Today we are looking back to February of 2009 at a fun cuff style wire bracelet I made from thick gauge sterling silver wire. I bent the wire like ribbon candy, then hammered it flat (and kept having to readjust the bends because when you hammer them they want to open up). When I had the waves where I wanted them, I hammered it into a cuff shape around a bracelet mandrel.
Photo description: sterling silver wire bracelet in a squiggle pattern about 1/2” wide
The ends are curled into loops to protect the wearer from the cut ends. This is a fun little project and makes a pretty wrist adornment.
My neighbor shared this idea for a bird feeder with me: an empty gallon jug with a large window cut out of the side, and the bottom filled with bird seed.
Photo description: clear plastic gallon jug with rectangular cutout and shell free seed in the bottom, hung with cotton twine by the neck
It works well and can be made with items around the house. The birds and squirrels have no trouble accessing the seed.
Today you get pictures of sleepy cats, but not Izzy. Izzy the calico usually gets the most photo fame because she lays on my lap and becomes a photo background. Thor the gray tabby and Sophie the dilute calico don’t get as much press. So here they are in their favorite sleeping places, being their usual goofy selves.
Photo description: Sophie the dilute calico in a cut down cardboard box lines with a crocheted pad, next to her is a crocheted round, I was running an experiment to check her preferences on shapePhoto description: Thor the gray tabby on a large dog bed in front of the fireplace, his paws are awkwardly overlapped, but he seems comfortable, the dog (not pictured) is not happy with him though
I’ve posted before about Howard Feed-n-Wax and how much I love it for the ease of use and beauty it imparts to wood. Here is another testimonial with my Befra Willy Spinning Wheel.
Photo description: Befra Willy spinning wheel before application, showing the wheel functional, but the finish is dullPhoto description: same spinning wheel after application of Howard Feed-n-Wax, the color deepened to a rich brown, the grain of the wood is more evident, and there is pleasant shine
I did replace the hooks on the flyer assembly as well. They weren’t broken, but I have an idea about how to wind the spun yarn more smoothly and larger hooks may help. More on that later.
Photo description: new hooks on the flyer assembly, old smaller hooks on the counter
I finally combed and single spun the last of an alpaca fleece that I purchased and washed in 2020, and started spinning on my Befra Willy Spinning Wheel in 2022. I haven’t been spinning consistently over the last two years; there were many months that the fleece and the wheel were tucked away out of sight and definitely out of mind.
Photo description: Befra Willy Spinning Wheel with a bobbin full of single spun fawn colored alpaca fiber
To free up my bobbin, because the next step is to give the wheel some TLC, I wound the yarn into a cake using my wool winder. I ended up with 196g of spun alpaca (the cardboard tube in the middle weighs 4g).
Photo description: cake of single spun alpaca fiber sitting on a scale reading 200g
I put the cardboard tube in to keep the yarn under more tension. Single spun yarn is not balanced, and I wanted to reduce the chance of kinks and tangles. I’m not sure how I want to ply this fiber, so it will sit until I have an idea. I did pull the start of the yarn and the end to compare thickness, and I did a fair job keeping a consistent spin over the two year span. There are some thinner and thicker sections, but not a wide spread.
Photo description: yarn pulled from the center (newest) and the outside (oldest) showing very similar thicknesses
This definitely counts as a forever project. I’m really getting my crafting money’s worth from this alpaca fleece.
Critters and Craft 