Melannen keeps stitching along in 2022

I am looking at my starting plans from last year.

I did not:
finish any socks (on the plus side, I didn't start any either!)
do any spinning to speak of, but I did get the wheel sort of set up?
make any pillows
finish the doilies
keep up with the mending

I did finish the tablet-woven belt! And make a whole other one!
And I did sort out all the embroidery floss, which was a pretty big project.

And I sewed a bunch of curtains, made a lot of progress on needlepoint, sewed a quinceanera dress, and did, as usual, other unexpected stuff too.

I'm not really sure what I'll be doing next year, because I may be spending a lot of time on a grand jury! And depending on whether it ends up making sense to take the train to the courthouse, and how much "hurry up and wait" there is, I may end up need mostly projects I can carry with me there.

But I definitely want:

--Finish up the lingering Christmas stuff so I can make distance gift-swap visits with friends (the other cross-stitch, the curtains, a few more hats and a frog, and a pair of wrist-warmers)
--Finish reorganizing my crafting space - it's been in kind of half-organized stasis for awhile
--Go through the two different stashes of in-progress, figure out what's there, and finish as much as I can of it
--Finish the needlepoint cushion cover
--Spin!!

I guess we'll see if my actual crafting matches that at all!

Excellent goals!

Good luck with the jury duty. I have some friends who work in the judicial system and it blew my mind when they told me that when juries go into deliberation, if the jury takes more than one day and require an overnight they are not allowed television, radios, phones, or books in the hotel room (at least in my province/country anyway). The idea being that they want absolutely no outside influence on the deliberations. I'll have to ask them whether a knitting or crochet pattern would be allowed...

I think around here that's only for certain trials where the judges have decided it's necessary. But yeah in the jury room itself, you're very limited.

I'm on a grand jury not a trial jury though - I think the US may be the only country still lugging those around. We'll be looking at preliminary evidence to decide if it's worth having a trial, not deciding on the trial itself, but the same grand jury sits weekly for over a year and looks at dozens of trials. I don't really know what it'll be like! People don't talk about grand juries as much as trial juries. Usually I think it's just a rubber stamp, but given when and where the court is, we might get some high-profile stuff. If it even happens - the initial jury intake has already been postponed a month for Covid.

Hope you get some of your plans done.

>2 MickyFine: - I can't believe you can't even have a book!

>3 melannen: Interesting. While I was familiar with the term grand jury from various pop culture things, I didn't know what they do specifically so thanks for explaining. :)

>4 dudes22: Only once you're in deliberation (which usually doesn't last more than a few days at most). You can have a book to read during breaks during the trial.

I finished the screaming bird! And made progress on the wristwarmers - hopefully I'll get most of the way through that tonight.

MickyFine, you also inspired me to start a temperature cross-stitch. I'm vaguely basing it on this bookshelf pattern, but I'm making it more realistic, because who has room for knicknacks on their bookshelves? I also decided I'm going to encode more information - books are all two stitches wide, color of the book is high temperature for the day, and the height of the book is the temperature range for the day (base height of 4 stitches, and each additional 5 deg F is another stitch of height.) That does mean I am getting some solid blocks of color, so I'm also adding decoration to the spines with backstitches for every 1/4" of rain-equivalent precipitation and weather warnings. That's working pretty well so far!

I'm really liking having a teeny tiny bit of crafting to do every day! 8-20 stitches is just the right number to feel like I can squeeze in no matter what.

>6 melannen: Oh, wow, that's a really cool idea! And I agree that having a little bit to do every day is nice - and having it be something you finish makes you feel like you've accomplished something (even if it's small).

>6 melannen: Oh cool. I hope you'll share you're progress every month so we can see how your bookshelf is growing. :)

>8 MickyFine: I hope you share your afghan too!

>9 melannen: You bet!

Here is the first month of my weather cross-stitch!



A lot of blues. Still just enough to do every night before bed even if I'm tired!

