It took over two months, but Thor the gray tabby cat finally figured out the cat flap to the catio.
He is still skittish about it and it takes several minutes for him to build up the confidence to go out or in, but he eventually does it on his own.
Here is a cute teacher gift: crocheted pencil bookmarks. They make up quickly, use just single crochet, and use up yarn scraps, or those cute tiny skeins. I made these in May of 2015 using this pattern from LittleOwlHut on Ravelry.
Important note, as you crochet these curl. To get them flat, steaming them works well. You can also iron them between two thin layers of cotton. If you choose to do blocking (getting them wet and laying flat to dry), pin them down well.
After taking a year and a half to knit one pair of socks with a line-by-line pattern, I needed to try something where I could just knit by inches. I chose a toe-up striped sock with a ribbed arch and afterthought heel.
The yarn is printed and self-striping, so no forced color changes or multiple ends to weave in, which is fantastic. I also really like the afterthought heel. It knits up like toe shaping, and is easy to track. No heel flap or gusset confusion.
This pair is almost done. Just one more heel!
If you have cats, hang dry your linens, else they will become cat beds.
I have hand sewn my first button hole. I bought a linen skirt to be a petticoat for my 1800s outfit for spinning demonstrations, and it was a bit big in the waist. One side of the waistband had elastic, but the other had a plain waistband. A machine sewn button hole would go through both layers of fabric and be useless, so I hand sewed the edges of the button hole with a satin stitch in just the inside layer of fabric.
The elastic is not historically accurate, and certainly not the button hole elastic, but I’m not doing reenactments, I’m doing spinning demonstrations and purchased look-a-likes are acceptable at this venue. I’m hoping the linen does its job keeping me cooler.
Critters and Craft 