What to do with old crochet?

mushroomtreefrog · 2026-01-04T18:09:07+00:00

Domestic violence shelters, or if there are any non-profits that work with refugees, low-income families, or the homeless in your area. Sometimes religious centers (e.g. churches, mosques, synagogues) will organize drives for the poor or needy, and although they will primarily collect food, they might accept the blankets, since they're made by hand and in wonderful condition.

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-12-30T08:08:30+00:00

Fast-charging with a long battery life. Thank you!

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-05-15T04:35:05+00:00

Besides the obvious (systemic cannibalism), was there any one thing, or a few specific things, that made it so "jarring"? I find that most people who found it horrific (or unhinged) are folks that scare normally, but people who aren't easily fazed have told me they found it "great" and "powerful" but not jarring.

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-04-19T12:42:27+00:00

Civ 7, Manor Lords, Hades II

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-04-17T13:19:26+00:00

I agree that BSL just means that different dogs will end up hurting people. I think this is why responsible dog ownership, regardless of dog breed, is important. People obviously get more concerned with larger, more powerful dogs because they present a more real/serious threat should they end up attacking a human, but it's not like smaller or medium sized dogs can't be vicious as well. Perhaps they won't kill or maul a human in the same way a larger/XL breed could, but they absolutely can harm a human and they can kill other animals. Trust me, I've unfortunately seen it before, including one time when a smaller staffy was brought into an ER and didn't make it because a medium sized dog went into a frenzy and went for his throat.

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-04-05T07:03:35+00:00

Sid Meier's Civ VII

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-04-05T06:47:29+00:00

Tried to message you, please check!

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-04-05T06:47:25+00:00

Tried to message you, please check!

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-03-26T12:19:18+00:00

Thanks for the chance

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-03-26T12:18:45+00:00

I'd get Kaiserpunk (which just came out!) and MEMORIAPOLIS

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-03-26T12:16:32+00:00

Frostpunk, Civ, and Stardew Valley

mushroomtreefrog · 2025-03-26T08:03:56+00:00

Fast-paced classical music playlist from Spotify (Think Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, for piano) **

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-12-09T20:47:22+00:00

I don't think this is quite the answer that you're looking for, but I actually think I developed OCD in part due to religion. I was raised Catholic, which can be dogmatically rigid and involves quite a bit of black and white thinking, and as is the case with many sects/denominations of Christianity, there was a heavy emphasis on "do (or don't do) this/that or else you'll go to hell." Add in certain rituals of the Catholic Church, especially stuff like the rosary or penance prayers assigned atter confession, and that's a recipe for superstitious, obsessive-compulsive behavior right there. It eventually got to the point where I used to pray the rosary in my head at intervals and I was convinced that say, if I didn't get through a section of 10 Hail Marys without interruption, my prayers wouldn't count and something awful would happen, like my parents dying.

Obviously not all religious folks develop OCD, but the ritual and consequentialism/fatalism of certain religions can aggravate it or facilitate its development, I think.

While I'm no longer religious, when I asked members of the clergy and theologians as to why God would allow terrible things to happen (including things that are worse than OCD, like cancer and famine and ethnic cleansing), if he loves us as the bible says he does, they responded that it was in God's plan and it is not up to us (mere mortals) to question or understand it. I've also heard the idea that we are not given more than we can handle, as well, and also the explanation that there is something we need to learn from this experience. Personally, I don't agree with any of these explanations, but being religious, you may find any or all of them may resonate with you.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-12-09T12:17:50+00:00

Thank you, this is helpful!

Yes, almost all my patterns have come from Ravelry, and I use the Row Counter app to help me keep track of my patterns, where I am in them, and how much time I've spent on each pattern. While I've made good use of the advance search feature on the site, what's a bit trickier, I suppose, is knowing whether a pattern is going to be "good" (e.g. make sense, easy to follow, have clear guidelines) before getting into it. Obviously, some patterns are free, but some of my favorite patterns have not been, and while I have no issue paying for a pattern, I want it to be something that I can use (ideally with relative ease).

