Monday, March 30, 2009

The Kitty Blanket

Well, it's finished but immediately claimed by my own cats and I'll have to create another one for my Etsy shop!

Yet doesn't this prove what a cast out sweater in an unfashionable colour is still good for? At least Oskar isn't complainig about the baby blue and it keeps the cat hair from my chair.

If you're interested in the stitch I used see my minimalistic directions here. Otherwise just Google for front post double crochet and back post double crochet (but here only front post is needed).

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Happy Cat In A Doll's Pram

When I was a little girl my cat would always sleep in my doll's pram. Or sometimes even in my doll house because my parents made it by hand and used these very very nice pure wool carpet samples to cover the floors... I guess it's every girl's story who grew up with a cat or a small dog! Or did you maybe even go for a stroll with your Jack Russell in your pram? Wouldn't surprise me, I've seen our little niece do it.

So we were quite happy to bring home a little wicker pram for my BF's darling, even if the wheels were off. Of course cats love all baskets, but this one just looks super cute, doesn't it? And doesn't he know how cute he looks in it!

Our Pepe only didn't like the bottom of pressed wood. I had to quickly crochet him a tiny blanket to cover that from a curb found sweater. On the right corner you can just see a little bit of the pale blue of it.

That inspired me to start on a larger cat or pet blanket with the rest of the material for my shop. It's almost finished now and available soon. I'm using a special rib cord stitch to make it extra attractive, because I know cats love to feel some sort of structure under their paws. But don't forget reused for them is also more interesting than any brand new material. Because no matter how many times you wash it, they'll still smell the history of it!

Monday, March 02, 2009

Garden Update

Spring is in the air, the days are lengthening and temperatures slowly going up. The time when most people are likely to head for the garden centre but the curb brought me a new addition for my garden:

I don't know what it's called, but I've seen it in other gardens so I'm sure it's a good outdoor perennial. You can see it has been kept in a pot and ripped out of that before it was trashed, but other than that it was in good condition. The leaves were hanging a tad bit dried out, but after a night in the rain it thrived again. As usual it's beyond me why it has been abandoned...

Does anyone know if this is a plant that needs a lot of light? My feeling is it can do well in shadowy conditions. At least I hope so because I plan to cheer up one of the darker corners at the side of the staircase with it.

In the background you can already see some of my Oscar tulips pushing up! Though it wil still be a surprise if they will flower at least they are doing something. Hope to be able to update you on that soon too!