From The Land Of Always Elsewhere

no sleeping, only dreaming

[artist-bouguereau]

Priestess, 1902, William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Medium: oil,canvas

https://www.wikiart.org/en/william-adolphe-bouguereau/priestess-1902

[propheticfire]

Corn maze shenanigans. (at Afton Apple Orchard)

[graveyarddirt]

@prairiewitchy

[reggiemess]

People who ‘love nature’ but violently hate their native coyotes, spiders, snakes, and scavengers are fake.

[reggiemess]

Here’s the thing about the post. You don’t have to love or even like every animal. You can dislike things! Humane, intelligent pest control is fine and necessary.  This isn’t the issue and never has been.

It’s violent, blind hatred and hypocrisy that’s the problem. People who gush over foxes and owls and hawks but want coyotes and snakes dead in the next breath. People who will rescue prey from predators because predation is mean. People who find it appropriate to leave sadistic comments on pictures of spiders or snakes someone is appreciating or owns. People who insist on labeling species as ‘good’ or ‘evil’.  This is the sort of behavior that bothers me.

People who only appreciate nature when it’s aesthetically pleasing to them and want to destroy the parts they find ugly and unpleasant don’t truly understand or love it. They love an ideal that isn’t actually representative of reality.

[rjalker]

Okay I was going through the notes and I Really have to say. Some of you people don’t understand how ecosystems work. There is literally no such thing as a “useless” or “pointless” species. That is not how this even remotely works. Every species on this planet is the result of billions of years of evolution.

Just because you don’t know something’s role in the ecosystem does not mean it exists just to annoy or scare you. You are not the center of the universe. Evolution does not exist for your benefit or detriment. That’s not how this fucking works.

Just because you think flies are useless because you can’t be bothered to learn about them does not mean they shouldn’t exist. Just because you think wasps don’t do anything because you can’t be bothered to learn about them does not mean they don’t play an vital role in the ecosystem.

Flies are scavengers and pollinators. Wasps are predators and parasites and pollinators. There is no such thing as a “useless” or “pointless” species, it’s just that you’re ignorant. Your lack of knowledge is not the fault of the species you’ve decided to hate.

Learn about the species near you, research the ones you think are useless, and learn that your fucking perception of the world does not equal how the world actually works.

No gods damned species spent the entire history of life on this planet evolving just to annoy or scare you. There is no such thing as a pointless species, only ignorant people.

[luulapants]

Story time:

In middle school biology, we did an experiment. We were given yams, which we would sprout in cups of water. We then had to make hypotheses about how the yams would grow, based on descriptions of yam plants in our books, and make notes of our observations as they grew.

Here’s what was supposed to happen: we were supposed to see that the actual growth of the plant did not resemble our hypotheses. We were then supposed to figure out that these were, in fact, sweet potatoes.

What actually happened was that every single student in every single class lied in their notes so that their observations perfectly matched their hypotheses. See, everyone assumed the mismatch meant they had done something wrong in the process of growing the plant or that they had misunderstood the dichotomous key or the plant identification terminology. And, thanks to the wonders of a public school education, everyone assumed the wrong results would get us a failing grade. We were trying to pass. We didn’t want to get bitched out by the teacher. Curiosity, learning, science - that had nothing to do with why we were sitting in that classroom. So we all lied.

The teacher was furious. She tried to fail every student, but the administration stepped in and told her she wasn’t allowed to because a 100% fail rate is recognized as a failure of the teacher, not the class. It wasn’t even her fault, really, though her being a notorious hard-ass didn’t help. It was a failure of the entire educational system.

So whenever I see crap like Elizabeth Holmes’s blood test scam or pharmaceutical trials which are unable to be replicated or industry-funded research that reaches wildly unscientific conclusions, I just remember those fucking sweet potatoes. I remember that curiosity dies when people are just trying to give their superiors the “right” answers, so they can get the grade, get the job, get the paycheck. It’s not about truth when it’s about paying rent. There’s no scientific integrity if you can’t control for human desperation.

[erin-hart]

[normal-horoscopes]

Going down to the river to pray and study about that evil incredibly fucked up ol way

[tikkety-tok]

[rosa-nitida-deactivated20211010]

My god, I need the stars.

[guerrillatech]

[chillgamesh-the-swing]

Don't forget you have none of the benefits of wetland plants (cooling, regulated evaporation, food and habitat for wildlife), when the canals go stagnant they breed tons more mosquitoes because they don't support the amphibians that eat them, it's no longer an accessible water source for bigger wildlife, storm water is faster and more dangerous in a straight channel than in a natural stream, the concrete and the speed prevent water from infiltrating into the soil and maintaining the aquifer... I could go on.

