Category: cats

It’s always stitching season!

Disclaimer: I get no benefit from providing links to websites with products or ideas. I simply add them so you can find things if you’re interested.

Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been so incredibly lame when it comes to updating this blog. Here’s what I’ve been working on lately.

I’ve just finished stitching my first A Year in the Woods cross stitch. Here is The Fox by Cottage Garden Samplings. I stitched mine on 40 ct Newcastle Stormy Night. I purchased the pattern, the fabric and the called for threads at my local needlework shop, Stitchville USA.

I have very limited experience with 40 count linen and let me just say, I do love stitching on it. You need only one strand of 6-strand floss, and your stitches look so nice. I do need a magnifying lamp to stitch. I actually look through the magnifier in order to stitch.

The finished cross stitch of The Fox.

I have purchased The Woodpecker and The Little Brown Bat. I’m not sure when I’ll start them, but I know they will all be stitched on 40 ct linen. I would love to do all of them in the collection. They are all so beautiful to me.

There is also a mystery project I’m working on that I cannot share much about at this time because it is going to be a birthday gift. Here’s a peek:

Next, I was looking through all the cross stitches I have begun and ignored for a while and pulled out this beautiful sampler called Oh My Bird by Teresa Kogut Creative Whims. This was one of those impulse purchases, and honestly, so many of the patterns I’ve purchased are impulse buys, usually from watching Flosstube! I have very little progress but I am enjoying stitching it. I am stitching this on 32 ct. Laguna that I purchased from Stitchville USA. I would say two strands of floss it a tiny bit tight on this count, but it could be the fact that the fabric is Lugana, and not the count. Anyway, I am going to love this so much when it is finished and hanging up in my house.

I had a dear friend stop by for a night on her way back from Canada, and she brought with her a partially finished cactus that she was making for her daughter. She needed help with it, and since I have years and years of crochet experience, I was able to finish the cactus and make two more from the book and kit she had. They are so adorable and I would definitely make more some time. There are many designs in the booklet and I have the yarn!

And lastly, I have been bit by the sewing bug since I had a role working with the local middle school on their spring musical, Beauty and the Beast Jr. I worked on lots of costumes. I really enjoyed it and so started looking for patterns for handbags and such and came across this pattern on Etsy, which I purchased. I have made two bags and here is the second one, which I am using daily. This is called the Madison Ave Mini Backpack by The Sew Fox. It has adjustable straps, a zipper pocket on the bag, a drawstring as well as magnetic enclosure, and an interior pocket. Her instructions were fabulous and I had a question about some part of the process and was able to reach her thru her Etsy shop and got a quick response. She is in the UK.

Finally, a word about seasons. It technically became spring here in Minnesota around March 20. However, we still had more than a foot of snow on the ground and bitter cold temps to go with it. Then we got another snowstorm for April Fool’s Day. It has been the longest winter I have every experienced and I was over it! We all were. Prior to the April snowstorm, our area had already seen 80 inches of total snow fall since the season began in late 2022. Sure, there have been many pretty days. I love a fresh coating of snow on the trees. But it just kept coming and staying cold. And we didn’t go anywhere for Spring Break so here we were….

I definitely have been crafting a lot because of the weather, and that’s ok with me. But now we are ready for warmer temps and for walks outside without the fear of slipping on the ice. Today it is unseasonably warm at 83 degrees but we are not complaining! Even the cats have been tired of being cooped up. Now they are enjoying the sun on our screened in porch. We are holding off on putting the cushions out because it’s supposed to get cold and rainy this weekend. Boo…

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you had a wonderful Easter and have a terrific spring.

Paint-by-number purgatory

At the beginning of quarantine, I was scrolling thru Instagram and saw an ad for a paint-by-number thing where you upload a photo of your pet, and this company turns it into a project you’ll regret ever starting.

So I bought into it. And it took weeks and weeks for the kit to arrive. It took so long, that I figured it was a scam and I was out $46. (I know, right?!) After emailing the company, I learned that due to all the new shutdowns last Spring, they were behind on orders and if I could just be patient. I AM a very patient person, and also easily distracted, so I waited. And forgot about it.

Then the paint-by-number kit finally arrived, and I was immediately hit with one part excitement and one part horror. Why did I order this? Why did I choose that particular photo? To answer the first question, you only need to recall that everything in the world shut down, kids were no longer going to school, and I didn’t know how many more family games of table tennis I could endure. Also, I have a painting of our older cat, Princess, from a paint-and-drink-cocktails place that I completed several years ago. As for the second question, well, the photo I chose of Dewey, our young rescue kitty, was so darn cute and he looks so handsome, I had to choose it!

I began painting, and I made sure I did this at the dining room table where my two artistic boys could see and be inspired to help me finish it. Sneaky, right? (They don’t consider themselves artistic but they really are!)

Collage of two photos of a paint-by-number of my cat.

I worked and worked on this project in between other projects, like various knitting and crochet things, and eventually I got so close to finishing that I…..stopped working on it. It languished on the dining room table until I moved it to the floor of my craft room, where it languished further and completely lost its appeal.

But I finally picked it up one day a few weeks ago determined to finish it. But I knew it needed to be fixed because somewhere in the zereos and ones of software that converts photos into near-impossible paint-by-number kits, it determined that some shadowing in Dewey’s white fur should be mauve, and not just a sliver here and there, my cat looked like he was wearing a auto racing jump suit. It was bad. Everyone agreed. You can also feel free to agree by viewing this photo. He looked like the Trans Van of cats. (I thought these vehicles were super cool when I was a kid!)

Collage of images of a 1970's era Trans Van recreational vehicle and the paint-by-number of my cat with an unfortunate swath of mauve paint.

I changed out the mauve for a more reasonable shade of cat, and voila! Finished. I wrapped the canvas painting around a canvas on stretcher bars I had lying around and now I can look at it, admire it, and always be reminded that impulse purchases are usually not the best idea.

I hope you enjoyed this little story of impulse, regret and persistence. I can honestly say I never want to do another paint-by-number again. But maybe you’ll give it a try! Just be careful what photo you choose. The amount of detail in this painting just about did me in.

Have a wonderful day! –Jenny