Knit knit knit

My Sophie left me all on my own Saturday night so she could travel down to Devon for the Exeter Knit Expo on Sunday. Luckily she has put her thick winter duvet on her bed, it's like sleeping on a cloud, so I didn't miss her too much. An added bonus was that her sister popped into see me this morning. I do like it when she visits, she always gives me big squishy cuddles which I'll put up with for a few seconds and then scrabble away.
When my Sophie finally came home Sunday afternoon she told me all about her day. She said the expo was really inspiring and she even stuffed her woolsac cushion.

A new book on knitted cowls was purchased which I think she will be making for herself in the very near future.

No new yarn was purchased which I'm rather surprised about, but I think my Sophie is in the market for a nice set of circular needles, she used the excuse that most of the cowls in the book are made on them so she needs to get some to make a cowl...hmmmmm I said.

WIPs finished

Well, my Sophie has been a very busy girl this last week, I'm so proud of her.

After what seems to have been ages since anything has been completed she has cracked on and finished off 2 projects which have been ongoing for a while and is half way through her third one.

The first was 15 Christmas baubles for her upcoming craft fair in Chipping Sodbury. She does have a 16th bauble to make but ran out of pins! If they sale well at the craft fair she'll have some extra pocket money to buy more pins and make more ready for the December fair. This is the first year my Sophie has made these baubles and she is starting to diversify away from using just wool in her projects to using fabrics as well. As you may have seen in previous posts we have a fabric shop not far away and I think she loves visiting and having a good rummage to see what they have on offer.

 

The second completed project was her Olympic Woolsack cushion ready to take to the Knitting Expo in Exeter on Sunday to be stuffed. This was a great project that my Sophie got involved in, check out the Woolsack website. In short, the aim is for every Olympic and Paralympic athlete taking part in the London 2012 games to receive a cushion made out of British Wool as a personal gift from Great Britain. My Sophie isn't the strongest of knitters but she designed a cushion that is suitable for her skills and it has spurred her on to develop her knitting skills by starting to make a hot water bottle cover and learn to knit socks. There's no stopping her now!

The third project is a hot water bottle cover that she's making for a Christmas present so she has a bit more time to complete that one. Last night she finished the first side and I think it looks rather good especially, I can't wait to see the finished article (just hope the hot water bottle fits inside) The second side will be casted onto the needles tonight and as she isn't planning on doing cables on the back should knit up pretty quickly.

I'll get my Sophie to take some photos of these projects when the light is abit better (rather gray and glummy here) and post them for you to have a nose at. In the meantime, I'm off to play with my favourite toys which my Sophie kindly sprinkled with cat nip for me.

What's love got to do with it

Today I want to talk about something close to my heart. It's the big "L" word, you all know the one I mean "Love". Love is many things and different things to different people.

I'm the type of cat who sits and watches the world go by but don't let my cute face looking innocently up at you fool you. I get to observe the comings and goings of everyone and I don't miss a trick.



Love is a great big hug whenever you see that special someone, or you see something in a random place that makes you smile, put there by the same person

 

You won't always find love in the obvious places, you may have to look at someone long and hard to see the love in them, but it is there

 

You could announce your love to the world

 

It's about doing things together, spending time having lots fun, and making memories and sharing your dreams

 

Love may or may not lead to marriage and children but if you are happy being together keep enjoying what you are doing

 

But, at the end of the day, love is a lovely cup of tea made by the one you care lots for when you get in from the cold, or if you've had a bad day, and they are there ready to listen and talk whenever you need them

This post is for a very special person, and I hope it helps to reassure them that love can be many things. There is no right or wrong when it comes to love. The word doesn't have a single definition, it's a feeling and no two people will ever have the exact same thoughts on what it means to them and that's ok.

Stop and think every now and then, ask yourself, what would it be like without that other person, do they make you smile and support you when you need it? It may not be love but don't let that person go.

This is such a thought provoking subject it's too much for one post and I will be coming back to it again.

A guest blogger

Hi, I'm Reggie

I'm the boy next door to Tiggi and I've taken over her blog for the day. Due to unforseen circumstances, Tiggi is not able to write on her blog at the moment, something to do with modern technology and internet, blah blah blah I lost interest to be perfectly honest.

Me and Tiggi have been neighbours since I was a kitty and I know her Sophie likes me lots and lots cos she's always stroking me when I'm lounging on her decking. I remember when I was really ickle I snuck into her living room via the front window which made her smile. I'm such a cutie pie, Farmer Jon wants to adopt me.

Sophie has recently planted her spring bulbs and in a couple of the little troughs are some mystery bulbs. Basically they are ones which Sophie planted last year but can't remember which are which, so I could be sat on daffodils, tulips or snowdrops.

Whatever they are I'm keeping them warm for her.

Sophie has also planted alliums, gerberas, and she's very excited about the pink daffodils that are new to the garden this year. I've told Tiggi she needs to write a post about the new garden design when she gets back online.

Well that's me done for the day, I'm going back over to my house for abit, if Tiggi doesn't fix her internet soon perhaps I'll post again, until then, keep curious and looking over those fences.

Shower Time on Folksy Friday

Whilst I was getting ready for my evening shower last night

I thought to myself, what a brilliant idea for my Folksy Friday post tomorrow...shower time! I posted on the forum to see what people have to offer in their shops at the moment and this is the lovely collection I am pleased to show you.

From Dabdash is a cool mood notebook. If you're happy you carry it sunny side out, if you're feeling a little blue carry it rainy cloud up

 

Next is a raindrop covered medium useful bag from Scottish Penguin. Perfect for makeup and other little bits and bobs you may have lying around.

As we are entering the chilly months I'm sure there will be lots of colds going round so this cheery Get Well Soon card from Ello Design will be perfect.

