Projects

Since I've been off-Trail, the plan was to tackle some long-unfinished WIPs/UFOs. I finished the stitching on one of the Christmas ornament cross stitches I've been working on forever, and moved my attention to the next Art of Disney piece, Mickey and the Fireman. I'd been moving along nicely on that one, until of course I got to Lafayette and unpacked all of my yarn. All of a sudden, there were Things that NEEDED to be made. Like covers for the Swiffer that was left behind in the house:

Three covers in all, two made of acrylic for sweeping up cat hair and dirt, and one of cotton for wet jobs

Pattern: Ballband Dishcloth Reusable Swiffer Cover (Ravelry)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver (red and green), Sayelle Natura (OLD yarn, white-ish), and the third one is two colors of kitchen cotton, natural and cream.

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: June 4-5, 5-8,and 8-17, 2012

Mods: None.

Problems: None really, though it pulls in a bit much so a larger needle or another row of the pattern would have been good. They work well as they are, so no complaints!

Beds for the cats were also a necessity, and getting rid of all the crazy amounts of acrylic was fairly high on the list too:

Pattern: 1 Skein Pet Bed (Rav)
Yarn: The rest of my Red Heart Super Saver and some Sayelle Natura to finish off the second one.

Hook: 6.5mm/USK
Timeframe: June 11 - 12, 12 - 17, 2012
Mods: None, did the 2-layer version.
Problems: Second one turned out a bit smaller, though I'm not sure why. Gauge, why must you be so finnicky?!

The first two beds fit Layla when she's curled up tight, but really aren't the ideal size. They're fairly quick to make, and two layers so they're nice and comfortable for the cats. They really like them, and I should make more but I've only got off-white colored stash at the moment and I think that's probably not the color I should use for a cat bed - it'll show hairs and dirt too easily! Of course, I'm also making lots of cat toys. The kitten is rambunctious and loves the little birds but not the balls with bells, so more stuffed cat toys would be welcome. The current almost-finished army of mice needs another trip through the laundry to felt better; they went through once, but I'm not quite happy with them yet.
Next I'll work on those other projects, the 26 things that need finishing. Two of which just need buttons, eight of which just need a simple seam, and those Christmas ornaments just need loops so they can be hung, backing so they look prettier and are more stable, and then I need to cut them out. Looks like for Ravelympics Ravellenics, I'll be focusing on some WIP Wrestling, finishing at least two of the knit/crochet projects that are clogging up my WIP bags.