KattensSOS gryteunderlag (heat proof mat)

KattensSOS er en veldedig dyrevelferdsorganisasjon basert på Helgeland, som i hovedsak jobber hardt for å gi hjemløse katter nye hjem. De er relativt nyoppstartet, men har allerede fått samlet en liten bunke suksesshistorier. Mer om KattensSOS og deres arbeid finner dere på nettsidene deres.

Når anledningen byr seg har de stand med salg av ulike håndlagde ting og puseleker til inntekt for organisasjonen. Jeg vil gjerne bidra litt også, men har fundert litt på hva jeg kunne lage... Jeg endte opp med at jeg ville prøve å strikke grytelapper med logoen på, og nå er første testversjon ferdig. Konklusjonen er klar - jeg kan IKKE lage de andre på denne måten - det tar altfor lang tid! Her er motivet sydd på med maskesting, så neste - og forhåpentligvis enklere - versjon blir å strikke mønsteret rett inn... fortsettelse følger!
Denne ble også i største laget for en grytelapp - så denne ble ekstra foret så det ble et solid gryteunderlag istedet, ca 25cm x 25cm .

This heat proof mat is a test product for some gifts for a sales-boot for the charity KattensSOS, who works with homeless cats. I wanted to make a potholder, but I  thought the size (25cm x 25cm)  was better for a heat proof mat. The technique I tried out now turned out to be far too timeconsuming, as the cats are sewn on after knitting the base, so next time I'll try a slightly smaller version, with the pattern in the knitting instead. 

To be continued...

Knitted and feltet cat-basket, part II

Some weeks ago I finished the second cat basket - matching the first one , but slightly larger - around 30cm in diameter (the first one was around 25 cm in diameter).

Apparently the new owners like this one too, and today I received some more photos of these beautiful cats in their new baskets. Two of them have apparently made their property of one each - but just as people they have their clear preferences... the smallest cat wants the largest basket, and the largest cat prefers to squeeze herself into the smallest one  ;) 

Crocheted granny-square baby blanket

I finally finished the granny-square baby blanket I started on during the Easter holiday! As this was - and is - intended for a gift, and the baby was born 3 weeks ago, it was definately about time, too...

It turned out not to be as easy as it sounds to make all the squares the exact same size... I still hope that despite its lack of perfect geometry, the blanket is soft, warm, fresh-coloured and very suitable for a little girl.

The gift will be handed over tonight - I hope they'll like it! 

Earlier project show-off: Blue Totoro

In lack of any new projects to write about, I'll present an earlier project: the Blue Totoro amigurumi I made for my boyfriend's niece for Christmas. She's very into dolls and teddys, and when I asked her mother if there was anything I could make that she'd like, that was the obvious answer. I went on the hunt for a suitable pattern - I wanted something cute but not too complicated - after all it was my first ever crocheted amigurumi - and it had to be a decent size - keyring-size-amigurumis are very cute, but not really what I wanted to make this time...

I stumbled across the pattern for this Blue Totoro posted by Heaven's Hellcat, and I just loved it... I kept looking a bit more for others, as Totoro is  not a known "character" for the children today, but although I found many very cute alternatives, I kept coming back to this one... and this was the result:

The gift was very well received, and I was pleased with the result myself too, considering it was my first time doing this type of project. The most difficult part was without doubt getting the different pieces sewn together nicely - especially the part concerning finding the right place to put the ears and the arms... but I guess practice is the only thing that helps there! I'll definately make more stuffed animals sooner or later, but right now they find themselves quite a bit behind in the queue, after a blanket or two, diverse versions of socks, a sweater and a shawl...

Finally! Twin Sweater project comes to an end...

Around Christmas sometime I started on making two baby sweaters for a friend of mine's twins due in March... well... the babies were born just over a month ago, and I finally managed to get them done... they're supposed to be around size 3 months, but as the size is just based on measurements from a cardigan the to-be-mum thought might be a good size, this is a very rough estimate - hence my urgent need to get this finished before they grow too old...

