I did a day trip to a barbershop singing regional event that was four hours of driving and eight hours parked. I can’t be certain that the tree frog took the whole journey with me, but even if I picked him up on the last leg, it was a two hour car ride.
I was certainly surprised to find the frog in the door jam when I opened the rear door. He has been gently removed and returned to a tree.
This is another favorite jewelry project I made back in January 2010. I used silver clay, some with cubic zirconia inclusions, to make unique beads, created custom wire elements, small chain link florets, and built links with end caps and beads.
This necklace did not do as well in the Fire Mountain Gems contest, which disappointed me because I thought this one displayed more technical skill. In hindsight, that is probably why it didn’t do well, it isn’t something easily duplicated, so wouldn’t advertise their products to the best advantage.
Live and learn.
I’ve drifted off firmly into the realm of experimentation in this round of crocheted hats. Because I had red, green, and white in the stash of acrylic yarn, I wanted to experiment combining the colors with a spike stitch. A spike stitch drops one loop of yarn down a row, making a long V shaped yarn embellishment. I stuck with my standard double crochet hat pattern, making spike stitches every three double crochets and switching colors every row. I did not think that one loop of yarn would change the width of the row, but it did. Instead of getting a nicely rounded beanie, I had a flat circle. Hm.
Time to make it a beret instead. I switched to using just the white yarn with no spike stitches, and the fabric immediately made the turn without decreases. I didn’t have to make decreases until round three. Then I switched to a single crochet parallel rib for the last band. The ribbing is very stretchy and although it looks in the picture like a small opening, it expands to fit a head, and lays flat for storage (happy accident).
The back corner of the roost in the coop is the prime sleeping position for the chickens. Since Wing Ding the Black Star hen has taken to the roost, it has been her domain and the Faverolles have given her space. I caught them on camera recently snuggling up, though. I’m not sure if Wing Ding let them, or she was asleep when they shuffled over. Positive outcome either way.
I realized that I had a free substitute for the thin dowel I tried to use for a large macrame hanging: a branch from the yard. Not only do we have copious available branches, naturally shaped wood looks really nice with macrame. I even had a nice long cedar branch that I had cut a few months ago that didn’t work for the project at the time, that had been sitting out and curing. I stripped off the bark, which is much easier after the rain when the bark is wet, then let the wood dry. I used an oscillating spindle sander to get the remaining traces of bark removed, then sealed it with several applications of Howard’s Feed-n-Wax.
Transferring the cotton cord from the dowel to the branch wasn’t difficult once I used some spare cord to tie it up above the dowel. Larks head knots are very stable, but very easy to remove.
I left the old thin dowel hanging as a pattern line, and added a couple more guide lines to the wall using washi tape.
Now I have to settle on my macrame pattern. I initially intended a simple all-over grid, but my ideas keep getting fancier and I’m thinking of pockets and loops. Hm.
Critters and Craft 