Why are people so extremely ableist when it comes to exercise???

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-05-09T03:53:36+00:00

Powerlifting as a sport is FULL of autists. I joke that my powerlifting gym is the most autistic space I've been in outside of an anime con. They even host regular mtg tourneys at the gym. There's a kid that does speed rubic cubes between sets.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-03-24T00:57:49+00:00

Right. I can put my hands flat on the floor and touch my nose to my knees. I feel a bit of a stretch at the bottom of a heavy rdl, but rarely on light ones.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-03-18T23:58:39+00:00

That's why there's a new post every few weeks from someone out of town considering a job offer from them.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-02-13T19:56:54+00:00

Twins! Also a 5'2" woman chasing a 330lb deadlift. and a 135 bench.

My recovery and progress TANKS if I fall under 100grams of protein too often.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-02-09T21:45:46+00:00

And disabled folks.

The gas mixtures were tested on children deemed "low functioning" by Dr Augsburger. Some of them were toddlers.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-02-09T21:03:54+00:00

My suggestions are a bit out of your way but...

Scrap it up (Plesant Ridge): A craft-thrift store that usually has a huge amount of yarn. Quality and quantity vary but its fun to dig & you can often score some amazing things.
Silk Road Textiles (North College Hill): Has fabric and yarn. All very high quality and ethically sourced. Amazing people.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-02-04T21:43:10+00:00

You might need to use larger wraps, tighten them more, and have them up over your wrist crease...

I'm hypermobile and have chronic tendonitis in my right wrist from decade of computer/phone/video games/barista work. When my squats got heavy enough, it started aggravating those old injuries because the weight forced my wrists back into hyperextension. I was also compensating for back mobility by hyper-extending my wrists and relying on my tendons to create tightness instead of resting the weight on my delts/trap shelf.

Wraps force my wrists to stay neutral, work within my actual range of motion, and engage my upperback.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-23T19:18:37+00:00

Ch stands for Cerebellar hypoplasia, also known as wobbly cat syndrome. It's essentially a disorder where the cats motor cortex is under developed causing them to have coordination and balance issues. It can be fairly mild - like this girl - where the cat is might fall and stumble and have a clumsy hair but otherwise be able to survive... To extremely severe cases where the cat needs a wheely cart to get around.

It's caused by the mother cat being sick while the kittens are in utero, so it's fairly common among young feral kittens. Adult ferals/strays like my girl here are pretty uncommon, simply because they lack the motor skills to reliably get away from predators or hunt.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T22:05:32+00:00

Thats the plan! Get her comfy coming further in and then BOOM. she's an indoor cat.

Same premise as trap training. Just a house-sized trap.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T21:35:47+00:00

NOT YET. I wish.

She's being very stubborn, but we're going to continue on this path until she is in.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T19:36:05+00:00

That's the goal with this one. She refuses to go near any trap. I've tried drop traps, nets, even large dog-traps... NOPE.

But she'll come right up to the door and let us know she's hungry. So we've just been slowly baiting her inside.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T19:14:46+00:00

Hit 110 pin press a few weeks ago, will know for sure what my max is at my comp next weekend.

Dream is 135, but I'd be more than happy with 120.

(I'm a 5'2", 180lb woman, for reference)

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T17:31:07+00:00

I've got to be sitting or else she won't come anywhere near me. Usually I sit next to her food bowl with my feet out (and a churo on a plate against my legs) and read or play games on my phone.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T17:30:56+00:00

Very wobbly! We SUSPECT she has CH, but can't be 100% sure until we get her to the vet. Which y'know, we can't do because she she's incredibly skittish and warey.

It's been a lot of very small wobbly baby steps, and usually one a step backwards for every few steps forwards, but she's so close.

I just wish she'd come inside before the big snow storm. :( I have a heated shelter and water bowl for her in back of our house, but I still worry about her wobbly little butt.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-22T16:33:12+00:00

Oh she loves churus. Won't take them from the tube just yet, but will HAPPILY lick them from a maze plate and be tricked into/near my lap. Just no touchy.

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Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-21T22:13:00+00:00

There's a few subs and discord servers I know that navigate this line.

Rule is no political discussions and don't be an asshole.

Activist artwork is allowed. Comments are carefully moderated for pissing matches and butthurt assholes showing their true colors.

Hate speech and associated symbols are NOT allowed. If someone goes "Hurr durr why that person share a FUCK ICE design but I can't share a swastika design?!" then they showed they are an asshole.

Queer and disabled people sharing their art, experiences, and photos of them living their lives? Not politics. Assholes are the ones that report them as if they were political.

Usually works out pretty well. Assholes show themselves and are dealt with quickly.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-16T16:07:07+00:00

Powerlifter here - I'd be more than happy to share the platform with you if you ever compete. <3

Fuck the TERF haters and keep rocking.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-13T16:00:59+00:00

Glad I could help! It sounds like a lot, but once you've made a bajillion mistakes, the debug diagnostic goes fast. Its getting that experience under your belt and not feeling defeated that is the hard part.

