle, ruts gently against it, using you to tease himself.

You don't notice when Compress cums, not until he's pulling out and his hands at your waist are replaced by the feel of claws tracing gently over your sweaty back. You can hear Spinner panting, and feel the way he's trembling a little. No matter how many times you've done this he always get so nervous about filling you up with those hemipenes, his cheeks flushing pink and his movements uncertain. But you know he loves that there's someone who can finally take him, take both of them, and you love the feeling of them filling you up just as much. So you cant your hips, rub your wet eager holes against him until he's making a strangled, impatient noise and forcing both cocks into you with a single thrust, and then you're moaning against Shigaraki's stiff member.

He jams it down your throat in response, humping against your face a little more eagerly as you meet Spinner's movements the best you can. The curve of his cock in your cunt hits just right against that sensitive spot inside, the feel of being stretched so wide and full sending you hurtling towards your next climax.

And Shigaraki's eager for it, loves to see you writhe and then squirt, making such a mess. He pulls out of your mouth, Dabi quickly taking his place in that drooling cavern, and then two of Shigaraki's fingers are rubbing fast circles against your clit.

"Should I make them cum, Spinner?" he asks, a teasing edge in his voice. "Want to feel them clenching around you?"

"Y-yeah, boss," you hear Spinner pant. "Fuck, please, yes."

Tomura's fingers speed up, add just a little more pressure and that's all it takes to have you bucking, your cunt contracting, gushing all over Spinner's cocks. You hear him whine, swearing under his breath as his thrusts speed up, and you feel even more deliciously full when he's twitching inside you, flooding both your holes.

You're repositioned again almost immediately, cum dripping out of you as you're tugged upright onto your knees, Shigaraki slotting himself against your back and sinking without warning into your ass while Dabi pins you from the front, driving himself abruptly into your cunt.

They like to be last, you know, like you sloppy and overstimulated when they take you, and fuck, you'd be lying if you said you didn't love it too, Shigaraki stretching your ass wide and the ridges of Dabi's pierced shaft massaging your insides in the most delicious way. It's different than the fullness Spinner gives you; his cocks always move in concert, a rhythmic cycling of fullness and emptiness that is a drastic contrast to Dabi and Shigaraki's variegated, asynchronous thrusts. Shigaraki wastes no time pounding into your ass with constant rough strokes, while Dabi likes to tease, likes to go slow until you're a whining mess, whimpering every time he grinds against your overstimulated clit and still begging him for more, pleading with him to make you cum as tears of pleasure stream down your cheeks.

He doesn't of course, not until he and Shigaraki are ready—they want you to cum when they do, want to feel you convulsing and milking every drop of their seed out of them. They only start to match their movements once they’re close, Shigaraki's hands snaking between your and Dabi's bodies to tweak at your nipples, twisting those sensitive buds.

"Is the greedy little toy gonna cum for us?" Dabi murmurs, his breath hot in one ear.

"You've been such a good little cocksleeve, taking everyone," Shigaraki purrs in the other, "so go on and show us how much you like it."

And you do. You cum so hard there's white spots flashing behind your eyes, your toes curling and your moans strangled as they escape your abused throat, throbs of ecstasy radiating through your core until you're left limp, Dabi and Shigaraki's grips the only thing keeping you upright as they ride out their releases, their cum leaking out around their cocks as they fill you to overflowing.

They lay you back gently on the couch when they're finally finished. There's a warm washcloth wiping at your thighs already, a soothing hand brushing your hair back from your sweaty forehead, but you don't pay any mind to who's doing what. You simply lay there and let them go about the business of cleaning you up, entirely trusting of their attentions, because you already know there's no reason not to be.

They always take such good care of you.

[theladyragnell]

hi! your shawl is so pretty, do you have any tips for somebody interested in starting weaving? thanks!

Disclaimer: I am a tiny baby weaver! I have not done anything but straight across weaving so far, on a table loom that happened to be stashed in my attic after my father had a fit of fiber crafts optimism when I was a kid, no patterns or color changes or anything like that. If any more experienced weavers have tips and tricks for this anon or for me, PLEASE do reblog/reply/etc.!

Try it before you buy expensive equipment. I was lucky that I already had the equipment around, but if you aren't sure you're going to find the movements soothing, look around and see if you can find a place to try out a loom, or try tablet weaving first, which you can do with almost no equipment. Check with local craft stores or fiber festivals (these places may also have lines on used equipment), if you're rural ask anyone with fiber animals if they have a weaving connection, then ask if you can come over and check their loom out and give it a try/have a lesson, especially if they have a table loom and not one of the wildly expensive pieces that are furniture in their own right.

Plan on a few throwaway projects. While I was just learning the motions, I made three scarves with some acrylic yarn I'd picked up for extremely cheap. They were messy, and I am glad I made them! I learned a lot about keeping my edges even, keeping my weave even, etc. And then I gave them to people who love me enough that they don't mind that they're messy!

Variegated yarn. If you're a person like me who likes some variety and you want to feel like you're making something with a pattern but you're not quite brave enough to start figuring out fancy things, variegated yarn is your best friend. My shawl was made with variegated yarn on the weft BUT with the warp done out of different colors of warping thread, which is most of what gives it that cool effect. Changing colors a bunch on warping threads is tedious as hell, but it is very helpful for punching up the look of something without actually making it more difficult.

