Minecraft Grindstone - how to use and how to make The Semmerly Isle saga

 Sebastian Daniels, one of the children on Semmerly Isle, has been experimenting with his great-grandfather's sandstone and stone brick technologies.  He is the first one in the family since his great-grandfather to take an interest in stone.  

Paul Daniels came to the city of Rivertown more than 60 years ago, to join Gary Pippington in making the stones and glass products for the growing town.  And his son Peter did not want to be a stonecutter - he was an explorer.  He helped his father find the Western Sea from Rivertown and build the Western Gate Spire, but soon after ran off with Dan McElvaney's daughter, Maisie.. and started a whole new chapter of settlement that has continued to spread North through numerous islands.  Their territory WestSea is the Northwest most corner of the continent Rivertown was founded on.... and Semmerly is an island north of WestSea another Rivertown descendant discovered and passed the knowledge onto Oliver during a trade visit.

Now, Oliver Daniels has become 'Lord Semmerly', having travelled north from his father's homestead territory of WestSea, and settled on the island with Kynee DeAryl, from Cod Bay (another 'spin-off' city from Rivertown, of which there were several in the 20-35 year-marks from the founding of the town).

Much was lost in the Great Earthquake that devastated North City, the center of civilization, in Year 30 (30 years since Rivertown founded).. which is why Rivertown is now the central mark of time and records.  In these Sagas, we follow the descendents of the families that founded Rivertown, their spread throughout the recovering world meeting with Native villages, refugee groups that also escaped the Great Earthquake and came looking for a place to settle in the South (like the North family of Rosered etc.)...

 

See above the signs in North City Remnants (Griessen farm), the small community of outskirts of North City that were not hit by the quake or its aftershocks.  Where the great city stood - with the famous University - there is a huge hole in the ocean and tall spires of stone brick and rock, a lava flow from the mountain and a coral sea growing over all of the underwater ruins. 

Back on the Isle of Semmerly... year 75 (45 post Earthquake)

 

Sebastian discovered, quite by accident, how to make a grindstone to sharpen and repair his tools.  He has only ever heard of 'enchanting' which is being practiced in the Porter Thomas school in Rivertown as of year 45.   Apparently the grindstone can also disenchant bad enchantments from objects, like the fishing rod cursed with Vanishing his father Oliver found in a chest in a shipwreck... But, unlike an anvil, it can't help you learn how to enchant things...

But what use is the object, really?  What can it do that an anvil can't?  Well, it is simply that it is cheaper than an anvil.  While an anvil requires 3 blocks of iron (9 ingots each) and 4 extra ingots of iron - the grindstone only requires a stone slab, some sticks and planks to make.

An anvil takes 31 iron ingots to make!  That is expensive, and even more so in this recovering world, where even cactus was lost to civilization until the rediscovery and farming efforts on this island.

What does the grindstone do that an anvil can't?  Well, nothing really.  In fact, it does a bit less, because it requires a duplicate item of what you are repairing and combines the condition of the two to make one item.  See below.

Two somewhat used axes turn into one good one.  Useful?  Maybe, maybe not.  The grindstone does NOT take extra iron ingots or stone to repair a current tool - like the anvil does, which can really help resources.  One stone to repair the axe instead of three and two sticks?  Useful.  But - as I said, the anvil is expensive.  Even in the best year at Rosered iron mining community, Joseph DeCroix only found a little over 64 iron - and that was with the help of seven working men deep in the mines with monsters at every turn.  A grindstone, especially in a little island shop, may be the answer to keeping yourself in tools.  

And it adds a great 'ambience' to your rooms - just take a look at the great decorating in Semmerly Hall, below...

Kail Daniels is the one in charge of mining iron for the island - and so far he is only up to 16 ingots, 3 of which he has used for a new tool.  It might be a long time before this workshop ever gets an anvil!

Original story "McElvaney Enterprises" c Oct 2020 by Marie Lamb

Make sun shades for indoor start seedlings, prevent sunburn!

Are you ready to garden this year?
Our calico cat is, and she swears she's helping.

I am going to show how to make a cheap effective sun shade, to prevent sunburn on your newly transplanted indoor seedlings.