Silent Theatre has this amazing vintage A4 print which is enough to make anyone smile and day dream.

With another little bag/purse we have a cute business card holder from Green Grass, great for all the Christmas Craft Fairs you're attending this year to keep your cards neat and safe.

  

Lastly, Hattifer's Hand Sewn Gifts have this cute lavender scented umbrella hanger. Perfect to hang in your wardrobe but with the lovely sparkles I would want to hang it on my wardrobe door so I can get mesmerized by the sparkles

I hope you have enjoyed todays Folksy Friday and that I haven't tempted fate and caused it to rain near you!

Gooey Cheese centre

Last night was date night for my Sophie which meant my friend Farmer Jon came over for the evening. Farmer Jon is a lovely chap and gives me lots of cuddles...even if I don't want one, but fear not, I get my own back by having a nibble on his fingers until he gives up on the cuddle. He tells me off but I know he loves it so I don't pay his tellings off any attention.

My Sophie made her special cheese burgers for tea and I thought I would share with you how she makes them.

First of all, here are the ingrediants

Mince
Mozzarella cheese

Salsa

Crackers (or breadcrumbs)

Tomato Puree (or Tomato ketchup)

Any extra spices you might want to add

My Sophie used 500g of mince last night and it made 4 large burgers. She doesn't put them in burger buns which is why they are larger than the average burger. You can ofcourse use a smalled amount of mince or make smaller burgers to get more than 4.

Now, put about 6 crackers in a strong bag and roll with a rolling pin until they turn into fine crumbs. This is where you can replace the crackers with breadcrumbs.

   

Then you gotta put all the ingredients into a bowl (expect for the cheese, something special happens with the cheese) adding a couple of squirts of tomato puree or ketchup. If you want to spice things up abit you can add your spices now.

Mix, Mix, Mix until everything blends together and then chop the mozzarella cheese so you have a lump for each burger and some thinner strips of cheese.

Now you're ready to start putting your burgers together, get ready to squish and shape!

Split your mix up into however many burgers you are making and then split each burger pile into 2 halves.

Top Tip: To stop the mince sticking to your hands, rinse them in some water first but don't dry your hands.

With one half in your hand, squish the mince into a compact burger like shape and then make a cheese sixe dent in the middle. Pop one lump of cheese in, this makes the special gooey cheesey centre.

Then you put the other half of the mince on top and squish some more until the 2 halves have mooshed together and there is no gap for the cheese to ooze out of when cooking.

For extra cheesey delight you add the strips of cheese on the top of the burger and then cook for about 20min at 170.

Just going into the oven

 

An now ready to enjoy

I hope you enjoyed reading and seeing how My Sophie makes her burgers. Farmer Jon thinks they're yummy, I wouldn't know, my Sophie doesn't let me try any *sniff* *sniff*.

To Hexipuff or not to Hexipuff

That is the question my Sophie keeps asking me. I just sit there and look pretty hoping it will give her the answer to the ever important question.

Apparently, Hexipuffs are the "in" thing at the moment, everyone's doing them, but what are they I ask? From what I found out during my research today, Hexipuffs are little double sided knitted hexegons, knitted in the round and then stuffed with fluff to make the poofy.

They are then attached together to make a quilt called "The Beekeepers Quilt" (if you've done enough of the puffs).

I also saw someone use them to made a seat cushion

At the moment my Sophie doesn't know how to knit in the round on circular or DPNs so I need to continue my research to see if there is a crochet version. However, my Sophie is adament that she won't even think about a hexipuff until she has finished her Olympic Woolsack cushion. She is keen to learn how to knit in the round and make me some socks, I'm not convinced my paws need socks but my Sophie keeps telling me I'd look cute in them (I think I'm already as cute as a button).



A flawed plan

Yesterday morning my Sophie was abit cheeky and thought she would have a lie, ha! not on my watch. I promptly reminded her by a scratch at her door at 6.30am that she needs to get up and open the back door for me. There was a slight flaw in my plan though, one which I was not expecting...
I came home about 9am and went to sleep for a couple of hours whilst my Sophie got ready to go to her spinning group. What I was not expecting was at 11.45am my Sophie came and scooped me up and put me outside, then went to see her friends, the cheeky thing!
My Sophie took her little joy spinning wheel and some gorgeous fawn alpaca which she brought at fibre fest this year. When she came back she told me about her afternoon filled with cups of tea, lots of conversation and most shockingly a dog sitting on her lap!
She's getting on ok with the alpaca but I think she'll go back to sheep fibre when she's done enough for her project. I've had a look in her stash and there's some lovely green and yellow merino which I think will be perfect for a lacey scarf.

Folksy Friday

My Sophie was telling me about Folksy Friday the other day. Apparently all the lovely people on Folksy with blogs help promote each other by having a themed blog on a Friday and feature things they find on Folksy. Sounds easy enough I thought I would give it a go.
I decided to go back to the summer months when I used to sun bath in the garden. Do you remember when we could sit outside like this and just doze the day away?

Flowers are my inspiration for todays blog, I hope you like the selection I have chosen.

Sweet Pea are my Sophies favourite flower, the smell is gorgeous and I found the Oakwood Soaperie selling a couple of Sweet Pea fragranced items...yummy

  



Next up I've picked some beautiful Roses from Imogen's Imagination

  

For those who read my post the other day about felt, you would know that I would not be able to resist showing you these gorgeous flowers by Made by Lolly.

 

And lastly I could not reisist this handsome fella by Jessicas Jotters. He looks like my kinda fun loving fella

Hope you like my first Folksy Friday and that I've featured enough items to be able to call it a Folksy Friday blog. I think my Sophie will give me a yummy treat for picking such lovely items.