Up to no good

I had to intervene shortly after I took this photo!

Alfie is inspecting a half-finished himmeli made from reeds, one of the traditional materials for these geometric decorations. There's some info about himmelis on the Etsy blog. My first himmeli was a star made from brass tubes. The kit for the himmeli I'm currently making came from Estonia (where they make himmelis from reeds) via Etsy, and this is what it should look like when it's finished. I'm glad I made the star first as the instructions were much more detailed - I think I would have struggled if I had tried to make this one first. Etsy deals with the VAT payable now we've left the EU, so there were no problems with importing it, and the total price was £15.25 including free delivery - a bargain, I reckon, as I've no idea where you could get reeds like these in the UK.

Making himmeli isn't the ideal craft if you've got kittens as the string which you thread the reeds on is irresistible - I had to barricade myself in my bedroom.