The Black (and White) Cat who tried to be a Red Bunny

AH, yes!  There are many beliefs and stories and myths about black cats.   Halloween is particularly a unsettled time for our pets, particularly for those little black cats that some of our friends and neighbours have living in their homes...

Walter is just one of many cats living in nice cosy homes, but Walter has a somewhat strange owner...

Walter's "Mom" makes up stories...

Walter's "Mom" makes things with needle and thread and fabric or with balls of yarn that with a bit of "know-how" often turns into something useful, but sometimes becomes a bit of fantasy...

Halloween is upon us.

Children dress up as people and creatures and things that they usually are not for Halloween evening and head out to collect sweet treats...

Now, It really isn't a good idea for the family black cat to go out Yowling at neighbourhood doors or even to walk around the streets or slink behind trees and bushes and burnt out lamp posts on Halloween night - their intentions could be misinterpreted..

Some people still believe that black cats and even black dogs are EVIL and are BAD LUCK...

does that look like a growl?  it is not, it just happens to be mid-sneeze!

Really, they are not.  They are just family pets that happen to have a black coat on....   Black is slimming, don't you know!  Models and Movie stars are known to put on a black dress now and then...

Artists draw a black cat against a full moon, but its not really a scary image, it is actually a scared image!  The instant you see a black cat all fluffed up it is scooted away to hide!

So, Walter who recently was told about these and some of the other strange beliefs that seem to have followed black cats through history, hopefully, knows not to go out into the night on any night, especially on Halloween night!

But.

Walter is a very fun cat, and quite accommodating when his "Mom" gets a strange idea...  Refer back to that first photo.... Doesn't that kitty foot, look alot like a LUCKY RABBIT FOOT?  Mind you if you are carrying a LUCKY RABBIT FOOT on your key chain, Walter would perhaps suggest that the rabbit who's foot that is, is not so lucky him or herself!!

Now, Just for Fun.  And with alot,  I repeat ALOT of co-operation from a very special cat named WALTER (who by the way, seems to not be peeing in corners since his litter box was moved to a more 'socially' acceptable spot) allowed his crazy and somewhat creative "Mom" to dress him up as a Red Bunny for Halloween, so that no one would mistake him for an unlucky BLACK CAT...

Just to remind you, that is a kitty tail, not that little puff ball that is at the back end of a bunny...

Oh, oh, what the HALLOWEEN is that?

Is this really necessary?

She thinks this is funny!  Yeah, she is still laughing!!

REALLY!

HO HUM!  This has got to end sometime!  Doesn't it?

Well, Happy Halloween Everybody!

And remember keep your pets indoors or close to you and on a leash if you are out and about tonight.   The noises and the excitement out there is probably more scary to your pets than they are scary to you...

Two into One

When I first learned about sewing and sewing on a machine I learned to make clothes--first clothes for my dolls and then clothes for myself.  I must say that by the time I got to high school and HAD to take the Homemaking class, half the year sewing a skirt and the other half cooking -- I was way ahead on the sewing.

I continued with sewing clothes for myself and my children and even a shirt or two for my husband, but when I discovered quiltmaking, I left clothing behind...

Recently an aspect of clothing sewing caught my eye -- on Pinterest actually.   A thing they are calling Refashioning...

I decided to try my hand at it...

There is a knack to it, not as simple as you would think it might be!  Or maybe not as simple as I thought it would be...

I combined two, not particularly liked t-shirts into one, that I am hoping will be much more useful and being only ONE, take that much less space in the closet.

A black t-shirt type of top with very short cap sleeves and a neckline that dipped a little lower than I wanted and then had peek-a-boo features that definitely were WAY too peek-a-boo!   The second t shirt was just okay but was a bit too form fitting and was always riding up my belly!

So  The result is...

I slit the black shirt from the bottom side seams up through the sleeve.  From the back body of the purple t shirt I cut a elongated triangle for each side and fit the triangle from the bottom of the black t-shirt to the bit of sleeve on both sides.  Then I trimmed off the longer sleeves from the purple t shirt and simply sewed them directly onto the hem of the black t-shirt sleeves, now making them 3/4 length...

Now that too-low neckline still needed something so I settled for the already created neckline, but behind the peek-a-boo holes I just did reverse applique so that now, instead of seeing skin and the top of my bra, you see the purple fabric, cut from the belly of the purple t-shirt.

An experiment in refashioning two t-shirts that I had no real use for has now become, not something dressy, but at least something I can wear and feel comfortable in with a pair of jeans or slacks around the house and yard.  A much better result than two t-shirts hanging in the closet for 3 years...

I am going to give this idea another try.... I have a skirt that might benefit from being a straight line to an A-line -- maybe gusset inserts that sort of flare out?

Well, I think I will look again in my closet to see what doesn't get worn and maybe put together something that does.

How 'bout you? Got anything in there that has been in the closet just too long and that you are willing to sacrifice to the idea of experimentation?   Remember, sometimes you have to fail to learn, but sometimes things work well enough to again be useful!

