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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Cat Baskets and Micro Bursts...

First the micro burst.  Yesterday afternoon, this was our back yard after about ten minutes of rain!  See that stupid barbecue sitting in the middle of the porch?  Believe it or not, it usually would be to the far right and you would only be able to see a little of the front of it sticking out about even with the potted plant at the bottom right.

The wind blew it to the middle of the porch....MIGHTY wind! That thing is heavy!  It was turned sideways and moved at least five feet.

See the pond behind?  That all came down in the same ten minutes!

The cat bed is coming along nicely.  I decided that I didn't like the shape.  When weaving a real sized basket, a lot of times a form is used. 

The problem was to find a form that was the right size.  It was right in front of my nose.  One of the acrylic paint bottles was exactly the right size. 

An added attraction is, it is much easier to keep the spokes straight while weaving.

April saw the big one that I am doing for Widget.  First comment?  "Oh!  You should make one of those for Amare."  The baskets are getting bigger and bigger....That one could take a while.  April, don't hold your breath while you wait for it!

Licorice lost the basket fight.  Bunny now has possession...I don't know how long that will last. 

Licorice was always alpha cat when alive...I imagine that this incarnation is the same.

The form makes for a much more blocky shape, but I think that it is more what I was shooting for.  Now the bottom of the door is almost even with the floor.
This is the reason that I am not getting a lot done this morning.  Widget doesn't like storms and has decided that, if he keeps close, they won't come back.  I don't know if that theory holds water, but he is a great comparison for the mini Licorice.

Of course, it looks strange because Widget is a 14 pound cat and Licorice was more like 8 or 9 pounds.                       

I am going back to my underwater basket weaving now.

See you tomorrow.

6 comments:

Kristen/Kris/Penny Doll said...

Casey, u could make a small side business. Lol Have people donate the mags for it, then charge a bir for time etc used. Haha Could help fund more minis. :-) But ur right, they'll keep getting bigger n bigger. Next ull be asked to make a large bouncy house size. Geesh just imagine. The baskets r adorable tho. I think i may try it since i got lots of mags.Watching the weaving I've gotten the itch to go do one. Think ill do that n play w my clay today. Too hot for much else. Love the mini mini house u been doing too. Soo cute. Im now finally all caught up on ur blog again finally! Can't wait to c more! Stay cool n dry out there (at least try! Lol)

Kris

Marisa said...

we had storms like that last week, my yard still hasn't recovered.

Caseymini said...

Kris, if you want to try it, go look on u tube. There are lots of videos. There is one from, I think, Russia or thereabouts on how to roll the paper using a knitting needle. I am so glad that I found that one. The rods all come out nice and tight and all the same size. I saw some American and Spanish ones where they were just rolling them without anything inside and they were not nearly as nice.

Kristen/Kris/Penny Doll said...

Thanks im gonna go check ir out. Personally rolling in the knitting needles makes more sense. You're able to roll them more tightly n get a tighter roll. Least that's what id think. Its too hot for much else so I'm gonna go play w YouTube. Fingers crossed. Ill let u know how it goes. One question, have you noticed that diff mags react better to rolling then others? Like fashion, or news etc. or even ad ones like from hallmark n stuff? Or does that not matter? Just curious. Thanks, off to play now.

Caseymini said...

Kris, I like Archetictural Digest best. It is a little heavier than some others. You can do it with any magazines, but AD seems to work best for me. Here is a Polish blog that I follow. She is really good! You will have to use a translator, but it's worth the trouble. http://craftbymarfka74.blogspot.com/ she is really good at it. Scroll down to see the magazine baskets. The first one is crocheted baskets from plastic shopping bags.

Kristen/Kris/Penny Doll said...

Ooh gonna go check that out now. The shopping bag one sounds neat! That's what i was thinking about the mags that a heavier one would work. I'm still kinda playing w what I got. Not expecting abeauty my first try. But neat n fun to try. I may try my moms postal magazines from work, since they seem thicker n i don't have any AD ones laying around. Maybe i can go on craigs list. Lol gonna go check out that site now, n ill update ya on how mine goes. Thanks
Kris