Some Interesting Links + A Cat Bed

Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time on craft blogs because well, they’re amazing. I haven’t really branched out beyond knitting and crocheting yet but it’s still fascinating to see what other people make and how effortless they make it seem. I’ve always been fascinated by people who can make pretty things so these blogs are pretty much my happy place.

1. One Pretty Thing – Just browsing through this is so much fun. There are so many little and large things people have made! Some are patterns/instructions, some are just flickr photos of excellent creations, but you have to be inspired browsing through this.

2. Yarn Bombing – I had heard of this before but only vaguely. Yarn bombing is when people ‘vandalise’ public spaces by spicing them up with knitted/crocheted goodies. I would love to knit a tree cosy.

3. Risqué Crochet – Though I’ve only been visiting this blog for a week or two I’m an addict. Lots of cute and interesting creations!

I’ll be posting more as I find them. If you have any suggestions for interesting craft blogs, especially crochet, let me know! Even if it’s self-promotion. I want to see everything that’s out there.

In other news, yesterday I got out my 10mm crochet hook and some chunky yarn and started crocheting a bed for my crochety old cat, Puss. She sleeps on the cushion beside Dad on the sofa but as she’s getting old (very), she slips off a lot and dad wanted something with sloped edged to keep her in. He was going to buy one but I said I’d try to make her something first… of course, I didn’t look at a pattern because I’m crazy. Utterly bonkers. I just sat down with Fringe on the laptop and ploughed on with little idea of what I was doing.

I realise it doesn’t look like it has edges, but it does. I made them loose so that I could line them with some fabric – she is so old she can no longer retract her claws so wool isn’t the best thing to stand on for her. I plonked her in it for a few seconds though and she seemed quite content. I’ll get around to sewing in the lining next week after the End of the Road festival (and my birthday!).

Mostly I’m just amused by the two balls of yarn I used for this exactly match the sofa, more or less. It wasn’t deliberate.

Rat Hammock

Seeing as I used totally the wrong yarn for the cowl I made in the last week, I decided that it was best to do something useful with it. I have animals galore (I love that word. Comes from Gaelic /etymology geek) so I stitched in four hanger thingies and attached it to my rat cage.

My rats have never warmed to any of the hammocks I’ve given them and it took them a couple of hours to give in to this, but this morning I woke up and they were sleeping soundly curled up inside. ❤

In other good news, Sophie has asked me to help take over the local Stitch n Bitch when she goes back to university along with her mum (who is lovely) and maybe other excellent people. I’m very excited about this; I look forward to Stitch n Bitch all the fortnight so this will be fabulous!