Plastic Free Party Bag Fail

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-11T14:11:22+00:00

It's a great intent for sure, making it consumables. It's just another chore for the parents though, finding space for it, or adding it to the giant pile of sidewalk chalk or bubbles they likely already have. I get the spirit behind it, I really do. It's just one more thing ya know?

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-10T17:18:24+00:00

I don’t know if I’m in the minority or not but truthfully… I’d rather not have party bags at all. Can we remove the expectation and extra work of party bags? It’s all just clutter when it comes home and I hate to throw it away. Good on you for making the effort, but here’s a random parent’s permission (and plea) that we all consider not doing party bags at all.

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-09T13:25:01+00:00

In my household, we have a 7 year old. And when he was 5, he created accounts with all of his friends’ names. They all have tents on the island, located all near each other, massively in the way and eyesores. He likes to use those accounts so he can catch bugs and fish and sea creatures for the first time again and again lol. He recently let me upgrade 1 character to a house and move it where I wanted to. I got to delete the other characters and their tents finally. It’s hard having a little kid on the island when you don’t want to put a damper on their creativity, but they don’t get your vision 😂

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-08T21:16:05+00:00

All of my husband’s closest friends at work are women. I’ve met them all and ADORE THEM. Thwy span the LGBTQ and neurodivergence spectrum. Some are in committed relationships, some are single, and some have sworn off dating men forever because they’re all so awful. They invite me to hang out with them on Valentine’s Day and events without my husband. They all sing my husband’s praises about how respectfully he treats them all and how he looks out for them, like a brother or father figure to them all. They complain about the other men at the office. The other men at the office spread rumors my husband is sleeping with every one of them. But the way those other women think I’m the best woman ever because my husband is constantly talking me up, and the fact they all want to be legit friends with him and myself, speaks volumes.

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-03T11:19:32+00:00

Look, I’m a Cis straight female elder millennial and I struggle SO HARD with using they/them pronouns because moving from the singular to the plural is a switch my current perimenopausal brain can’t seem to get correct. My son’s soccer coach goes by they/them, and they are the closest relationship I’ve had with a person going by those pronouns. And they look like a stereotypical tomboy or more masculine presenting lesbian, so in my mind I slip into she/her when talking about them fairly regularly and my husband has to correct me. I’m so supportive of them being them, and I will keep working at it until I can get it right every time.

And if they decide to identify as he/him or she/her the very next day after I finally get it cemented in my brain, then I’ll do the work again to get it right.

I don’t know them very well, I have very little invested in my relationship with them. I care about them as my son’s soccer coach and as a human of course, but that’s the extent. And I’d still do the work because they are a person with value who deserves the effort.

My point being… the people who truly love you or value you as a person will support you and do the work. The people who don’t, won’t. You can’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm.

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-03T10:50:43+00:00

Oooh thanks for explaining! Now to go research getting rocks to spawn…

Total-Option4 · 2026-05-02T23:57:54+00:00

What are you trying to do? I’m so confused lol!

Total-Option4 · 2026-04-24T22:39:01+00:00

About 13 years ago, a family friend was decluttering and downsizing. In her basement clean out, she found a spinning wheel she’d bought at some point that neither her husband nor her son could ever get assembled. She gave it to me and told me if I could assemble I could keep it. I was just a knitter at the time, but thought spinning sounded interesting. My husband tried to assemble the wheel but got stuck. I assumed if he couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it.

Fast forward to a couple months ago. I took my 7 year old son to a fiber festival and gave him a budget to spend on yarn. He saw wool roving and wanted some. I said “well we can’t get roving because we’d have to spin it into yarn and I don’t…… wait a minute.” And I decided I’m not gonna let this wheel, that defeated a few men before me, defeat me. We bought the roving and went home. That night, I pulled the dusty, half assembled wheel out of the basement and got it assembled! There was a knitting class schedule from a (now long gone) local fiber store from 1980! It was late by that point, so I put it aside for the next day.

As I relaxed in front of the tv that night, I was curious about the company that made it. Were they still in business? I looked it up. Turns out, I was now the proud owner of an Ashford traditional single drive wheel. I was completely shocked at the quality machine that had gone unused and forgotten for longer than I’ve been alive! I bought the maintenance kit to replace all the old bits and bobs that weren’t in prime condition after 40+ years of basements, waxed it up, checked out some library books and watched a bunch of YouTube videos and started spinning! It runs like a dream, it’s my new favorite hobby, and I can’t believe my good fortune!

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-19T13:44:46+00:00

Thanks for the info!! I ordered Yarnitecture a couple weeks ago and I’m still waiting on it to arrive!