Maybe posting monthly on that will make me better at keeping up with this! I spent most of January finishing up the last Christmas gifts (and managed to get them delivered, while carefully masked.)

Finished screaming bird cross stitch!


Wrist-warmers! These were done with Red Heart "Heat Savers" yarn, which is an acrylic that is supposed to use the power of SCIENCE to turn sunlight into heat with extra efficiency and actively heating you. It has been cheap at the closeout store lately and I am weak to the power of SCIENCE so I bought a bunch and gave these to my friend to test for me. (I need to make something for myself now to test too.) They're tincanknits maize pattern, with some modifications because I like the finger parts extra long and also I'm bad at increasing in pattern.



Also, my other friend said all she wanted for Christmas was Frog, so I made her Frog, and she was delighted, and then her cat decided Frog belonged to her. (She also got a fleece hat that matched Frog.)




And while I was delivering gifts, I got a photo of the upholstery project from last year!



I am sort of between things right now, other than keeping up with the cross-stitch. (I have missed a couple days, but never more than two in a row). I have some machine sewing projects I still want to do, but I haven't been in a 'sit at the machine' mood lately. I also pulled the bargello I was working on before Christmas out again. And the mending is starting to pile up!

Jury duty is actually happening, finally, starting this Wednesday, so I'm trying to decide what to bring to that - I have a half-knit sock, a monochrome embroidery, and some handsewing for doll clothes that would all be portable enough in the WIPs basket, or I could start something new as my Jury Duty project...

sorry about double post, don't know how that happened!

Some great projects.

Wow, you've been busy! I love all your projects. And I have some of that SCIENCE! yarn, too - I'm working on a scarf out of it.

Your weather cross-stitch is lovely! I was definitely expecting more blues in my crochet blanket but we had a pretty warm month so it was completely different (as you've seen). We'll see what February brings!

I've seen those weather cross stitch patterns. I bookmarked a pattern at Etsy, but I'm not sure I really like the pattern overall because I don't like some of the objects on the shelves underneath. I know you can swap something out in some of the designs, but I don't know if this pattern has alternates available.

>16 thornton37814: I'm not using a pattern - I picked the colors myself from my leftover embroidery thread bag (I'm working in deg F, so I just picked 20 colors in a rainbow to give me a color for every 5 deg from 0-100). And then every book is two stitches wide, and the height of each book is 4 stitches + 1 stitch for every 5 deg temperature swing during the day. (Yesterday we had a 28 degree swing, so it was 4+5=9.) So I just look at yesterday's temps and then I know that day's pattern. And the lines are added for rain/snow/ice.

I didn't like any of the patterns that had all kinds of knicknacks and stuff added because who has space on their shelves for things other than books???

And I generally didn't like the ones that had preset sizes for the books because I've had too much training in map/chart/graph design, and it bothered me that the amount of any given color on the shelf would seem like it had meaning, but not actually have any meaning, because the size of the book was unrelated to the data. So I'm doing a version where it has meaning!

It's probably going to end up less decorative than the pre-charted patterns but it's going to be a better weather graph! :P

(I'm starting at the bottom shelf and working up - like I do when actually shelving - because I wasn't sure in advance how tall the shelves would need to be, that's going to depend on your region and your year.)

I haven't decided on what the shelf itself is going to look like yet, I figure I'll do that last after all the books are filled in.

>15 MickyFine: My February is very green so far, but so was the start of January and it got cold the rest of the month, so I guess I'll see! Potomac Phil saw his shadow this year, so he's predicting a cold February.

It's really making me pay attention to the weather, which is good for me, I think.

>14 scaifea: I need to figure out what to make with it for a good test! Keep us updated on your scarf. Maybe I'll do a hat. I usually tuck my scarf inside so I'm not sure it would get enough sunlight. A shawl for early spring maybe but that feels like too big a project for a test...

>13 dudes22: Thanks!

I have never seen the temperature cross stitch. Great idea. I did make two Granny square crochet blankets a few years ago; one for Minnesota and one for Texas.