Warping tension matters a lot! (The warp are the long threads that you move the shuttle between, the weft is the working thread/yarn that you're passing through on your shuttle.) I had some troubles because I didn't have even tension on my warp, and that shawl would have been much prettier and much easier to make if I'd worked on that from the get-go.

Think about your warping set-up in advance. If you don't use a warping board, you're going to need a lot of space (as much space as you want the length of your project to be, plus a bit) and a place your loom and the warping peg can clamp onto.

There are a lot of things I can tell you are likely to be slightly harder aspects (making sure your edges are totally even, getting the warp threads even at the beginning), but there are a lot of tips and tricks on youtube and other places! I wish you the best of luck, and hopefully I'll be able to share some fancier projects in the future. <3

[queercore-curriculum]

Love in a Time of Hardship: An Anthology of Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde Fanfiction

Binding, cover design, and layout by me. Bound with hand-dyed variegated linen thread using a variation on a long stitch binding I designed myself. Here’s what’s inside:

At Your Convenience by @holoxam​​

A really lovely, intimate post-campaign fic in which Zolf and Wilde are in a QPR and don’t need to talk about it, thank you very much. I love this fic, it’s such a wonderful little slice of life and captures their dynamic so perfectly.

Would You Cast Me to the Wayside by lily_rainn

An incredibly thoughtful and humane depiction of Zolf and Wilde negotiating the beginning of their relationship. Neither of them have the vocabulary to fully understand what’s happening, but they’re trying so hard because they care so much about each other, and it’s just great.

The most dangerous thing is to love by @makesometime 

An ancient Greek gods AU that’s just unbelievably good. makesometime seamlessly weaves Greek mythology into the RQG world all while not just maintaining perfect characterization, but actually elevating these characters to match the beautiful world she created. 

Wake up by @makesometime​​

Zolf waiting for Wilde to wake up post-ep.177. This was the first RQG fic I ever read, and it’s very, very special to me. Zolf is so painfully tender and anxious, and it makes my heart ache every time.

Inevitable by Miri1984 / @icescrabblerjerky 

“Post 177 Zolf and Wilde have sex and feelings,” really the most succinct way of putting it. Such an intense distillation of all my feelings about Zoscar!

What We Worship by Miri1984 / @icescrabblerjerky​​

AU where Wilde dies in the airship crash and doesn’t get better. Really wonderful worldbuilding for the RQG-universe afterlife, and so beautifully written and poignant.  

The Right Questions by @newsbypostcard

Just two complicated and emotionally-repressed dudes negotiating their relationship after one of them rescues the other from death. Fuck, the characterization in this fic is so good. A prime example of why fic is so often better than canon. 

Small Intimacies by @newsbypostcard​​

Zolf and Wilde go to bed and have a conversation. That’s it, that’s the fic, and it’s the single greatest “mortifying ordeal of being known” fic I have ever read. It's the kind of story I dream about finding, one that teaches me more about characters I love and illustrates exactly why they mean so much to me. A perfect fic, easily one of my favorite fics of all time.

Until We Meet Again by @queercore-curriculum​

Zolf and Wilde cross paths after Zolf leaves Prague and while Wilde is still on the run from La Gourmand. Eh, I feel weird reccing my own fic, but I’m pretty proud of this one, actually.

Warm and Dry by @queercore-curriculum​

Caf​é AU where baker!Zolf teaches writer!Wilde how to bake bread. I had a lot of fun writing this, and if I can get my shit together I’ll finish writing the extended version, Coriander.

find your feet by @starstrung​

Zolf and Wilde hide their relationship from Earhart aboard the Vengeance. I. LOVE. THIS. FIC. starstrung writes one of my all-time favorite Wildes, and this is an absolute delight to read. Zolf and Wilde often live in dark, angsty places, but this is just so joyful and fun and hot while still staying so true to character. I promise this fic will make your day brighter.

love is a sacrament by @starstrung​

An 18-month time gap fic that’s just fucking perfect. Feat. an extra guarded Wilde (again, one of my all-time favorites) and an extra tender Zolf, and it’s so, so, so wonderful. 

Woven Up by tuesdaycoming

A deep dive into Zolf’s backstory and his layers upon layers of grief. This fic just blew me away, brilliant worldbuilding and an absolute masterclass in showing-not-telling. 

Absolutely Unlike Harrison Campbell by ZaliaChimera / @zalia​

Zolf is bored and propositions Wilde to pass the time. This fic is very hot, but I also found it incredibly moving. ZaliaChimera takes a really unflinching look at these two very emotionally-repressed dudes that don’t particularly like one another and shows a different kind of intimacy than we often see in fic, one that’s a little rough around the edges and brutally honest. 

Look, I may need to make a second Zoscar anthology, and another anthology of RQG mixed-bag ships--the RQG fandom is just so fucking talented. If you have any recs of your own, please send them my way!

More pics below the cut!

My Rusty Quill ficbinding shelf :D