no really, squeeze it. Does it feel like it’s got sand in it? is’s sharpening sand. Stab the tip of your needle into it back and forth and it’ll help put a sharp edge back on a pin or needle that’s been blunted by use, or has a little bit of rust on it. It can’t fix anything worse then a little of either, and won’t work on something REALLY blunted, but its a lifesaver.
also it is a pepper
It’s not a pepper and it’s not for sharpening!!
It may seem like it should be a pepper, since that would go better with the flavour of a tomato (and the mass produced modern ones are admittedly more pepper shaped), but it is and has always been a strawberry. Here are some antique emery strawberries, which are much more strawberry shaped, and some of them have seeds.
And it’s for cleaning needles, not sharpening them. I can’t imagine how jamming a blunt needle point around in a bunch of loose grit could possibly sharpen it in any significant way, and all the historical sources I’ve seen only talk about cleaning.
“Every sewer’s work basket or work box should contain an emery bag, as shown in Fig. 2, through which to push a needle when it becomes rough, squeaks, or sticks in the material. An emery bag is usually shaped like a strawberry and consists of a rough denim bag filled with emery powder, which is a very hard material used for polishing metals. Such a bag may be purchased for 5 or 10 cents in any store that sells sewing materials. Needles often become rusted from the perspiration of the hands or from being left in damp places. The beginner may use a small emery bag to remove rust; or, a small piece of emery paper may be used instead.”
“An emery bag is inexpensive and is useful to keep needles polished and smooth. If the hands perspire and it is difficult to push the needle through the cloth, running the needle through the emery will relieve the condition.”
“It was very hot to sit and sew. The needle would get sticky in spite of all the little emery strawberry could give it, and Beth’s fingers had never felt so clumsy and uncomfortable.”
This patent from 1873 mentions an emery slab for sharpening pins, which is quite different from a cushion, and which sounds like it actually would work for sharpening.
“C is a slab of emery or other sharp and fine grit, for sharpening needles or pins”
Then later down the page it also says
“E is an emery cushion, secured in the body of the holder A, and is used for polishing needles and keeping them smooth.”
So. Strawberry for cleaning. Not pepper for sharpening.
Gentle reminder - modern sewing tools are made from treated or plated metal, or stainless steel. In terms of human civilisation, this is a wild advance of technology. Needles are some of our oldest tools; rust was formerly ubiquitous, and attacked every form of everyday metal. A rusty needle tears fabric, or worse, stains it. The luxury and technology of rustproof needles and pins - forgotten in a few generations of human memory - and yet it is remembered in the strawberry. Memory is stored in the strawberry!
Listen I am not going to name anyone specifically, but pattern makers need to talk to one (1) fat person before they can post their patterns online.
I am so sick of finding a cute pattern, getting all the supplies, checking my gage, and starting to knit, only to find that my sleeves are a foot longer than a normal human because the pattern maker just multiplied all their numbers by 10 when they sized it up. I can’t believe I have to say this but, just because my ass is fat does not mean my arms go down to my knees???
I really hope everyone reblogging this followed the link and read the article, because it’s larger point is really good
“Reproductive health and childbirth is a crutch, and Lucas gets away with it because his audience accepts that these things are mysterious and cannot be intervened with the way that that the loss of limbs can be remedied with robot prosthetics, or the way Luke can be rescued from near-death on Hoth by being submerged in a bacta tank. Having babies is worse than being mauled by a wampa ice creature or being chopped up by lightsabers and falling into a river of lava. Lucas can write a world like that, and worse, the audience will accept it.
But uteruses aren’t made of malignant magic. Women’s bodies are real physical things that can be studied and understood and when necessary, cured. ”
IDK about everyone else, but I’ve actually been certified as a doula and childbirth educator and worked in women’s health media for most of a decade.
All points valid, but “Help me OB-GYN Kenobi” broke me.
And this is how you can tell a story was written by men because pre-natal healthcare never even occurred to the writer. Women’s insides are a mysterious and magical place that no man either can fathom, or just just not want to think about, so in stories like this they just handwave it away as” dying in childbirth”.
They hadn’t got time to have my boots made for me, which is usually the case, because of my large feet, so I had to do with a pair out of stock. Now there I was, on the first day of shooting, this very, very cross, unpleasant gentleman, Grand Moff Tarkin, stomping around, and it was agony, it really was.
So the next day I said to dear George Lucas, the director, I said, “George, I am not asking for close ups, but do you think you could shoot me from the waist upwards from now on?” And he said “Why,” and I explained the reasons, so he said “Oh, all right,” and he gave me a pair of carpet slippers.
So for the rest of the film I stomped around looking extremely angry, very cross, with that dear little Carrie Fisher, as Grand Moff Tarkin in carpet slippers!
I need fanart of Tarkin stomping around in fluffy bath slippers, maybe with bunny ears or something.
Reblogging because it’s a damn potato and I want to encourage people to assume potatoes are magical.
Reblogging because I’m Irish. And I live in the home of these potatoes. And they are magical.
This is what they look like before midnight. But come that magic hour, when the Potato Fairy (great Queen Solanacea herself) visits them and imbues the worthy ones with her power, they take on the true golden gleam and hue that shows forth their goodness to the world.
Only for the hours between midnight and dawn (or when they cross your dash) may they bend the forces of the world to their finders’ benefit. After that they conceal their virtue under mere vitamin content and their quality as chips. Yet they are always golden at heart.
Another design is using 2 20x25x1 filters, taping them to the sides of the box fan and then to each other so they sort of make a triangle, then cutting cardboard to make a top and bottom to the triangle.
This was discovered as a more effective design during the 2020 US west coast fires.
If you google “Corsi-Rosenthal box” you’ll find videos showing how to make them, including ones for if you have a round fan instead of a box fan.
Remember:
Don’t go outside if you don’t need to (especially important if the air quality is over 100)
If you do need to go outside, wear a mask (the higher the protection, the better)
You can wear a mask inside if you don’t have air filtration
See a doctor if you start having issues with coughing, especially if you have asthma or other physical/respiratory issues
Don’t do any more physical activity than you have to, even indoors, again especially if you have asthma or other physical/respiratory issues
Also, if you have a car, rinse off the ash with plain water. Don’t wipe off the ash as it will scrape up your paint. Also don’t leave the ash on the car as leaving it there will damage your paint. A car wash is ok, as long as they do a plain water rinse first.
