Cuddle Party

[ysabetwordsmith]

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Comments

[librarygeek]

Drops off mandelbrot for a small bowl of chili verde. I'm NOT great on most spice, but like the Chipotle sauce another Bear left out. ;-)

Snow day means some spice is good though. I make a white chicken chili myself. :-D

Re: Cuddles!

[(Anonymous)]

*happyshiver* *puuurrr* *brushes appear* braids?

Re: Oh yeah, almost forgot!

[ng_moonmoth]

Exactly! It's out here for anyone who wants to have some fun, make some noise, and drive away any evil demons from the vicinity. Here's how it's set up:

*lights a match, puts it in the tongs, touches it to the end of one of the dangling strings, and steps back quickly*

...which promptly bursts into flames, and heads toward *bang* *bang bang* *poppoppoppoppop* *BANG* *b-b-b-b-b-BANG* *poppopBANGbangbangpoppop bang bang BANG* *b-b-BANG-b-b-b-BANG-b-BANG BANG* *bang bang* [...] *bang bang BANG*

I set up a total of eight strings. That number is favored in this context because the Chinese words for "eight" and "money" sound very similar. So, by setting off eight strings of fireworks, we can wish our host good fortune, wealth, and freedom from malign influences.

Who's next?

Re: Oh yeah, almost forgot!

[technoshaman]

MEMEMEMEMEMEEEE (fire, fire, heh heh, heh heh)

o/~ Light the match and step away... o/~

BEGONE (BANG) YE DEMONS OF STUPIDTY! (BABABABABABABABABABABABAAAAANG!!!!)

(And a luck offering to the Hiring Gods!)

Re: Happy New Year!

[ng_moonmoth]

>> And you brought beni shouga! <<

Actually not quite the same thing. The customary seasoning for the soup dumplings is thin shreds of fresh ginger root, put in a dish with the black vinegar just before serving -- so it's not really a pickle as much as a combination of tastes. I bet it still works well with the steamed veggies, though.

Some of your veggies look just fine to me, even before steaming! *picks up peas and shoots, radishes and carrots* *puts the cabbages and mushrooms in a steamer basket and gives them a few minutes*

>> Those are soy-sauce chicken: marinated in garlic and ginger, then foil-wrapped and baked hot and fast. They end up fall-apart tender and delicious. The ones with a red strip wrapped around have chili in the marinade. <<

*snags a couple of packages with the red strip*

>> I'll help keep an eye on the wok, too. <<

Check with the person whose sitar playing has been keeping the wok wet. Thanks for offering to keep things going.

Re: Cuddles!

[ng_moonmoth]

Hi J. Cuddles/squishes/whatever available whenever you'd like.

What's in your knitting bag this time? Mine's got a sample piece of dimensional tuck knitting for my next project, a couple of lengths of knitting that will get armholes for one class, and the start of a double-knit rectangle where I'm going to learn how to do double-knit lace in another class this weekend. That's what I'm working on now.

Re: Cuddles!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yay double-knit!

Re: Cuddles!

[inky_magpie]

A medium sized house cat shaped critter sniffs and bats at the bag of knitting. She has short chocolate brown and magpie iridescent blue fur and is wearing a lilac vest with patches that say "Error: out of spoons", "she/they" and "pet me please"

Chocolate, properly!

[librarygeek]

Now that I have been fully soaked until relaxation, I'm getting some of the Mexican chocolate. *Poof* one proper chocolate pot and whisk later.... anybody else want some? :-)

Re: Cuddles!

[technoshaman]

Hi! I haven't seen you around... *offers a hand to sniff, that is willing to skritch if accepted*

Re: Oh yeah, almost forgot!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Whee! Happy New Year! :D

Re: Chocolate, properly!

[technoshaman]

Mmmm, yes please!

Re: Oh yeah, almost forgot!

[ng_moonmoth]

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

*offers matchbox and tongs*

Set one off yourself?

Re: Cuddles!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello new friend! *waves happyflap* *Puuurrr Puuurrr purrpurrpurr*

Re: Happy New Year!

[fuzzyred]

*hugs* Hugs are definitely best with the pointy things out of the way.

Re: Chocolate, properly!

[fuzzyred]

Me please!

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Ooo, yes braids please. *happy wiggle*

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Cuddles/hugs/squishes are all good :) I like hugs a lot :D

My knitting bag has leftover yarn that I want to make squares with. My grandma gave me a book titked "440 More Knitting Stitches". It shows you how to do things like knit stripes and diamonds, cable knitting, stars, and even lace. I'm thinking of picking different patterns to try, making one square of each, and eventually making it into a blanket. I'm going to have to see if I can find patterns that will work together, or at least not clash though. And I might need to make sure my yarn is the right thickness for the patterns. I feel like thick yarn would be to clunky for some of them.

Your projects sound cool, though also far above my skill level. I hope they turn out well for you :)

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

Fuzzy J pulls out a ball of red yarn with silver thread running through it and removes the fuzzy red sash from her robe. She sets both on the floor for the cat to play with. "Man, being out of spoons is the worst. This place is pretty great for help regenerate them though. Would you like pets? I also have a lap available for snuggles/curling up in."

Re: Eeee!

[fuzzyred]

Squeaks! I choose squeaks! "Squeak?" *waves hello again*

Re: Cuddles!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>My knitting bag has leftover yarn that I want to make squares with. My grandma gave me a book titked "440 More Knitting Stitches". It shows you how to do things like knit stripes and diamonds, cable knitting, stars, and even lace. <<

Wow!

>> I'm thinking of picking different patterns to try, making one square of each, and eventually making it into a blanket.<<

What a great idea! You can also make a vest or sweater that way.

>> I'm going to have to see if I can find patterns that will work together, or at least not clash though. And I might need to make sure my yarn is the right thickness for the patterns. I feel like thick yarn would be to clunky for some of them.<<

Check the pattern. They often tell you what weight of yarn to use, especially in knitting. You can also consult a general yarn guide.

Re: Cuddles!

[fuzzyred]

I think the yarn guide will come in very handy. Since the book only tells you how to create the texture you want (zig zags, stars, lace, etc.) and doesn't actually give a pattern for a work, it doesn't give a weight for the yarn to use. Though I might need to check the front of the book. It has tips for the basic stitches there and may explain which yarn to use.

Re: Cuddles!

[inky_magpie]

*purrs, sniffs at your hand and pushes my head against it, asking for skritchs* new here

Re: Cuddles!

[inky_magpie]

*rubs up against you, purring loudly*

Re: Cuddles!

[ysabetwordsmith]

As a broad rule, the fancier the stitch, the thinner the yarn. Most fancy cableknits are no more than medium weight, and lacy stuff is worked with very fine yarn. The bulky yarns are usually for simple stuff.

To get a feel for how the weights work, buy a skein of each weight you want to try using. Doesn't have to be fancy yarn. Then knit up samples of different types of pattern -- a lace one, a cableknit, shaped ones like stars, and so on -- using each weight so you can feel which ones work or don't. These don't have to be big enough to make a blanket, a hand-sized piece will do. You could even keep them as a pattern book by running a snap ring through the corners.