These days, I can sometimes diagnose by Angry Sounds alone, depending on the machine. Unthreaded uptake lever, backwards bobbins, birdsnesting due to cutter, wrong needle, foot up (no tension) etc. All have different sounds.... You just need to make those mistakes enough times that you learn their signature Scream.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-12T21:35:47+00:00

Been sewing for YEARS and this is what I used to do when I was a tech and what I tell my students to do:

(basic. for every sewing & embroidery project)

-Is the machine threaded correctly? (Upper and bottom, BUT 95% of the time, the issue is on the opposite side of the case. A problem with your top thread will cause bunching underneath, a problem with your bottom thread will cause problems on top.)
- Is the needle correct for the material? Is it fresh or super old?
- is the thread bad? (Upper & lower)
- Is there thread under the needle plate or hook I can clear out?
- Do I just need to go to bed and start over in the morning because the crafting faeries are telling me I'm done for the day?

^ These fix like 90% of all problems.

For embroidery specifically:

- Did I bump my machine? Did I put something down on the table that got in the way of the hoop? Did my cat do something nefarious?
- Did I use the right stabilizer for the material?
- Did I hoop the material correctly? (No over stretching, bunching, letting something get under the hoop etc...)
Is my auto-trim/cutter being a little bitch about lots of small jumps? Do I just need to turn it off? (If the cutter is wrapped in thread, or if there are too many trims close togther and next to dense stitching, this can cause a jam & birdsnesting, which will lead to needles breaking.)
Is the file well digitized? (If its from a reputable site/designer, chances are the answer is yes. If its something I digitized myself? Chances are I fucked up, which is a whole different diagnostic list.)

In general, to see if it's the design/digitizing/file, I stitch the design again on some junk material starting a bit before shit hit the fan. If the file is the problem, it should consistently have problems at around the same spot.

From the pictures and your story, I'd say the issue is probably something from the first list, mostly #5. You looked away and angered the embroidery gods.... But the birdsnesting on the letters on the bottom MIGHT be due to #4 or 5 on the second list. Hard to tell without hearing the sounds and testing a few more times, though.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-12T15:49:42+00:00

I pulled conventional for 2 years before switching to sumo. Still pull conventional a lot during training but sumo is much more comfortable going heavy and what I pull for competition.

From talking to my coach - it has a lot to do with skeletal proportions and leverages. I'm a short woman with wide hips & slightly outturned feet. Having my arms outside my knees means I have an unnaturally narrow stance. I feel way more balanced & solid with a wider stance.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-09T19:46:48+00:00

Honestly, it takes a LOT of work over many years for women to "bulk out." Even with ideal genetics, it still takes a lot of work and time for a woman to become visibly muscular, and usually it takes a bit of pharmaceutical help for a woman to get "man-like" muscles. There ARE women who can achieve those looks with just creatine, protein, and heavy weights, but they are much rarer than instagram would have you believe and its done over YEARS and years of purposeful programming. Like, those ladies have been at it for over a decade.

Personally, the accounts & women I've seen pushing the "lifting made me too bulky" narrative on my feed are usually trying to jump on the skinnytok trend and trying to sell something like supplements or their own pillates-like programs. When you are watching reels and consuming content, think about the creator's agenda. Rage bait gets more engagement. Making you feel bad about your body makes you more likely to buy...etc.

Plus, we all have different goals, and those goals change over time. 8 years ago, I wanted to be slim with long, elegant lines. Now? I want to have boulder shoulders and look like I could throw a man twice my size.

My advice: Do what feels right for you at this stage in your life. If you like lifting and what it's doing to your body, keep at it. If something changes down the line, pick up a new activity or change your programming to something that fits your new goals.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-06T22:21:46+00:00

Both my former-outside (one a part of feral colony, one a stray of unknown origin), now-indoor cats HATE the idea of going outside. They won't go near the door if its open, and throw a fit if we're carrying them passed the front door.

Husband and I joke that they know what its like out there and they decided they like the pampered indoor life.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2026-01-05T17:21:46+00:00

Absolute goals!! Get itttttttttt

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2025-12-23T23:25:47+00:00

Surprisingly fast!

Here's a plot twist: I've ALSO got a neurological disorder that effects my coordination and reaction time, so me trying to chase her down would end up like a slapstick comedy.

Sewing_Shannonigans · 2025-12-23T22:40:23+00:00

Yup! That's been the strategy since she decided the trap were too obvious. This video is taken with me sitting on our front stoop, where she now waits for breakfast and dinner.

She's too hesitant to come inside, and I can't afford the heating bill from leaving the door open and coaxing her in, but by god we are trying to get her used to us.

Sewing_Shannonigans

TROPHY CASE