What a crazy day.
My day went sideways when I found out that I had a big whalloping error in my  crocheted Shadow pattern. ERG!
I re-did the chart and fixed the error in the text and sent out the corrections to all the people who had ordered the pattern.
Then…. I noticed….. that….. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH……. there was another typo!
I ran, screaming from the room….. and then came back and fixed it, and sent the correction off agaaaaaaaaaaaain!
Through all the ‘ruptions’
Ms Kitty was keeping me company,
purring away,
and looking all squidgie eyed at me,
telling me that she still loves me,
even though
I was having a horrible
terrible, …read more

Our small dog has mastered the fine art of extortion.
Yup. He’s a kamakaze sneak thief who  has super natural powers.
The problem is that he has psycho-kinesis down pat .
He can gaze at an object until
it simply drops off the table or desk
and lands in his mouth.
Then….
he takes off like a
shot with us in wild
pursuit.
He’s small, but
has jaws of iron,
and the 1/2 of him
that is chihuahua
makes him very large and fierce.
And the 1/2 of him that is dachshund makes him VERY determined…. so you could loose your arm if you just grabbed the purloined object.  (BTW, in the pic, he’s sitting …read more

If your cat or kitten is your best friend, you want to make something for her/him for Christmas, right? Fortunately, you can whip up a crochet gift rather quickly. Here are some ideas for the furry feline in your life — and all of these patterns are free: 
Crochet chicken (or other bird) – Perfect for stuffing with catnip
Kitty sweater – Because what cat doesn’t just love to wear clothes?
Catnip mouse – More catnip
Snuggle tubbie – Although meant to provide a safe and comfortable place for shelter animals, this is great for any pet  
Octo-puss toy – Great for using up scraps
Want more kitty? Be sure to hop over to …read more

 My constant companion in the studio is one very mischevious little guy…….

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 …read more

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 …read more

People often ask me:
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 …read more

I got all inspired about carving cat crochet hooks.  When I get inspired, I can never stop at just one…..
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? 

I’ve been thinking about carving some heart shape crochet hooks to celebrate Valentine’s day.
A couple of days ago, I carved a crochet hook that is a puppy. It only seemed right to carve a hook that would be a love song to all the cats who have brought joy into my life.
So, I got out a piece of wood and a pencil, and asked one of our cats to sit still long enough for me to sketch her…..

She’d rather cuddle than model.
It took me H O U R S and hours and hours to finally get the …read more