Rest In Peace...Widget

 

Yesterday, Widget passed away.  He was 17 years old and we will miss him greatly.

We will remember him as the best cat in the world.



I Refuse to Sit and Do Nothing...

 I think that the worst is over... but I still don't feel great.  So... I am doing things that I can sit and do while watching Korean Dramas.  Yes.  I am addicted to them.  No.  I don't speak Korean.  But I can read subtitles...

And I can do cross stitch at the same time. 

I am almost done with the rug for the Craft Cottage.

I did some more of the center of the rug that will probably go in the living room of Tessie's Townhouse. 

If I ever think of doing another rug with that much of one color in the middle, somebody STOP ME!!!

I am soooo sick of doing the same color over and over.  Row after row...

So, I decided to bead for a while.  I got part of another bracelet done...

Will someone please tell Widget and Tessie that bat wing stew is not a cure for the common cold... Or even for the uncommon cold.

They have both turned into nursemaids and are trying to force feed me the vile concoction!

Tessie went so far as to drag out her hotplate and turn a bunch of bats into mice to get the wings for it... No bats were harmed in its making.  They are a bit confused.  The keep trying to fly and fall off of the edge of the bed.

Just what I need, on top of a cold.  Now I have an infestation of tiny mice running around the bedroom. 

"Tessie!  Come here and round up your mice!  I do not want to have to watch where I am walking!"

I am going back to do more cross stitch... But first I am going to lock Tessie and Widget out of the bedroom... And also the tiny mice...

See what a cold can do to a perfectly sane person?

See you tomorrow.  Without tiny mice!

Lost and Found... And Found Again...

Oops! I did it again! 

Walter lost his turquoise bracelet the other day.  We were at Walmart and he missed it when we got half way home...

We both figure that the person that finds it in all probability, won't turn it in. I imagine that the clasp broke and he didn't even feel it.

 Anyway, I decided to replace it this morning...That was over an hour ago.  I have again spent an hour looking for beading needles.  This time, I was looking for the needle case that I started and didn't finish... See!  It pays to finish what you start.

Anyway, to make the long story shorter, I found the other pendant that I was considering for a case and passed it by twice.  I went on looking for the one that I started...  After a long search, in which I found some thread that I didn't know I had and a couple more unused beading mats and LOTS of unused beads... I went back and looked at the rose colored glass case... YUP!  Every needle I have moved into that case.  Evidently that is where they want to live...  I am going to tie a string around it's little neck and hang it on the doorknob of my workroom.  Maybe then I will be able to find a needle when I need it.

Widget was absolutely no help.  He hates beaded collars.  Cowls are his thing.  Hates beadwork of all kinds. Loves soft, fuzzy crochet thread.

He laid next to the bead case all of the time I was tearing my hair out trying to find the needles....

He was snickering all the while.  My theory is, he knew where they were all along, but he didn't want me to do beadwork... crochet is more fun...

I am going to work now and make another one of these bracelets.  At least I find them fun to do.  Even if cats would rather crochet!

See you tomorrow.

Widget Wins...

I went back to work on Daisy's Cottage again this morning...

The first order of business was cleaning up and taking stock of what still has to be done.

I am very close to finishing...

I mopped and polished the floors and the wood furniture...

As soon as I did, Tessie plopped in the swing chair and announced, "Ahhhh... That is eversomuch better." 
It seems to me that, if she was so dissatisfied with the cleanliness of the house, she could have lifted a broom.  She didn't...

She was joined by Zar and Spike as soon as the upstairs bedroom was clean. 

She simply moved the sheets off the chair and again plopped.  So did Zar and Spike...

I am beginning to see a pattern.

At least I finally got the cornice over the bed glued in permanently.  And general housekeeping is done in there as well..

I will turn the house around tomorrow and start on the kitchen and bath.  Then we will get down to the business of finishing, so that Daisy can move in...

As for Widget?  Yes... He won.  The reason I didn't mini, yesterday afternoon?

See that fluffy crocheted yarn on the front left?  It extends all the way to the back of his kitty condo...  about one by two feet...

At least he has a comfy place to sleep now... And I have custody of the four cowls that I finished yesterday. 

All's right with the world again...

See you tomorrow.

But I Digress....

Yesterday, I started working on Christmas presents.

I probably have the only crocheting cat in the world...

This is how I spent most of the day.  Widget, sitting on a pillow beside me, holds the work, whilst I put in the loops.

He sits like that for about twenty minutes at a time.  And believe it or not, he is helping.

