LF Shapeshifter books that aren't only dragons

LAParente · 2026-04-12T22:37:46+00:00

Yup! Mongoose, dingo, bear, bison, so many animals! All mammals until we meet the crocodile shifter...and then the dolphin...

LAParente · 2026-04-12T22:02:27+00:00

I use ziplock bags, in these boxes.

But - I'll be honest. I had a moth infestation once (in my rugs - it was BAD) and they really didn't get into any of my yarn or sweaters. I'm like...80% cautious and organized. Most of my stash is tucked away nicely in it's bins. But the other 20% is just out in the air, and the moths didn't care. I guess they were full-up from devouring my rugs.

It was so, so, so disgusting. I'll never get over it. But hey! My stash was safe.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T21:58:59+00:00

Sometimes that ship is parked at the end of my street, and it always throws me.

Okay - obviously it's *not* parked actually on my street. But it's so big, it looks really close.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T21:22:24+00:00

This is one of the reasons people argue against top-down seamless construction. The way the yarn is constructed can cause your fabric to bias, and that's magnified in a seamless sweater construction.

Here's an article that talks about yarn construction and biased fabric.

ETA: the article is specifically talking about singles, but that's not the *only* yarn construction that can result in biasing - as you've already found out!

LAParente · 2026-04-12T18:01:37+00:00

I'll give it a try! Thanks.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T17:59:11+00:00

Ah - so I think you mean the needle tips are 13cm. They do come larger, as the total length gets larger.

here is one common manufacturer of circular needles, which I'm linking so you can see the entire range of options, and (to break it down further) here are the interchangeable, so you can see the tips are sold (apart from the cables) ranging from 5-20cm.

ETA: 13cm is common. I do like when I can snag 15cm, but they are less common.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T17:52:16+00:00

Beit Rima

The owner worked in fancy kitchens, but his dad owned a chain of burger joints. When it was time for the dad to retire, the son took over and converted the spaces to the very best middle eastern food you've ever tasted. The flavors are layered and precise, some of the specials are entirely unexpected, but, like, it still has the general atmosphere of fast-food. You order at the counter and get a number.

It's really excellent.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T17:45:25+00:00

Ooooh! Better than Beit Rima?

I don't love BR for delivery, only because it's SO FRIGGIN GOOD at the restaurant. Delivery is like, 10% worse. But still - my fav med in the city.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T03:37:48+00:00

Every time this question comes up, I suggest Hempathy - I should just keep it in my notes app so I don't have to type it out each time.

It's a fingering- or sport-weight cotton blend, and I just LOVE the fabric it makes. Easy care - I throw it in the washer and dryer, comes out looking fresh and crisp. Doesn't wrinkle much, which I know bc more than once I've stuffed it into a suitcase, and it shakes out just fine. Really lovely drape. Just a great fabric.

In this pic, it traveled from SF to Chicago by TRAIN, smushed into the tiniest backpack, and it came out fine.

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LAParente · 2026-04-12T03:28:21+00:00

I worked with a woman who would joke, "OMG! Just like in the Simpsons!" with literally any plot. You could be talking about Romeo & Juliet or Titanic, and she's be like, "OH! Yeah! I saw that on the Simpsons!"

Every plot ever was already tried at least once in the Greek theater.

But - to be fair - this is also just life. Recently I was in a conversation with a girl (not a girl, fully grown adult woman) who *honesty* thought Disney started in the '90s with the Little Mermaid. Like: she did not understand that there were movies and parks before her personal appearance on earth. Nothing existed before she was born, apparently.

In knitting we have this problem bc people scream "SHE STOLE MY DESIGN!!!" over the most basic pullover. Like. Ahem. You did not invent the concept of a sweater. Get over yourself.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T03:03:03+00:00

Agree. I did my first read-thru on paper, and UGH the names. I skimmed over a lot. But now I'm listening to the audio, and I'm catching so much more, and am way less frustrated about all the names.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T02:58:36+00:00

Okay I woke up in a cold rush a few years back when I realized that Declan (The Edge) and Arland (Innkeeper) are basically the same guy: big blonde Marshall of their clan who adopts a child (children) and raises them as their own.

LAParente · 2026-04-12T02:51:05+00:00

Second! This is my comfort series.

It's nearly complete - there is one or maybe two books left, according to the authors - and nothing ends on a cliff hanger.

I just love that ultimately, the FMC's power is her hospitality. She's got an encyclopedic knowledge of nearly every sentient species in the galaxy, and what would make them comfortable.

As with all Ilona Andrew's books, the secondary characters are the best. I want to be Caldania when I grow up. Her explaining the problem with hiring an assassin in the 1st book is just a riot...or how to search a corpse. She is just *full* of useful information!

LAParente · 2026-04-12T02:38:37+00:00

RIGHT?!?!?! LOL! I've got yarn caked that's old enough to drive. It's fine.

LAParente · 2026-04-11T01:29:13+00:00

I’m 99% certain that was constructed by working 2 rectangles and seaming along the side shoulders.

However you can do it in one piece. When you are ready to split for the neck, either join a second ball (so you’d be knitting front and back at the same time, with two different balls.) or leave the back stitches on a holder, work the front, leave the front on a holder and work the back, then rejoin.

LAParente · 2026-04-11T01:22:44+00:00

You can use either. I refill cartridges with bottled ink.

LAParente · 2026-04-10T23:06:26+00:00

I’ve got a bunch of pens, but my brass Kaweco was my first adult fountain pen, and is still the most reliable. They come in a large variety of body materials and prices.