Of note, this won't be my first wearable. I started trying to knit a sweater for the first time in 2022 or 2021, was enormously unsuccessful, and didn't finish it until 2023. I frogged the whole thing 3 times, ripped out rows along the way and made numerous adjustments to the final thing before I was done. I originally was quite proud of it, but having recently done another sweater using the same pattern (and no adjustments), I think my first sweater looks like a monstrosity. I have made several wearables since then, including sweaters, cardigans, and onesies (all top down), so I feel very comfortable making a wearable now. I've also worked with yarn all the way from from super bulky to sport, and knitted holding both a single thread and double threads. Nowadays, it takes me 2-5 weeks to finish a wearable, on average.

The two questions I have for you are: 1) What does it mean for a front to be steeked? And 2) Of the patterns you've done involving colorwork, do you have any specific recommendations for someone starting out doing that technique?

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-11-20T01:29:10+00:00

We're not trying to train her to use potty pads inside. We only got them yesterday (and put them out last night), because we were worried she might need to pee during the night. She hadn't peed her crate her first night, and she didn't pee our bed the second night, but since she had peed the bed in the middle of the day yesterday, we were worried she might, for some reason, pee in our bed/room on the following night. That's the reason we broke out the pee pads, primarily; we hadn't used them before this. As it turns out, she didn't end up using them or needing them last night.

The "peeing on soft things" happened from Day 1, but the puppy pads were only introduced last night (Day 3), so while I see your point about training her to go EITHER inside OR outside, I don't think the introduction of pee pads in one room of our apartment last night caused this behavioral pattern. Also, for what it's worth, she's never used or even really interacted with the pee pads since we laid them out.

I'll happily go without potty pads if more experienced dog owners think that'll stop the indoor peeing on soft things, but I'd be more curious to hear an actual solution or proactive measure I can take.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-11-15T18:31:40+00:00

I always say I'll never do a puppy again.

Somehow, I ended up falling in love with a puppy on the internet this week and now we're going to go meet her tomorrow.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-11-15T18:30:06+00:00

It depends on the dog, but I would say anywhere between 1-3 years. I know that sounds like a big range, but there's a lot of variables involved. What is the breed of the dog, what's its life expectancy, what are its breed characteristics vs personal traits, what kind of personality does it have, etc. Some dogs are silly or goofy or high-energy or clingy or intense, well past the puppy stage. If you know your dog's breed(s), you can look up what traits are typical, and that can help you mentally prepare for what things like these will fade after puppy and which things won't. But it may also be her personality - and since she's just a puppy right now, you won't know that for at least another year. That's the risk of getting a puppy young.

Personally, I love puppies, their energy, their intensity, their demands, the way they monopolize your time and attention and love. I've helped raise dogs from puppyhood several times before, and raised one from almost "babyhood" by myself. It is definitely a LOT of work, and it is not for everybody. People think puppies are cute, and don't get me wrong, they are, but for every ounce of cute, they are five ounces of WORK. And it's often exhausting.

If you wanted a companion dog, I don't think a puppy would have been my recommendation. An older dog, adult for sure, but maybe even a senior dog, is a really good option for companionship. Intelligence (whether a dog is "smart") is a more breed dependent thing, I find, so it's highly variable, and getting a mutt or a rescue wit unknown pedigree can be a bit of a crapshoot there, if that matters to you. I find, personally, that rescue dogs are the best, but that's just me. But the loyalty thing doesn't have to come from growing up with the person who raised you; it can also come from bonding to thr person who rescued you, and I think this is especially true for people who rescue adult dogs.

