Category: Cats

• A New Blanket for Rainbow Lion

  I made Rainbow Lion back in March but was never happy with his blanket. I also realized that the iron didn’t suit him, even though it was perfect for the other two lions. So I took off the iron bells and made a flannel blanket with sparkly aluminum shisha mirrors decorated with variegated embroidery thread,…

  ironwing

  December 9, 2008

  Cats, Needlework

  embroidery, lion, rainbow

• New Camera and Cat Photos

  My camera is wearing out – I guess eight years old is ancient for a digital point-and-shoot – so we recently upgraded to a digital SLR.  We’ve been taking photos of landscapes and cats while eagerly awaiting the new macro lens for closeup pictures.  The color is amazingly accurate.  For this pendant that I finished yesterday,…

  ironwing

  November 21, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork, Nature

• All Souls Procession Costume

  We walked in the Tucson All Souls Procession on Sunday night.  We put our items in the urn but did not stay for the finale, which is almost impossible to see unless you’re on the front row of the crowd, and there is at least an hour’s wait for it after the procession while the…

  ironwing

  November 11, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork

• Tiny Cat Claw Knife

  New today:  Tiny cat claw knife amulet with sterling silver wire and antique African iron bead.  Total length of the pendant is just over 2 inches.  Very nice on the leather cord as a choker; also looks good on woven hemp cord. 

  ironwing

  October 24, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork

• Copper Cat Mask

  Just finished this hammered copper cat mask as I begin to prepare for Tucson’s All Souls Procession on November 2.  This procession to honor the dead is an annual event that grows bigger and livelier each year, with a mood somewhere between Mardi Gras and Burning Man.  There are hundreds of people walking (many dressed in skeleton costumes),…

  ironwing

  October 20, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork, Uncategorized

• Mountain Lion Tracks

  Today we hiked in a sandy wash, shaded with canyon hackberries and desert shrubs among desert grassland hills not far from our house.  Someone else walked here just before we did, probably at sunrise: These are mountain lion tracks – there were two cats, one slightly smaller than the other, and we followed the footprints for…

  ironwing

  October 18, 2008

  Cats, Nature

• Lepidolite Shisha Mirror

  Here’s an experiment with shisha mirror embroidery, since I want to use it in several projects.  Instead of the usual glass mirrors, I tried a thinner version cut from a sheet of polished aluminum that was left over from one of our tubular skylight installations.  It’s easier to work with than glass, and I can cut it to any size or shape.  In the…

  ironwing

  August 18, 2008

  Cats, Needlework, Uncategorized

• Three Curved Blades

  Finished these three high-carbon steel claw-shaped blades today.  The two small ones are SILK CUTTER, 3″ long, wirebrushed as forged and drilled (not polished); CAT CLAW AMULET, 3″ long including copper spiral loop with African bronze bead; edges and holes have a high polish.  The large blade is SERPENT’S TOOTH, nearly 7″ long.  It was forged some time ago…

  ironwing

  June 28, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork

• Threadcutters and Vulture Medicine

  Sometimes the omens appear in clusters.  Today a coyote ran across the road in front of me and (oddly) didn’t look back.  This week I found three snakeskins, all inaccessible in some way:  One hidden under stones (revealed when I was planting agaves), one entwined deep among the daggerlike leaves of a yucca in my yard,…

  ironwing

  May 6, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork

• Rainbow Lion

  Rainbow Lion was my big project for March.  The magic in this one is a bit more “white light” than my usual work, and it will be reassuring for me to get back to my stones and knives.  But I found this colorful yarn when I was working on the Snow Lion, and it was…

  ironwing

  April 1, 2008

  Cats, Iron & Metalwork, Needlework