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Otis the cat meets Robo Fish
May 30, 2017 at 5:11 pm (slice of life)
Tags: cat, cat playing, cat with toy fish, cat with water, humour, Otis the cat, Ragdoll cat
Little Spring Lamb
May 26, 2017 at 4:19 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
Tags: amigurumi, craft sewing, diy craft, easy crochet project, felt crafting, free crochet pattern, lamb toy
This sweet little lamb is a cuddly toy for little hands. The body is crocheted, the face and ears are cut from felt and sewn to the body, and the feet are tiny dollar store pompoms that are sewn on. The finished size of the toy is approx. 4-1/2” long.
MATERIALS:
Any thick and fuzzy white or off-white yarn
9 mm crochet hook
Stitch markers
A few handfuls of Fiberfill stuffing
A square of white crafting felt for face and ears
White thread and needle; black embroidery thread
4 tiny off-white pom poms for feet
BODY:
This is basically a ball crocheted in rounds. Using your white yarn and 9 mm hook:
Round 1: ch 4; sl st to make a ring; ch 1, 10 sc in ring (10 sc); use a stitch marker to mark your beginning sc from here on.
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around (20 sc)
Rounds 3-9: sc in each sc around (20 sc). Next row begins decreasing.
Round 10: sc in each of first 2 sc; sc2tog; *sc in each of next 2 sc; sc2tog; rep from * around.
Round 11: sc in first sc, sc2tog; *sc in next, sc2tog; rep from * around.
Stuff with Fiberfill.
Round 12: Continue *sc in next, sc2tog* until closed. Sl st to secure. Chain a couple more times to create a little tail. Fasten off and weave in end.
HEAD & EARS:
Cut 2 pieces of felt in shape shown for the head (approx. 2-1/2” long) and cut 2 little circles of felt for the ears (each a little under an inch).
With wrong sides together (with most felt, either side is fine), 
either hand sew or use a machine to sew the two head pieces together (see photos). Turn right side out and stuff with Fibrefill. Using white thread and sewing needle, sew to body. It’s a little fiddly, so I went around twice with the needle and thread to make sure it was fastened securely.
Next, starting with the first ear, pinch one end, then run the thread through it a couple times to secure the “pinch”. Then sew to one side of the head as shown. Repeat with the other ear on the other side of the head.
HAIR:
Crochet an additional little puff of “hair” for the top of its head. With your 9 mm hook and same fuzzy yarn: ch 3, sc in second ch from hook, and in first ch. Fasten off and weave end into row. 
Use your fingers to puff it up a bit, then sew it down to the top of the head between the ears, where the head meets the body. (You could always make a Donald Trump comb-over instead, but I don’t think that’s fair to the poor little lamb! 🙂
FACE:
For the eyes, I sewed on two black seed beads. If you prefer to skip the beads, just make two French knots with the black embroidery thread instead.
Use the black embroidery thread to straight-stitch the nose and mouth, as shown in the picture.
FEET:
Sew the four pom poms on the bottom of body (see picture).
Happy #TRT – Tummy Rub Tuesday (Week 147) – Katzenworld
May 25, 2017 at 4:58 pm (Uncategorized)
Click on the link and then scroll down to see Otis on his bed!
Source: Happy #TRT – Tummy Rub Tuesday (Week 147) – Katzenworld
Handsome Otis models an ice-cream sundae hat
May 19, 2017 at 3:49 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
Tags: cats, cats wearing hats, corking, funny cat, humour, Otis the cat, Ragdoll cat, spool knitting, yarn crafts
He’s not particularly fond of ice-cream, but nevertheless, poor Otis found himself coerced into modelling my spool-knitted “ice-cream sundae hat.”
Much to Otis’s dismay, I recently felt an urge to try some spool knitting, or as we used to call it when we were kids, “corking.”
I can remember my best friend and I learning to cork using old wooden thread spools with four nails hammered into the tops of each. Today’s spool knitters are much fancier, not that the results are any better than what we got from those old wooden spools!
I had a collection of bits and pieces of old yarn ends, so I corked a long cord, then wound it around and hand-sewed it together to create the “sundae.”
