Halloween!

Sign at Tolga Bat Hospital

At Halloween we get to indulge in fear - of ghosts, goblins, bats and witches. Let's remember to release those fearful thoughts once Halloween is over. Bats get bad PR all year long. How many people know about the importance of bats in the environment or know about the problems of habitat loss?

Rehab for Spectacled Flying Foxes

Check out The Tolga Bat Hospital for information on conservation of bats and their habitat, and on the work being done in rescue, rehabilitation and release of hundreds of bats each year.

Besides admiring our native Australian fauna, I stay busy handspinning – tussah silk, Melanian wool from West Australia and cotton. I became aware of a need for storage for my growing collection of support spindles (with laser cut whorls), designed by J. He's produced this beta version storage rack:

Storage rack for spindles

Slowly, a number of my spindles began to fill with cotton cops. I wanted to use my Ashford wheel to ply the yarn. I knew it would be easier if I had a lazy kate to hold at lease two spindles. Using a sturdy cardboard box, J set up a simple lazy kate which works very well. A piece of iron (panel beater's form) placed on top keeps the lazy kate from shifting as I pull yarn off the spindles during the plying process. A bit of plastic foam glued to the bottom  holds each pointed spindle tip in place. I can tell J is considering modifications.

Lazy kate for support spindles

It's gratifying to solve problems using materials close at hand.

Bat pix by J.

Craft pix and post by M.