I follow an Inkle band weaving group on Facebook that is under new administration, who are trying to clean up the site and get it back to Inkle weaving (and not a repository for spam). They asked for submissions for a new banner image, and my rainbow tablet weave won by popular vote!
They said they would change the image frequently, which is also good. I’m excited that mine was the first picked!
This band went on to become the strap for my ukulele.
Did you know that there are Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus? I did not until a reader kindly sent me a link. I thought I had a Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) blooming for the last few years in my house, but it is actually a close relative, the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata). The easiest way to tell, for me, is the spikes on the edge of the leaves, characteristic of trucata, where bridgesii has rounded edges on the leaves. Care for both is the same, but truncata is a sturdier plant, which is good in my house. I did go back and update my previous posts with the correct information. I post often on this cactus, apparently!
It is good to start the New Year with some updated information!
Missy the dog’s favorite blue ball rolled too close to the cat. She brought him the red ball as a negotiation tactic. Thor the cat was unsure of the offer and was unwilling to throw the blue ball. Eventually Missy was able to obtain her blue ball through stealth and bravery.
Good-bye 2023. May 2024 bring you all successful negotiations.
I pulled out my spinning wheel and realized that it has been a long time since I spun with it. Thor the cat has never seen it in action and he is nine months old. Hm. He was quite fascinated with the process, and after this photo had to be told to knock it off as he went for the wheel and the yarn.
Awhile ago I made my Dad a nålbound wool cap with ear flaps. He recently had a haircut and found that sleeping in the wool was too hot, so requested a lighter version of the cap to be on his gift list. Nålbinding is inherently warm, and works best with wool or easily felted fiber, so I changed not only the fiber, but the method of construction. I had some very soft 100% cotton yarn, which is difficult to nålbind, but very easy to crochet. My favorite cushy crochet stitch is a half double crochet, so this is what I used to make a spiral round cap with ear flaps. The yarn was self-striping, and I used a shell stitch above the ears to start the flap then decreased before the flap, and increased around the flap. This was very much a stitch by feel construction.
I had more yarn, so decided to make a second hat. I tried for a smaller size, but half-double crochet hats don’t narrow as quickly as double crochet hats, so the crown size needs to be significantly smaller. I forgot this fact, and ended up with a hat the same size, just without ear flaps. So I sent both to my Dad to try as after haircut sleep caps.
