Witchy Willow Meadows

Hi there!I’m glad you ask, as this is kind of an important topic, and one I’ve seen needs to be addressed for some time already. 

Sweetie, I’m glad to hear you like my posts, and I’m truly sorry you feel that way, but short answer: in my blog, I reblog everything I find useful, want to keep for reference, future use, or share for anyone else who may need it.

Long answer hopefully will help you understand the problem with what you’re asking me.Think of it this way: there’s no reason for me to “keep it private”, cursing It’s an important part of my path, it’s not wrong, nor offensive, nor problematic in any way. If people think witches are “bad because they curse” it’s because they’re either 1) “con cola de paja”, as we say here in Argentina, or basically, they know they’re doing something wrong / worth punishment and don’t like people being able to give them what they deserve and/or 2) are heavily misinformated or hold some form of prejudice, “they could curse you for anything! It’s not fair! They’re so cruel!”, and believe witches have no judgment of what’s right and what’s wrong, or something like that.Now let me tell you my side of the story, in my practice, if you can’t curse, you can’t heal either. There has to be balance, and cursing, in the right moment and for the right reasons, is just as important as healing, in the right moment and for the right reasons. It’s a really important part of my craft. And… just as you wouldn’t cast a healing spell without any needs for it, you don’t cast a curse/hex/jinx or anything like that unless you know It’s necessary, e.g. difficult and complex situations where you have no other choice, no laws or justice system can help you, no other way for you to give the necessary punishment. Not more, not less. And you should think of it for a while before cursing. Just as you would for healing or any other sort of spell.

If anyone has to “keep it private” or even go as further as changing their mind about something here, I think that would be those who hold the prejudices I stated before, not the witches. “keeping it private” would be like agreeing with them on the whole “witches who curse are bad” thing, and I’m deeply against that. I have no reasons to hide or be ashamed of my practice. So I’m sorry if I disappoint you in any way, but I’ll have to say no. I’m still on the pro-curse wagon. 

Prewashing your skein in a lingerie bag with fabric softener and warm water in the washing machine & dryer

Soaking your finished project in a bath of cheap hair conditioner and warm water in your kitchen sink

How to soak a finished project to soften

I made strawberry jam! The berries were already very sweet and I added a bit too much sugar, but it still came out delicious. The little jar is a bit of jam that I’m going to give to my grandmother as a small gift <3

Yes!!

Knitting Socks 101

I like this Basic Sock pattern because this one works with both fingering/sock weight yarn, and has instructions for worsted weight as well.

What Yarn to Buy

So, if you have never knitted socks before, using a worsted weight is nice because they will knit up a lot faster.

If you don’t mind hand washing and laying flat to dry, Wool of the Andes is a nice, inexpensive wool, that knits up into a cozy pair of socks.

If you need to be able to wash and dry your socks in a machine, you’ll want superwash yarn. There’s a Wool of the Andes Superwash and a Swish Superwash. You will pay a little more for the superwash in the wool.

Another option is an acrylic yarn. There’s Brava which is really cheap, but not a terrible yarn. For your very first pair, this might be what I’d pick if you are really uncertain. But I will generally always prefer a wool.

And of course there is also a huge amount of fingering weight options available.

Knitting Needles

You can knit socks, two at a time, on a cable needle, but I personally prefer double pointed needles.

It’s personal preference whether you like metal, plastic, or wooden needles. I personally am in LOVE with bamboo needles.

Specifically the Caspian Needles from Knit Picks. But any DPNs you’re comfortable with will do!

For fingering/sock yarn you’ll want size 1 or 1 ½. And for worsted you’ll want size 3.

Second Sock Syndrome

What often happens, when a person makes one sock, is that doing the second sock of the pair can feel like a slog, lol. To combat this, it’s usually suggested to knit both at the same time.

I will generally do the cuff up to the heel flap on one, then on the next. Then the heel flap on one, and the next. Then turn, then the foot, then the toe - working first one sock, then its twin.

Stitches You Need to Know

People are always so intimidated by socks, but the trick is to take it one stitch at a time. Don’t try and wrap your brain around the entire process, just follow each step of the instructions.

To knit a sock using the pattern I linked you’ll need to know

knit in the round on DPNs (not as tough as it seems!)

how to long tail or cable cast on

knit and purl

knit two together (and purl two together)

slip slip knit

pick up a stitch

And that’s it. All very, very basic knitting stitches.

I hope that helps!

This ritual is for when you feel like you just can’t get back into your faith or you have drifted from your Deity(ies) It is a deep soul searching ritual, not to be performed on a whim. I found the original piece ages ago and have since lost the credit to the original author.  I have edited it here for my own needs, feel free to do the same. 

Reconnection Ritual

Need

a special candle

piece of paper

fire proof vessel

Honestly if you’ve never tried apple jam you are missing out, it is my favourite thing ever and it is so so easy, here’s how:

You will need:

Cooking apples (I used Bramley apples but any type of cooking apples should work)

Jam sugar (this contains pectin which is what sets the jam)

Water

Method:

Peel, core and chop your apples then weigh them

Measure out water that is ¼ of the weight of your apples (so for example if you had 1kg of apple then you would add 250g/ml of water)

Add the apples and water to a large pan and stew on a low heat for approx. 20 mins stirring occasionally or until an applesauce texture is reached

Once the apples are fully cooked, remove from heat and mash with a potato masher to remove any large lumps (if you want a super smooth jam then purée)

Once the desired consistency has been reached return to the heat and add jam sugar that is equal in weight to the uncooked apples (so for example if you had 1kg of apples you would add 1kg of jam sugar)

Bring jam mixture to the boil, stirring constantly. Once the mix begins to boil reduce the heat and stir occasionally.

Place a small amount of jam (about half a teaspoon) onto a plate. After waiting a few moments, so as to not burn yourself, push your finger through the jam, if the surface wrinkles then the jam is ready, remove it from the heat. However if the jam does not wrinkle, then continue to heat, testing every minute or so until it passes the wrinkle test

Fill sterilised jars until 1/2cm from the top and cover with greaseproof paper ensuring that the lids are added while the jam is still hot as this vacuums the lid to the jar keeping it fresher for longer

For reference 1kg of apples, 250ml of water and 1kg of sugar will make approx. 5 standard size jars of jam or 3 larger jars