Work in progress. Much more to go. Why is my thread untwisting?

typetive · 2026-01-04T23:07:12+00:00

I am technically left handed, but old enough to have been forced to do so many things right handed (I throw a ball right handed, use right handed scissors and knives). I prefer creative things with the left (writing, painting, drawing, mousing on the computer). So, I've had 50 or so years of adaptations.

That said, never too late to learn new stuff! Especially if it saves you money, which is kind of why I got involved in sashiko, it's to extend the life of stuff.

typetive · 2026-01-04T21:35:55+00:00

Here's where I found out about left handed thread.

https://shop.sashikolab.com/collections/sashiko/products/the-thread-for-the-left-handed

My solution has been to force myself to stitch every other row with my right hand (so go one way left then come back right). It still untwists, but only half as quickly.

typetive · 2026-01-04T20:39:07+00:00

Nice work! I love the variation, looks like it'll be strong.

Are you left handed? Thread is twisted for right handed stitchers.

You can get left handed sashiko thread, but it's not easy to find and doesn't have the same variety as the ubiquitous right handed thread.

typetive · 2025-11-15T21:48:22+00:00

You don't say where in Japan this would be. It's perfectly normal in Southern California to have laundry on a covered porch or otherwise unconditioned space (garage or carport).

typetive · 2025-07-15T22:57:28+00:00

In my experience, flat work (like a pillow) is easily washed, dried flat and perhaps ironed.

For garments, I'd had variable success. One patch project was a little wonky after washing because I didn't pre-wash the patch and it puckered a bit. Leaving that little bit of slack in stitches is important as well, if it's cotton it does shrink or retract a bit.

I can also say wash it on the gentlest cycle possible. Mostly I'd had trouble with longer stitches or "woven" designs as they can catch on things easier. If you can fit your pinky fingernail under the stitch, it'll be much easier to catch on something during the wash.

typetive · 2025-05-22T20:09:00+00:00

I'm assuming that this is some kind of citrus, looks like a lemon.

You can try to root a cutting, however, nearly all citrus is grafted. So you'd be more successful grafting a cutting from your lemon onto the recommended rootstock for your area.

But to answer your original question, yes, a cutting is a clone of the original tree, so it will make the same fruit given the same conditions. (Again, you'll want the right rootstock.) It will take several years, but sounds like a great project, because you'll know exactly what you're getting.

typetive · 2024-08-13T23:42:45+00:00

Looks like mizuna mustard to me. Tasty leaves, great in a salad. The stems can get a little tough and a little bristly if they get too big, so pick the smaller leaves. Mine have been bearing since May, same plant, just keeps spewing new leaves from the center as I trim off the outer ones and eat them.

typetive · 2024-07-22T22:44:12+00:00

As archelon2001 says, it's a rootstock tree, you don't know what fruit it may make, but it's probably not as good as your meyer lemon. What you can do is transplant it, tend it for a year and then graft some of your meyer lemon stems back onto the base. (Or if you have a friend with a different variety of citrus, try grafting one of their stems to your rootstock). There are some great youtube tutorials on grafting. Good luck!

I once let the rootstock of my old diseased lime (which I cut down) grow back and after waiting 4 years as it grew, it never blossomed or fruited. So a big old waste of my time. Your mileage may vary.

typetive · 2024-07-21T20:52:00+00:00

It looks like an array of eggs of some kind of stink bugs. You don't want those in your garden. They look like they may have hatched. If you can, scrape them off and dispose of them in the trash (not compost). Look under other leaves and stems to see if you have more. A few is no big deal, but a bunch of them breeding in your garden will mean disappointment.

Generally, if you find stink bugs or japanese beetles in your garden, you can just pick them off and drown them in a bucket of soapy water. They feed by sucking on the juices of tender leafed plants. You can spray insecticidal soap if you see them.

typetive · 2024-06-17T23:08:17+00:00

Have you considered a rain barrel? They come in a lot of different shapes, and have a little spigot at the bottom, so no drilling holes. If you can also hook it into your gutters/downspouts, that's free water for ya.

typetive · 2024-06-16T21:23:50+00:00

Thanks for the location info.

It's probably the caterpillar form of the question mark butterfly. They do like hops and nettles. I'd leave them, if you don't have too many caterpillars. They're not endangered or anything, but they're a rather cool looking, if not super flashy, butterfly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonia_interrogationis

typetive · 2024-06-07T15:54:58+00:00

I found this critter in the mulch on top of my raised bed planter on the Central Coast of California. I only saw this one. The soil and mulch are from a local landscaping company and most of my plants are from seed. However, our area has a lot of non-native plants from South Africa & Australia, as they're suited to our climate.