With the Q needle, it is difficult to crochet and hold the work at the same time.

I managed to get four of these done yesterday.

He volunteered to model the finished product.

The yarn is Lion brand Amazing.  I did them from a pattern on their website.  It is called the "45 Minute Cowl".  It takes a little longer than that, so far.  I am getting closer with each one.

You may ask, what's in it for Widget?

He glares at me until he gets to scritch his chin on the hook and yes, he gets petted.

He also gets to wear the cowl and keep warm in the process...

I laid out the four scarves to take a photo... He insisted on modeling again...

OK.  There is one more benefit... I just started an early Christmas gift for him...

It's a good thing I bought a lot of Amazing yarn.  I started a cat blanket... It was self defense.

He threatened to keep the four scarves if I didn't. 

At least with the Q needle, it won't take long.

Back to minis tomorrow.

See you then. I have to go unravel a cat.

Sock Season Is Here...

 Those of you that have been around long enough, know that it is about that time... Sock Season.

The temperature got down the forty nine degrees last night... Most places they don't consider that cold.  Here in AZ it is time to break out the boots and jackets.

For me, it is time to start the yearly sock knitting binge.  I do go out and buy a few balls of yarn, just because I can.  That's the stuff in the first photo...

Then there's the yarn that my friend Jane sent a few times.  She had an exceedingly large collection of Flat Feet. She generously sent me a couple of boxes. It comes in sheets and you unravel it as you knit... That's the stuff in the second photo, left hand side and the third photo in the basket that is kept under the bench at the foot of the bed... That's so I can get to it fast, when I need something to do. 

And it is also handy for Widget to take a nap or a bath in the middle of the pile...

He is oblivious to the overabundance of needles, sticking out every which way. In fact, they are handy to scratch an itchy ear sometimes.

I found a huge stash of #2 knitting needles at a thrift shop years ago.  That was my downfall... I can't resist starting new socks, just to see what kind of pattern will turn up from the hand dyed yarn.

Anyway, it is sock time.  I promise to do it only after the sun goes down.  It's something I can do whilst watching TV and reading English subtitles for the Korean Dramas.

I am still working on the rug.  Slowly, but surely, I am conquering it...

With a little bit of help from my friend...

Widget has found that this is a good way to get his chin scritched.(That is a perfectly good word that Charlie Brown uses when he scritches Snoopy.  It should be in the dictionary!)

It does take a little bit longer with him around, but it's worth it... Just look at that face!

See you tomorrow.

A new Spectator Sport...

First of all, I cleaned out the drawer in my bedside table this morning... I couldn't believe how much I had crammed in there...

One of the things I found was this piece of embroidery.  It was originally going to be a cushion for a Tudor bench... Then I used half of it for the seat of one of my hand carved dressing tables.  I have no idea why I stuffed it in that drawer, but I am happy to find it again.  I will put it to good use now.

Now about the spectator sport... I started putting more of the stonework around the edge of the foundation on Daisy's cottage.

 After just a few minutes of work, Widget started doing his thing.  He paced back and forth and loudly meowed until I moved HIS bench.  This normally sits at the foot of the bed for his convenience... It serves as a step up to the bed...

Whenever I work sitting down by the house, he gets irritated that there is no place for him to sit...

Thus, the rearrangement of furniture...

As soon as I moved it, he hopped up and settled down to watch. 

It is a bit difficult to work with him sitting there.  He meows and pokes at me, to have his head scratched every few minutes...

After a while, he got bored.  Not enough head scratching and too much work...  He went and hid in the deepest darkest corner of our closet and is still pouting...

When he left The Terrible Two plus One took over watching. They must really be bored...

Meanwhile, I have finished the next edge of stones on the foundation.  One more side to go...

While looking at the movie tray stonework I am doing, versus the stonework with air drying clay on the cottage, I have come to a decision... I really don't like the stonework on the cottage as well as the movie tray version on the foundation and the sidewalk.  It looks more real when finished.

With that, I just saved myself a lot of money on clay.  It can be spent on movies!  That's  a great trade off.  More movies to get the trays.  Yup!  I like that idea...

See you tomorrow.

I Managed to Escape!!!

But not for long... 

Before I left I tried the cut down curtains in the kitchen... Ick!

I definitely needed a trip to the Quilt Basket.  I managed to sneak out on the pretext that I was going grocery shopping.  Tessie hates that.  She always just gives me a list.

I stopped at one of the other quilt shops on my way. Big mistake.  I don't normally find much to my liking there, but this time it was worse than that.  the whole parking lot was full...

