Trying to spin while the kitten is awake is a dangerous undertaking. Trying to knit, crochet, sew, or do much of anything else with squirmy tempting yarn or thread is also prone to attract unwanted kitten curiosity. Luckily he does eventually sleep.
Yes, I’m posting a picture of my sleeping kitten. Yes, he is on his back in a cute pose. Yes, he is on a pile of fuzzy blankets. Yes, he is on the floor. What? Yes, the floor. He likes it there. The funny part is Missy the dog sleeps on a couch.
I’ve been working on a new drop spindle. I like my previous student spindles, but they are on the light side, just over an ounce. This light weight can be more challenging, so I wanted something a little heavier for upcoming spinning classes. I sourced some beautifully made wooden whorls from Pinehurst, TX, (yes, they are marketed at toy wheels, but they make lovely whorls) and some locally obtained dowels to make the shafts.
The whorls are lovely, but with the 12” shafts, the weight tipped over the two ounce mark, which is heavier than I wanted. To lighten the load, I drilled out material with my drill press and a 1/2” drill bit.
Then came the sanding and finishing. I sanded each piece down to 600 grit, wet the wood and let it dry, then sanded with 600 grit again. Both the whorl and shaft are finished with a clear matte coating to protect from stains. The most delicate part of the spindle is where the screw hook engages the wood, so I wrap the shaft with beeswax coated silk thread to strengthen.
These spindles can be used as a top whorl with hook, or flipped over and used as a bottom whorl drop spindle with the notch to keep a half-hitch in place. I’ve tested both ways and am pleasantly surprised how long these spin! The finished weight on all of them is around 2 ounces.
The “grow your own” mushroom experiment ground to a halt. The kit did produce a few mushrooms, but the container I had them in wasn’t big enough for the fruiting body to fully develop. I moved them to a larger plastic container, put water in the bottom to keep the humidity up, and the whole thing shriveled. Hm. There were a couple of fruiting starts, but they haven’t grown at all.
One of the things the seller said was that the fungus will stop producing mushrooms if it gets too dry in the original container. I opened up the container and added water. Two days later, more fruiting bodies sprouted. We’ll see if they develop into full mushrooms!
We’ve moved Sophie the cat into a new room with her human. To provide her all she needs, without having to deal with the kitten, she has a litter box as well as food, water, and a climbing tree. The litter box was a little too open for her though, so my eldest suggested we make a box to go over it to give her some privacy.
We started by taking measurements, then making a PVC frame. We already had the 1/2” PVC pipe and the socket tees, so it was just a matter of cutting to size. Thor the kitten was particularly found of sitting inside the “box” even if it was only an outline. We purchased 2 yards of household fabric, which is thicker than calico fabric or quilting fabric. To keep the cover in place, I made button tabs that wrap around the bottom pipe.
To make the opening, I cut an “X” into the corners of a rectangle, folded back the flaps and sewed double fold seam binding around the edges of the hole.
To test the fit and hold, I put Thor on the top. He thought the hammock was so comfy he settled down for an hour nap. While he was cuddled up, Izzy the cat and Missy the dog also explored the new object.
We had to remove Thor from the top of the box to install it in the final location. My eldest reported the next morning that the offering was appreciated; Sophie went in to do her business. Success.
Critters and Craft 