Now I’m sewing strips of scrap fabric together with the Singer model 66 treadle sewing machine. I’ll figure out something to make with the pieced together fabric later (probably bags, I like bags), but for now it is an easy way to exercise the machine. My treadling is getting better as well; in those long straightaways I can really get the speed up!
Photo description: Singer model 66 treadle sewing machine from 1916 with strips of red and cream fabric sewn together lying on the work surface.
With an electric sewing machine there isn’t quite the thrill going top speed as there is with a treadled machine, knowing you are providing the power boost.
Griffin the dog has become quite crotchety in his old age (he’s 10). In his younger years he respected fences and didn’t dig or escape, even when the gate was left open. Now, however, he pushes boundaries more, literally. I was on hold on the phone when I went outside to find him, so “snuck” up on him trying to dig under the fence behind our propane tank. Stinker. I’m not sure whether there is something living in the wood pallets, or if he is trying to get to the neighbor’s cats, but there were definite signs that he had been pushing out the bottom of the wire fence and reaching through with his paws. I stacked some rock across the bottom of the fence to curtail his landscaping attempts.
Photo description: no-climb wire fence with blocks of sandstone against the bottom edge. Behind the fence a black dog looks forlornly out as he stands between the fence and large white propane tank.
So usually I am not a proponent of ripping out yarn work. If an item passes the 10 second rule (someone who is not an expert can’t find the mistake in under 10 seconds) it’s fine. I’ve put dozens of hours into knitting a fingering weight cardigan, finally getting it to the point it could be tried on. The intended target doesn’t like it. Honestly, I don’t either. The colors look fabulous in the skein, but I really dislike color pooling in knitting, and this one is particularly jarring.
Photo description: partially knit cardigan with arm holes, back, and sides in a variegated yellow and blue yarn with a small repeat, very visually busy.
So I had a choice: put a couple more dozen hours into an ugly item no one will ever wear, or rip it out and make socks that everyone will wear. Frog it time. (Rip it, rip it, rip it.)
Photo description: partial cardigan laying on the counter with the yarn attached to a wool winder.
I say “frog it” flippantly, but it is a heavy duty to destroy your own work, even when the intension is to make anew. To cushion the heartache, I shot some video of the deconstruction and posted YouTube shorts. It did provide some catharsis.
Photo description: yarn cake of fingering weight yellow, white, and blue superwash merino and nylon yarn.
Winding it back into a cake will help the kinks from knitting straighten out too.
After our hard freeze a bit ago, I decided to empty out and refill the hanging chicken water when the temperatures rose back above 40. The chickens do have access to unfrozen water in a heated dog dish, but I’m glad I dumped out the ice blocks that had formed in the chambers.
Photo description: 5 quart chicken water container open with the block of ice next to it on the ground of the run.Photo description: block of ice from the 3.5 gallon poultry waterer.Photo description: block of ice from the 3.5 gallon poultry waterer 5 days later.
Even though our temperatures were above freezing the week after, it still took over five days for the big block of ice to melt.
Our front window at our house gets the most sunlight, enough that cactus are happy. This would be a great place to start seedlings, so I ordered some hanging acrylic shelves to put in the window.
Photo description: Three hanging shelves with pots of cactus, the top pot has aloe, the middle pot (yes it is a ceramic skull) has a succulent, and the lowest pot has bunny ear cacti. There is another hanging basket and, not shown on the left, another set of three shelves.
I received two sets of three shelves, and installed them centered in the right and left window panels. The idea is that it gives me more space for sunlight loving plants, and raises the plants above the windowsill so the cats too can enjoy the sunshine.
Photo description: picture out the window during the day showing the whole window. The acrylic shelves on the left are nearly invisible. Thor the gray tabby has enough room to walk across the windowsill under the shelves.
The shelves consist of formed acrylic trays, twisted-steel polymer-coated flexible cable, and tubes threaded for screws that act as stoppers. The assembly wasn’t difficult, but did take some time. Could I have made a wood and rope version? Absolutely. I like that the acrylic lets light through.
Critters and Craft 