Missy the dog tries to lay right behind my feet when I’m spinning, which makes it hard to treadle. So I put her bed to the side, which was an acceptable offering.
I’m currently spinning Teeswater wool on my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel. Teeswater is listed as a critical in the Livestock Conservancy’s list of Heritage Sheep Breeds. I purchased roving from a rancher in Michigan, and I am enjoying spinning the fiber.
I read that squirrels will gnaw on antlers and bone, so I attached a deer antler to a tree. The squirrels love it, so much so that they chewed through it.
When I look out the window I’m just as likely to see a squirrel gnawing away at the antler as I am to see them eating corn or gathering peanuts.
I do regret not having a trail cam pointed at the antler for the moment the chewed through section fell off, since it was also a favorite squirrel perch.
I spun and plied angora rabbit hair back in March. I stuck the small ball of yarn in a project bag and promptly forgot about it. I found it again 8 months later and this time made the swatches from it that I intended to do in March.
These swatches are made from unprocessed 100% angora rabbit fur. I took what was in the bag I bought from the breeder and spun it, no washing, carding, or combing. The yarn does shed a bit, but not significantly, and did fine especially with the abrasive nature of weaving and nälbinding.
Sometimes things just don’t work out the way I hope. In December 2015 I made a large wreath from poultry wire and ribbon. It took me over a week to get all the loops of ribbon installed, and I had to buy more ribbon because I underestimated yardage. I should have made it smaller, but the thought of undoing it was worse than just pressing forward.
The little bow I put at the bottom was woefully out of proportion to the huge wreath, but at that point I never wanted so see another loop of ribbon, possibly ever. I also didn’t care for the overall look when finished. I did learn from the process. I learned that looped projects take way more material than wrapped (logical). Storing such a large thing is difficult and the poultry wire frame didn’t hold up to rough handling. Ribbon is expensive, especially before the holiday sales.
The heated cat house behind the coop had been used as a scratching post, compromising its weather proofing. I bought some outdoor canvas and applied it to the roof with hot glue, just to give it a modicum of extra protection.
It isn’t my neatest job, but it fixed the issue. It will also be a test of the hot glue to fabric bond as the weather changes.
Critters and Craft 