The picture is terrible, but frankly I’m surprised I obtained any image at all. There was a nuthatch outside on the coop looking in the house, then a ruckus behind the curtain that caught the cat’s attention. I pulled back the curtain to see a second nuthatch in between the screen and the window on the inside. I snapped the picture just as the bird dove down into the cat’s claws. I pulled the cat off and the bird rocketed back out the hole in the screen, through the catio bars, and off to freedom. That was quite the excitement for one morning, thank you. I’m very thankful I didn’t have to chase the bird through the house. I’ve seen some insects come through the flap I sewed into the screen so the cats could access the catio, but never a bird!
I’ve had this as a purse project for a couple weeks. I wanted to make a flower garland, and I wanted to use crochet (which is still my top choice for an easy-to-pick-up, easy-to-set-down project). I chose pearlized cotton from my stash. I was sad, but not surprised, that all the green is gone, but the multicolored blue did a fine job for the leaves.
Crochet flower garland in process at my favorite coffee shop
I started by making the flowers with white thread. These are made with five petals crocheted into a magic circle, each petal is a chain 2, double crochet into the circle, chain 1, slip stitch into the top of the double crochet, chain 2, slip stitch into the circle. I made subsequent flowers along the thread because I didn’t want loose bits floating around my purse. When it came time to crochet the vine and leaves, I would clip off a flower and add between leaves (which are similarly constructed to the flower). I neatened up the white threads ends later by weaving them in and clipping.
Long strands with flower bobs enjoy getting tangled. I didn’t have an extra bobbin, so I tore off a side of a tissue box, rolled it into a tube and tucked in the ends. This allowed me to wrap the ornery lengths around it to keep them neat, and the tube served as a holder for the 1.00 mm crochet hook I was using. Not pretty, but effective.
Finished garland
For the final flower, I joined in the start of the chain to make a continuous loop. Now the garland can be doubled and used as a head band, or looped and worn as a necklace.
We planted one Gregg’s Mist Flower in the front garden. We tried a different variety of mist flower previously, but they didn’t take well, and didn’t attract butterflies. These are growing well and nearly every time I walk by, I see a butterfly! Hurray!
Butterfly on Gregg’s Mist Flower
I believe the butterfly visiting in the photo is a Painted Lady butterfly.
My inkle loom calls out again, and I have a stash of pearlized cotton that needs to be used. My craft supplies are very demanding. I measured the warp space on my loom and did some calculations to see how many warps I could make with one skein.
Length calculations
It turns out there are several websites that have apps for designing tablet weave patterns. Neat. I tried the first one on the list, found it intuitive, and designed a pattern that I could make using what was in my stash.
Screen shot of “Tablet Weaving Draft Designer” appPrinted pattern with skein colors
Warping the loom takes a couple hours, but taking time in this step is well worth the effort. The diagram I printed was easy to follow to set up my cards.
Warp completed
I cut a strip of card stock with two long slits that fit over my pattern so I could keep track of my rows. I’m all ready to start weaving! Except, where is my shuttle? No seriously, I can’t find it. I probably put it somewhere safe again. Hm.
The calico that has eluded me for so long is finally trapped. I changed tactics, setting up a cage behind the coop, with a camera monitoring, and taking out treats once a day. Then on trapping day I set out the good tuna in the cage and … nada. No interest in tuna. So I retrieved the tuna, as she stared at me an meowed, and gave her what she wanted: Meow Mix. Really? Ok. It worked. She went into the cage as I watched the camera footage on my phone, I pulled the string holding the stick, and … snap. The line broke. The stick didn’t move. She didn’t even notice. What a charmed cat.
Video still of Calico in cage
I thought I had missed my window. I went around the coop, she saw me and ran off, and I retied the line to the stick holding up the cage door. Dejected, I went back to my hiding place, but not a minute later, she was in the cage again snacking on Meow Mix (this must be kitty crack for calicos, my inside cat loves it too, but I only use it as a treat, not the main meal.) This time the line held, the stick moved, and the door fell. She was not happy to be trapped, but I don’t blame her. Now she gets a trip to be spayed, then returned to her hunting ground. She probably won’t speak to me again, but I’ll still try to give her treats of Meow Mix.