photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

How did

Small Dog

come to be

a Fan of Dr Who?

It’s the scarf.

Definitely the

lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng

and oh so cosy

scarf.

From Season 16.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

You see,

Beloved daughter in law

schmucked up her ankle

royally.

I mentioned that I

was volutold by the Dr

(Not Dr Who, Dr V)

that I was going to help put

on the cast.

Pardon the pun, but

that’s no mean feat!

See: Casting Call

Anyhow, since Beloved daughter in law has to stay off Mean Foot schmucked ankle, she’s taking the opportunity to knit like there’s no tomorrow.

A friend of hers asked her to knit him a Dr Who scarf. (I would have given him a pair of needles and a ‘how to knit’ book, but that’s another story).

So, she googled and found the pattern on the net. (There’s a pattern? Um, isn’t it just a mile of random stripes? Oh, yes, but this is the RIGHT and accurate arrangement of random perfectly correct stripes.)  Here’s the link: Dr Who Scarf Season 16

Now, back to why Small Dog is in love with Dr Who’s scarf.  Small Dog worships Beloved Daughter in Law. Shes in tune with dogs on an impressive level, and works with them.

Small Dog always has a couple of days in the autumn when he goes through a patch of feeling poorly.

Well, if you asked him he’d probably tell you he feels like a mouse who’s gone through  a fan belt. (Don’t ask me how I know about this… just trust me- it is not a nice experience. And, this IS the voice of experience).

The Vet says to keep Small Dog warm, love him madly and coddle him through his splats.

The stars were lined up perfectly for the poor little guy’s annual ‘I feel ooky’ day this time ’round…. oh bliss! to have the lap available of his precious knitting buddy was heavenly, and the fact that she had miles of scarf to wrap him in made it worth feeling crummy.

So yay for the healing power of knitting, and yay for the healing power of cuddles and coddles, and yay for Dr Who!

And, happily, Small Dog is on the mend. It must be the Dr Who scarf. I think I need to knit him one now……

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It isn’t just cats that get into the yarn…. arghhhhhhhhh………. our little guy is a dyed in the wool, card carrying yarn trasher!

AND! he constantly cruises the studio, snarffling up anything that might work for extortion purposes…. he grabs and dashes with anything that hits the floor – and won’t give it up until he gets a piece of cat food.

The cat is in total kahoots with him on this! Kitty knocks  down  something and grins from ear to ear while the mad dash to retrieve  the object in question all unfolds.

never a dull moment…

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Butterfly earrings
I’m in love with some new metallic threads, so I’ve tatted some butterfly earrings. But first, I tatted them in hemp cord….

Comforting crafts
What crafts do you like to do when you’re not feeling all that great?

Layers Upon Layers
Here are some of the places you can go online when dumpster-diving fails you!

Many Uses of Catalog Pages to Entertain Cats
Free kitty and human fun via junk mail.

Postcard Journal
Using postcards as journal entries

Scrap Girls Did it Again: A Fresh Look for the Refresh Collection
If you’ve never tried digital scrapbooking or card making, here’s your chance to try it and learn about it free! Read about all the freebies available at ScrapGirls.com.

Victory Garden Quilts
Discover the fascination of Victory Garden Quilts from the World War II Era

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

“I really like you, but….

we’ve been seeing too much of each other.

It’s time for a break.”

She and her assistant both cracked up and we all merrily agreed that we are on a break. (we really have been spending waaaaaaaaaay too much time together lately! erk)

Anyhow, while I am having to spend time in waiting rooms and dentist chairs and other tedious places, I bless my tatting shuttles.

Oh, how I love my tatting! It’s so portable, and it’s also so gentle, soothing and contemplative.

Today, while tatting on the way to the dentist’s office, I had a big breakthrough with the little tatted butterflies that I have been making for years.

These tatted butterflies are my version of a standard tatted butterfly,  but, I have always been somewhat unhappy about the body of the butterfly.

Well, today, I twigged to a little flip and chain that suddenly ‘fixes’ the body. So, I was happy dancing about it.

