Property of the Gnomish Empire
samanthajoelsson.bsky.social
Property of the Gnomish Empire
@samanthajoelsson.bsky.social
Vintage sewing machines (White, Kenmore): vermicomposting: gardening USDA zone 8b: skirmish wargaming: EverQuest awhile ago:

Not much for reposts, either doing or reading. Let’s be originals.
As Dharma promised, a purple without a halo of blue pigment! Touches of black to break up the monochrome & touches of leftover fuchsia. I didn’t tie tightly enough for clear geode lines but am happy with the diamonds which formed in between tiny spirals on the sleeve. #tiedye
November 15, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Dharma Trading fabric dyeing supplier is the best.

They, being of the old school, have space on the order form for just having a chat (instead of corporatized ‘feedback’). I dashed off a friendly note about our preschooler having fallen in love with the art & being the driving force behind… 1/?
November 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Many are the u-turns of a small child hearing the cheers of GOOOOOAL during the trek to the bedtime room.

This year I’m having explained to me that these numbers [reads numbers] are shots & sometimes someone says no & sometimes the number gets smaller.

#lakings #hockey #gokingsgo
November 14, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I had to put the mewborns somewhere while changing the cloths in their den! My, but I didn’t know how much they would pee. Seven sweetlings! Two calicos, two dilute oranges (one solid, one tuxedo), one dilute gray tuxedo (girl?…), two stripey grays (one tinged with brown, boys?…)

#catsofbluesky 🐈🐈‍⬛
November 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
The crosswinds nearly toppled my bike, trailer, & myself with it today. I use hybrid tires usually at 40 psi (we just had a cold snap, so they may be under) but not planning to change that: when grip is suddenly needed, like today, I’m grateful. But could I do more to steady?

#ebike #bikecommuting
November 12, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Did you know that roving pet clinics are part of the school fundraising cycle now? It’s affordable! Convenient! For a worthwhile cause!

I was taking Miss Skipped-Her-TNR-Appointment & kitten freeloader there when I listened to her cries…

Texted my husband…

Her newest litter’s in our backyard.
November 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
T-shirts from Old Navy do not discharge dye with bleach very much, if at all. I’m impressed but also wondering how this will influence how the dye sits over unbleached gray. I applied the powders & the preschooler irrigated with hot water while supervising. This time preschooler kept clean. #tiedye
November 9, 2025 at 10:28 PM
When we arrived home just now, we found tiny Pipes had snuck inside the house at some point. Indoor lass was Not Amused.

Earlier today he was trying to suckle on one of the TNR half-grown cats. Such patience the big one had, just scooped in his nearest brother for washing.

#cat #catsofbluesky 🐈‍⬛
November 9, 2025 at 1:28 AM
After a long while I’ve found a substitute recipe for Swedish sirapslimpa rye (most American recipes are for spiced jul limpa, not the everyday loaf). Great for open faced sandwiches!

#breadmachine #baking 🍞

www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/doub...
November 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Siblings make the best pillows (after kicking them in the face & being bitten in return). 🐈‍⬛ #cat #catsofbluesky

(Yes, it’s my Election Day: yes, I voted.]
November 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Such trust. To think Concho was the most skittish of the original six…
November 4, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I’ve achieved crazy cat lady status somewhere. The cat distribution system dropped off a tiny one half the size of the outdoor litter, which holed up in our garage for two days screaming for mommy. My theory is that whatever animal hunted the missing kittens of the local litter (hawk?) dropped one.
November 2, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Burda 9326 child’s pajamas set done.

None of the bands worked out quite as envisioned, though I would guess most of that was user error as I cut this out in a busy McDonald’s playscape area. Still, a narrow neck opening, be careful. Good relaxed fit pajams true to size. Pockets!

#sewing #sewsky 🪡
October 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The good news: the landscaping fabric makes good embroidery stabilizer!
The bad news: I didn’t place any on the wrong side: that’s the upper front pattern piece.

#sewing #sewsky
October 29, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Burley bike trailers feature:

interchangeable, replaceable parts (so I swapped the sides on which the tow bar receivers are mounted, and some squeaks I hadn’t noticed are gone now that the bar is on fresher padding)

gaps near the replaceable parts for access to bolts or kitten siblings

#ebike
October 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Think I’ve got it…

#sewing #sewsky
October 28, 2025 at 8:07 PM
In my first “I miss JoAnn Fabrics” moment—how am I gonna transfer this? I can’t see it to stitch over the tracing paper (it’s actually landscaping fabric) as planned. I have powdered chalk & soap slivers, but no wax sheets. Burda 9326 cute cat pajams.

#sewing #sewsky #garmentsewing 🪡
October 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Found some ‘Cajun seasoned pork bones’ in the supermarket discount section & took the gamble. Guess central Texas is close enough to Louisiana to receive authentic flavors. I couldn’t master cooking this when I was an immigrant elsewhere & homesick for eating something American.
October 27, 2025 at 3:53 PM
No pictures of our rain-soaked garden because an inch and a half of it disappeared into the dry earth leaving not a single puddle. The sugar snap pea seedlings grew four leaves in a day, that’s the only sign. Carrot & onion seeds sprouting in new pots made from cheap trash cans.
October 26, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Let’s call these a learning experience.

Learned I don’t like the delicacy of lingerie elastic & prefer elastic with enough heft for handling:
Learned that Jalie 2568 is good enough as drafted but if I’m going to sew my own I want more shaping (back raised, front lowered).

#sewsky #garmentsewing
October 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
To add to today’s feed of minor victories in passing on silly lore to the younger set:

Preschooler began singing on our way into the donut shop, with me coming in to harmonize (poorly) on

🎶 oh no
there goes Tokyo
go go Godzilla! 🎵

with roaring afterward. Delighted at least one passerby.
October 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Went to the pumpkin festival. It’s for certain a preschooler themed experience, so we hit it at just the right year. School aged kids looked bored. Toddlers & kindergarteners were having a blast. The “corn pit” is a sandbox enclosure of feed corn & lots of happy creative play happened.

#rrtx
October 19, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Pinecone kitty is so comfortable without his cone.

He also just attacked my butt to pounce on my fart. Must’ve made my skirt ripple. How’s your morning going?

#cats #catsofbluesky #timetotrimthoseclaws
October 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Our silly foam eating cat has been medically cleared to no longer bear the Cone of Shame. He celebrated by stealing a similar sized lump of fresh baked bread. (Steakhouse copycat rolls.) Since he couldn’t play bite so hard, his siblings rearranged the pecking order & they all cuddle & groom more.
October 18, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The preschooler had a day out at the arcade with papa & has been worshipping the ground he walks on ever since. Earlier this week wanted to know, over breakfast, what color shirt papa was wearing so they could dress alike, & was nonplussed that the accurate answer was ‘he’s asleep, so he’s naked’.
October 16, 2025 at 1:54 PM