[bywandandsword]

And let's not forget that the people who will suffer the most from this are low-income communities. Either they;

1) Lack the resources to evacuate in the case of a flood in the first place or lack the resources to rebuild after, or

2) Live off the land to some degree and as seasonal cycles, such as annual floods, are disrupted, local food systems (substistance farming, fishing, etc.) and become increasingly less viable, among other cultural disruptions

Bonus points if the disappearing wetlands acted as a storm buffer and/or all the remaining wetlands are polluted as hell and/or what land is left is being swallowed by the combination of land compaction and salt water intrusion meeting rising sea levels

But as long as navigating their products to port is easier for the corporations that own the river, right?

[tikkety-tok]

this plant is kudzu. aka 'the vine that ate the south'. a damaging invasive plant that’s a nuisance to the local area in this video. Now look at those moos go

[tyetknot]

TELL ME I’M WRONG

[slavicafire]

please tell me more about mushrooms being remains of gods

there is a reason why we substitute meat with mushrooms. there is a reason they have this umami taste.

and that is the same reason why so many love the taste but can't stand the texture. as if it was wrong to eat it.

the fungi flesh of the old ones is a prophecy. it is what we used to be, what we could be. what we will be - once we give into the mycelium. once we allow it to bind us and become one through it.

unlimited potential. interwoven and intimate and divine and with the sweetest scent of the forest bed and decay.

[cuntess-carmilla]

I see (and agree with) your “you’re one bad month away from becoming homeless (so start redirecting your loyalty from billionaires to the working class)” and I raise you a “you’re one accident, one insect sting, one sudden mysterious illness, one virus from becoming permanently disabled (so start redirecting your sympathy from the able-bodied class to the disabled)”.

[notyourmothersspellbook]

Here’s your reminder to connect with your ancestors today. Especially if your family sucks and you have a complicated relationship with the idea of ancestor work. Sit with the dead. Offer up what you have. Ask for help. 

[autumntides]

With all this talk of air conditioning today, my mind is on vernacular architecture. Before hegemony fucked the world up big time, it used to be very obvious what environment a given building was designed for and built within, even if it was in a photograph being looked at halfway across the world, or a painting from a land otherwise unknown to the viewer.

You have to have certain different roofs if there's heavy snowfall, sticky ice, or temperate winters; you get different awnings and gutters if summers are rainy or humid or dry; windows are shaped by not only the frequency of windy days, but by either the need to keep that wind out as a hazard to furniture and lung health or by the need to invite that wind in as a relief from the overall weather. There's literally ways to add ducts at the roofline to create breezes inside a building that aren't outside it. You can refrigerate two story pantry buildings that way! Just the existence of a porch tells a lot about the length of climate cycles when it's done without the hubris of wired fans, space heaters, and hydraulic shutters.

In the "poorest" parts of the world (I'll hold my tongue on the nature of wealth and what we count as wealth) many of these techniques are not lost - even the poorest parts in the richest nations. But they are disincentivized, even made illegal, in favor of the profit-making mechanical and electronic solutions from hegemony. We're coming up on a point where that needs to not only be reversed, but built upon. New weather is going to demand new vernacular.

Which is itself a worrying tragedy given how polluting demolition and building construction actually is, even with more sustainable traditional techniques. There's a lot of dwellings (and a lot more other kinds of building) that were built wrong completely on purpose, to achieve an aesthetic cohesion that has more to do with suppressing cost than it has to do with sheltering people.

[wastelesscrafts]

Upsizing clothes! There are a million upcycling tutorials for clothes that are too big, but so few on how to make too small clothes you still love bigger!

Thank you for your suggestion! We all go through weight fluctuations in life, so it stands to reason our clothes should be able to fluctuate with us.

Resizing your clothes used to be a very common practice before the advent of fast fashion. Fast fashion sizing is extremely flawed, especially when it comes to plus size fashion, and we're stuck with a lot of vanity sizing, so it's a good skill to have regardless of whether you're looking to mend something old or buy something new.

How to upsize clothes:

Introduction:

There are many different ways to make a garment larger. The following list is not exhaustive, just a few ideas to get you started.

Grading patterns:

If you're making your own clothes, it's always useful to know how to modify a sewing pattern. The easiest way to adjust a pre-existing pattern to your size is slash and spread grading. First, you need to define which spots on the pattern need extra space. You then cut your pattern in that spot, and slide the resulting pattern pieces away from each other until you've got the size you need. Use paper to fill in the gaps. To ensure the resulting pattern makes for well-fitting clothes, make a mock-up and add, move, or remove darts where necessary to adapt it to your body type.

