White flies

On August 7, 2022 By CarynIn Garden

While we were on our trip, I did not ask anyone to spray the Hardy Hibiscus, and it stopped flowering due to thrips. I started spraying again when we got home, then noticed something new all over the hibiscus: tiny white flying things.

These seemed to not care about my spray, and were all over. I submitted a photo to iNaturalist and received an answer: white flies. Hm. The description of the white flies says they live on the underside of the leaves, so I looked on my hibiscus, and sure enough, full of flies and eggs.

Internet knowledge said the white flies can be rinsed off with water. So I gave my plant a good rinse, let it dry, then in the morning gave it a good spray with Neem oil, peppermint oil, and castor soap solution. It flowers despite the white flies, so that is something.

A tale of two shirts

On August 6, 2022August 4, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

I have a printed shirt that I like the neckline and bodice, but am not fond of the cap sleeves. I have a black shirt that I love for the sleeves, but the body is lack luster. Time to combine!

Black shirt with great sleeves (left), and printed shirt with great neckline (right)

I took a seam ripper and removed the cap sleeves, then used fabric from the body of the black shirt to trim out the black sleeves using a backstitch (yes, by hand). A hand sewn backstitch has some flex and stretch, unlike a machine straight stitch. I used a whip stitch to put the new sleeves on, leaving a gap at the shoulder since I also like the “cold shoulder” style shirts.

Now I’m eyeballing the rest of my shirts to see what I can improve.

Orifice hook

On August 5, 2022August 3, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

The hooked bit of wire use to pull fiber through the flyer assembly on a spinning wheel is called an orifice hook. On my vintage Befra Willy wheel there was no hook. I was using a small crochet hook from my Mom’s stash instead. Then I saw a hole in the back of the tension knob on the wheel. It looked like it used to hold a wire hook!

Hole in the back of the tension knob, and the coated wire I used to create a new hook

I had some sturdy coated wire in my supplies, so made a new hook. The coating made it a little bigger than the hole, so I stripped the end of the plastic off. Then it was a snug fit!

My cat really likes her basket, too.

Update on Grandma’s blanket

On August 4, 2022July 31, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

I have four borders and most of the center field done of Grandma’s blanket. The side borders are not finished because the plan is to maximize the length of the blanket with the yarn I have remaining. The pattern calls for tassels, but I don’t like tassels (because they become a tangled mess), so I’m going to use the tassel intended yarn to make the blanket longer (we have tall people in our family). The yarn remaining is laid out on the center portion. I will use one skein to make the length, and the other skein for the join technique I want to use. I consider this a calculated risk, not yarn roulette.

Magic update

On August 3, 2022 By CarynIn chickens

Just wanted to let you know that Magic is still kicking. Well, not really kicking as her bum leg is in its acting up cycle. I’ve lost count how many times she has gone through the heal/hurt series, but I feel there is a pattern. When she hurts her leg, her food intake decreases and she rests more. Her weight goes down. Her leg heals. She is able to get around and eat all the things, gains weight until she rivals or surpasses the others, then hurts her leg again. Repeat. Always the same right leg. At this point I don’t do much special except make sure she is on and off the roost at the appropriate times, pick the shavings of her belly that she can’t reach, and give her derrière an occasional rinse to keep her clean. She can usually get around some, and it gradually gets better. Tough bird.

Critters and Craft

Author: Caryn