Category: Cats

Of the bells, bells, bells

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

The last ornamentations for the Bucilla felt wreath kit are many tiny embroidered and sequined AND stuffed felt bells.

Photo description: Nine yellow felt bells with only the embroidery done, sitting on a calico cat

The pattern only has seven decorated sides, with the back sides unadorned yellow felt, but it bothered me that in the picture for the pattern one of the bells on a string was turned backwards, showing the plain side. So for those two bells, I decorated the back as well, increasing the tiny sewing required.

Photo description: felt bells stuffing, assisted by a bamboo stick

I found that using a bamboo stick to place the stuffing in the tiny elements of the felt wreath really helped.

Photo description: finished felt bells attached to the wreath in the indicated positions, dilute calico investigating the felt on the floor

Honestly, if I had had tiny metal bells in my stash, I would have put those on instead of spending all that time embroidering and adding sequins. I definitely had Edgar Allan Poe’s poem going through my head the whole time.

A tale of two kitties

On By CarynIn Cats

The fancy cat bed that I made from a repaired stool was finally deemed an acceptable offering, mostly by Sophie the dilute calico.

Photo description: dilute calico curled up in a pink fuzzy handmade cat bed mounted on an old ornate wood base

Lately Thor the gray tabby has also taken to lying in what we’ve been calling “the princess bed.”

Photo description: large gray tabby filling up the same cat bed in the colored lights from the tree

He’s a big boy. 18 pounds at his last weighing and he takes up the whole bed. Little Sophie only takes up half, weighing in at a round 11 pounds. (She has a small frame and is a little rolly polly.)

This isn’t much of a story about two cats, but the title of the post amused me.

Large deviation

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

I changed almost everything on the last felt cat for my Bucilla kit. I took felt from my stash, cut new parts, cut different pieces from the pattern, altered the angle of the head and feet slightly, and mixed up the sequins so that I could have a black, orange, and white calico cat.

Photo description: felt calico cat with one orange leg and one black leg, and one orange ear and one black ear and a white belly and paws
Photo description: in progress Bucilla House Cats Wreath made from felt and sequins with five cats, that deviate from the pattern

I have had two calico cats with one orange leg and one black leg, Shadows and Izzy. Izzy was born after Shadows passed and we joke about reincarnation.

Photo description: Shadows the calico cat with a black right front leg and an orange left front leg
Photo description: Izzy the calico cat with a black left front leg and an orange right front leg

I have a few more things to finish on the wreath: a large bow and some bells. I don’t think there will be much more deviation in the sewing.

Unexpected light show

On By CarynIn Cats, photography

I set up our laser holiday lights, but forgot to turn the timer from “on” to “timer” and when I let Sophie out for her morning constitutional was greeted with quite a spectacular laser show through the morning mist.

Photo description: green laser beams making beams of light through the morning mist, that isn’t the sun, but our neighbor’s corner light. Sophie the cat’s tail is swishing because it is cold out. She didn’t stay outside long.

Small gifts

On By CarynIn Cats
Photo description: Thor the gray tabby under the holiday tree

Our tree is up, and the cat is underneath. It is a small gift that he is not a climber. His 18 pounds could really be a problem stuck in the tree. He does look like he is contemplating mischief, though.