Month: October 2025

Toothpick spinning videos

On By CarynIn Craft

I put together two videos on how to spin thread using a toothpick, one for wool and one for cotton. In my mini spinning kits, I will have a QR code that links to these videos so anyone taking one of the freebies (or had access to a stick) can review the steps on spinning thread.

Photo description: video still of my hand holding a bit of wool and a 4 inch bamboo skewer

I say spinning thread because the toothpick can’t hold much of any yarn thicker than thread, but it can hold a decent amount of thread. Spinning thin is also easier than spinning thick.

The next step is to design the insert for the kits.

Jacob Sheep fiber page

On By CarynIn Craft

I finally mounted the samples from spinning Jacob’s sheep on a fiber page.

Photo description: Jacob’s sheep 12×12 scrap book page with four paper bobbins of spun and plied yarn, unspun roving in a bag, nålbinding swatch, knit swatch, crocheted swatch, and woven swatch

I do like spinning Jacob’s sheep wool. I like the natural color variation, and it makes me happy to see the colors spiral together. The sheep are wicked cool looking too.

My swatches are getting more consistent and closer to my 4×4 inch goal.

I think it took me so long to put this together because my fiber books are undergoing transformation, mostly in my head, but there are things I want to do differently. I have a new cover design coalescing in my brain, and I think I shouldn’t pre-cut my blank pages with my Cricut cutter, but hand cut them to fit each project. Changing that the unspun fiber goes into a bag instead of a box was a great move. Now to implement the rest.

You shall not pass

On By CarynIn Cats

Sophie the dilute calico cat wanted to come in the house to deliver her newly caught mouse to her favorite person, my eldest. I did not let her in. My eldest went out to her to give her praise for being a good hunter, then Sophie went off to eat her mouse.

Photo description: Calico cat with a mouse in her mouth looking in the window

Another cat, probably Thor, did manage to bring in a rodent, then lost it under the couch. Later that night Sophie dispatched it and left bits for my eldest in her room. Presents. Hm.

Rebuild Hiblo

On By CarynIn Life Hack

I rebuilt a Hiblo air pump this week using a rebuild kit. This is the first time I have rebuilt one, but it won’t be the last. This particular pump is for the large tank of water in the garage. It blows air into the tank to remove the hydrogen sulfide smell (rotten egg) from our well water. We have another one for our aerobic treatment system. These little pumps run 24/7, blowing critical air into tanks of smelly liquid to make our living spaces less odorous. They are lovely little pieces of engineering. Yes the diaphragms wear out after several years, but they are designed to be easily replaced. The rebuild kits are a fraction of the cost of a new unit. I love things that have good functional design that are easy to maintain.

Photo description: inside of a Hiblo air pump (left), worn out diaphragm (bottom right), and a new diaphragm assembly (top right)

Throwback Thursday: crocheted hems

On By CarynIn Craft

In August 2015 we bought white t-shirts for my kids to decorate with fabric markers and paint. The shirts were a little short, so I crocheted along the bottom hem to give them some length.

Photo description: white t-shirt with the handwritten words “It doesn’t matter what species you are to be friends”, with drawn hand and paws and wings and legs, with a crocheted bottom hem about three inches wide using double crochet, shell stitches, and picots
Photo description: close-up of crocheted edge showing a blanket stitch base on the original t-shirt hem, three rows of double crochet, two rows of shells, and finished with slip stitches and picots
Photo description: different white t-shirt with ivy and hummingbird stencils, and a small black cat, with a different style crocheted hem

I don’t have a closeup of the second shirt’s hem, but it does show one of the problems that can occur with an applied edge: drawing in. I prefer my shirt bottoms to be straight, or even flare out, rather than draw in, but I do like the leaf pattern. I think my kids wore their shirts at least once before they outgrew them?