Wow! This was made by Aubrey Longley-Cook from Spool Spectrum. So cool! (via Craftzine)
Friday Fun: Oreo The Kitty Hops
DIY: Bed Crocheted From Sweaters Strips
Before you get rid those out-of-style sweaters you’ve been holding onto, consider making them into a snuggly bed for your pet. One way is to make a pet bed by crocheting strips of old sweaters. Pick colors that look good together—that awful 1980’s mustard yellow should probably be avoided. Visit a thrift store if you’re short on old sweaters. Or if you only have ones that are mustard yellow. No really.
Socializing = Bigger Brains For Dogs
The existing coverage of this study from Oxford is one reason I write this blog. Most media outlets are stating this study proves dogs are smarter than cats (dumb) and they’re including polls for you to vote on whether you agree (dumber).
Update: Yea! Sophia Yin over at Huffington Post writes a smart article on the study.
The study actually shows something I think is much more interesting. Socializing led to bigger brains in some mammals. The brains of mammals that live in groups like monkeys, horses, dolphins, camels, & dogs grew the most over time, while the brains of more solitary mammals like cats, rhinos, & deer grew much more slowly. Scientists previously believed that brain size had increased at relatively the same rate across species. Being a social being requires enough extra work that brains actually increased in size.
So, the study does show that dog brains have increased in size more dramatically that cats, but for reporters to say dogs are smarter than cats is meaningless. Smarter how? About catching prey? Avoiding detection? Getting humans to do what they want? Surviving alone? It annoys me that reporters dumb down studies and reduce them to some stupid poll that doesn’t mean anything. So one of the reasons I write this blog? I think you (& I) are smarter than that.
DIY: Cardigan Dog Coat
After a little stutter of snow yesterday, it’s actually snowing with some conviction here in our corner of the Pacific NW. So here’s a clever project that recycles an old, wool women’s cardigan into a cute coat for a smallish dog. A large men’s sweater would work for at least a mid-sized dog. Make sure you use a wool sweater, otherwise it won’t felt. Don’t have an old sweater around? Get thee to your thrift store and find one for cheap. Be sure it’s larger than your pup, because it will shrink when you felt it.
Felted knits handle more like fabric and are more durable. (Here are a few tutorials on felting, in case you need them: this one covers both hand & machine felting, here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.)
The tutorial has you fitting the sweater by pinning it while it’s on your dog. This seems like A Very Bad Idea. I think a better idea would be to mark the sweater where you have it pinched to take up the excess material. It might not be as precise, but you also won’t risk poking holes in your dog or yourself, which sounds much more pleasant to me. If you’re making one for a larger dog, I’d check the length of the sleeves before you cut them off.
So check out the tutorial and don’t miss the video that also shows how to make the cardigan dog coat. It can give you a better idea of how this project works.