I decided that I had to take pics of my happy discovery.

Immediately, my beloved kitty needed to see what I was doing. She is my ‘glued-to-me’ cat and is very curious about everything that happens in the studio.

So, when I started taking pics of the new butterflies, she jumped into my lap and started helping. I took about 20 pictures of her with the butterflies, but these are my 3 faves:

Life is full of small pleasures!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

So, imagine my delight when I discovered this incredibly neat website: Crochet greyhounds!

Quirky, fun and oh so sleek!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay(copyright) 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Um… well… let me put that another way….

It’s good to have been friends for a VERY long time.

Ah, what the heck, it still makes you old friends !

 Well, a week or so ago some dear old friends were in town for a visit and we had a great visit with them.

We always laugh a lot when we get together with them. BUT, hands down, my daughter in law got the gold star for the funniest comment of the night.

Judy Wood, the friend of many decades, is an extremely gifted artist and fine raconteur. She has just written about that evening on her blog.

You HAVE to check it out…. Signs? 

By the way, if you missed it in the pic, check out the size of her camera lens. She’s resting it on the table.  With good reason… it’s about a foot long!

Long ago and far away, Judy had the good fortune and great discernment to marry a truly wonderful man, named Jim.

I am sure that that pre-programmed me to find a Jim of equal marvelousness! Lucky me, I did!

And, we’ve all been married rather happily ever after!

Boy, are we blessed! whew!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

We live in the country on a small farm. We have 2 dogs that we walk twice a day.

This morning, when we were walking our boys, a huge fox came up out of our neighbour’s ditch and shot across the road into our grove. Not an unusual event, but we were glad our cats were safe in the house.

After lunch, we hopped on our bikes and road the mile or so to the mailbox to pick up the mail. We noticed that the neighbour’s RV door was open, which seemed weird. Then we heard a kitten bellowing, and I stopped.

A tiny kitten shot out of the woods, and ran straight up my leg and wrapped itself around my neck!

Jim hopped off his bike and we thought for a minute what to do…. he walked back to the neighbour’s to close the door of the RV, while I cuddled the kitten.

The silly little thing was all over me like a dirty shirt! We figured that it would be a quick meal for the fox, so decided to take it home with us and leave a message for the neigbours.

What a scallywag! He’s a total sweetheart. He stole my heart, but I was really relieved when our neighbour’s daughter phoned and said she was coming for her kitten.

We are a full house, and can’t take on a kitten right now…. but, oh, even so…. he is sooooooooooo adorable!

I really hope that she keeps him in the house. He’s such a sweet little guy that I would hate for him to meet an untimely end!

He sure played havoc with my work schedule, though – yikes!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Can I spin my cat’s fur?

And the answer is: That all depends….

If your cat has fur that is long and silky, and he or she

lives, L O V E S, pleads to be groomed daily….

and you get a handful of soft fine fluff each time you groom him or her…..

Note: This is what our big boy is depositing in the grooming brush…. lovely when gathered in the brush,

but truly horrible if fished out of your teacup…..

Then, the answer to the ‘Can I spin my kitty’s fur’ is:

Y E S !

This is one large cat. That’s a 6 inch long spindle.

What will I do with his yarn? Spool knit, weave, crochet or knit with it. Yarn is yarn, no matter where it came from!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

A friend recently gifted me with a heap of new rovings. I decided that I would get them spun up right away instead of storing them as clouds of colorful potential…..

Our dogs love the spinning wheel, and like to sleep right beside it while I am spinning.

The cats, however, prefer safe haven in baskets….

As I run my fingers over the new yarns, I am mulling over what they are destined to become.  I wonder…….

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Especially since it was a fairly arduous journey to get to the shape that I loved for the hooks!

I had a happy old time out in the workshop:

and eventually, another fine and fancy feline was beaming out at me!

Mrow!

Speaking of cats and all things feline, did you know that b5, the blogging company that I write for, has a pet blog?

AND a very cute blog focused on goofy cat pics? 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn