Cherry crochet hook

I hand-carved a crochet hook out of cherry wood from my Dad’s woods. I turned it on my lathe, carved in the ergonomic thumb indent, and the hook. After sanding it down to 400 grit, I painted two cherries on it (because cherry wood). When the paint was dry I started coating it with tung oil. The hook has actually been done since December, but I finally made myself make the Etsy listing. Honestly, making the hook was easier than putting together the listing with the pictures, video, and descriptions! (Yes, I even did a video, Missy makes a cameo.) I really need to do more of this so it isn’t so daunting. Oh, the hook? It is very nice, a smooth finish without being slick, and fits nicely in my hand. It is a size M, so for use with chunky yarn, and the short neck works well with single crochet stitches. The Etsy listing is here.

Hand carved ergonomic cherry wood crochet hook (with mini painting)

Stories of her death…

Uh oh.
Thermometer showing 100 degrees (I don’t think the hygrometer is working)

… are greatly exaggerated. It always makes my heart skip a beat when I see one of my chickens lying boneless in the blazing summer sun. As I approach they always pop up and look at me like I’m the crazy one (and do I happen to have some treats?) Seriously, it is 100 degrees and you are sun bathing?

The chicken is fine, nothing to see here

Show me your ears!

I put batteries back in the trail cam, and left it out where we trap cats to see who might be left to take in to be fixed. The cats aren’t very cooperative with showing their ears to the camera. Mostly I see sides and tails!

No ears, and looking suspiciously large
There are ears! No notch, though.
She gets the star, good ear picture, showing off her notch

It has been a rough few weeks with the weather being uncooperative, then my youngest was sick with Flu A for two weeks (yes, she had a flu shot, but back in September). I’m hoping we can get back to fixing the cat colony soon. There should only be a handful left (famous last words, ya know).

Fossil Rim

Giraffe looking through the van roof at Fossil Rim

Here is my shout-out to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas. This is definitely one of our favorite places to go, and if you’re in the area (or even if you’re not) we recommend a visit. Feeding the giraffes is the best. Save some food for the herd! You may be tempted to give it all to the Fallow deer, or Oryx, or the Aoudad (my favorite), but be strong.

Logo contest

I had a logo contest pop up on my feed for Lacewing Creative Retreat in Texas, and decided since I love crafts and a place to dedicate time to finishing a craft seems like a fabulous idea, I would submit a design. I made the top five! They are having FB fans make the final call on their page. (I’m cross-posting this on my business blog too, so I apologize if you follow both and get a double hit!)

My submitted logo design