Progress on napkin basket

On July 19, 2026 By CarynIn Craft

I have a car project for which I tear unbleached fast food napkins into one inch strips, twine the strips together, then add stitches to a loop and core basket. Well, I intended it to become a basket, but I am doing my stitches (button hole loop or Coptic stitch) upside down. It makes it hard to add the stitches because I’m going through a smaller loop.

Photo description: round loop and core base make from paper napkins

Photo description: close up of the stitches with the core twine marked in green, and two loops highlighted in purple

Opening up the smaller loop to add the next row of stitches weakens the twine at that point, and paper twine is not robust stuff to begin with. I will probably continue to the end of the core twine (there isn’t much left), and experiment with preservation methods with the finished object. The feel of the fabric is quite nice, flexible but firm with an interesting texture.

Cat in a bag

On July 18, 2026 By CarynIn Cats

This is the second year I’ve used the “Cat in a bag” carrier for Thor the cat’s vet visit, and I still think it is a brilliant invention.

Photo description: large gray tabby in a magenta bag buckled into a car seat

He is not happy to go to the vet, but he doesn’t bounce off the walls in a desperate bid for escape like he does in a traditional cat carrier. At the vet he never has to get out of the bag since there is a zipper at the back for access to his body. He does prefer to hide his head under my arm, but will sometimes peek out.

This is the brand I purchased.

Two by two

On July 17, 2026 By CarynIn Wildlife

The raccoon kits are getting big! I pulled my trail cam photos and they are about half as big as their Momma, all six of them.

Photo description: night vision view of seven raccoons walking through the woods, Momma’s chewed tail on the right, and six young raccoons following in pairs, the eye glow the only sign of the sixth

Photo description: another picture of this raccoon family, Momma on the bench, five young on the porch, and one kit on the ground between the porch and bench, all cleaning up cat food

I think the number of kits explains Momma’s tail being thin and scraggly. I think I would give up and just let them play with my tail in order to get some sleep.

Throwback Thursday: painted flags

On July 16, 2026 By CarynIn art, Craft

In April 2018 I decided to try making my own garden flags. I taped down cotton cloth on cardboard with masking tape, then used acrylic paint to completely cover the cloth.

Photo description: four garden flags freshly painted, drying on the cardboard where they were taped for painting

Once the paint was dry I hemmed the flags and sewed in the top channel so they could hang on my garden flag pole.

Photo description: finished flag hanging vertically in the garden

These flags held up remarkably well. If I were to make them again, I would be sure to iron the fabric before taping it down, and sew the pocket at the top wide enough to accommodate the loops that are on my holder. In summary, iron the fabric, and measure twice, cut once, which is good advice for most projects.

Allogrooming

On July 15, 2026July 12, 2026 By CarynIn Cats

I caught Mr Tom and his Shadow in the meadow allogrooming, a type of cat community behavior that establishes bonds and hierarchy. They didn’t know I was in the coop run, so I was able to capture a video. I was actually able to take many one minute recordings before they spotted me, then after realizing I was there they both played it cool like they weren’t just aggressively grooming each other.