Tuesday Project Roundup: New Material Unlocked

Karen

I sewed with LEATHER for the first time and it wasn’t that hard! Even six years later, I’m still impressed by what my Bernina 740 can do. I just put in a leather needle, selected the “leather” setting, and went to town. 

 

I used the Noodlehead “Petal Pouch” pattern I already owned (the small size is great for holding knitting notions) and a soft leather scrap from my trip to the creative re-use store. For the lining, I had the perfect size Liberty scrap leftover from a 2017 shirt. Blammo! A luxe, shiny little pouch made from, essentially, garbage.

Chicken-y Things

Karen

Last week it was frogs, this week it’s an accidental collection of chicken things. First up, via Kottke:  Clickens.chickens.pics, a site where you “judge paintings of chickens based on characteristics like persistence, altruism, petulance, clairvoyance, and friendliness.” I don’t know why it’s so fun to click a chicken picture based on “Which is more hapless?” or “Which is more fashion?” but it is.

And I saved this Reel, because every time I watch it I have a new favorite. Currently it’s Yeti, who’s just happy to be here.

 

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A post shared by Skye (@ethelscoop)

Memes For The Spring Malaise

Karen

It’s the annual “I want it to be warm and I also want an entirely new wardrobe and maybe a new life” period of time. I think some of it is the stress hangover from a solid week of kitty worry, but some of it is also the desire to run away somewhere sunny and never answer another Slack message about client changes again.

In other words, I’m this cat:

I’m also feeble and round (artist):

And also THIS cat:

Maybe I just need another big project to get into…and some Easter candy?

Tuesday Project Roundup: More Gym Stuff

Karen

I haven’t gotten into a big project since that travel backpack in January. It’s not that I don’t have sewjo, it’s more that I don’t have focus (due to work, the world at large, riding the Old Kitty Roller Coaster). But that’s OK, because there’s no shortage of smaller projects I can do, like gym stuff.

This is a Greentstyle Sky Tank in the shortest length with added powernet, auditioning to be a sports bra-top combo. This is fabric I bought vs. stash fabric but I only got a half yard (from Harmony, now sold out online).

Why is it auditioning? Because I wanted to try the clean finish construction method, even though I’ve made this before, and because I wanted to see if I liked the idea of a longline bra-top before I cut into … the Liberty activewear deadstock prints I just got from England (whoops).

Come Ride The Old Kitty Roller Coaster!

Karen

Toby’s recovery after his hypoglycemia scare kind of stalled out by mid week, and by Friday he was eating and drinking less and less. He had diarrhea and vomiting Saturday night and refused to eat anything at all Sunday morning … so back to the weekend vet we went.

His overnight stay for hypoglycemia was at the 24-hour MedVet hospital in Salt Lake City. We were about to take him back there and just deal with the 2- to 4-hour wait for the ER when Matt found the MedVet “urgent care” location in Sandy. It’s not 24 hours and it’s not critical care, but you can schedule an appointment and for things like dehydration and vomiting. Highly recommend for urgent weekend care. (Well, some of us do. Others don’t recommend it at all.)

They did bloodwork and his blood sugar was fine but his thyroid levels were off, which was probably causing the intestinal issues and loss of appetite–the poor little guy was queasy. He got fluids under the skin and an anti-nausea shot and then ate an entire can of tuna the staff gave him while we waited for his results.

He’s back to eating and drinking just fine now and he has a two follow up appointments over the next two weeks with his regular vet, so HOPEFULLY we’re not going to have another dip in the thrilling Old Kitty Roller Coaster after this.

“Yeah Mom, I hope so too. You better not get that cat carrier out again.”

Just Look At This Amaryllis

Karen

It’s not quite in bloom yet but look at this monster–my first successful amaryllis re-bloom!

This is the bulb that last bloomed in January 2024. Despite all the helpful literature included with it, I kind of made up what I did: Let the foliage grow for 6 months or so, then stopped watering until the foliage died, then put it in a cold garage for a month or two, then back to the basement and until I noticed the flower spikes, when it came upstairs.

I think the first spike is going to pop any day now–I’ve been watching that calyx open since Monday.

Wednesday Poem

Karen

The Poets.org Instagram account shared this one four days ago and it was a good interruption to the doom scroll. We didn’t sign up for this but “you might as well/ get up and at it, pestilence be damned.”

 

Incantation of the First Order
by Rita Dove

Listen, no one signed up for this lullaby.
No bleeped sheep or rosebuds or twitching stars
will diminish the fear or save you from waking

into the same day you dreamed of leaving—
mockingbird on back order, morning bells
stuck on snooze—so you might as well

get up and at it, pestilence be damned.
Peril and risk having become relative,
I’ll try to couch this in positive terms:

Never! is the word of last resorts,
Always! the fanatic’s rallying cry.
To those inclined toward kindness, I say

Come out of your houses drumming. All others,
beware: I have discarded my smile but not my teeth.