>17 melannen: - Oh - Now I understand better how you're doing it. One month - one shelf. How did you decide on how big a piece of fabric to start with?

>20 dudes22: Oh I didn't. If you look at the picture again you can see how I started in the bottom corner but there's a huge uncut piece of canvas hanging off!

(I'm also really bad at judging how much waste to leave on the edges with embroidery.)

No months are going to be longer than January though, so I went ahead and cut it to width after I took the picture (hopefully I left enough on the sides for bookcase + borders.) I still haven't cut to height yet, but the tallest book this month was 9 stitches with one stitch whitespace and one stitch for the shelf that's 11 per month? So probably 150 will be enough but I'm not cutting it yet since I don't really know what the max height is going to be. ('largest temperature swing in a single day for your area' was surprisingly hard to google.)

I went through the mending basket(s) today! I have:

4 things that actually belonged in the ragbag
4 things that just need buttons or hook & eye replacements (the hard part here is finding the buttons.)
2 pairs of wool socks that need darns
5 things that just need a seam resewn real fast
2 things that need advanced stain removal
2 things that need patches
7 things that need either drawstrings or replacement elastic
2 things that need zipper work
1 thing I can't figure out why it was in the mending basket
10 things that should have been in the full-blown 'projects to start someday' bin instead of the mending basket.

So not that bad? My February goal might be to get through the stuff that's still in the mending.

>22 melannen: That reminds me that I need to get the zipper replaced in my academic regalia. I need to find someone that can do it. I don't do zippers!

I have done zippers, but I certainly don't enjoy it!

Ugh, I don’t like zippers and if I can get away with it, I delegate them to my mum who’s terrific at fixing them. My nephew (who seems to be half human, half beaver) had chewed off a large part of the top of his winter overalls and she managed to sew in a new zipper and fix the chewed bit so it looks brand new. I don’t know how she does it - I suspect magic is involved.

>25 PawsforThought: half human, half beaver LOL that is a hilarious description!!!

I love the temperature bookshelf idea! And I completely agree about not having space on bookshelves for anything other than books. I don't even have enough shelves!

Spinning is on my project list along with socks and sweaters, but I haven't decided in what form yet. I want to spin for a sweater, but then I get distracted by the various one-off braids of colorful loveliness.

February! We have a yellow day!



We had a couple days with a *40 deg F* temperature swing, so even with a few books shoved in on a slant, it's going to be a very tall shelf.

I also did a lot of cleaning up on the back tonight because it was getting dire :P

Otherwise: I am now officially on the jury (day 2 tomorrow!) so I will be making progress on the travel embroidery project. And I've done more on the flamework.

Only progress on the mending has been giving the things that need zipper work to my mother, because she volunteered and claims to like doing zippers. ?? Also I found my stash of lost buttons, so hopefully I can take an evening to just work through that part of the pile soon.

I finished up the last few things I wanted the sewing machine for - one last hat (for myself!), the curtains that match the upholstery, and the last few bits on the doll dress I made last fall as practice for the cat dress. Sewing machine is now put away and I shall not be pulling it back out for at least two months!!

>28 melannen: Ooh, the bookcase is looking very nice!

You've reminded me that I need to get started on mending and darning some things. My basket of "things to fix" is getting full.

>28 melannen: - That's coming along nicely.

>28 melannen: Gorgeous! I love the gradients so far and I'm impressed with your slanted books to make February as wide as January. I'd have completely forgotten to take that into account if I'd done this sans pattern. :)

>31 MickyFine: Well, I was planning to just slant the last two! But then I got those really tall books so I thought I'd try that to keep the shelf shorter (Which ended up not helping, because we had a third tall book after I ran out of extra space.)

>30 dudes22: Thanks! I got a bit behind at the end of this month but luckily it doesn't take lont to catch up.

>29 PawsforThought: Mine has overflowed....

