This is not about crafting things for an emergency, this is about having to wait in the car for a half-hour, and despite my best intentions I still have not squirreled away a small spindle and fiber about my person, and I was getting fidgety. My oldest handed me a fast food napkin. I tore it into strips and twined it. Ah. Better. We almost always have a stash of napkins in the car, and the resulting twine is surprisingly robust, for a short stapled fiber stuck together with starch. So there we go, fidgets fidgeted with readily available materials.
Twine made from a paper napkin (the pin is to keep if from unraveling until I get back to it)
I did not read carefully when making my grocery order and ended up with a super-sized watermelon rather than a small, reasonable sized watermelon. Oops.
Super-sized watermelon
I cut up half, saved a couple slices for the chickens, then ran out of fridge room, so set out the remaining section for the wildlife (in front of the trail cam of course).
Hens enjoying a giant slice
The mammals were only mildly interested, but the ants, flies, and butterflies loved it and quickly made a rather grotesque mess of the melon. I suspect the opossum that visited was more interested in the larva than the flesh. The cats just watched the butterflies.
Opossum checking out the watermelonCat watching butterflies
This phrase goes through my head often lately. Wonder why.
Singles spun of BFL/silk blend (and the start of two-plying because I ran out of roving mid-walk)
My balsam-colored Blue-Faced Leicester and silk blend spinning is done. Spun and plied entirely during walks around the neighborhood. Ok, well except for getting the cop started and detangling, which were more efficiently done sitting at home. I have a plan for this yarn, but it involves knitting, which is not my favorite, so may take awhile (to get started and to finish). Plans change, though, so maybe another possibility will present itself in the meantime.
Two-ply hand spun BFL/silk (with sticky notes rolled for the centers and marked with the date it was spun and plied)
As I was contemplating what to make with the mini balls of test alpaca that I spun, my youngest announced that her other doll needed a new jacket. Ok, that can be done. I chose to nålbind (because I like it best) and used a Finish 2 + 2 stitch with an F2 connection. Because the three skeins were different colors, I decided to put the darkest in the center. I also tried a different construction technique, working in vertical rounds, rather than horizontal. Making the neck and front slit was just a matter of chaining along, rather than connecting, as long as I needed.
Doll vest before cutting
Once I had the sides of the vest even, I cut the bottom, pulled out the loose threads, and tightened and wove in the attached ends. I then sewed up a section of each side to form the arm holes but leave side slits.
Bottom edge neatened (I like the scallops), and sides sewnBack of doll vest showing all three preparations of yarn
Really there was no difference in the three preparations of fiber after the initial single spinning. Even the finished fabric just has color variations, but is otherwise consistent in texture.
Front of doll vest
This was an excellent test. The alpaca yarn combined with this stitch made a very dense fabric. I think a human-sized version would be quite heavy.