This is very important!  A lot of people will sunburn their seedlings without knowing it, because they forget to harden them off - or they buy them from a hothouse that did not harden off properly.  Sometimes, the sun is just too much for an indoor-raised plant.  It will show by bits of the leaves turning white or pale yellow and flaking away, like brittle paper.

To help prevent it, we are going to try to block some of the noon and afternoon sun from hitting the plants full force.

It is also important that this be a light colored, but not bright white cloth.  Bright white will send too many rays reflecting back off the cloth.

I grabbed this cotton cloth because it is handy.. and I don't care that it will not survive to next year.  The sun will damage the cloth over time and make it brittle, too - but by then, your plant will have grown up healthy, we hope!

Cut a rectangle off your fabric about as wide as your tomato cage and at least as tall, maybe more.  Cut an inward gash on all four corners, but not too far, as you don't want the fabric to tear completely and the strip to come off easily.

Now you will tie the top two strips to the wires above your plant, creating a little 'tent' for it.  I do this on the WEST side of my plants, because I have trees to the EAST that block most of the bright morning sun.  If you pull the fabric a bit over the middle of the cage as well it will block direct noon sun...

If you are out in the open and need protection on both sides - make two shades, one for each side, or tie the rectangle more over the top - we aren't blocking all the sun, just the hottest sun so that the plant can have a rest.

In some years when I only had one or two plants I would set up a few buckets and a board on the west side and be done with it - but this is the way to ensure each plant gets some shade when it needs it most.

Just loop a slip knot around the wire and then pull it shut - but not too tight, as it could tear.

I usually tie the bottom ties as well, positioning the shade so it blocks most of the sun at 2 or 3 o clock in the afternoon, putting them out about this time will ensure you are blocking the light all the way to sundown.  

You can do this with old shirt fabric or an old sheet and protect your time investment in your seedlings.  Sometimes I will tear up some of these shades later to help tie bits of vines loosely to the cage, once the plant is big. 

The other tips I got from my mentor was to bury my tomato seedlings 'all the way to their ears' in the hole, but not with the leaves actually touching the soil!  If the leaves touch the soil that keeps them moist with dew and that can invite viruses and bacteria to the plant etc.  Add a little loose dirt and water at the bottom of the hole, and then put the seedling pot contents into it.  Gently press loose dirt in and around the seedlings pressing the outer corners of the pot soil down into the dirt, while trying not to break the stems of the seedlings.

Sources :

I was taught to do the sun shades by Tom Carpenter, of the University of Minnesota Experiment Station, way back in 1994 when I was at one of my very first employments.  He had also had my father on the farm when I was a small child and he was in the National Guard with Mr. Tom.  I was proud to hear about the gardens, see my father's picture on the wall and learn the different ways to take care of plants.  The plants we made 'much larger' sunshades for were delicate shade plants that were part of experimental seed trials.  But, he explained to me it could be done for even a small plant or with a large sheet for an entire area, as long as it was secured well, and to take it down in a high wind or heavy downpour.

 My 'bury them to their ears' comes from Mr. Harold Cole who I worked with at Lowe's.  It was a long time ago, but once in the breakroom he was talking about planting and gardening and I was all ears. Ha!  He said the plant will grow extra feelers / suckers in the stem to take in more nutrients and be stronger if you bury it all the way up to the leaves delicately and water it in gently.  He said he planted 90+ tomatoes every year from seedlings!

Also be sure to water your plant in and check on it the next day and the day after that.  It is only common sense - but you want to make sure the shade has not been torn or blown away.  And remember if it is going to rain hard you will want to maybe put a 5 gallon bucket over the top of your seedling and 'squidge' it in to the soil (so it doesn't just collect water under the edge)  Remove the bucket as soon as you can - or it will get hot under it the next day.

Enjoy, good gardening!

Build a Mountain Tree Farm in Minecraft

Today we are investigating different ways to build a tree farm in Minecraft.  You would build a tree farm on an island, in the sky, or anywhere you would like a steady supply of wood.  And in the case of this farm - you get the bonus of getting lots of apples (if you're lucky).

This farm provides drops from the oak trees of wood, sticks, saplings and apples.



Oak trees are best for producing apples, but Spruce and Birch trees do drop them as well.