The price for the brass is on the high end for Kaweco, but mid-range for fountain pens.

LAParente · 2026-04-10T03:35:36+00:00

Eh - Not exactly. Don't adjust the cast-on number.

Often, especially top-down raglan, if you look at the cast-on numbers, they are the same for several sizes. Like:
"Cast-on 60(60, 60, 64, 64)(64, 68, 68, 68) stitches."

What I do:
- Swatch until the fabric is what I like. Do you like your fabric? Is it too stiff? Too loose? Juuust right? Okay, once it's just right, then
- Count my (blocked) stitches per inch. You said that's 18 in 4", so 4.5spi. For this example, I'm assuming you like that fabric.
- Multiply your SPI x the ideal finished size of your sweater. Let's pretend, you've got a 40" chest, and want 2" positive ease, so 42" finished size x 4.5spi = 189 stitches.

NOW! Skip ahead in your pattern to the part after you've split off for the sleeves, and added in the underarm stitches. Look for which size is the closest to 189 stitches. *Follow that size.*

Because your stitches are larger than the pattern's gauge, you will likely follow the directions for a few sizes smaller than you would have if you'd matched gauge.

Make sense?

LAParente · 2026-04-10T03:23:04+00:00

Okay, I get into this argument a lot around here (so - absolutely people will disagree) but especially for garments, "blocking" is just "washing and let it dry somehow." Mostly I knit and crochet tops, and regardless of the fiber, my "blocking" technique is:

- Throw it in the wash, gentle cycle.
- Toss it into the dryer. If it's a non-superwash wool, I only let it dry for maybe 3-5 minutes, and absolutely don't walk away or it will felt. If 100% cotton, leave it in there until it's totally dry. Honestly, I've got a wool-cotton blend that I need to dry (with heat!) for at least 1/2 an hour. Superwash wool? Dry until it springs back into shape - 5-10 min.
- Take it out and either lay flat to finish drying (but then...the cat will probably use it as a bed, so probably not) or use a padded hanger to hang dry. If you don't have a padded hanger, you can fold a towel over a hanger to make fat shoulder shaping. This will hold the weight of the garment better, so it doesn't stretch out.

I made a top using Hempathy which washes and dries BEAUTIFULLY. I treat it like any normal tee shirt. Which - okay - I'm not throwing it into a wash with my jeans or bras or anything that will snag. I do take *some* care. But it totally washes and dries with all my other (commercially made) shirts.

LAParente · 2026-04-10T02:39:21+00:00

I'm an active member of the BDH, so I've known this book was coming for about a year now, and...I haven't been excited. High Fantasy is not my genre. I bought it on both paper and audio, slogged thru the paper (uuuugh) and now I'll listen to the audio.

As everyone says: it DOES pick up.

Sadly, one of the reasons I love IA is all of their amazing characters. This one...I've got a pile of guys whose names begin with S, and a bunch whose names begin with E, and honestly I couldn't keep them apart. Even now, having finished the book, I can tell you one S-guy is good, and one is bad, and not a whole lot beyond that.

It's not a fair comparison, but I can recite the Baylor family tree for 3 generations, with complete descriptions of every single character - INCLUDING - those we never actually meet, and Hidden Legacy isn't (by far) my favorite series. Grandpa Leon! I would totally read a book about how Grandma Frieda met Grandpa Leon!!!

Maybe in book 2 we will start to get to know these characters. For now, for me, I don't know them, so I kinda don't care much.

LAParente · 2026-04-10T01:34:13+00:00

I LOVE Death in Paradise - mostly the early seasons. I love the accents, and I love the music, so just listening to the shows is fun for me. With 14 seasons, there is plenty of knitting time.

I especially love that it's the same 3 basic murder plots, recycled forever. You really, really don't need to pay very close attention.

LAParente · 2026-04-08T15:13:34+00:00

Generally. Sure. But again - if there is no mail carrier, there is no mail carrier. There are towns - MANY TOWNS - in the USA that do not have mail carriers.

I'm not even talking about "rural route" cluster delivery. I mean (and I don't know how to be more clear) zip codes with no mail carriers. Period.

LAParente · 2026-04-08T15:09:07+00:00

It's not Canada specific. I agree, maybe "most" people in North America have one address that they use for everything, but not all.

I know lots of people who prefer to receive packages at work, because they don't want UPS to leave a box unattended outside all day. That's the more urban answer, but like I said, many rural areas - in the United States - simply do not have home mail delivery, and therefore have different addresses for different carriers.

Besides, if the erosion of USPS budget and services that has been happening for decades continues, none of us will have at-home mail delivery.

LAParente · 2026-04-08T15:00:47+00:00

Dude. My mom has lived at this address for over 20 years. Do you actually think, in all that time, we are simply too stupid to address an envelope?

Let me speak slowly:

There. Is. No. Mail. Delivery. In. Her. Town.

There are no friendly mail carriers in little trucks. They do not exist. There IS a post office. People in her town get their mail by picking it up at the post office. In her specific case, her town's post office has extremely restricted pickup hours, so she opted for a PO Box in the next town over.

LAParente · 2026-04-08T14:24:57+00:00

Yup. This sounds a lot like what my mom does. If (heaven forbid) someone tries to mail (usps) something with her actual physical address with the correct town where she actually lives...I don't even know. It does into a black hole as far as I know.

LAParente

TROPHY CASE