>28 melannen: I may do a temperature chart next year, but I want to find a pattern I really like. I've seen a books pattern, but I'm not super crazy about some of the other shelf items. I've seen a drinks pattern, but that isn't really "me." I like the idea of a book pattern, but I'll need to come up with other things to go on the shelves. (For example, I don't want a skull there.)

>32 melannen: Mine would too if I actually put everything that needs fixing in there... ;)

You are definitely keeping busy (i don't envy your mending pile! )

>35 avaland: Doing my best!

Last weekend I tried to hang a shelf in the bathroom and managed to drill directly into a water pipe, so not a lot got done...

The mending pile has gotten larger rather than smaller. (Does anyone else have that experience where it seems like they'll go months without anything new to mend, and then three things in the same load of laundry?

I have been having time to stitch at jury dury! We've had a lot of 'hurry up and wait' time and since phones are supposed to be off, and it's often not long enough to get far in a book, the embroidery is working very well. Here's the project:

I actually inherited it partly-finished from one of the quilters at our church, who left the contents of her overstuffed sewing room to anyone at church who could use it. This came to me along with about two cubic feet of mixed embroidery floss (some of it dating to the 1930s!)

I realized eventually that probably the reason it was never finished is the person who started it realized they'd messed up early on - the holes in the knotwork were probably supposed to have been cut out (along with presumably the whole piece) *before* the buttonhole stitching was done. Although I guess there is a method to cut after? Anyway, I didn't really care because started finishing it mostly because I wanted enough practice with the stitches involved to get more confident (buttonhole, stem, French knots, couching). I am pretty much done the buttonhole and much better at it now! Working on the stem stitch. Not looking forward to all the French knots.

(Yes it needs ironed and washed badly but it's been floating in my UFOs collection on and off for years, so I'm saving that for last.)

The mystery is what it *is*. The circular part at the top is clearly meant to be a doily or wreath sort of thing, but what's the bottom, rectangular-ish part? Does anybody recognize that shape and know how I'm meant to finish it once the embroidery's done?

Beautiful pattern! I don't mind doing French knots but they are finicky so I totally understand dreading them.

No good guesses as to what it's supposed to be though.

I've never done a pattern with more than a couple at a time and I still have to look at instructions every time or there's like a 30% chance I will miss a step and they will just pull through, but I think if I get through this pattern I will have the muscle memory to get them down. That's the plan anyway!

>36 melannen: I've seen things sort of like this before, where the large piece sits on a table, with the smaller piece in place as a separate centrepiece on top. Then when food or anything else is to be placed on the table, the centre part can be taken away so that no damage is done to it. If the larger piece is damaged, you still have the lovely centre part! That would be from a long time ago.

I HATE FRENCH KNOTS! LOL!

>39 SassyLassy: Oh, that makes a lot of sense! So the centre of the rectangular piece should really never be visible, it's either covered by the circle or by a dish. You don't happen to know any terms for it that I could good for finishing ideas, do you?

I haven't really done much other crafts since the middle of the month other than the ongoing embroidery, but I got moving on finally getting myself my own helper like lesmel 's and getting my space ready. I've never picked out my own cat before, the others I've lived with have come to me, so I have been stressing out a lot!! What if I pick the wrong one???

Anyway, fingers crossed I have a fuzzy companion with me in a week or so!

Here's March's weather cross-stitch. Lots of greens and yellows in the middle of the month, then a turn back to blue (which probably didn't help with my general doldrums.) There was even one last purple day where it never got above freezing, which is pretty rare for March around here! Fingers crossed for a warmer April (no luck so far.) I'm starting to really doubt the rainfall data I'm using though - there are definitely days it rained where it doesn't show any and vice versa - but I think the general amounts are right, so I guess I'll stick with it.



(You can see I made a mistake and accidentally put March one row too low to fit a shelf, but I didn't notice until I was way too far along to unpick it all, so that one tall book in February will just have to stick out.)

A few FlossTubers showed off their temperature charts in this week's shows.

Oh, cool! Were any of them doing bookshelves?