The image below shows potential slashing lines on pattern blocks for an AFAB body. Unfortunately this was the only diagram I could find, but know that other types of patterns use similar line placements. Each line is a spot that allows you to add extra space. To read more about this process, check out the corresponding article by Threads Magazine.

(Image source)

To make your clothes easier to let out in the future, make sure to provide ample seam allowance when cutting out your pattern pieces. This surplus fabric has several different uses, including giving you some wiggle room for when you need to size up your garment.

Now, let's take a look at pre-made garments.

Lengthening clothes:

A garment that's too short on you is easy to modify. Just add more material!

If it's a skirt or a dress, add ruffles to the bottom. Ruffles are easy to make by hand or with a sewing machine. You could also add lace, or wear the item with an underskirt.

For pants, let down your hem or sew on a new cuff. If this isn't enough, maybe consider turning your trousers into capri pants or shorts.

As for shirts, sewing an extra layer to the bottom edge is the easiest way to go, too. You could even combine two shirts into one to get an extra long shirt.

Another option is to cut your item in two and insert extra fabric between your separated garment parts.

(Image source)

(Image source)

Letting out seams/darts:

Remember how we made sure to have ample seam allowance earlier? When a garment has surplus fabric in the seams and you only need a little extra space, you can undo the seams of your garment and sew them back together again, this time with a smaller seam allowance than before. The Spruce Crafts has a pretty good tutorial on how to let out seams. You won't be able to make major size changes using this technique, but if you only need a few centimetres, this is a good way to go.

A lot of garments also have darts. Darts are fabric folds that are sewn down in strategic places to help the fabric follow the body's curves. If a dart doesn't fit you the way you want it to, then unpick the dart and try on the garment. Either leave the dart open, or pin the dart in place however you want it, then take off the garment again and sew the dart back together.

Be careful not to rip the fabric when using a seam ripper. Also note that removing entire darts may change the garment's fit.

You can also add custom darts to achieve a better fit, but that's a topic for another time.

(Image source)

Adding extra fabric to your garment:

If we need to add more room than seam allowance or darts can provide us with, we need to add extra material. Remember those slashing lines we looked at earlier? If you're working with a pre-existing garment rather than a pattern, those are the perfect places to chop up your clothes and add in extra fabric.

Check your sewing stash for fabric that's similar in weight and material to your original garment, or go thrift shopping for an item you could use to upsize your garment. Long skirts and maxi dresses are a great source of fabric for alterations like these!

Lace inserts are also a fun choice to add some room, and if you're working with a knit item, you could even knit or crochet your own custom insert.

Define the area where you want to add extra fabric on your item, and measure how much you need. Draw a straight line on your garment with chalk/soap. Make sure the line doesn't cross any important structural or functional parts of your garment like darts or button holes: refer to the slashing diagram we saw earlier if you're not sure what spot to pick. Cut the line open (or unpick the seam if it's situated on a seam), and add in your extra fabric. Finish off your new seams so they don't unravel later on, and you're done!

You can add straight strips of fabric for extra width or length, or you could use flared panels or even godets to make your item flair out.

Want to see this technique in action? Check out this video by Break n Remake:

Some ideas:

This Pinterest user cut a straight line down the front of a t-shirt and inserted a lace panel to add extra width in the front of the garment.

(Image source)

Busy Geemaw cut open the side seams of a shirt and used flared panels to add some extra width in the bust and hip area.

(Image source)

This person added a panel to the sides of a pair of jeans to give them more space in the hip area. You could easily use a long straight panel or a panel that flares at the bottom to resize the entire garment instead of just the hips, or use a wide piece of elastic for extra stretch.

(Image source)

This person added a godet in the back of their shirt in order to get more space in the back.

(Image source)

Blue Corduroy enlarged a pair of shorts by opening up the side seams and adding in strips of fabric.

(Image source)

You don't need to resize the entire garment if you don't want to. For example, One Brown Mom turned this ankle-length skirt with a too small waistband into a well-fitting knee-length skirt by taking advantage of the skirt's flared shape.

(Image source)

Conclusion:

Throughout our lives, our weight will fluctuate and our bodies will change. There's no shame in this: it's just a fact of life. Therefore, knowing how to upsize an item that is too small for you is a useful skill to learn.

If you want more inspiration, check out these projects by Confessions of a Refashionista, One Brown Mom, and Thriftanista in the City.

[elderbiche]

Nothing hits quite like a gift for a job well done