#beginner friendly

🐟 working on my summer themed cross stitch 🐟

Witchcraft 101:

Cleansing vs Uncrossing vs Banishing

Alright witches. Lets dive into some witchy basics and discuss the differences between cleansing, uncrossing and banishing. This will hopefully help you differentiate between them. But.. lets be honestly if you do something like call a spell an uncrossing when "technically" doing a banishing, who cares its all in good spirit. The reason i think its good to have a difference in mind between these falls into how you handle a spell. If I'm doing an uncrossing vs a banishing i would choose different spell ingredients, maybe work with different gods, or choose a different element to work with.

Cleansing: I consider cleansings as the foundation and most basic of these. Its almost an umbrella term the other two fall under. All banishings are cleansings, but not all cleansings are a banishing. Cleansings are when you're trying clear something away. Most often people will use this term in day to day workings and general upkeep to make sure nothing has stuck to them. This would include more casual things like smoke cleansing, showering and asking the water to cleanse you, sound cleansing, etc. Its not a full spellworking or ritual, but still done with energy and intention. Sometimes you may do a cleansing and realize whatever is there, is stuck deeper then you expected. So you take the next steps and do a more "intense" cleansing like an uncrossing or banishing.

Uncrossing Spells: Uncrossing specifically refers to removing unwanted energy. Usually when discussing what is an uncrossing, I sperate it from just a cleansing by describing it as a very intense cleansing where you're trying to strip away intense and specific energy. These are more work and a step up from an everyday cleansing for more intense scenarios. This is very spirit focused; think of it as taking out the bad and putting in the good. Some types of spells I would consider an uncrossing are: removing hexes/jinx/curses, removing the evil eye, spiritual detoxes, road openers, removing any stubborn energy, removing feelings, etc. I associate uncrossings with water: it's soaking in and getting that energy out. I would choose herbs/spell ingredients that are uplifting and purifying. Think salt, rosemary, rue, and lemons.

Banishing Spells: Banishing spells remove unwanted entities, spirits or people. You can use it to get rid of very deep rooted things like habits or insecurities. Banishings are quite a strong forms of spellwork. You're really kicking something out and away from you when you do a banishing. Its connected to more deep rooted things that you're trying to remove from your life. Some types of spells I could consider a banishing: cord cutting, exorcisms, banishing a spirit attached to you, getting rid of insecurities, freezers, etc. I associate banishings with fire. Burn and gtfo. I would choose herbs that have more of a kick to them and are defensive. Think nettle, blackberry leaves, cloves, even pepper in some cases.

Please note this doesn't have to be something strict. Like i said at the beginning this is just a guide that will help you differentiate so you can tackle the spellwork as effectively as possible.

There are a number of great discord servers for Murderbot Diaries (book series) fans, each with a little different characteristics.

Murderbot Transit Hub was created as a beginner-friendly place for those new to both fandom and discord/communities. We have separate channels for each book so that people who only started reading can join the discussion without any fear of spoilers. We also act like a hub station to other servers.

We've been running a weekly audio-book listen-along (Kevin R Free version) since the launch back in September 2024. We are shortly starting System Collapse, and plan to move on to the upcoming Platform Decay (to be published on May 5, 2026). Our listen-along event is pretty relaxed. You can choose to just passively listen or you can also share your reactions in text channels. (Thus, no need to use the microphone)

You are most welcome to join us.

As I’m tackling my biggest free motion project yet, I thought I’d put together a little advice for anyone who is considering giving free motion a go. While I’m still no expert myself, I think tips from someone who still remembers what it’s like to be a beginner can be useful.

The Machine You Have is Good Enough—I use a Singer Heavy Duty for all of my sewing and quilting. It’s not fancy, it gets some hate online, but it’s what I have, and it works. While fancy quilting machines can have 8” or even 10” throat space (distance from the needle to the bulk of the machine), I have 6” and that has been plenty to do even a large throw quilt with an all over free motion design.

Start Small if You’re Nervous—You can start on a hot pad, pillow, or baby quilt if you’re worried about messing up and having a wonky design on a big project you spent a long time piecing. You can also do quilting that is mostly straight line and add some free motion detail for just a taste. Or you can jump in to a big project if that’s what motivates you to do it. I started on a 36” square quilt and then jumped up to a throw sized.

Don’t Stress About Design—if you see a design you like, look up a tutorial for it, then give it a go. Don’t worry if it’s the single best possible design you could choose for a particular project. I promise your project will look great with almost any quilting design. If you like it, go for it.

Draw it First—You have a design picked, but before you even put needle to fabric, grab scratch paper, a notebook, or a whiteboard (a sheet protector makes a good DIY whiteboard) and draw the design a few times. This will show you what you like and don’t like and what areas or shapes might give you trouble.