Your project continues to look so excellent.

>43 melannen: Steph from Just Keep Stitchin' is doing the bookshelf. Her mom Pam is doing the alcoholic beverages. Someone was doing a tree, but I don't remember which FlossTuber it was.

>41 melannen: I haven't heard anyone call this set up by any particular name, it seems to be one of those things you just know: a cloth and a centrepiece.

>41 melannen: I like that February tall book - it makes it look like such a regular bookshelf! Liking the introduction of the yellows and the way the colours are all coming together.

I dug into the mending basket finally because a friend wanted an online crafting meet, and the pile was getting out of control. (Does anybody else notice that they'll go months with nothing that needs mending and then suddenly it seems like there's two things with holes in every load of laundry?)

So out of the mending pile and back into the laundry pile goes:
3 skirts
1 nightshirt
1 t-shirt
1 sweater
1 sweatshirt
1 jacket
1 shirt
1 dress
1 pair jeans
1 pair pajama pants

It's like a whole new wardrobe!

As usual I have pulled off all of the easy stuff. There's still most of a basket left, but now it's pretty much all darning, hems long enough I want to use the machine rather than hand-sew, and things where the lost button is gone forever so I'm going to have to either replace all the buttons or search the entire button collection for a match.

(And as usual, there was one thing I looked at and couldn't figure out why it was there, so it just went right back into circulation. And several things that got moved to the "sewing projects" box instead of the mending basket because I looked at them and decided it was too much for mending.)

>47 melannen: - Still - gives you a feeling of accomplishment.

Hmm. I don't seem to accumulate such a large? amount of mending. I think it's because, in retirement, I have avoided buttons, but also if some piece gets needs mending it usually gets demoted to "work clothes." I'm impressed with your diligence!

Well done on the mending! A button on my coat flew off right as I stepped into my corridor at work last week and it prompted me to look over loose buttons in a couple of other pieces of clothing too. I still have a much too large pile of things that need mending, though.

>48 dudes22: It does! And it's nice for the pile to actually fit in the basket now.

>49 avaland: Most of the stuff (other than buttons) is already in the 'lounge around the house' category, but most of that is also stuff that is very comfortable and loved, so I try to sew up rips and runs as soon as I see them to keep them wearable as long as I can. (What I actually do is put them on the mending pile as soon as I see it and leave them there for a year and a half, but I guess that also extends the lifespan!)

>50 PawsforThought: Buttons are at least fast to fix! If you can find the button. I hate how machine-sewn buttons basically pop off immediately as soon as the thread starts to pull.

>51 melannen: Yeah, machine-sewn ones are terrible. I've been contemplating having a button-a-thon for my wardrobe where I go through every piece of clothing I have with buttons and check if they need to be fixed (before they pop off).

Here's April's weather shelf! We got an orange! ... and then a whole lot more blue-green. I'd really like it if we could actually be in yellows for awhile, please!



(Also my new helper, Shelly! Doing her part contributing fiber art to every surface in the house, as you can see.)

Other than that I've mostly been plugging away at the mending and the other embroidery projects. The next part of the mending pile required a lot of drawstrings and laces, so I got out my lucet to make some laces, but I seem to be mostly making the resultant laces into cat toys instead of mending supplies.....

I also realized that with a lot of the mending cleared out, my basket of in-progress was looking empty, so I pulled out another tub of projects from under the bed. Joining the knitting, spinning and doll clothes already in there, I have added a white linen shift I was hand-sewing that mostly needs finishes (the worst part; I have no idea what to do about the collar); an attempt at a sweater in afghan crochet that stalled out when I realized I was probably going to run out of yarn; a linen handkerchief that needs one more lace crochet border so it can be a nice sheet for a very small toy ghost to wear; and a bear hand puppet that has been in my in-progress stash for over twenty-five years and has become a sort of mascot.

That leaves only the other entire tub of unfinished quilts left up there! And the sewing project tub which doesn't count.

