Blanketed 2

Those of you who've been following this blog for a while may remember a post a while back about my second attempt at crocheting a blanket. I was making it for my cousin and his wife with the main criterion being "bright colours." Well, after much time, blood, sweat, tears, and cat hair, the blanket is complete! It now covers the couch at my cousins' place, where, as they put it "everyone can see it." I guess it was worth the wait :)

Crocheting the squares is really what took forever. Once I finished them (168 total), the blanket came together relatively quickly. In the meantime I stored them in a chest we use as a coffee table/foot rest/scratching post (technically the cats are the ones who use it for that last part).

This pile of squares made one row of the blanket

Coming together...

I used a variegated yarn to join the pieces together. This one blended well with the colours I used in the squares.

It was pretty cozy working under all that :)

Shadow regularly showed his appreciation for my work by napping on it.

He's less impressed, however, with my sticking a camera in his face. Yes, he is sticking his tongue out at me.

Hoping I'll just go away. His brother, Wraith, would usually sit on my blanket-covered lap as I worked on it. And that's why the blanket got washed before I gave it to my cousins (it still probably had a ton of cat hair on it--sorry, guys...)

All done

For the granny squares I used this pattern.
For the joining technique I used the Flat Braid Joining Method (instructions here).

[Edited to update links. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com] 

In Stitches

Thought I'd share my latest completed needlepoint project. I'm happy with how it turned out, although I think the colours ended up being a little too cool.

Wraith steals the show

Nox was keeping us company too. He's sitting on the cat tree, enjoying the view out the window.

And Shadow was just below, trying to nap in peace :)

 

My next project is actually an old one--I've resumed working on the blanket I'm making for my cousins. I'm probably about halfway through making the granny squares. Hopefully I can focus now and finally get it done. The downside of crocheting for me is weaving in the ends--hate that part. I don't suppose anyone knows a way around it?

What projects are you working on? Share in the comments.

 Photos ©Whimsy Bower

[Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]

 

Jinxed

Life has been strange lately--kind of awesome and kind of stressful. Awesome because we adopted a stray kitty that started showing up at our door. He's super friendly and sweet and we (okay, mostly I) named him Jinx, inspired by a minor character on Buffy (one of Glory's minions for my fellow fans.) I always thought it was a great name for a cat and, come on, how could you not give a black cat a name like that? Surprisingly he's my first ever black cat and I think I must always have one from now on. There's something magical about them. And when he stretches and arches his back in the classic Halloween cat pose, it's just about the coolest thing ever.

It's been stressful because Jinx, while mostly amazingly healthy, has some parasite issues and needs to be kept isolated from our other guys until it clears up (he's also constantly hungry and quite underweight). That means he's confined (which as a recent outdoor cat he doesn't love, although he's mostly okay) and the other two are jealous and confused. And none of them likes to be alone. The SO and I are taking turns keeping Jinx company, so we're not getting a lot of together time. And the two rooms we're keeping him in are the only two in the house with windows that don't open (but there is a couch so at least we can nap). Basically I'm not getting much of anything done these days (it's been five days of isolation so far--hopefully the meds will start working soon!) I do get to go out to the garden in the mornings, which I'm quite happy about. And I've been crocheting a lot--my blanket is almost done! But the sooner we can introduce Jinx to the other guys and let him be a free-range indoor kitty the better.

The new addition to the household, looking regal

Dianthus

Azalea bud. My azalea is currently potted but I think I need to get it in the ground this year.

Lilac we discovered growing inside our cedar hedge. I don't know how it got there but every year it gets a little bigger and flowers a little more profusely. It's lovely.

Dandelion. I have a love-hate relationship with them.

The aquilegia has flowered. I don't know what variety it is but it was a gift from a friend, and apparently they grow wild in his yard.

Another angle

Bleeding heart

Bird (I think it's a female blackbird) enjoying our hospitality (although not quite as thrilled with me pointing a camera at her)

The 'Sensation' lilac in our yard. Prettier than the old-fashioned one in the hedge but doesn't smell nearly as sweet.

A large branch broke off our maple during a storm a few months back. We discovered it's currently the home of a family of blackbirds :)

'Sensation' lilac

Not quite fully opened yet.

Interestingly some of the flower panicles on the 'Senation' lilac are pure white. I'm assuming one of its original parents was a white-flowered lilac. Hopefully the whole tree won't revert to white in time, although I don't mind a few pretty white blossoms.

A couple more shots of a very handsome kitty (the vet thinks he's got some Siamese in him)

Photos ©Whimsy Bower

[Edited to fix a typo. We ended up re-naming Jink to Nox, and as of 2023, he's eleven and a good bit chonkier! Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]

Promises of Spring

Spring is back! And with it the promise of warmth, renewal and new growth. The problem is that it also comes with a lot of waiting. Around here there's not much to look at besides sprouts, buds, and a few very early blooms (like crocuses), and the tantalizing warmth alternates with teeth-chattering cold. So in the spirit of inspiration and looking forward I thought I'd post a few photos from last year's garden. Enjoy (and click to enlarge)! 

Nothing says sunshine like dahlias: 

 

Canna, just before blooming: 

  

One of my favourite roses, 'The Fairy." Mini flowers (and tons of them) on a regular-sized plant: 

 

Note the tiny visitor on this sunflower: 

 

My first onion braid (and my first homegrown onions)!: 

 

No, this photo is not sideways: the hollyhock grew this way once it reached the top of its support: 

   

Of all the tomato plants I had in the garden last year this one was probably the most prolific. It's also the only one I didn't deliberately plant--it just sprouted on its own by the roses and I left it alone. Go figure:

  

Climbing rose, 'The Viking'  

Rose of Sharon:  

Hollyhock, 'Creme de Cassis':

   

'Heavenly Blue' Morning Glories totally live up to their name: 

   

Not Heavenly Blue but equally pretty (and self seeding!):

 

One of my tomatillo plant with "balloons" (the fruit grows inside them): 

  

I know I post a lot of photos of raindrop-studded Lady's Mantle leaves, but I just think they're so beautiful. Here the leaves are shaded by the fringe of hosta flowers:

 

'Limelight" Hydrangea and hosta flowers" 

  

Hosta flowers are underrated, imo; they look beautiful and smell lovely too:

  

Some of the poppies from the seeds my mom collected from her own garden: 

 

Look closely in the foreground to see the web and the spider in the centre: 

 

One of the few things whose arrival I'm not looking forward to-- the crazy-big slugs that seem to live around here (and at about 4 inches long that's one of the smaller ones I've seen): 

 

Couldn't resist sharing these photos (he and the orchid both like sitting next to the window, and I'm sure he can't wait until it's warm enough to open them again): 

Photos by Whimsy Bower

[Edited to update title, and for formatting and clarity. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]