A community for craftsters

Today I waterproofed some things for the yard. I spread out a plastic tarp to keep things off the grass.

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Today I finished the hugelkultur pot. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) I still have the second one to fill, but this one is done for now. \o/

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Today I started on my hugelkultur pot project. The pot is about 21" at the outside top, 18" at the inside top, 16" tall, and 10 1/2" at the base.

I've been thinking about how I wanted to fill it. I didn't want to use all potting soil because sometimes it's too heavy and other times too light. I didn't want to use gravel or ceramic shards for drainage because eventually I'll want to dump it and refill it. So I hit on the idea of using sticks as the bottom layer, because they'll make good drainage but can also break down over time. Also, I love the idea of using things from my yard. A key rule of permaculture is "Obtain A Yield," and that can be anything you find useful. In this case, I'm using cut brush to improve drainage, so it's productive rather than just a pile of branches in the way of the lawnmower. I'll be adding leaves, compost, and potting soil later.

Hugelkultur is a type of no-turn compost similar to lasagna gardening where you make a pile of stuff, only this version can include anything from sticks to whole trees on the bottom. Eventually the wood decomposes.

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I got to talking about fiber fairs with a friend. They're easy to miss. They tend to advertise only in a few places where they expect their audience to be, like feed stores (for sheepfarmers) and yarn stores (for crafters).  So I thought other folks might enjoy the references I found.

Here are some:

https://www.thatchedroofcottage.com/2024-fiber-arts-festivals

https://www.knittersreview.com/upcoming_events/

To find these, search "fiber fair" or "fiber festival" + city, state, or other place near you (or the year).

nsfwords has volunteered to host the March bingo fest in allbingo. If you want an idea what that could look like, see the bingo fest and meet and greet pages from the 2022 round. Fills can be writing about a craft, making a craft, taking a picture of a project, whatever you like. Everyone is welcome to participate; this is a high-inspiration, low-stress community.

Here is the entry from the 2024 Community Calendar:

[recurring]
National Craft Month Fest hosted by nsfwords
This is a fest focusing on the myriad joys (and frustrations) of Crafting.
Posting will be March 1-30.

I've had one of these things for years. Periodically I have to take it apart and rebuild it, when the potpourri loses its scent and/or the string of lights gives out.

This year I couldn't find a string of 20 so I wound up with a string of 50. Note that you need incandescent bulbs not LED bulbs, as it's the faint heat which releases more scent from the potpourri. I managed to cram them all in there, once I realized that I needed to skip my usual method of putting a toilet paper tube in the middle while packing to keep the lights on the outside. It's hard to find good potpourri nowadays, with small pieces -- it's mostly huge chunks meant for a large open display bowl. I did add a couple of cinnamon sticks and some cinnamon-scented larch cones.

Anyhow, I got it working again. :D