Remember to cut all of the wood away from the trunk and branches of each tree - and then the leaves will begin to disintegrate.  The saplings, apples and sticks will drop from the leaves to be gathered up on the ground.

This is the way my daughter likes to make her tree farms.  She puts a 6 by 6 square of dirt down, and plants a sapling in the middle of each 9 square.  I tried another one behind it of 8 by 8, to provide a bit more space for bigger trees to grow.  She says the 6 by 6 is the best for making sky tree farms.

I like two different ways of making tree farms.  Either, completely free form on a plain, planting them as I run - or to put them down in holes in the stone or gravel, like this.  I actually found that the 'holes' method produced grown trees much faster right beside the dirt squares shown above. 

I couldn't explain it - but the trees were popping up almost as fast as I could cut them down and replant them, compared to an entire day's worth with the other method.

H2oDragon says that it is probably playing off the fact that a large tree can spawn more readily than a small tree if the spaces immediately around it are blocked.

All comfy and cozy in our mountain home

I just wish we could make apple pie in Vanilla Minecraft!

Crafting365: day five Felt Mushrooms to keep Slugs happy

Available at the shop

Orange psychadelic slug and felt mushroom :) Mark said it needed to have a few bites taken out of it already. I have posted a tutorial picture over at Flickr on how to make the mushroom!

Note: Esme can now turn all the way from her back to her tummy on purpose, and has been doing it often the past few days. Before that, she would once in a while surprise herself by rarely doing it on accident. She's trying to crawl on her tummy but hasn't quite got the forward motion yet!

Handmade Baby Changing Pad

Rolled up

23 by 26 inches
I bought a 'travel changing pad' from Etsy a few weeks ago, but was a little disappointed by the size when it arrived. It was only 12 by 18 inches - and, maybe for a travel pad it isn't that bad, but I wanted to make some bigger ones.

More pictures of a second version

Instructions:
I took two of the cloth diapers out of the pack Mark's parents gave us. I laid them down on some purple flannel and cut it about an inch larger on all sides.

Then I pinnned them down and stitched them down all around with the sewing machine, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the diaper edge. Then I cut another piece of cotton fabric the same size as the flannel backing and sewed them together like I did the burp cloths, just inside the very edge of the diapers, leaving a 2 inch gap on one side for turning inside-out.

Turn inside-out, point out the corners with a dowel or unsharpened pencil, and sew the gap shut from the outside. Sew 1/4 inch from the edge all the way around for stabilizing. Then sew a line (I used a decorative curvy line) from the top edge stitch to the bottom edge stitch at equal spaces across the cloth, about 3 to 7 times, for quilting and to give it more stability when you wash it. Finish all thread tails and fold lengthways, then roll up and tie with a ribbon.

Sewing Burp Cloths: Same process, except nothing in between the flannel and the cotton fabric, and just the stabilizing stitch around the edge after turning. I'm making the burp cloths about 11 by 21 inches (finished), which is the size the flannel cuts to if I cut one yard into six equal pieces (cut into thirds, then cut each third in half lengthways). I've seen the typical burp cloth is about 18 by 14 inches with a cloth diaper inner lining

Update: The burp cloths get used every day. I use them for several things as they are a handy size. They catch milk during breastfeeding, stick under Esme's backside when I'm doing a quick diaper change on the bed or in the bassinet etc.. and they still get used to wipe her mouth when she spits up, which was their original intention ;) The big changing pads are also great (for small baby) as blankets or big soaker pads for when Dad or Grandpa hold her and her diaper leaks. A variety of small pads like these are just great all around, and hold up pretty well in the hot water cycle of the wash. And since they were so cheap and quick to make when one does eventually wear threadbare you can just toss it into the rags and make another during a spare nap.

Pogo also agrees it's 'sleeping weather' lately...
Are we sure there is still a spine in there?

Weaving Tutorials

You might remember I ran a teaser about making a weaving tutorial last week. It is ready! Please visit: KnitOwl Patterns and Tutorials at SovereignIT website.

Mark took a lot of the pictures, and I spent some time trying to make the document clear and well organized. If there is something that is hard to understand, please send me a comment here.

I've moved the pink pocket owl howto and the designing your own toys article to the knitowl.com site as well.