Next, I used some red yarn to make a pompom: the cherry on top.
It is Otis’s plea that I refrain from using him to model any more yarn fashions.
“Get this @#%$!!! hat OFF me!”
Otis likes to keep a close eye on Backyard Bunny
He has suggested that, instead, I consider using his good friend, Backyard Bunny, as my model—that is, if I am ever able to catch him!
Soft Green Spider Web Scarf/Shawl
May 10, 2017 at 7:12 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
Tags: crochet with beading, crocheted shawl, diy project, free crochet pattern, how to, intermediate crochet
This delicate scarf/shawl is made with a plush yarn that makes it surprisingly warm and there is a lot of length for wrapping around your shoulders on a cool summer evening.
Materials:
I lost the label for the yarn, but it’s a bulky plush. I’ve provided a photo so you can match it as closely as possible. I used a large ball (approx. 300 yds)
6.5 mm hook
Yarn needle for weaving in ends
Large pearl-look dollar-store beads
Beading needle and thread
PATTERN:
Chain 176.
Row 1: dc in 5th ch from hook (counts as dc, ch 2), 6 dc in same st, ch 2, sk 2 ch, dc in next ch, ch 10, sk 10 ch, dc in next ch, ch 2, sk 2 ch, *7 dc in next ch, ch 2, sk 2 ch, dc in next ch, ch 10, sk 10 ch, dc in next ch, ch 2, sk 2 ch; rep from* across, ending with 7 dc in next ch, ch 2, sk 2 ch, dc in 3rd ch of beg ch-5, turn.
Row 2: Ch 5, *7 dc in top of 4th dc of next 7-dc group, ch 2, sk 2 ch, dc in next dc, ch 10, sk 10 ch, dc in next dc, ch 2, sk 2 dc, rep from* across, ending with 7 dc in next ch, ch 2, sk 2 ch, dc in 3rd ch of beg ch-5, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until shawl is your desired depth. Mine measured a length of 80” x 15-1/2” deep.
Once finished, I neatened up both 15-1/2” ends with one row of sc.
TASSEL & PEARL FRINGE:
Next, I made tassels with pearl bead ends to attach to the last 7-dc group of the row, as shown in picture.
To make each tassel, I cut three 24” pieces of yarn; folded them in half; cut another piece of yarn about 10” long which I used to tied them together in the center of the fold with a knot; then kept winding that remaining piece of yarn into a knot until it because a round ball of a knot at the top of the fold where I made the first knot. Then I threaded the beading needle, stuck the needle in the bottom of the big round knot and brought the thread up through the top of the big knot, added a pearl bead so it sat on top of the big knot, then brought the needle up into the bottom of the last 7-dc group and stitched back and forth a few times to make sure the pearl and tassel were fixed securely in place. Then I knotted the thread and fastened off. I repeated this process along the bottom of the scarf/shawl, attaching pearls/tassels to the last 7-dc group of each row. I hope this makes sense. Refer to the photo (and my rough drawing below!) for visual description.
Otis—My little Paper Bag Prince
May 5, 2017 at 4:05 pm (slice of life)
Tags: cats & paper bags, my cat, Otis the cat, paperbag prince, ragdoll cats, sleepy cat
Why bother sleeping in the comfort of a bed
when you can snooze on paper bags?
That’s my Otis.
If it makes a crinkling noise,
then it’s the perfect place to curl up and relax.
Fruity coasters go perfectly with fruity drinks on the patio!
May 4, 2017 at 2:14 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
Tags: apple coasters, beginner crochet, crochet in the round, crochet pattern, diy fun, lakeviewcottagekids.com
If you want to work on a quick, easy and fun project, this is ideal, and it’s also great for beginners. I found a lovely site with free patterns for Green Apple coasters, Watermelon coasters and Lemon coasters. All so cute!
You’ll find the patterns here, compliments of Christine Longe, at her Lakeview Cottage Kids website:
http://www.lakeviewcottagekids.com/2014/05/another-free-crochet-coaster-pattern.html
Create-a-holic Writer 