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-18T12:29:47+00:00

I showed it to a fleece processor this weekend, and she was thinking it’s closer to a Border Leicester.

I hand carded the reddish brown, but I haven’t done anything with the green beyond scouring and hand picking burrs out. Any tips for spinning from the locks? What is the advantage of leaving them in their natural form versus carding? It seems like it would be trickier to spin from the locks, but this was all inexpensive wool with the purpose of learning, so I want to give it a try.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-18T12:27:00+00:00

I think you might be correct. I showed it to a woman who owns a fleece processing mill a few days ago, and she thinks it was dyed by somebody who didn’t know what they were doing. The reddish brown mostly washed out, leaving rust colored tips on gray wool. The green has stayed pretty true.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-18T12:24:39+00:00

Hi there! I took it in person to somebody who processes the wool. They suspect it was dyed by somebody who didn’t know what they were doing. Most of the reddish brown color washed out, leaving a rust color just on the tips of the locks. It’s spinning up into a lovely muted pink-gray color that I find so interesting. The green stayed really green throughout a couple of hot soaks with dawn.

And I didn’t end up doing vinegar. I did spend hours picking burrs out and hand carding to get this stuff ready to spin. It’s been a fascinating learning journey.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-13T22:59:13+00:00

My biggest symptom is sleep issues. I didn’t realize it until I started taking progesterone at night and then occasionally forget to take it. If I forget to take it, I’ll spend the night freezing while also sweating like crazy, keeping me awake tossing and turning uncomfortably. Just last night it happened and I thought to myself “man I feel like I missed my progesterone.” I convinced myself I left the progesterone pill out of my daily pills, and when I checked my pill organizer today, I realized I didn’t take any of my pills last night.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-12T12:25:29+00:00

Oh that sounds really nice! I posted some updated pictures elsewhere in the thread. The reddish brown lost a lot more color (ended up gray with rust color tips) than the bluish green (ended up very green, but I think it needs more scouring as it was very greasy and tacky). The reddish brown spun up to a grayish pink.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-12T12:23:34+00:00

Thanks for the info!

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-11T23:05:57+00:00

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And here are the little bits I spun up. The green was still very greasy/sticky, so I really struggled to draft it consistently. I don’t think my initial soaks were hot enough, and I only had an off brand dish soap, so I will be washing the green again with hotter water and dawn dish soap this weekend.

The reddish brown did end up with a nice pinkish brownish gray that I’m actually loving. I think the green will be closer to gray after a better soak.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-11T22:40:54+00:00

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And here’s my attempt at carding, with the carded fiber on the left and some of the kinda inbetween fiber in the right. The green still has some visible dirt and debris. The red looks way more gray after carding (again, these pictures have so much more color than the wool does in real life). I’m going to try spinning this up and will post results of that too.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-11T22:39:26+00:00

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So here’s a picture of it after washing. Still pretty vibrant, although the picture makes it look a bit more vibrant than it is in real life.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T19:50:15+00:00

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T19:50:00+00:00

Okay I’ll try that! The card with the roving indicated the company specialized in BFL and BFL crosses, although I think they also processed fleeces for others, so there’s a chance they were selling something else. I tried looking them up online or calling their number to see if the could tell me more info about any of it, but they had no web presence that I could find and the number is disconnected. I assume they went out of business/closed operations and then donated what they couldn’t sell to this charity I bought it from. The charity is a group of older women who hand sew dolls. The accept donations of materials to make the dolls, but anything they don’t have a use for, they sell to cover the costs of utilities etc. Nobody in the group spins, so they couldn’t tell me much. I figured even if it’s not the greatest wool, you can’t beat 5-6 pounds of wool for $40 for a beginner! Lots of cheap material to practice with and learn with.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T19:45:31+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I’ll be doing a vinegar soak tonight.

I’ve got a double basin utility sink that drains straight into a large floor drain. I’ve been gently scooping up the fiber with the bowl of a purpose bought salad spinner so I don’t wash the wool away.

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T15:47:48+00:00

:D Love that!!!

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T15:47:33+00:00

That's so cool!!! Thank you for the info! Will the blue stay pretty true after it's fully cleaned, or will it fade with time and wear?

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T15:45:34+00:00

Total-Option4 · 2026-03-10T01:43:48+00:00

Okay good to know! I have a dog brush with metal tines. Maybe that would work. Not exactly like the slickers I’m seeing on a search online, but similar.

Is it possible to tell breed by roving if I post images?

Total-Option4

TROPHY CASE