Here Kitty Kitty

I suppose I am going through a cat phase. Here are some more softies. This one is from the pattern by wee wonderfuls. I think he is so cute! We have named him Eddie.

I found another free cat pattern with diagram (amineko) . This pattern calls for crocheting the cat in true Japanese fashion. I am new to crocheting, but could figure out the pattern easily with the diagram that was included for each piece of the cat.

When it came to sewing the pieces together, I had to fake it using my knitting finishing skills. I have never crocheted anything besides a wash cloth, so, actually, the entire animal was "faked". Those are pebbles on the paper towel beside the pieces. The pattern calls for plastic pellets or pebbles in the bottom of the torso, legs and hands. All I could put by hand on were little pebbles from the driveway. TIP: I put a tiny bit of stuffing in first to line the bottom and sides of the cat before dropping in a small amount of pebbles.

Since then I have done some research on Amigurumi which is Japanese for knitted or crocheted animal. There are lots of free patterns for crocheted creatures. The website, Crochet Me, is full of great tips for Amigurumi. My cat came together just fine, but I was happy to find a tutorial on assembling your project in the correct manner at this site as well.

I used Plymouth Encore Yarn for the body and an H crochet hook. Once I was done, I decided that I probably should have used a smaller hook. So, in order to try out my new skills, I have started another feline.

On another note, as soon as that kitty above was complete, my stuffed toy loving son had absconded with it. And, luckily, it has held up well to karate fights, back flips and bedtime naps. I would definitely recommend this pattern!

TShirt Fun - IN Moderation

Over the last few years, I have had to rotate craft production due to an ever-increasing case of arthritis in my hands. Beware - all of you obsessive knitters who decide to start spinning and use the computer a lot at work. Take it from me, this is a bad combination that adds up to pain in the hands. Last summer, I made it worse playing tennis obsessively with my 12 year old son. After injuring my wrist, the doctor gave me the advise: "No housework, no knitting and play tennis with someone at your own level." Ha!

One solution which has seemed to satisfy my craving to craft was to move into different "craft modalities" and to do them in "MODERATION". What an original thought.

A project that I had been planning for ages, was to make a TShirt Quilt out of the treasured shirts that my boys had outgrown. With a little planning (for dimensions), shopping (for filler, backing and binding tape) and the help of my old sewing machine, I had a wonderful blankie for a happy boy!

Here is the initial construction going together. I cut out tshirt blocks that were 12"x12". There were 20 blocks in all. Using the foot long blocks and a 3/4" seam around made it easily with filler that was 42" wide.

I used a non-pilling fleece for backing. It is so soft and warm! With the 5 square row down, the quilt required 2 yards of fleece which was 60" wide. Quilt binding worked great around the edges. I only needed 2 packs of binding.

I think it turned out great! As soon as it was done, my kids were fighting on who had dibs. I had originally planned on making it for my youngest son, and had used what I thought were his old tshirts. However, my middle son pointed out that several of the shirts were actually his (my aging memory had associated all with the youngest probably because of his wearing them in the most recent past as hand-me-downs!)
So, I dedicated it to both of them.

And, keeping with the theme of "moderation" (NOT), I went out and purchased more filler and backing to start on the next quilt!

Pinky the Valentine Cat

Pinky the Valentine Cat

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Valentine Kitties are Pink

And, this one is so easy to do!

Using old scraps of material and felt

And a pattern found for free

You can make one too

Just like me!