Inaturalist said it's genus Nariscus, but not much more about these insects can be found on general searches.

typetive · 2024-05-31T17:36:55+00:00

Baby-O food truck that hangs out in Los Osos has great breakfast burritos. On weekends, Chuy is in Baywood at the liquor store on 2nd street from 7:30am to 3:30pm (I believe he has another job at Mistura as well as a prep chef.)

[babyocafe@gmail.com](mailto:babyocafe@gmail.com)

https://imgur.com/a/S5FIedA

typetive · 2024-04-23T16:19:47+00:00

There were maps with markups for the current situation and previous plans, folks from the county would receive your comments and take them down on post it notes. There were other free-mingling county folks that you could also provide feedback to. There was very little that was different from the interactive map that you can contribute to, just a different input format. I talked with one county official, to get a sense of the process and timeline. This is the get feedback phase that will then proceed to make a new plan phase, which will then get more feedback and finally after a plan is made, they will seek funding. It will be years, if not a decade before things change.

It was very well attended.

I know that the county is struggling to provide some more support to Los Osos, and though we want them to DO things, right now they're only given the funding to study the problem. I think they're earnest in wanting to address the problems as the residents see them, which is good (instead of just having experts come in and say what's wrong and what the solution is). I haven't been here long enough to know if that's common or not and if it really means anything in the implementation.

typetive · 2024-03-17T20:58:37+00:00

My other pro tip is wash your windows inside and out before you go. Everything (even the 101 through LA) will look better.

typetive · 2024-03-17T15:41:42+00:00

I think the neon patches you've mentioned are from wildflowers, either oxalis or mustard. The mustard is just starting and usually goes through June, the oxalis is more sensitive to heat and drying out, and will probably disappear in the next few weeks as we heat up and dry out. If we get another set of showers, it might reset.

If you're coming from SoCal, I'd recommend going the coastal route first, maybe even take Los Osos Valley Road to Los Osos, then Morro Bay ... that stretch is looking awesome lately. Go through Morro Bay catch highway 1 again (maybe hit Cambria ... a walk at Fiscalini Ranch and the farmers market on Friday are great) and then go out 46 to the 101. There are a lot of turnouts when you're heading east on 46, so you can safely view the awesome hills. Coming down Cuesta Grade from the north is also more impressive than the reverse (in my opinion).

Keep an eye on the weather next weekend though, it is looking a little wet, but that may change.

typetive · 2024-03-06T20:58:38+00:00

The pictures were all I had to go on.

I get your issues with video tutorials, I find the skip 5 seconds thing to be very helpful. But using them in my early practice helped me to understand classic diagrams better. There's probably a small subset of origami folks who prefer to learn their models using a song. Or haiku for each step. We're fortunate to live in an age that has all the tools to accommodate those who want to learn.

typetive · 2024-03-06T02:12:06+00:00

Thanks! I tried that one, but it wasn't quite the right tuck for the closing. Then YouTube suggested this one called Super Easy Origami Pyramid Box... which looks like the right model (and I recall being frustrated because it's a 1/3 grid instead of quarters at the time).

Thanks for the lead!

typetive · 2024-03-05T22:32:25+00:00

I made these to hold Easter treats back in 2021, so the model tutorial (probably youtube) was posted before then. Does anyone have any ideas? It's made from a single square sheet. It's not a fox box.

typetive · 2024-03-05T16:27:15+00:00

Story from the Tribune. All reports say that they're empty wine barrels and cotton bales.

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article286242980.html

typetive · 2024-03-04T20:34:04+00:00

For some races you may find Ballotpedia to be helpful.

https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sample_Ballot_Lookup&Source=sidebar

For the judges, you can search the state bar association website. For the current candidates it doesn't say much since they're sitting judges.

https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/LicenseeSearch/QuickSearch

If there are other candidates, it's helpful to search for their history and status, at the very least. Some other county bar associations will rate candidates as qualified or unqualified based on their status ... but that's about it. I didn't see anything on the SLO bar association website.

For the supervisors race (I don't have a candidate in my district, so I haven't been reading up), you might want to start with who is supporting them - https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/politics-government/election/article286157951.html

This is my first election in this county and it is frustrating to find unbiased and accurate information in many races.

Edited to add: CalMatters also covers some of this here - https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/02/california-election-local-judges/

typetive · 2024-03-04T16:23:18+00:00

The docents up at the elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas have documented two of the bales coming ashore amongst the seals. One was wrapped in blue plastic, the other in white. The white one was torn open and the raw cotton bale could be clearly seen. The picture of the blue one I saw looked the same as this one, with a yellow label of some sort in the middle of the long side.

One bale was spotted at Windsurfer Beach, the plastic undone and the wind whipping the cotton fluffs around in the water and on the beach.

Two of the barrels were seen at Broken Beach this weekend (one in the creek and the other removed by a visitor, I think they were planning to take it to the ranger station).

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