I don't have anything to try them on, so I have no clue how they'll fit... I just hope they'll be ok...
Have to admit that I'll probably look for a proper pattern next time ... This time the pattern is from a book, but the model in the book is a different yarn, and around size 2 years, meaning I had to rescale everything, and some things didn't work out as well as I hoped...

But anyway - here they are - I hope the fresh twin-parents find a use for them!

Return to my new favorite yarn-shop

The granny-square blanket I'm working on did - as I feared - turn out a bit too small using the number of squares in the instructions, and I need more yarn to be able to complete it. I can't really say I was sorry that I just had to return to my new favorite yarn-shop To Damer to get more yarn....

I ended up going there just before closing time - and as I was the only customer there I ended up staying a bit for a chat with the shop-owner. I really enjoyed the chat - and it turned out we shared not only the interest for crafting, but also the interest in music! Plenty of things to discuss and time whizzed by - and it was long pas closing-time when I finally left the shop.

Thank you, May, for being so friendly and helpful - I will definately be back!!

I present ...

... the most adorable, soft, cuddly creature in my world:

Her name is Felicity, and she'll turn 2 years in June. I've had her for a bit over a year and a half, and I just love this small, soft furball. She's got a very "soft" nature - she's calm without being lazy, she's social, but never in the way, and I can hardly remember any "bad" things she's done since she moved in with me! Okey, so she has played a bit with my yarn, but for a kitten that's pretty natural... not her fault I didn't hide it properly, is it??

We had a lovely cat when I grew up, and I always wanted to have my own cat one day - and when a colleague had kittens needing new homes - that "one day" came along... and I've never regretted it!
There's something very soothing about cats - they can be so calm and relaxed that their simple presence is enough to make people relax too. Sometimes I can just watch her sleeping - it looks so peaceful and free of worries...

 

Those saying cats only act on instinct, have no intelligence or no "thoughts", can never have had cats themselves... I have no doubt that she in one way or another understands what I'm saying or thinking, and that she has very clear opinions on what she likes or doesn't like...

She also has a rather alternative way of enjoying or playing moments... When I start waving with one of those feather-on-a-stick-toys she usually finds the closest piece of furniture to hide behind, and then she spies on the feather and watch me wave it on my own... she seems to enjoy it that way, but I have to admit that waving a feather-stick on my own is not the most rewarding activity I can think of...

But it's just all these small things that makes every cat special!

And I mean ... who wouldn't melt when this is what's waiting when you come home from work?
Definately the most beautiful window decorations I can think of!

Visit to the Bergen Aquarium

This week I've got some french friends visiting, and as the weather this morning was typical indoor-weather we decided to go to the aquarium, where they opened a new shark-tunnel this week.

We spent more than 3 hours just walking around looking, reading about the species and taking photos, and I think we all enjoyed it quite a lot. The only thing we did not enjoy so much was the rest of the crowd visiting the aquarium today too... I heard someone said they had a record number of visitors yesterday, but there can't have been much less people today. Good business for the aquarium though - which will in the end (hopefully... ) benefit the visitors too.

I'm still learning how to use my camera properly, and I have to admit that most of the pictures were taken in automatic mode - I just couldn't figure out the right combinations of settings on my own. However - I did realise that in this context, manual focus turned out very handy...

I have to admit that I don't find fish particularly beautiful to look at - except for the tropical fishes with all the shiny bright colours - like the ones below. There was particularly one other fish I really wanted to get in a photo, but as soon as I figured out the settings, he went into hiding and didn't come out...  I was really disappointed by that!

Although there was quite a crowd around the new attraction, we did get to see the sharks as well... they are not very big yet, but this type of sharks can get up to 2m long... They still don't look particularly friendly...

But - if there's something I really don't want to run into when I'm out walking, it has to be these:

Just when we passed the reptile section, it happened to be "caressing time" - and the crew had taken out one snake, one tortoise and one lizard... I did not feel tempted to touch either of them, but I had to take a photo of the lizard... kind of cute in it's own way...

To finish off the whole visit we went out to see the penguins... The weather had cleared a bit, and after the reptiles the penguins was quite a soothing view - no wonder kids just love them!

If you're in Bergen and don't know what to do one day - go visit the aquarium - it's definately worth a visit!