u/RiverArmada

Usually, the attendees are more experienced - everyone brings their own tools and projects. There isn't a teacher, but occasionally, and if you ask nicely, people are willing to help you through tricky spots. NGL, most attendees are knitters and crocheters, so finding someone to walk you through a hiccup in your sewing project might be harder.

MM Books in Kemptville. The owner somehow knows where everything is, despite the floor to ceiling stacks.

I run a group called Stitch, Hook & Knit out of the Old Town Hall on Main Street. We run 2 Tuesday evenings a month from 6-9pm. It is open to all fibre crafts: sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving, rug hooking, etc. We even have a pressing station and the space for people to bring their sewing machines. Everyone brings their own project and crafts together with tea and chat.

Attendance is technically FREE (we want this to be a 3rd space that is as inclusive as possible), but we do ask for optional $5 donations for the sessions, and fund ourselves accordingly.

Our group is not restricted to women, but we are predominantly attended by them. We have a range of ages (although most fall between 25-40), with the only restriction being that attendees are 18+ (mostly for insurance reasons - we aren't a class or otherwised supervised activity).

We'd love to have you join us!

Official sign-up (optional, but helps the facility make sure there is enough room for everyone):

https://www.ottawaeastcag.org/stitch-hook-knit-social

Last week's reddit post with our future dates and discord link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/1xapdby/stitch_hook_knit_social_61_main_st_tue_oct_20th/

I use Johnson's baby shampoo, and have for 16 years now for our piggies (not that they need full baths super often; usually just for really dirty days and for piggy intros, so everyone smells the same).

The basic one in the yellow bottle with the pump. Easy to do one handed, has no dyes, is tear free, should it get anywhere sensitive, and does a good job getting out dirt and oils. And it's affordable & accessible.

Pattern Making for Fashion Design has several sections on block making for knit fabrics (with sub sections for specific garment types like swimwear). Most of the book is for wovens though. 

I am immunocompromised and have had guinea pigs since 2009. Ringworm is the only thing I have ever had transfered from them, for which I recommend washing after handling them. This will reduce risk. If you do get it, an over-the-counter topical cream can fix you up in 14 days.

I also wear a mask while cleaning the cage and when dealing with large amounts of hay, as large amounts of dust can trigger my asthma. 

At this point, I've been scratched, bit, peed on and everything else you can imagine. Never had any other issues. Guinea pigs are domesticated and safe for human co-habitation.

This was my very first SK novel. It's been decades, but will always have a special place in my heart.

I feel this so much rn. Currently going through this exact thing with one of my 6yo sows. I'm maintaining her weight with 4-6 syringe feedings a day, plus painkillers and all the treats she'll eat, but can't help feeling like I am losing the battle. We're both so tired, only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time for the last couple weeks. Not sure how much longer we can keep this up. 

The board is wider and more sturdy than average - perfect for pressing a quilt top! 

If the board and cart with iron and pressing tools isn't out when you get there, there's usually someone who can help retrieve them from the storage cupboard :)

We have lots of knitters at these sessions to help cheer you on!

If the issue persists, calling 311 is always an option.

This year, I wanted to broaden what I was reading, read more of what I had on my TBR, and also set a really reasonable goal of 26 books, which was more than I had done last year. 

I chose to do the Beat the Backlist Bingo card this year as a result - I found the old ones on Pinterest when I was looking for charting ideas and sought out their website for this year's list. Have I still read a lot of murder mysteries? Yes, but I have also read non-fiction, award winners and books I probably wouldn't have picked up otherwise. 

I passed my goal of 26 books in June, and although it is exciting to see the number climb to like 150% of goal, I am more excited about crossing squares off my board and all the interesting and not so interesting things it is compelling me to seek out. 

Edit to add the link: https://beatthebacklist.com/

This is my biggest obstacle with the course. It takes neither neurodivergence, nor depression/anxiety into account. When i was doing the pages in the morning, I found myself overwhelmed with the darkness I keep buried, and then dwelling on it all day, which had a deteriorating effect on my mental health. 

I suggest using the book as a guideline instead of following it religiously. Keep the parts of the program that work for you as is and tweak the parts that don't, trying different times/arrangements to see if you can make them work better for your life and your brain. 

We had one abssynian who never squeaked at all, even when she was scared. When we brought home another aby 5 years later, it was like the baby was told that abssynians are held to some sort of vow of silence. So she never squeaked either, even though she was brought home with 2 sister pigs (coronets) who made tons of noises. 

Here we are 5 years later again, and we've brought in a baby aby, who is quite possibly the noisiest guinea pig ever. Our current 5 year old aby seemed absolutely gobsmacked that she was tricked out of using her voice for all those years, and has finally realized that she's allowed to squeak. So to encourage her, everyone gets treats if she is the one to use her tiny voice to ask. I assume her voice is so tiny because she never learned to use it. 

That said, our very first guinea pig (which we got 15 years ago now) began to go hoarse as she neared 6 years old. So it can also be age-related.

In any case, like people, guinea pigs all have unique and different voices. So it's quite possible the little air sound is perfectly natural. As long as they aren't distressed, i wouldn't worry.

Last night when I was too sick to cook, i did some spiral potatoes on a stick (could have made them myself, but our asian grocer has a whole "cook it in the air fryer" frozen section i usually grab one or two things from for days just like this) in the air fryer with a side salad. Hit the spot perfectly.

The Troop by Nick Cutter takes place on an isolated uninhabited island where boy scouts are camping - major body horror.

I add it to homemade salad dressings - gives it some 'je ne sais quoi' depth.

Batches of pesto (i like oregano pesto with toasted walnuts) and garlic butter, in addition to the suggestions mentioned here.

We look forward to meeting you whenever your schedule allows!

Mine turned out to be related to the various autoimmune disease diagnoses I have been collecting (gotta catch em all!). I had tried everything for the horrible cystic acne that had plagued me since my teens. 

Turns out my immune system was overreacting to normal levels of microbes/bacteria/whatevers that sit on our skin. Cleared up as soon as I went on immunosuppressants for the aforementioned conditions. Though, I've been told that isn't the case for most people on immunosuppressants. I guess most people's immine systems aren't so overcharged as to react to normal skin organisms at every moment.

Have you considered cooking a whole chicken in a crockpot? Comes out like a steamed rotisserie chicken. I usually wrap whole potatoes in foil and put them as a base layer to lift the chicken out of inevitable juices (and create a fuller meal), then season, and place the whole chicken into the crock on top. Put it on low for 8-10 hrs and come back when it's done.