“The whiskers are thinner than a matchstick. My hand shakes too much now to cut them.” — Why a 76-year-old Kansas tinsmith is letting her last spinning cat candle carousels go at a special price, before she puts down her saw forever.

At five o’clock, when it gets dark over the Smoky Valley, Margit Lundquist strikes a match. She lights one tealight on her kitchen table and sits down. For about a minute, nothing happens.

Then the little tin wheel above the flame starts to turn. Slowly at first, then steady. Four silver cats begin to go around and around the candle. Little spots of light move across the kitchen wall.

Margit is 76. She has made about 2,600 of these carousels by hand. This winter, she is making no more.

“People think it runs on a battery. I tell them it runs on warm air and patience.”

The gray cat who wouldn’t stop staring

Margit grew up in Lindsborg, a small Kansas town settled by Swedish farmers. People here call it “Little Sweden.” Every Advent, her grandmother Signe set an old Swedish angel carousel on the kitchen table. Brass angels, one candle, round and round.

When Signe passed it on to Margit, it came with a new fan. Margit’s gray cat Smulan. Every night in Advent 1984, Smulan sat in front of the carousel and followed the angels with her head. Round after round. For hours.

“If she was going to stare at it all night, I figured it might as well be cats.”

So Margit took an old piece of roof tin and her husband’s snips and cut a carousel with four little cats on it. Smulan loved it. So did the neighbor. Then the church ladies. Then the whole town at the Swedish festival.

Four hours for a cat the size of a thumb

Her workshop is the old summer kitchen behind the house. One window. One long bench. Snips, files and a tiny saw blade as thin as a hair.

The body of each cat is cut with snips. But the heart in the belly, the curl of the tail and the whiskers are cut with that tiny saw. One carousel takes Margit about four hours. Most of that time goes into the whiskers.

“Anybody can cut a cat. The whiskers are what make it look back at you.”

A cat, an owl, a horse — and one for Christmas

Over the years, the town asked for more than cats. Margit only ever made four designs. Each one comes from her own life in the valley.

• The Cat: Smulan’s carousel, the first one. A little heart in every belly.
• The Owl: For the barn owls in the old grain elevator by the river. Margit watched them on her way home every evening.
• The Dala Horse: The painted horse is the symbol of Lindsborg. There is one on almost every street corner in town.
• The Reindeer: The Christmas one. The tealight sits in a glass cup with reindeer all around it, so the whole cup glows. “Kansas has no reindeer,” Margit says. “Every child still asks for one.”

What 41 winters taught her about one little flame

The first thing people say when they light one is always the same: “How does it do that?” Margit likes that question. She has an answer for every part of it.

• “The 22-Degree Blades”: Eight little blades, each one bent to the same angle. “Too flat, it won’t move. Too steep, it wobbles.” At the right angle, the warm air from one tealight is enough to turn the wheel.
• “The Needle-Point Balance”: The whole wheel rests on one single steel point. Almost nothing holds it back. That is why it keeps turning for as long as the candle burns.
• “The Leaf-Weight Tin”: The metal is as thin as a leaf, on purpose. “Make it heavy and it’s just a candle holder,” Margit says. “Make it light and it dances.”
• “The Mirror Shine”: The metal is polished bright. As the cats go around, they throw small spots of candlelight across the walls and ceiling. “Half the kitchen turns with it.”

It takes a minute to put together. After the holidays, it comes apart and lies flat in its box until next winter.

The night three cats lost their whiskers

What Margit will miss most is the quiet hour in the summer kitchen before breakfast. The coffee. The soft sound of the little saw. The first carousel of the season turning on the bench.

Last winter, her right hand started to shake. Cutting the bodies still works. But the whiskers need a perfectly steady hand. One evening in March, she cut three cats in a row. All three lost a whisker.

“A cat without whiskers, I won’t sell. So I put the saw down.”

There is no one to take over. Her little saw will go to the shop class at the high school. 212 carousels are left, all four designs together. When they are gone, there will not be another one.

“It should be turning on somebody’s table”

For 41 years, Margit never asked more than $20 for a carousel at the Swedish festival. For her last 212, she could ask much more. Collectors have offered it. She said no.

“I don’t want them in a box in somebody’s closet. Somebody should sit and watch it at night. Like Smulan did.”

She wants her last carousels on kitchen tables this winter. In front of children, grandparents and cats. Turning.

Margit doesn’t use a computer. Her grandson Nils, a student in Wichita, set up the page where you can order one now. On weekends he drives home and packs every box at her kitchen table.

What people say about Margit’s carousels

• ★★★★★

  “I lit it and just sat there. It started turning after a minute and I couldn’t look away. My cat Pumpkin watches it every evening now, exactly like the story says.”

  Donna R., Topeka, KS
• ★★★★★

  “Bought the owl for my mother, who is 88. She called me that night to tell me the light was dancing on her ceiling. She doesn’t call often.”

  Sharon W., Lincoln, NE
• ★★★★★

  “The metal is light, so handle it gently when you set it up. But that’s why it spins so well. The little whiskers are so fine. Easy to take apart and store after Christmas.”

  Gail T., Tulsa, OK

Three questions people ask before ordering

Where can I buy one of Margit’s carousels?

Only through this page. Margit’s carousels are not sold on Amazon, Temu or in any store.

How long will they be available?

Only while supplies last. Margit has put down her saw, and there are 212 carousels left across all four designs. Once a design is gone, it is gone for good.

What if it’s not right for me?

You have 30 days to try it at home. If you are not happy, just send a short email and you will get your money back. One tip: use a regular wax tealight. Battery tealights don’t give off warm air, so the wheel won’t turn.

More from people who light one every evening

• ★★★★★

  “I ordered the cat and the reindeer. The reindeer cup glows all around and the cat one throws light on the walls. Together on the mantel they’re just lovely.”

  Beverly M., Springfield, MO
• ★★★★★

  “My grandma had a brass angel one when I was little. This brought all of it back. The Dala horse is on our kitchen table every night now.”

  Karen E., Salina, KS
• ★★★★★

  “Arrived well packed, nothing bent. Took a minute to put together. My husband timed it: 52 seconds from the match to the first turn.”

  Judy P., Wichita, KS