Caturday XI

Yo yo yo!  It's Caturday!  The day dedicated to the The Kitten and the ridiculous amount of cuteness she eminates, and invite you to do the same with your kitty! 

Today, photos from the phone!!  The phone is always nearby, it increases my ability to snap The Kitten unawares when she is being cute.   The photos may not be the best quality, but the cuteness is always top notch!

Today's topic:  Kittens in Literature

A walk down memory lane today.  I loved, and still love, the Serendipity books written by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated by Robyn James.  I'm trying to build up a complete collection of them now.  We had about 5 of them.  Fanny was one of them.   

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Once you get over the alternate meaning of "fanny" (especially the aussie meaning) the book is lovely!  I really loved these books for the amazing artwork.  And yeah, it's nice they all have a message about being good to each other etc etc, but even as a child I remember thinking it was a bit of wank.  LOL.  But again, the calibre of the illustrations kept me reading and re-reading our limited supply of Serendipity books.

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If you'd like to join in, please fill in the mister linky below!!

FO: Layette

Who knows what a layette is?  It seems no one that I speak to does!  I think it's old fashioned.  Grandmotherly even.  The Authority tells me it's a US thing.  Anywho, my idea of a layette is:  blanket, matinee jacket (another apparently outdated term), booties and hat.  So that's what I made for a friend of mine.  Her baby girl is due in July.  On my birthday even, how awesome is that?  And you know what my friend said?  "I hope I have a little girl just like you"!!!  Awwwwwww!

So this baby is going to be awesome.  And I thought, awesome baby needs an awesome hand crocheted set, so my awesome friend can tell people, "my awesome friend made these for my awesome baby".  It's all about me really.

I gave this gift to my friend yesterday.  There were tears.  You know you've done something right if you make them cry, a motto I live my life by.  I probably would have cried if I received this layette as a gift too - I'm so so so proud of it so obviously am very excited to show it off to you now!  Many gratuitous photos to follow.

Bah!  The only photo I took with the set showing the whole blanket.  Blurry, but you get the idea.

 I made the cardigan from this set, and picked up some cute buttons from ebay.  They don't exactly match, but they are cute, and isn't that all that really matters?  Ravelled here. 

I didn't like the bonet that went with the set (I don't really see babies wearing bonets), and I couldn't understand what the pattern was on about when it came to the booties, so I didn't make those either.  Instead I made these Mary Jane Booties. I made these very late in the piece, so I feel they're a bit rushed, and they're really only going to fit awesome baby as a newborn.  But cute!  And matching buttons.  Ravelled here. 

I struggled to take a photo of these, but behold - booties!

I had a real dilemma finding a hat pattern to match.  I wanted a beanie because I think they're more versatile.  So, instead I made one up, inspired by the cardigan pattern, and using this size guide to hopefully align with the size of the awesome baby's head.  I'm quite proud of this one, and will be writing out the pattern proper soon.  Ravelled here.

See how it has matching stripes??  and the edge folds up??

And the matching blanket, inspired by the cardigan pattern.  It measures 37" by 31.5", and looked to me like a nice size to wrap around a baby.  It weighs just under 450g.  This is the pièce de résistance (ooOOoo fancy) of the set in my opinion.  It's realllly soft and snuggly, and I think the edging really makes it look professional  (edging inspired by Gillian's edging on her Wool Eater Blanket).  I'll probably write this up as a pattern properly too.  Ravelled here.

10 points if you can spot the embedded cat hairs.

I blocked the blanket in my usual way (soaked in some lukewarm water for an hour or so, then rinsed thoroughly.  Squeeze the excess water out and then roll in a towl to really suck the water out.  Pin to cardboard covered with towels).  

Blocking a bit wobbly, but how often are you going to spread the blanket out and look at the whole thing?  I'm guessing, not very often.

The whole set is made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4 Ply.  It's described as 'baby wool' and that's no lie.  It was soft to begin with, but blocking rrrreeeallly made it soften up and gave it beautiful drape.  A little bit splitty, but I used a 3 and 3.5mm hook for all these items, so it might not catch so much with a larger hook.

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Linking up with Tami's Amis FO Fridays, and Fiber Arts Fridays at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

***CATURDAY PLUG***

Every Saturday is Caturday at My Grandmotherly Ways.  Every Caturday I share a picture or two of The Kitten, and maybe some other feline related stuff.  I include a widget so you can link up with me and participate in Caturday and show us your furbabies!! Hope to see you back here on Caturday!!

CBC - 27 May

The Crocher Biatch Club (or CBC) convened yesterday for a day of catching up with masterchef, baking, gassbagging, cuddling of furbabies, eating and of course, crochet.  It's funny how little crochet I find myself doing during CBC. 

This time, we met at Rhon's.   Rhon and I both needed to make something for morning tea at work, so we utilised CBC to do some baking.  Rhon made a delectable lemon slice with passionfruit icing, and I made this almond, chocolate and date torte.

As for crochet, Rhon was freestlyin' some fingerless gloves in a retina-burning hot pink cotton.  Ange was bordering some granny squares and I showed her how to join-as-you-go, and am proud to say that I had a very proficient student!  (I feel I need to mention here that those blue and green squares are most definitely not Ange's choice in colours.  She's making this particular afghan for her hubbie, and Ange thinks these colours are repulsive!  LOL.  I think they look great, and she has done a smashing job!).  Ange is also getting her ripple on.  For my part, I continued to work on my baby set.

