Wednesday, January 8, 2014

It's What I've Been Working On Wednesday! Wool pet supplies!



We just adopted 2 new family member, Spotty and Scruffy (guinea pigs)! 

At first I used regular bedding in their cage, but my sweaters looked like this every time I picked them up.... and that's after brushing off what I can... and it ends up all over the floor. Ugh!
 

After reading around online, I found that a lot of guinea pig enthusiasts use fleece liners in the cages, instead of bedding. Less messy, way less expensive, more comfy for the piggies... brilliant! Instead of fleece, for my first attempt, I of course used wool :).

 

Guinea pigs love having stuff to hide in, especially since they are new to us and scared of everything! The cardboard box hideaway was fine while we weren't interacting with them, but when I would go to pick them up, they would go racing around the cage in a panic. I decided to make little sacks for them, like I had seen online made of fleece, but out of some wool blanket scraps I had. With these little tunnel/sack things, I can just pick them up, sack and all, so handling time is a lot less scary and panicked. On the open end, I just folded the edge over twice and sewed, so the opening would be stiffer and stay open.




They seem to really like them! At least they are less scared for now.





I wonder what else I can make for them from wool? :)

Sunday, January 5, 2014

I'm weather proofing with wool!

We have the coldest temperatures ever recorded in history coming our way. It is supposed to be a high of -10 degrees!

Monday
HIGH/LOW
-10°/-18°

I have an old house, and just about nothing is insulated. My dining/family room has a sliding glass door, and you can feel the cold pouring in over there. I just hung a wool blanket up for now, but I plan to make something more permanent later. It is amazing the difference that made! Even the floor is warmer.


In the same room I have a few little octagon windows. They are not insulated (or at least not well), and if I put plastic over them, they will fill with mold from trapped moisture. Wool will insulate, while remaining breathable and moisture wicking. I made little covers to go over them from pieces of a pale yellow blanket. I used a lighter color on purpose, so light could still filter through, and as you can see it is :).

 

Everyone stay warm & safe!!!