Rainbow runner

On September 2, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

Darn it. I’m happily knitting along and look back at my work and I’ve purled where I should have knit. For one stitch. The thought of ripping out several whole rows in brioche knit is horrifying, maybe I can run back just one column?

I transfer the stitches to the left of the target column onto a stitch holder, and carefully undo the loops in the column down to the offensive stitch. I make sure the loops are lined up with their respective yarn overs (one of the things that makes brioche brioche, and the main reason ripping out large portions is scary).

I then took a crochet hook and linked the loops back together in the proper orientation (so they look like a chain).

Connecting the loops in the column with a crochet hook

Success! And I have a new tool in my knitting toolbox, although I think this method will only work for a knit/purl swap because the amount of yarn used is the same.

I still don’t consider myself a Knitter (with the capital K), but I’m glad I’m picking up skills. (I feel like being a Knitter means you like knitting as a primary activity; I still prefer spinning.)

Dogapult

On September 1, 2022August 29, 2022 By CarynIn Craft, dog

Missy the dog is obsessed with fetch. To give our arms a rest, we thought about purchasing a ball throwing machine. Then saw the prices. Ouch. So next came investigating DIY versions. There were many variations using windshield wiper motors, and sensors, but I wanted something basic I could make with things around the house. Ah, the catapult.

Basic catapult made with household items

I used a paper bowl, a yard stick, a section of pool noodle, and duct tape. The yard stick does not have much strength when full length, and testing kept breaking off bits, until we ended up with about a two foot section. The pool noodle acts as a fulcrum and allows the catapult to roll back to the starting position after launch (so it resets itself). Everything is connected using duct tape.

Teaching Missy to put the ball in the bowl, then use her paw to launch the ball is the next challenge. She is not mechanically inclined, which is OK, she is a dog. We can get her to put the ball in the bowl sometimes, then she knows the command “paw”, where she puts her paw on my hand, then if I put my hand over the end of the stick, we can launch. This is going to be a process. Still, she enjoys the attention, my eldest enjoys the challenge of teaching her, and if we ever get it all together we’ll probably have a viral video.

Learning to use a catapult is exhausting work!

Surprise lilies

On August 31, 2022 By CarynIn Cats, Flora

Our big rain was over a week ago. After a summer of 100 degrees everyday and no rain, the fields and most yards were yellow. One big gusher and a few days and almost everything is green again. We did have some losses, and I think the accounting is not finished, but I was surprised by rain lilies and school house lilies this week.

Drummond’s Rain Lily (aka Giant Rain Lily)

Drummond’s Rain Lily in three stages (not picked, just growing that close)

Schoolhouse lilies (aka oxblood or surprise lilies)

Mr Tom was not interested in posing with the lilies, so the picture is blurry; he was much more interested in scritches

Bug transport

On August 30, 2022 By CarynIn Wildlife

We do get the occasional chitinous creature roaming inside the house, and if the cats don’t get to it, I do try to take it outside. My preferred method is a clear plastic cup (so I can see, plastic is lighter than glass, and if I loose my nerve and drop it, I don’t break anything), and a sheet of card stock. The cup goes over the critter, the card stock slides underneath, and the whole contraption is taken outside.

This grass spider was released near the stock tank garden, promoted to captain of the guardian army, and tasked with ejecting (by whatever means necessary) the unfriendlies that would eat the produce.

My house spiders do not get this treatment, as long as they stay in the upper corners, they are left alone to hunt flies. Did you know the house spider also hunts other spiders? Including the brown recluse. Welcome home, house spider.

Managing rainbow spaghetti

On August 29, 2022August 26, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

I have embarked on a new long-term knitting project: a rainbow scarf in brioche knit with vertical stripes of color. The yarn is from Wanderlust Fiber Co in Dallas TX, and it was purchased through a fundraiser through JuJu Knits for #LGBQTSaves. I reached out to the yarn dyers for more of the sparkly white so I had enough to back all the color in the scarf. The most terrifying thing about this project is if all those beautiful colors get tangled (seriously, the horror). So I devised a method to keep it all from turning to rainbow spaghetti. Enter one of DIYers top three multipurpose supplies: the pool noodle. (Which has a close following to duct tape and hot glue.) I cut a length of pool noodle, then slit it down the side to make a clamp for the center pull balls of yarn. The pressure on the yarn keeps the balls from rolling or swinging about, and since they are center-pull, the yarn feeds out easily.

Another use for the ubiquitous pool noodle: yarn holder

The colors came in mini skeins, which, once they are wound into cakes, are a perfect size for a pool noodle clamp. As I knit the colored rows, I do need to watch carefully which way to route the yarn, but if I do mess up, I can take the tangled yarn out of the clamp, untangle, and slide it back in place. No worries.

The sparkly white stays out of the clamp, because it runs its rows independently of the colors. It is working quite well. And the pool noodle sits along my thigh when I sit in my chair and stays put.

This is definitely not a travel project, it stays in the knitting bag by my chair. So it will be in process for while. I’ll post updates as construction continues.