So was the store.  I walked in and asked what  was going on.  The whole store was filled with women that were signing up for classes.  It was scary.  I just turned around and went on to the Quilt Basket.  I can always find fabrics suitable for minis there. 

After that, I stopped at a store in the same shopping center that I thought was all for weavers and spinners...

Big mistake.. They have sock yarn!

Just what I need!  More sock yarn.  Oh well, that just means I can start my Christmas knitting early.

When I got home, Tessie was waiting by the back door, with hands on hips.  I could hear her shouting, even before I got into the house.  The nerve of me for leaving her behind...

She calmed down when she saw all of the goodies.  She took one look as I spread the haul out on the bed and said, "Hmmmm... That's more like it... I count eleven new aprons...No, wait.   I don't have a leopard skin apron! 12 new aprons!  OK.  You are forgiven for leaving me home."

About that time Widget approached.  I just changed his nick name to "Inspector General".  Anything new that comes into the house, he has to approve. 

Of course, Tessie was having none of him sniffing at her new aprons.  "Get away from my aprons,you wretched cat!"  Then at the top of her lungs she yelled,"MINE!!!"  

I am not sure how to break the news to her that they are all going to be not aprons, but curtains and household items first.  If there is anything left, she may get an apron or two.
Widget took the hint and turned his back on her and put his lick of approval on the new sock yarn.  So... All is right with the world and peace abounds. 

I am off to drool over the new fabric and decide which one will be curtains around Daisy's couch.

Then I may just start some new socks.

See you tomorrow.

My Tools, My Rules...

I decided to change the shape of the cook top this morning.... About 3:00AM.   Why do I always wake up about that time, thinking of something to change?  Then after an hour or so, I drift off again...

Anyway, the black paint on the bottom of the slide is going to work well.

I also got the wood shelf bottoms cut and sanded.

Then Widget took over... At least that's my excuse.

He came in and sat on my ruler, scissors and various other items. There he sits...Looking a bit mad and threatening to fall asleep on the spot.

See the plastic bag by his front feet?  He at least found my lead tape for me.  I am grateful for that.

I guess I could move him, but I am not too worried.  I have to get ready to go to the Witchy meeting anyway.  I have to find something to take along. 

Maybe lace or maybe something completely different....  It's one of those days.  I want to do something other than what I have been doing....Maybe I will just sit and pout.  Widgy stole my tools!

I am starting to work on a  new under counter, with an oven in the center section.  Maybe a curve away from the stove front... Just playing so far.

I propped it up on the yellow tape just so you could see the tape.

It is masking tape that I found at Walmart in the school supply section.  I know it is going to come in handy for something.  Yes.... It really is the right size.  The one inch sections are 1"!  I have a feeling that it is going to come in handy some day soon.  Anyway, I thought it was cool.  Measure and paint at the same time.

I am off now to get ready to go.  I have to leave soon.

See you tomorrow.

My Favorite Miniature...

 OK.  He's not quite as little as some of my others... and he is growing by leaps and bounds...

April and Amare came over this morning.

He moves faster than the speed of light most of the time, but once in a while I can get him to stop and look at minis.

Typical boy.  I show him a crypt.... He plays with the motorcycle outside.

I show him the craft cottage and he goes for the bicycle... As I said, typical...

He did like the hedgehog that he found in the kitchen of the house I am working on... See?  He does like animals, as well as vehicles...

He spent a lot of time chatting with Widget... Wise cat.  He heads for under the bed whenever he hears little boys in the house. 

Amare tried to talk him out, but he wouldn't budge.

He did come out a few minutes after they left... As I said... Smart cat!

April got to see my clean workroom for the first time... She approved and she helped me out by taking some of my discarded books home.  It was either that or donate them... Having a librarian for a daughter comes in handy... She can't stand to see a good book go homeless...

Anyway, I did get the Steampunk debris sorted.

I am now back on course.

See you tomorrow.

Don't Count Your Stitches After They Hatch...

I was starting the first border last night...I had all four sides of the blue done.  The I started in the upper left corner, as you see it here...When I got down the bottom left, I had a problem. 

There was one less space then there was diagonal stripes.  Oops!

I got in a hurry and started stitching without double checking my count.  RATS!

I had to take out 436 stitches!  That takes longer than putting them in.  I did half last night and the other half this morning. It took a couple of hours.  There is no way to rush it if you want to save what you have.

With Tessie and Widget's help, I am now right back where I stopped last night. 

Tessie would have you believe that she did the replacement stitches...She didn't...