Also just for fun, here's the list of fibercraft-related things I didn't need that I've added to LT so far this year:

Popular Netcraft
The tap-dancing lizard
The candlemaker's primer
Russian geometric design and ornament
How to dress an old-fashioned doll
5 vintage sewing patterns for loungewear
Charted seashell designs
The basket book
Zhongguo bu yi - Chinese art on cloths
Whimsical Hats

I also have a book on tie-dye on hold from the library, because this year's summer reading t-shirts are printed on plain white, and *nobody* liked that!

Also we found a couple of my grandmother's books on shellcraft and my grandfather's books on chair caning in the rafters of the laundry room with a bunch of woodworking magazines while looking for something else and added them to LT, but that doesn't count because they were already in the house!

The hat book reminds me of the character mittens my mother used to make for the grandkids. Not sure where the patterns went.

That one was a gift from one of my mom's friends - very cute but unfortunately they are nearly all very small kids' sizes so I'd have to adapt them a lot if I want to wear them.

>53 melannen: Nice to see your temperature chart coming along so nicely with such a lovely prop!

>53 melannen: What a gorgeous assistant you have! (And great work on the temperature book shelves - it's fun to see at least a bit of variation colour-wise.)

>53 melannen: - Looking good!

>51 melannen: (What I actually do is put them on the mending pile as soon as I see it and leave them there for a year and a half, but I guess that also extends the lifespan!)

That's just too funny! It does, however, give me a great response to those who look askance at my own piles.

>54 melannen: What a wonderful idiosyncratic list.

Pretty kitty!

>53 melannen: Loving the chart progress. And Shelly is adorable! Looks like she's tortoiseshell?

Did we lose you somewhere, Mel? Haven't heard from you for a while. Hope everything is okay in your world.

I'm still here! Just putting off moving photos to the computer. Coming soon!

>64 melannen: Glad to hear it :-)

Okay, I am finally in the same place as my photos, a keyboard and a functioning brain. :)

I got a bit behind on the cross-stitch in May, but I had two weeks off work in June to catch up, so here is May:





And there is June. Halfway there! (You can also see some of why I've been distracted in those photos.) I was in Alabama for the trip, so I spent awhile trying to decide if I wanted to do the temperature at home or the temperature where I was, but I finally decided to go with home, because Alabama would have been a solid block of boring dark red.

Other than that, my main crafting enthusiasm in May was tie-dye, because the Summer Reading Club shirts for Maryland libraries this year were white, and all of my co-workers looked at them and said, this will get messed up the minute I try to wear it at a program. And the theme is oceans. So we tie-dyed them. I had actually been saving up various things I wanted to try tie-dying, and I'd bought some dye a few years ago that was supposed to work better on synthetics, so I went full-out and checked out a copy of Tie-Dye: dye it, wear it, share it and read it all the way through. Because my previous experiences had just been like, kids' birthday parties, and it always came out looking muddy and terrible and faded quickly, so I wanted to actually see if I could get good designs by learning the right way. Here's the results of one pot of dye:



I also did another one at the work party using the cheap squeeze-bottle dyes they bought. I have not got photos of that one, but I'm wearing it right now. It's definitely more technicolor! I do like the bright multicolor patterns you get that way, but I think I enjoy the process of cooking up a potful one color at a time more, and it's definitely less messy and more economical with dye. The book also recommended a pre-soak in a solution of laundry soda, which I think helped a lot even with the squeeze-bottle dyes.

I now know Too Much about tie-dye though and every time someone comes by with something tie-dyed I'm analyzing the patterns and how it was done!

Other than that I have still been making laces to kill time and because I have a pair of combat boots that need REALLY LONG replacement laces. And I got to the point in the embroidered doily where I have to do All The French Knots, so I am putting that off very hard! I also pulled out an old half-finished sewing project on the trip - a hand-stitched linen shift based on medieval patterns - but I am at the point in that where all the long straight seams are done and I have to figure out the armscyes and the neckline finishing, which I don't want to do because I don't really know how to do it right. Maybe more on that later!

