Author: Caryn

Throwback Thursday: wire roots

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

When my kids were young I turned to making more jewelry. The projects were usually quick (under a couple hours), easily stashed out of reach, and didn’t involve things like knives or torches. Wire is one of my favorite crafting media, and I still like this wire wrapped stone with braided wire necklace I made in July 2007. I feel the photography on this piece also shows skill improvement.

Photo description: triangular polished stone wrapped with twisted wire “roots”, combined at the top, then split and braided to form the sides of the necklace, finished with a magnetic clasp

Ironically, when my kids were babies, I stopped wearing necklaces and earrings so they wouldn’t be targets for little hands. Over that time I developed a neck sensitivity and can now only wear a very light necklace for an hour tops before it bugs me and has to come off. Heavier necklaces like this one don’t last 30 seconds.

Happy Fourth of July, may your neighbors celebrate quietly and early, and may your animals be calm.

P.S. My apologies for email subscribers on a partial post yesterday. I started writing tomorrow’s post, stuck my phone in my pocket, and the post published itself, incomplete. The full post should go out tomorrow, barring more technology hiccups.

The cat and the sheet

On By CarynIn Cats

I’m retiring a set of sheets and gave them a good wash and dry, then Izzy the cat discovered them in the laundry basket.

Photo description: white foldable laundry basket, gray sheets, and a happy calico cat snuggled on the top

Izzy was so happy and spent all her nap time for days in the basket. But the basket was in the middle of the floor and in the way, and eventually I had to give in to practicality and put the basket away. As a peace offering, I took a portion of the sheet and put it in a smaller basket.

Photo description: Izzy in a woven basket looking at the camera

The offering was reluctantly accepted, but not fully embraced. She will occasionally use it, but not to the extent she did the clandestine basket.

Peaches

On By CarynIn chickens, Garden

My friend let my kids and I come pick peaches from her yard again this year. So many peaches. We sorted and washed, and laid them out to dry on the counter and covered them with mesh to keep the bugs off.

Photo description: peaches on paper towels covered with tulle fabric

I peeled the peaches with a peeler (blanching is frustrating and hot), and sliced them off the stone by cutting wedges and popping them off as I cut. The sliced peaches went into freezer bags for future use. I boiled the skins and obtained a beautifully colored liquid.

We shared some peaches with the chickens, who loved them so much that I needed to put out one for each chicken so there weren’t squabbles.

Photo description: Black Star hen pecking a peach

Sprang attempt 2

On By CarynIn Craft

I’m determined to add Sprang to my crafting repertoire. This round, I secured the bottom of my small bent cane loom with some paracord so it was less loosey-goosey. I added life lines using hemp string, and used hemp for the header and footer ties. (Why hemp and paracord? That was what was next to me. The paracord is too thick for the lifelines (to me), so I replaced them with thinner hemp.)

Photo description: restructured small sprang loom with Izzy the cat investigating the string

Using wool yarn and making a wider sample did help with the bias twist a little while I was working. I did some interlinked rows, and tried some intertwined rows to the middle.

Photo description: orange wool yarn woven on a small sprang loom using lifelines and bamboo skewers

I went to finish the center with a crochet chain and everything went wonky. The chain crawled upward on the yarn, making the two uneven halves even more uneven.

Photo description: botched attempt at finishing the middle of the sprang with a crochet chain stitch

When I took the sample off the loom it curled unevenly, wonky and crumpled.

Photo description: sprang sample off the loom, twisted

I wove in the ends, catching the live loop of the crochet chain when I went up the side, and blocked the piece by wetting and pinning it to dry.

Photo description: blocked and slightly less wonky bit of sprang work in orange yarn
Photo description: same bit of sprang, opposite side, shown stretched, it really has a very pleasing sideways stretch

Undeterred, I made a third attempt. Rather than the chain finish, I tried warp and weft plain weaving the center part. Abysmal. The plain weave has no stretch and completely threw off the stretch of the sprang. I mention it only so I remember that I tried, and rejected, the method. It doesn’t even deserve its own post. I’m not giving up, though.

Containment

On By CarynIn Garden

I absolutely love our Gregg’s Mist flower in the front flower bed. We walk out the front door and there are almost always butterflies flitting about, but the plants were starting to encroach onto the sidewalk.

Photo description: Gregg’s mist flower in the flower bed on the left, almost taking up half the side walk in places, Sophie the cat sniffing the grass

I didn’t want to trim the plants back because the healthiest growth was near the sidewalk, so I found some green wire push-in fence and installed it along the sidewalk. What a difference!

Photo description: Sidewalk clear and Gregg’s mist flower contained
Photo description: Gregg’s mist flower and oxalis (and some stubborn grass) behind an almost invisible wire fence

I like that the fence is inconspicuous. I really like that as the plants continue to grow, I can just tuck them back inside the fence and not have to cut them.