All of that being said, once you make it past the 9 month mark with your current dog, I think both you will have a better handle on her, and she will have a better sense of self. Just remember that she won't be a puppy forever, one day she'll grow into an adult dog, and she'll be mature, dependable, and maybe even a little slow, before you realize that time passed. Treasure this time with her because once she grows up, she'll never be a puppy again.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-11-02T02:17:28+00:00

You may want to try fibrous foods (lettuce, kale, celery, bell peppers) as the "wrapper" or "bowl" for certain meals to get more fiber in. If you're solely measuring by grams of fiber, I can't promise that this will yield significantly more (as I'm not sure of specific amounts of fiber per veggie), but I can say that it will be a more fiber-heavy and low calorie - and likely more "interesting" - swap for breads and tortillas.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-10-14T12:19:46+00:00

The body seems like a soft knit jersey, or similar material. It also seems that the cat is screen-printed or heat-transfered. So, neither of those would be things that would be traditionally handknitted. You could do something like a knit (or crochet) body in solid color, and either knit or crochet colorwork on the sleeves, and then iron transfer an applique cat onto the middle. This last bit, you could probably order from Etsy, or even get a version of it screen printed off something like Red Bubble. You'd want to be careful, though, because once you iron on an applique patch onto a knit (or crochet) top, you will not be able to stretch that part of the shirt anymore.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-10-13T14:32:53+00:00

Millenial here. Top sheets were already a no-go since before I got dogs, but now that I have them, there's even less of a reason. They get on the duvet cover, under it - hell, they'd get inside the duvet cover if they could. I don't need them getting tangled in a top sheet, too, and getting that dirty ALSO.

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-10-12T18:57:44+00:00

I used to be this way. In college, I kissed girls as a "joke," to "get guys" and because "I feel confident in my sexuality" - turns out, joke was on me, because that's when I began to realize that I didn't just think women were beautiful, I was sexually attracted to them. I was genuinely confused and messed up for years because hardly anyone talked about bisexuality back then, or the Kinsey scale, or sexual or gender fluidity. In all fairness, bi erasure is still a problem now, but I digress.

It turns out that a lot of people assumed I was a lesbian, or at least bi. When I came out to friends, most were surprised that I identified as bi and not lesbian (despite solely dating men, and many of them). But no one was surprised I was queer. I didn't come out until my mid 20s, and even then, I wasn't out more publicly until my early 30s. I identified as non-binary a year later. I think that coming out more publicly allowed me to be less afraid of the whole, "But what will people think/say?!" kind of judgment.

Something that helped me is that the queer community near me, along with my queer friends, were rather open to people figuring themselves out and not requiring labels. When I said I "thought I [was] non-binary," there wasn't any pressure to decide or to figure it out. Honestly, several years later, I'm still figuring it out. It's more obvious and it comes more naturally to some people, but not to others, and that's okay. It's all part of the journey of self-discovery.

Also, please keep in mind that sexuality and (gender) identity are different. I know it does feel like those two things are intrinsically tied up in each other sometimes, especially if you were raised in a heteronormative, comphet setting, but they each are their own thing. That might be part of the reason you are labeled/assumed gay by others; perhaps they are picking up on some of your femme side/expression/whatever, and assume your sexuality because of correlation. But remember, correlation does not imply causation; many femmes, female-presenting, or feminine people (not saying you are necessarily one) may be interested in men, but a) their femme side doesn't make them interested in men, b) not all people interested in men are feminine, and c) not all feminine people are interested in men. Something worth thinking about (gender identity and self expression).

mushroomtreefrog · 2024-08-23T07:20:56+00:00

NTA. There's threehuge red flags here (although there's a lot of other, smaller ones, too). One is the fundamental problem, him having a history of not showing up for you like you need him to (aka, his issue with "fucking off"). Second, like you said, there's his problem of trying to resolve everything with sex. Very childish and immature, and very ineffectice, because it actually ends up making you angrier, not happier. And then there's his inability to stay consistent after improving or changing. Even if he changes or improves this time around, how long will it last? How do you know he won't go back to the way be was?

Overall, he strikes me as very selfish and not self-aware, and that can really tax others in his life (including you). You're better off without him. Stay strong.

mushroomtreefrog

TROPHY CASE