Aviator and Pumpkin

Don't you just love all the free patterns out there! I managed to whip up these awesome little hats for the amazing little Ella recently. They were pretty easy to do so too!

So first of all is the amazing Aviator hat pattern by Repeat Crafter Me. You will notice from her very professional pictures that I didn't get the goggle's entirely correct. But they looked good for my first attempt. I used the same wool as recommended by Repeat Crafter Me. I found that doing this the goggles needed to be blocked as the thick accent wool made it crinkle up.


I was surprised that the wool suggested wasn't softer as it was mainly a pattern for babies, although she does adapt the pattern for different ages which is cool.

And here is the wee cutie Ella posing with her new hat on:

Since it's October I decided it would be awesome to do a little Pumpkin hat. I stumbled across this cute little hat by the stichin' mommy. I was pleasantly surprised it worked well as I just used wool I had lying around that I had accumulated from various friends who were culling their stash. 

And once again little Ella modelling my creation:

I love this time of year when it is getting chilly, perfect excuse to wrap up in comfy things :)

A Sense of Adventure

First of all, some good news - all the cats (including mummy cat) have new homes lined up. Two of them are re-homed already :) I miss their wee cheeky faces!

One of my favourite graphic novels at the moment is actually aimed at kids. Its magic and innocent adventure grasps the imagination of all ages. I'm talking about "Hilda" by Luke Pearson

Hilda is a brave blue haired little girl who comes across many magical creatures resulting in wonderful adventures. She is content to roam the countryside or town by herself with her trusty pet Twig sketching rocks and getting into mishaps. As they move from the countryside Hilda finds it difficult to adapt as she misses the freedom and magic she had experienced there. With time she discovers the hidden wonders of the town and her adventures continue. 

I love these wee stories, the artwork is so pleasant and they capture my imagination between those hardback covers. There is something about children having amazing adventures that makes us nostalgic for days gone past. I was excited to learn that Netflix is making an animated series based on Hilda. As with any fans of anything crossing over to a different medium there is a little trepidation that it wont live up to expectations. The voice acting in particular will make or break this adaptation. We have a little time to wait as it isn't due to hit the small screen until 2018.

Now continuing the theme of adventurous girls my next favourite comic of the moment is Lumberjanes!

If camp was actually cool this would be it. Its focus is on the five members of the Roanoak cabin: Mal, Ripley, Molly, April and Jo who are part of this peculiar camp called Lumberjanes run by the kickass camp director Rosie.

Lumberjanes was created by Shannon Watters, Grace Elice, Brooke A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson and published via Boom! Box. This special camp is "for hardcore ladytypes" where these five friends encounter mystical beasts and working together they get out of many scrapes with the battle cry "Friendship to the Max!" I've discovered tonight that they are also planning on bringing this to the big screen as a live action at some point. I'm less inclined to believe that this will be as successful as the Hilda adaption but I would love to be proved wrong.

You can probably guess from my two top comics/ graphic novels of the moment that I am fascinated with folk tales, mythical beasts and the like. My boyfriend James introduced me to this podcast about Myths and Legends which fired my imagination and made my daily walks much more interesting. Check out the website here and I would highly recommend finding it on whichever app you listen to podcasts on. Basically this guy Jason explores the myths, legends and fairy tales you may think you already know, or don't know and really should (basically this is the intro to his show). He looks at stories ranging from King Arthur, the Norse Gods, Slavic tales and more. So far I find the Japanese tales I have heard the most enjoyable. I was going to give a synopsis here of one of my favourites involving a young man with a compulsion to draw cats but rather than ruin the tale you should just listen to the episode which happens to be episode 11. Enjoy! I particularly like to listen to it whilst wondering through the local old cemetery, especially now that it is Autumn and the leaves are turning spectacular colours.

Cat you later!

Today was our last day with the kittens (sob). We handed them back this afternoon. Before long they will be re-homed and filling lots of homes with joy. As sad as I am to say goodbye it was definitely time! Six kittens all the same age are bloody crazy. All six of them where running high speed throughout my flat playing with anything and everything (including using me as a climbing frame). They were the softest little girl cats I have ever petted. Their fur that is! My hands are covered in scratches from where they decided they didn't want to be cuddled any longer. I know, I know, I should let them come to me... but they were so adorable! I couldn't resist stealing lots of cuddles! I'm so glad I get to do this fostering thing, it's awesome meeting all these little personalities as they develop them. I'm sure they are gonna be awesome little pet cats. Now for an overload of cat pictures:

Climbing frame!

What a cheeky little pose! I love it.

I love this picture. No one can contain one kitten for long, never mind four!

It was so difficult coming home. Over the past four weeks it has become ingrained in me when I get into the flat to open the door carefully and to scan for kittens to avoid crushing them with the door, possible escape or accidental standing upon. There is no need anymore - sob! On the bright side the flat smells a hell of a lot nicer. I did try to keep on top of the cleaning whilst they were here but even with things clean seven cats in a small flat cause a smell.

On the journey back to the home the kittens had a wee accident, they did a meaty smelling little poo in their cage, lovely :p I'm just glad I didn't have to clean that up.

Despite some smells I loved having them. My favourite time was when they would get sleepy so you could get lots of cuddles in. At other times they were just manic running around wrestling with each other. I loved the sound of their little feet pounding along the floor (I bet my downstairs neighbour didn't though, serves her right for playing her music so loud mwa ha ha).

When James and I finally decide to settle down in one place we will defo adopt a cat... or two, from a re-homing centre. They really care for these guys and you get all their injections and get them neutered so it's worth it.