Cats and Other Things

Something cute happened in our house back in August......we welcomed new family member McGeorgeous Pussycat Denton Barge.

McGeorgeous was rescued by two of my nieces after they found him and his siblings abandoned near their apartment.

They nursed him back to health and, because they already have two cats, put the word out for a home for him.

It wasn't difficult for us to succumb and once he was 'fit for travel' he came up north to our place.

After a week of living under a bed, he started getting braver, to the point of assisting me with a bit of sewing —

He was quite a shy little boy and a lot of the photos they sent through showed him sleeping in drawers, on top of towers, and generally hiding away somewhere.

Perfect I thought, I can make him a little cat house to curl up in. I'd seen a pattern online which had appealed.

It was a great way to dig into some of my non-quilting remnants and I had a merry time going through that cupboard.

Both (ginger) cats were immensely interested while I was making it.

Of course, since it's been finished, it has barely warranted a sniff. However I'm thinking that it's coincided with warmer spring temperatures so maybe it will be of interest once summer is over 😏

The 'mattress' for it was extremely fun - two old stretched beanies, padded with shredded leftover sweatshirting fabric and 'quilted' together with scraps of yarn!!

(The pattern I used is found *here*. I altered it slightly, piecing it more like a bag and using binding, rather than making a case which the 'batting' was inserted into. I used leftover Soft and Stable scraps, zig-zagged together.

It was very satisfying to make this completely from bits and pieces that were stowed away!

And catching up on (even older) news, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary during May. We held a small family affair here at home...it was really nice that Mum and my siblings were able to come up and join us. We had a lovely, fun weekend.

I spoke about Mum's ill health in a previous post. Unfortunately she's been unwell again and I've spent some more time back down at my sister's, and spending long hours at the hospital. I packed to leave home in a bit of a rush so had nothing to occupy my hands with. I found a ball of yarn and a crochet hook at the local Spotlight store. The new kitten needed his own afghan (see Tammy Cat's one *here*); I used a variegated ball and crocheted around and around until it was all used up.

I nearly got a photo of it being used but McGeorgeous emerged from his castle before I could grab a photo!

And then decided to lie just above it —

As Mum was still in hospital, I started another!! 

I love this neutral coloured yarn so may buy a second ball to make an even bigger afghan!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Another month goes by —

I know we often start a blogpost with the words "where has the month gone?"....well I can tell you exactly where the last month or so has gone - 

- on July 13th we started calving here on the farm. In New Zealand, we have seasonal calving -for us that means Spring calving - haha not that you would call July spring but that's what it's always been called!

Because our cows are outside all year long, it means we time calving so that when the cows need the most feed it is growing the best.....

I like to think of myself as the chief (one and only) calf rearer. Now that our son-in-law is working on the farm, I'm not called on for a lot of the other calving related jobs I used to do. I used to think I would miss having my finger on the pulse but (hehe) I don't that much!!

So cuteness overload —

After coming off their mum, they go into the calf shed —

When that shed gets full, they go to the Old Pigsty —

From there they have access to some outside paddocks —

Their first time outside is always entertaining!

And then I start moving them around the farm so they get lots of yummy grass as well as their daily milk —

And I  end up taking a lot of scenic photos of calves feeding with the farm in the background!

So far I have about 100 calves of various ages and stages. It won't be long until we form a weaning mob. About 70 calves have been sold as week old calves to a couple who raise them from then on.

At this time of the year we feel that we're indispensable, but the family rallied around and gave us 24 hours off the farm as a Fathers Day gift recently.  We went up north to Russell, a lovely spot we escape to from time to time.

Going over by ferry-

It was really windy while we were there so there were no beach walks but we were okay with that.

The view from where we stayed - 

And a cool tile floor outside the old restaurant - 

It was a great time away - a lovely (belated) Fathers Day gift!

On that happy note,

See you next time,

Raewyn

Winter Woollies ---

While I was down at Mum's, my sister's and/or the hospital, I kept any idle hands moments at bay with some knitting. 

I'd been given a couple of balls of wool which didn't/wouldn't really go with anything else. I thought they would be good for beanies for the kids but wasn't sure if there was quite enough in each skein for a full sized one. I hunted around and found a pattern that started from the crown. That way, I could just cast off at the brim when I ran out of wool.

The first little bit was a bit tricky with few stitches, 4 needles and lots of stitch markers, however as it grew, it got easier and easier.

It was hard to get an idea of the colouring of the yarn from the unopened ball. I fully expected there to be a lot more turquoise  than there was (only some at the start) so it was an 'interesting' knit!

I ended up making two 'short' beanies. 

While the design was fresh in my mind, I found some more yarn and made two beanies with a fold over brim. 

The pattern was 'Top Down' by PurlJam/Kevin Haggerty - found *here* on Ravelry.

If none of the kids claim/need them, I will be happy to donate them to charity.

Last winter was a funny old one for me; I got little crafting done but really enjoyed spending my time crocheting a jersey.

I used 'Highlander Heathers' wool from Skeinz, in the colour Scotch Mist. I loved the smell of it - it still smelt like real wool - and it was lovely to use. And the motivation was spotting the design, Low-rider jumper by Iron Lamb. As soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to make one.

This was a well written pattern that started from the top so that you could easily fit it as you went.

I learnt some new techniques - yes, the 'ribbing' is crochet!😲!

And it fits perfectly. I was a bit concerned I might overheat in it but the open weave style of crochet must help and I find it a comfortable cosy wear.

Once I finished the jersey I was still in crochet mode. Inspired by Miss Tammy's cuteness and her love of things cosy and warm - 

-and also by friends in blogland making Afghans at the time, I decided that Miss Tammy needed her own blanket. In a moment of brilliance, I decided to make it yellow to match her colouring, and contrasted it with a blue. I didn't purchase anything new for this, I went through odds and sods that I had accumulated over the years (including some from when Mum cleaned out her cupboard - Oh how good it is to have a daughter who also crafts!!!). 

(Helping Ganma make her afghan)

I finished the blanket at the point where I was having trouble finding enough of the right coloured remnants to use, and it turned out to be a perfect size.

(There was one yarn that could have been made for heavy duty carpets (!!) which was really horrible to use - after finishing the round, I decided it could be biffed - that's very unlike me, so it must have been bad!)

So it's a fun little rug to have on the floor in front of the fire for Tammy Cat to sleep on.

While I was in oddment using mode, I found some acrylic yarn which I made into peggy squares for the blankets kiwikid Sue puts together for the Kogo organisation. I delivered those in April when I went over for Scrub Stitching.

Well I think that is my knitting and crocheting caught up with for now 😀

See you next time, 
Raewyn