Life Used to be so Hard...

Just a line from a song...

I know I have not been posting very much lately and it is because it seems my morning  routine has changed somewhat.  I generally write best first thing in the morning.  For some reason I have started to sleep later and my early morning writing time has suffered...

I did not move this morning til almost 10 am!  My bed was just so very warm, and extremely cozy and I did not want to move because my cat Archie was laying snuggled beside me.  The peace and the warmth and the comfort was just something that anyone is reluctant to give up, I would think...

So I layed in bed and thought about little things and some big things and some things that have been puzzling me this past week...

I have been wrestling with government forms online....  The way things are done and the way instructions are worded can be quite confusing.   I have mostly muddled through...

Now after I finally did get my body to move and break the peace and comfort of the morning, I put on my shoes and my sweater and went outside in my little backyard and photographed some of the birds who are gorging themselves on my generous supply of black sunflower seeds...

This one -- a woodpecker type (I an not one to look up species or official names) is way too big for this feeder, but he/she has been around a few times and works very hard to get a hold on the edge and snatch a few seeds...  There are actually a pair, but only one ever seems to manage the trick on holding on...

A very frequent visitor all summer long. But doesn't stay through the winter, so I suspect he is filling up for a flight south...

I think these are both chickadees, tho I am not sure if  they are the same variety...

again one on the feeder and one on the fence and if you look close, the ghost of one in flight...

this is the crowd scene, two on the fence one on the bracket and one on the feeder, and invisible another 4 or 5 just above in the branch of the cedar tree.

I and Walter (the cat) and Archie (the boss cat) and Pearl (the dog) spend long minutes everyday watching these and a few other birds visiting our little safe environment (the cats never go outside and the birds have no idea they are being watched and meowed at! and dreams of feather plucking going on in little kitty heads)

Now, back to my Lazy Sunday Afternoon.... Watching birds, petting cats, thinking about what to make for dinner... Pork Chops?  Yes, that sounds fine...

I'll try to get back into the habit of writing -- it has been a bit of a lull, but we all have those don't we?

Reinventing a "Easy" Crochet Slippers Pattern

Pinterest is a wonderful place to make new and old discoveries!  I do believe I browse through a selection of the pictures at least once each day.  Mostly I use my ipad for browsing Pinterest in the ''wee hours" of the morning when I wake up and wait for my DH to come in from his night job...

My PINS seem to be quite heavy on the various crochet projects, but one of the things I find most disappointing about some of those enticing projects is that when you follow the 'links' to their origin, they turn out to be patterns that you have to pay for... I'm poor!  I cannot go buying everything that strikes my fancy, not just because buying those patterns would break my bank, but I probably could never find the time to make all the items!

So the other day -- well, on Saturday, I came across this pin for Easy Crochet Slippers:

 

And I followed the instructions (tho there is an error on row 6, 7, and 8 -- at least the way I read it)

These slippers tho turned out quite excellent -- I even made a pretty crochet flower to adorn each slipper!

 

 

But there is a problem...  I used a worsted weight yarn, actually an almost chunky yarn and they turned out to be just about large enough for perhaps a middling size child, maybe stretchable to a ladies size 4...

 

The pattern provides for no enlargement or different size instructions...

 

Okay then...

 

I decided to take on the challenge and have been crocheting, and uncrocheting, and counting and 'balancing' so that I can enlarge this pattern.   And yes, I do believe a very similar pattern is available for a price somewhere else -- but I already told you the money story...

 

 

So.

 

Translating and increasing, not only length but width and re calculating the number of stitches at the toe end...  A few of the rows are taking two or three or even four tries to get the count right, but it is coming along nicely...

 

So far....

 

Now, a few more rows and a few more stitches to count and perhaps a nicely fitting ladies size 7-8 and maybe even stretch to 9 should be done in a day or two...

Then the next question for me, might this be my first digital pattern to list on etsy, or should I just make the slippers and sell them in my etsy shop?  How about Mother/ Daughter slippers? A pair in each size?  I wonder if that would be a selling feature?

Or I could post the Pattern on Ravelry or Craftsy, either for free or for a small fee...

They are fairly different from the original pattern -- even from the very first round of stitches, so I don't think I am copying, but I have been inspired by the first pattern...   Any opinions on that score?

Let me know what you think...  One way or the other, I will have the instructions for "Snippy Crochet Slippers" by the end of the week!

UPDATE

 

I have completed the larger size slipper and have created a slightly different finished top edge for it...

 

Here is a comparison of the original slipper (size 4 womans) using a almost chunky worsted weight yarn and my reinvented pattern (about a size 7-8 womans size) using Red Heart Supersaver yarn - purple)

 

I am working on the second one of this and my numbers and written instructions seem to be making sense!

 

 

I think the purple one actually is better shaped from toe to top of foot...  The picture doesn't show it that well, tho... Take my word for it!

 

Still working on a few minor details, and once perfected, perhaps I will start over with a larger size that might be small to medium men's size.... We'll see how ambitious I am!