I went to fill the water bucket and didn’t notice the frog on the spray head until I started the water. Huh. He was unbothered, but I still transferred him back over to the fence.
Surprise passenger
Author: Caryn
American Bison page
I actually spun this bison fiber before I started my fiber book. I used a tahkli spindle and spun fast and fine, then made a two ply yarn. I experimented with singles spun in both the S and Z directions, then nålbound wrist warmers (blog post here). The second, tighter wrist warmer continued to get tighter as the fibers felted together, until it was uncomfortable to wear. Then the kitten found it and had a hay day. So I dedicated the first piece to the book. I had some leftover yarn so did up a knit swatch and a crocheted lace round. I didn’t save any single spun yarn, so had to deconstruct some plied yarn for the page.
Bison down fiber really is a luxury fiber. It feels like spinning clouds and the yarn is so soft and so very, very warm. It is definitely one of my favorite fibers. (And yes, this is an absolutely shameless plug for my neighbors, The Buffalo Wool Company. Fantastic people, even more fabulous dedication to the preservation of the American Bison.)
In the key of cat flat
It is hard to write on your music as you are listening to learning tracks when the kitten jumps up and lays on the paper. He wasn’t there to cuddle, he heard the crinkling of paper, which is his second favorite sound after the opening of a can. He was ejected for foul play. I just need to remember that the claw hole is not a breath mark.
Sewing machine update
It is hard to be patient. I have read over and over on posted threads and in books to soak old seized machine parts in oil, let it sit, and eventually the part will unscrew. I have been doing that with sewing machine oil and PB Blaster, and each time I sit down with the machine something new comes loose, one or two on a lucky day. Don’t ever wish for patience.
I did discover that the balance wheel I was trying to unscrew was actually friction fit. Huh. Bob Fower has a video on taking apart a 127 Singer sewing machine where he uses a harmonic puller to remove the wheel. I picked one up at an auto store, but I didn’t notice that the kind I grabbed needed screw sockets on the wheel to be removed. Blast. So I jury rigged it by looping heavy duty cable ties to the holes of the puller. It worked. (Cable ties outrank duct tape in my book.)
As I wait for the oil to do its magic. I’ve been picking off layers of ancient (literally) dried oil from the parts I can reach. Bamboo sticks are awesome for this. I did a short on YouTube showing what I’m doing. Pack your patience and enjoy 58 seconds of Vocal Spectrum’s “Go the Distance”. Oh the harmony!
Basket lining
I’ve been slowly working away at my recycled yarn cat mats (which I first blogged about here), and decided to line the cats’ favorite basket. I started with a magic circle and used single crochet stitches. It starts as with any flat round crochet work, with increases spaced by single stitches that gradually increase in number, but as it climbed the walls of the round basket I found that I was still adding increases but not increasing the singles. That sounds more complicated than it was, huh. Here are some cat pictures.
I didn’t write things down as I went, I was crocheting by feel, but here is the approximate pattern, for those inquiring minds that want to know.
- Single crochet (sc) 8 into Magic Loop
- Increase (inc) in each stitch (st)
- *Sc in st, inc in st* repeat (rp) 8 times (x)
- *Sc in next 2 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 3 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 4 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 5 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 6 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 7 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- *Sc in next 8 st, inc in st* rp 8x
- Repeat last row to match the slope of the basket sides
- Sc around for two or three rounds
- Finish with a row of crab stitch (single crochet going right instead of left) to add structure to the edge.
- Note: Increase means to make two sc in the same st.