>66 melannen: Great update! Love the T-dye, those are fab!

The tie-dye shirts look great. I love that you did all the research to figure out the best way to dye them. Also, I didn't realize you were in MD. I live in Northern Virginia, so we're near-neighbors.

The shirts are great. I also do not like to do French knots.

Your bookshelves are looking great! And I too like the tie-dye.

I suspect your helper loves all those dangling flosses!

The temperature cross-stitch is looking great! I feel you on the helpful cat front. My cat Mr. Smee is a lap sitter and he often tries to sit on my blanket.

The tie-dye shirts also look really good.

Thanks, everyone! The tie-dye has faded some already (of course) but I still really like the looks, and I've already started collecting stuff up for another batch someday...

I've been working mostly on the mending pile lately, and (*fingers crossed*) it might even be under control after this weekend. Also, we finally got pictures of the cat in her silk ballgown, so look forward to those being shared soon!

Any updates on your temperature cross-stitching?

And the tie-dye looks great, and it must have been great fun. I’ve been thinking of using similar techniques to dye paper and eggs (the latter for Easter decor).

How are things going with the temperature project? Did you tackle the French knots?

Hi everyone! I got a bit behind on everything over the summer and then everything backed up, but I missed this place!

I did tackle the French knots, they went pretty fast once I got the hang of them. So that embroidery project is officially put aside until I figure out how I want to do the finishing.

I decided to do another daily cross-stitch stitch along in July, and that was too much, I guess, I got in a bit over my head! I think once the last of the 2022 temperature one is done, I'm done with stitchalongs for awhile - I miss being able to plan ahead.

Anyway, here's the current status of the temperature:


I started putting together the frame of the actual shelf, so hopefully it will look good when it's all done!

Did a lot of Christmas sewing too, and of course I forgot photos of some of it. The main thing was I got into my bag of old socks and made donuts for all the cats I know.



They have been a big hit (I still have a couple to deliver.)

My current goal is to get everything straightened up and reset for the new year and the last bits of last year's projects done. Soon, I hope!

I had a good long laugh about your "current status of the temperature" photo.

Your kitty doughnuts are genius! Is there anything in the center (besides a cat of course)?

My cats always help me a lot. I have one cat especially that will begin meowing non-stop until I pick him up and give him love and attention. I usually have to set aside the cross-stitch until he decides he's had enough. The other two will look jealously at the one who is a bit bolder, so then I have to pick them up or at least reach out and pet them if they aren't quite wanting to be picked up. One of the cats has been sitting on my project bag lately. I had to close one of them the other day as I noticed he was trying to eat the pattern. (He's my paper- and cardboard-shredder.) I'm a little more meticulous about making sure he can't get into anything now! If I leave a fiber out of a floss-away bag instead of stuffing it inside when I take a break, one of the cats will take it, and I may find it anywhere in the house. Let's just say that I'm trying to get better about that. It's hard to remember when I'm planning to come back soon though.

>77 lauralkeet: The plan was to put a bottom on them and have them be pretty standard cat beds! But I made the one in the photo first, and while I was thinking about the best way to attach a base, I put it on the bed just to see if it was the right size and she immediately got in and basically didn't leave it except when absolutely necessary for about a month! So I didn't bother figuring out a base. (The lack of a bottom means you can drop it over them or lift it off them, too, which is a delight.)

(If you're thinking about making some, I'll note that after about three months of pretty intense use, the red socks in that one are starting to get noticeably snaggy, so make sure you pick fairly densely knitted old socks.)

>78 thornton37814: I lived with a roommate's cat for awhile who would get into any sewing stuff left out, and she would eat thread, which could be really dangerous, so I had to learn to be very careful. It was very difficult for me with my love of leaving projects out (sometimes for years!) I am very lucky that Shelly generally leaves all kinds of clutter alone - other than sitting on it of course, she is a cat.