If you give a cat …

On January 21, 2022January 19, 2022 By CarynIn Cats

a plastic egg, she’ll ask you for a curtain. If you roll the egg under the curtain, she will attack and grapple it. After mock murdering it, she will play in the curtain.

Playing in the curtain will remind her of her favorite toy. She’ll ask you for the feather on a stick.

Playing with the feather on a stick will give her the rip-tears. She will zip up and down the hall, then hide behind the door. Chances are, when her paws are under the door, she’ll ask you for a plastic egg.

(With many apologies and much love to Laura Numeroff.)

Third Anniversary

On January 20, 2022 By CarynIn photography

Yesterday marked my three-year anniversary for this blog! In tribute, I made a glass “3” … digitally. I found a pretty glass bottle, took a picture of the bottom, and used Adobe Fresco to manipulate the image. The original number on the bottom of the bottle was 08, which I masked off and enlarged, then erased bits until I had a 3. Adding a few highlights and blending helped bring out the number, while still looking like it was pressed into the glass.

Switching needles

On January 19, 2022January 22, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

I don’t like metal knitting needles. The are so slick I feel like I’m going to drop them, and if you don’t notice them coming unscrewed from the cable, you have an extreme panic moment when you suddenly have loose stitches at the end of the needle. The nylon cable has also taken on a permanent twist, which makes it fight the needle movement.

Interchangeable circular knitting needles with stiff nylon cord

My Grandma used metal replaceable needle tips on her interchangeable circular needles. Although I want to finish her project, it won’t be with her needles if I want to retain what sanity I have left. I understand that at the time they were the latest thing and better than what came before, but there are now even better options. I ordered some Prym circular needles in the same size Grandma used, but with a fixed multi-strand steel cable, which is strong and flexible. These needles are easier on my hands as I knit because I don’t have a death grip on slippery slidey needles that have a mind of their own.

Switching from metal needles to Prym ergonomic knitting needles

I do not get a kick back from Prym, in case you are wondering, I just really enjoy the thought and engineering that went into their design.

Hello from the rag basket

On January 18, 2022January 14, 2022 By CarynIn Cats

Izzy says hello from the rag basket under the sink because… cat, basket. That it is full of bits of cloth is a bonus. She really isn’t that small. It is a big basket.

Paper picks

On January 17, 2022January 17, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

I was feeling weak when I walked through the craft store. I must have been, because a book of origami paper caught my eye and I bought it. A book. Of origami paper. What was I thinking? The pages were glued into the spine, rather than loose as in a package of origami paper, and even though I can bend the spine open to get the pages our relatively cleanly, they aren’t perfectly square. What to do with all this paper that isn’t quite suited for origami as torn? Maybe a wreath?

I found instructions for folded paper flowers (I’m not calling it origami, because it involves more than just folding), that uses wire, glue, and beads. I have wire, glue, and beads.

The way the flowers are folded allows me to hide the gaps due to the imprecise paper shape.

The way the wire goes around the paper, it makes sense to twist the two sides together to make a pick. Picks make it easier to stick the flower into a wreath form.

I’ll update y’all later on how the wreath comes out.

Critters and Craft

Month: January 2022