There were lots of cuddles going on with both Aslan and Vervainn, who I introduced you to last time.   A good thing too, because it was flippin' freezing.  Thanks for keeping my feet warm Assie!!

Thanks for a lovely day gals, see you at my place next time!

xox

Tan

[Linking up with Make Something Monday, just for the hell of it!]

Caturday X

Welcome to another exciting edition of Caturday!  The day I unashamedly dedicate to the The Kitten and her shenanigans, and invite you to do the same with your kitty!   And today is a very special Caturday because it's Caturday the tenth!!! Wooo!! *confetti**streamers**trumpets*

Today, The Kitten hangs out in my clothes basket.  I've exhibited evidence o the effect that The Kitten likes my clean laundry, and here is another example. 

Ok, you can have a scratch.  Only because you're cute!!

Today's topic:  Other blogger's cats.

Katia from Etudes de K has kindly permitted me to feature her kitty, Saoune!

Saoune was born in the street, and was abandoned after being adopted by a young couple.  He was found frightened and shy in the city center by the association L'Ecole du Chat.  Saoune was adopted by Katia 1 April 2012, and Katia describes him as very kind and affectionate.


Katia is making a Felted Cat Basket, and by the looks of things, Saoune loves it even as a work in progress!!

So freaking cute!!

Awwwww!

Would you like your kitty featured on My Grandmotherly Ways? Contact me and your kitty could be famous!!

If you'd like to join the cuteness party, fill in the mr linky below, and link back here!

Caturday IX

Is the ratio of Caturday to non-Caturday posts too high?  Well, I can't help it!  The amount of crochet and knitting in my life fluctuates significantly, whereas the amount of cuteness in my life due to The Kitten is generally the same.  So, no apologies!

Today:  the difference a moment can make.  Look at The Kitten go from relaxed to freaked out in the blink of an eye!

And for your enjoyment, a cute and crazy kitten spazzing out at some apples!

If you'd like to join Catufday, pop in your deets below and link back!

FO: Hitchhiker

I haven't blocked it.  I haven't woven (weaved?) in the ends.  But I'm counting this as an FO.

My Hitchhiker!  A bit of a poor excuse for one, with only 38 teeth, but I am still quite pleased.

Yes, marvel at my amazing photo editing skillz using Paint to seamlessly join two photomagraphs!

Stats
Pattern: Hitchhiker
Yarn: Schoppel wolle Zauberball
Needles:  3.25mm circulars

Obviously the best thing about this piece is the yarn.  (Oh just look at the amazing things you can make from this yarn.)  Although I think this pattern looks awesome in a plain colour too.  I would also really love to knit one with stripes.   It is a very good pattern, I had no difficulty in memorising it, and this is only the second thing I've knit. 

I'm a bit over garter stitch now though, so will be moving on to bigger and more challenging projects soon!

Vogue.  Strike a pose.  Even a blurry one.

Blocking will probably make it look nicer, but I'm time poor and also lazy right now.  I really like it against the grey.  It's going to add a great pop of colour to my predominately black Melbourne wardrobe.

la la la la.  also I must learn to take photos in better light.  whatevs.

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Linking up with Tami's Amis FO Fridays, and Fiber Arts Fridays at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

***CATURDAY PLUG***

Every Saturday is Caturday at My Grandmotherly Ways.  Every Caturday I share a picture or two of The Kitten, and maybe some other feline related stuff.  I include a widget which so you can link up with me, so you too may participate in Caturday and show us your furbabies!! Hope to see you back here on Caturday!!

Caturday VIII

Welcome to another Caturday, the day dedicated to The Kitten, her cuteness and her various shenanigans.  The day I also invite you to particpate and link back at the bottom :)

This week I've had a bit of a case of the sads.  Just one of those everything-that-could-go-wrong-does-and-I-can't-do-anything-right-fuck-my-life kind of weeks.  But then A will sent me this text, and things seemed just a bit better.

Cuteness update, keeping me fully informed on all the latest cuteness news.

And in case you'd like a larger version of this photo taken in atrocious light, here it is.  You can't say I never did nothing for you.  (Don't mind me.  I can't brain today.  I has the dumb.)

Apparently she was sleeping quite peacefully until A came in and flashed the camera at her.  Suck it kitten! 

And today's topic, Kitties in Literature (the term 'literature' is used loosely)

So, I recently finished reading the Hunger Games series.  The series wasn't mindblowing, but it was entertaining enough for me.  One of my favourite characters was Butercup (well of course the Hunger Games has its own wiki!). My only emotional response was near the very end of book three, involving an exchange between Katniss and Buttercup.  I won't spoil it for you.  I will say however that I actually welled up, which is rare for me when reading any book.  I'm so tough.

Enough talking Tanya!  What did you find when you googled 'Hunger Games Buttercup'?  Well, since you ask so nicely, Hunger Games advices!

Advice Buttercup

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More hunger games advices here!!

***BONUS**

Katniss Pusheen.  Your argument is invalid.

 So, any kitty related posts you'd like to share?  Pop your deets into Mr Linky below and link back here!