I didn’t understand how and why the crocheted cotton coverlet on the bed was ending up wadded up in a heap. I suspected cat action, but it took a few days to catch the culprit in the act.
The cat is bored and looking for trouble. He really needs to stop being afraid of the cat flap and go out into the catio again.
My chorus uses a cheat sheet for performances: a piece of black poster board folded over the director’s stand with the songs we are going to sing, the key pitch, and helpful reminder words. I ran an interesting experiment with fonts, making the same set up twice, one with a standard serif font and one with OpenDyslexic font. I numbered photos and put a poll out on our members only site.
The chorus response was overwhelmingly for the OpenDyslexic font as the easier option for quick and easy reading. Is it a pretty font? No, but for something you need people to actually read and not get lost in, font choice is key. I do really like the bottom weighted font idea, and that the letters are all unique and can’t be flipped or mirrored to make a different letter.
I read that squirrels like to chew on antlers, so I mounted a deer antler to their feeding tree.
Squirrels chew on antlers and bone for mineral content and to keep their teeth at a working length. I had a couple small slices of antler tied with string out back, but the squirrels stole them. It will be hard for them to steal this one, and I get to witness the behavior.
I originally purchased the Loopity Loops yarn for my kids. I thought it would be a less frustrating introduction to knitting, as you don’t need needles and don’t have to worry about tension. My eldest fully immersed in the project, made a small blanket, then bought enough yarn for a large throw, and finished it within a couple days.
My youngest struggled with the project, and after sitting in a box for months, I picked it up and gave it a go. This is not knitting. The end result looks similar, and it is loops going into loops, but it takes a completely different set of skills to find and link the loops than it does to make knit and purl stitches on needles. It takes fine motor skill and careful attention to detail to not miss loops. I had to rip out a couple times because I skipped a loop on accident. The yarn is not robust enough to take too many rip outs, and stretches out after washing. The actual loops are just big enough to get a finger into to pull a loop through, but are too big and make a loose knit. If it were regular yarn, I would use a smaller needle size.
But cats love it. I put the small rectangle I made in a basket.
It didn’t take long until the basket sprouted a feline.
Cats like my eldest’s blanket too, to the point of destructive loving. It had to be washed and put away due to drool and pulled loops.
So this is a mixed review. The loop yarn is an interesting concept, comes together quickly, and cats love it, however it is fiddly, easy to miss loops, isn’t robust, and cats love it.
In December of 2014 I was crocheting up a storm. Sometimes when I look back at old photos I find things I forgot I made and find a technique that I would like to explore more.
Today’s throwback is for a lace cowl I crocheted using partial circular lace motifs.
I like the finished look of this freeform lace. I’m wondering if I didn’t do more because of the brain ache, or if I just became distracted by something else. Either possibility is probable.
Critters and Craft 