That's why Widget is glaring at her.  When I am stitching, I can't scratch behind cat ears and under cat chins...  I did the stitching...Believe Widget, not Tessie.

I have to show you another mini.  They won't stay mini long, but I couldn't resist this "Mother of Millions" type plant at Walmart last week.  Look closely.  You will see tiny plantlets at the edges of the leaves.  If this plant works like my other "Mother of Millions" plant, there will be itty bitty plants coming up everywhere. 

I started with one plant of the other kind and have them all over my yard now.

If you look closely, there is a baby in the dirt in the pot.  I stuck several in there to see if I could get them to root.

Well, it's kind of mini...Sort of...

See you tomorrow.  No more counting my stitches after they hatch...

Back to Rock Painting...

I have shown this before, so I won't go into all of the colors.  I will say that I used Hippo Gray Ceramcoat for the base, with a bit of Quaker gray mixed in, in places. 

The rest of the colors are basic ones that I use.  I did add some Bronze and Antique Copper Folkart.  I wanted a bit of sunlight here and there, since it was so dark.

The second thing I have to have when painting walls is Widget.  He sits on a stool beside me and smells the brush between color changes to make sure I have the right amount of each color mixed in.  He does that for about ten minutes.  Then he gets bored and takes a cat nap on the bench.

Here's the first wall I worked on today.  You can't really see the metallic in the paint.  but it "lightens the color without making it too light.  If I put white on it, it looks white, instead of like sunlight glinting off the stone.

It's hard to catch the effect with the camera.

I am currently working on the front of the house.  This is going to take the most time.  I have to do the inside of the front porch.  Then add the walls, with the arches.  Then comes more stonework....Then more painting...Does it ever end???

And what is Tessie doing to help?  She is running around looking for fabric for the draperies in the living room bay.  I am voting for this one.  It has the exact color of the paint in it and a couple of other shades of the same blue.

I think that it will be interesting when it's pleated...

I had best get back to the painting, before Widget tries his paw at it... I don't think he is one of those "Cats That Paint", from the book a few years back.

See you tomorrow.  Hopefully with a fully painted house(outside).

New Directions....

 The living room wallpaper is out...I couldn't find any fabric that I liked with that shade of blue.  It was sort of dusty and most of the stuff I have just didn't work with it. 

So....I pulled out a lot of fabrics that I thought that Daisy could live with....I don't know about Daisy, but Widget took an immediate liking to them.

I went out to get some more coffee and when I came back, he was almost asleep in the middle.  He seems to like the mini leopard print best....

Well, I should do something....else.

I threatened to do it and I did!  I cut out curves in the corner pieces just now.  It certainly does make a difference in the view.  Before, you couldn't see any of the bump out in the kitchen.  And from certain angles, that corner post in the living room blocked quite a bit of the view. 

The cottage is chattering away at me now.

But so is the workroom....Maybe I should spend a bit of time in there, in self defense. If I don't do something quickly, I will not be able to get in there to get needed supplies. 

Back to the grindstone...

See you tomorrow.

Please! I Am Trying to Read Here!

I'm in trouble now... Look what Widget got for Christmas!  I tried to hide it, but he found it.

My Elf wears the same size socks as Amare.  If one doesn't like them, the other one will.

I started this one last night.  I am going to make it so that it slides over the carrying strap through the bottom.  The nice thing about Elf socks, is they don't have heels.

Walter took the other camera back yesterday and they gave him a new one, without questioning, when he showed them the photos.

As for the 1/2 scale box, it is almost done. 

I will take better photos when it is finished.  I just wanted to show you that I fixed the chairs and their upholstery.  I painted the chairs themselves burnt sienna. And I freshened up the paint on the fireplace.

The upholstery is the same as it was before, however, I did paint it with brick red acrylic paint.

Yes.  You can paint fabric.  If you try it, be sure to use your fingers or a Kleenex to rub it in and make it even.  No blobs on top.

It will just be a bit stiffer when dry, but I like the color much better than the fire engine red that it was before.  This tones it down a bit.  I can see that the closest chair needs the seat re-glued.

The two ladies in the photo were my first attempt at 1/2" scale dolls about 20 years ago.  I have to repaint the faces.  They are getting rather worn.

They are in a permanent pose.  The dresses are made of pleated trim that was around at the time that I made them.  I am not sure if it is still in stores.

Anyway, I am going to go see if I can trade the book for some tuna fish now....I think that Widget comes up with enough ideas for getting into trouble, without an instruction manual.

See you tomorrow.