Mark Up Your Quilt Top—this is the one I don’t see a lot of people say. Small machines make it hard to see where you are going. It’s ok to mark your path. From a general guide of direction (like the spine of a feather) to literally drawing the whole thing out, do whatever you need to. It’s not cheating. I use a blue water-soluble pen, a purple air-erase pen, or white chalk (I’ve been burned by yellow staining things). If your project is precious just make sure you test the tool on a scrap to check that it comes out.

Only What’s Under the Needle Has to be Flat— Some people roll the excess, some people accordion fold it, and on my current project I’m literally just shoving it over (photo below). As long as what’s under the needle is flat, you can do anything with the rest.

Gravity is the Enemy—The less weight pulling on where you are working, the easier things will be. This is true for straight line quilting too, but I find it’s even more important for free motion. Working at a big desk or a dining table can be very useful for hauling the excess quilt up off of the floor. You can also pool it in your lap or even throw it over your shoulder.

Uneven Stitches Are Ok—If I practiced until all of my stitches were perfectly equal I would still not have a single thing done. Some of my stitches are too small to unpick even if I wanted to and sometimes they get to almost basting size. No one will notice but you.

Don’t Unpick—If you make a mistake in your design, just keep going. Stitch over it if you need to, but this is another thing where no one will notice but you. If it will bother you forever, of course you can unpick things, but if you try to make it perfect you will spend more time unpicking than sewing and that’s probably not fun for you (and this is supposed to be fun).

Try Different Feet—When I started, I hated the darning/hopping foot. It was weird to have nothing touching my fabric at times. I switched to a ruler foot that would drag along my quilt top and felt so much better. These days I’m back to the hopping foot because I built up confidence and it gives me better tension but you have to find what works for you.

Gloves and Extension Tables are Nice—You don’t need either, but grippy gloves and an extension table made me a lot more comfortable. I started with a cheap knock-off extension table and was eventually given a branded one to match my machine as a gift. The branded ones do stay in place better if you have the funds, but even the cheap one helped.

Get the Big Spool of Thread—Most free motion designs will be denser than most straight line designs. It feels like the designs eat thread for breakfast. I highly recommend grabbing the 1000 meter spools of Gutermann thread from Wawak—they are the most affordable I’ve found. White, khaki, or grey work for most quilts so don’t be afraid to stock up on those.

Do What Works For You—This is the most important thing. The goal is to enjoy the process and enjoy the final product. If both of those things are happening, don’t worry about doing things “the right way.” If those things aren’t happening, try something different…and if you’ve tried multiple things and still don’t like it, don’t be afraid to quit. You can make gorgeous quilts without free motion so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you don’t like it.

I’ll end her with a photo of my current project where I have almost 40” of quilt shoved into 6” of space to prove that it’s possible, but anyone else who also does free motion quilting, feel free to add on your tips!

Gonna be for real and say that I have in the past I have watched a shit ton of videos in regards to saving up money on food. I did grow up on the low economic scale, so already had ideas on how to cook on a budget. I also went through different phases of the type of foods that I like, and different eating habits.

At one point I was vegan, granted I was more pescatarian(I ate fish). But I loved doing some of the recipes she posted and learned about nutritional yeast!

She is charismatic and has versatile recipes that I believe anyone can do. Not to mention can be budget friendly as well!

Reason why I bring up nutritional yeast is that you can make a bouillon out of it that is pretty much vegan, but tastes like chicken. My hubby has a bit of a sensitivity to msg, and mind you most bouillon products are adding that more often.

I have used this recipe through and through and have not been disappointed, and I mean I use it alot. lol Whether from making stir fried rice, adding it to my frijoles, or even just adding it to my sopa. It gives full flavors that I crave and it works well with other seasonings, so I hope that it serves someone else well, because to me this shit is gold!

Now there are some videos that I have seen around about shopping at the dollar tree on a budget, and to me that is pretty awesome. Since their seasoning options are not too bad, and can't tell you how often I have gone to the dollar tree to get seasonal medicine as well. Granted now they are starting to get pricey, but it is all about budgeting at the end of the day in all honesty. Like this lady:

Watched a couple of her videos and she is pretty much down to earth as well, and beginner cooker friendly in my opinion. She has done several shopping videos for a set budget on food that can make you feel full through the week, and yea she is a bit nervous in her videos but that grew on me.

Now are these lovely ladies the only one's who are out there giving tips and tricks to shopping and cooking on a budget. No, but I figured I share some of the links that I have found helpful in past and present. Since I usually only focus on the whole debate of the fat movement/'s, so I figured I share something that everyone can use in these trying times since food prices are increasing even more. Along with the fact that gas prices are also increasing, so now pretty much everyone is has to adjust their budgets even more. I know I have and it freaking sucks bruh!

Happy Monday to everyone and an awesome possum June 1!

My friends found this helpful so I thought I'd post it here too. More ramblings under the cut :]