Thursday, March 12, 2015

Part 2 ~ Cat & Mouse

Today the tale of the EcoNip Cat toy. It started with a box of string as any good kitty story should. Well, it is not exactly string but nylon cord. Many years ago I was a member of a craft coop on the coast of Maine. It is where I tried to sell handwoven items and when they won't sell I started making puppets! (selling handwoven is tough if you want to get USA wages with so many items being made where the labor cost are unfairly low... Anyways, I digress.) One day it was my turn to be cashier at the coop and one of our older members pulled up in her car as I was about to go inside. She had 2 big trash bags with her. One bag was full of wool scraps, she was a rug braider. The other was full of nylon cord, her husband made wooden lobster traps and the cord was used to "knit the trap door into the kitchen". Well, this lady told me she thought I was a very handy girl and was sure I would find a use for these scraps. As the old saying goes "Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!"

So up to that attic they went, out of sight but NOT out of mind. The 2 big bags sort of haunted me. I needed to come up with an idea. One day while gardening my cat at the time...the amazing Wally...who lived to be 23 years old...was rolling all over a catnip plant. Ah-ha! a light bulb moment! This was before "upcycling" was a word but being eco has always been hip to me! So the EcoNip was born! I have made 100's since then and they have been enjoyed by cats from coast to coast!

I recently re-designed the EcoNip to rat size for longer cat huggable fun! Here is my product description... EcoNips ---> HERE

Each Econip is handmade from upcycled wool. The nylon tails are scraps from the making of Maine lobster traps. The nylon would have just ended up in the waste stream if I hadn't nabbed them. This Rat size Econip is approximately 11 inches long with a 18+ inch tail. The long tail allows you to play with your cat at a safe distance from claws! Contrasting colored ears are fun for cats to chew.

Each toys contains 1 CUP of my own HOMEGROWN Catnip, carefully cultivated using organic practices in Freedom, Maine. I store the catnip in leaf form and only crush it a bit to stuff each Econip. This method seems to leave the catnip more potent. After the catnip is added I stuff the rest of the body with Maine Sheep's Wool. The wool is washed waste wool from my handspinning ... see my yarn works here:::https://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEmporium

Vern LOVES EcoNipS I have to store my shop stock on a sealed box on the highest shelf I can find! Some of my EcoNip customers store them in the freezer so their cats won't find them!

Puppets

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

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Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Which came first--- the Cat or the Mouse? (Part 1)

Cats & Mice

I have been hemming & hawing over how to tell this story. Maybe it is a bit of cabin fever or just that the story is a rather long and drawn out tale. We are still very much in the grips of winter. There are signs of spring, though. The sun is a little higher on the horizon, my onions have sprouted on the window sill, and our cat, Vern, is going a bit nuts! (...notice the cat chew marks in the wood...those shims are there to prevent Vern from using my onions as a cat bed!)

I have made strides to alleviate his cabin fever. I found this nice big piece of wool fabric at the thrift shop. I took time away from Etsy sewing to hem it and create a cat tunnel behind the couch for Vernie.

I also sewed up a batch of catnip mice toys I call EcoNips for my Etsy shop. Not sure that helped with Vern's craziness?!? The tale continues to wind...I thought my EcoNip photos needed a something to jazz them up a bit. With cats on my mind I decide to revisit an old puppet pattern. This puppet was inspired by our wonderful old cat, Zippy, and my son's love for the nursery rhyme The Owl & the Pussycat.

Zippy lived to the ripe old age of 16. He was still with us when Vern came to us 3 years ago. He was a wonderful mellow cat. My DH & he had a very special bond the Vern has not quite fulfilled. We still miss him!

This a photo of my son's fun with our mellow boys!

Here are the original Owl and PussyCat (Zippy) Puppets as they look today! They have held up pretty well considering they are around 16 years old. They were my son's toys but, I, also, used them for 5 years of elementary school substitute teaching! They got some real use then!