Here Kitty Kitty!

I've finished my little amigurumi cat:

She took forever to sew up
(my sewing skills are rusty)
but I'm happy with how she's turned out.
You can't really tell from the photograph, but she has tabby stripes on her legs and tail.
I drew inspiration from Molly:

(I love Moll's marmalade coloured tum, but, sadly, I am not allowed to touch it under any circumstances whatsoever.)

As I mentioned in my last post, the crochet pattern can be found at Mutts.

I'm still on holiday, which is lovely.
I do so enjoy going slowly and quietly, taking pleasure out of simple things.

I've been baking for my family,
making yummy Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies:

(the recipe comes from Ravelry, so you'll need to be a member to follow the link)
and Apricot and Almond Crumble:

I only have a left over apricot to show as evidence as it was so delicious it was all eaten up before I got a chance to take a photograph ~ truly! Tangy, fresh apricots, a crumble topping with almonds and coconut, and dollops of cream was a winning combination. I will definitely make this again.

I've also been beading:

I'm often seen wearing red~orange necklaces ~ they go with my lipstick!

...and I've been gardening.
I found masses of these sweet flowers, growing wild, when I was out in Fremantle:

Aren't they lovely?
Their delicate appearance belies their hardiness ~ they were blooming, in the middle of scorching heat, in bone~dry sand.
I couldn't resist scooping one small plant out and taking it home:

and, so far, it's doing well.
I wonder what type of plant they are.

Shortly, I'll be wielding a paintbrush too, as I'm getting ready to paint my kitchen and living areas. I've chosen to paint everything white, with a few, pale butterscotch, French~washed feature walls thrown in.
Wish me luck!

Handmade Gifts and a Crocheted Creature

In my last post I said that I'd received some lovely, hand~made presents for Christmas. I've finally taken some photographs of them all and here they are.

I'll start off with pictures of a little colourful vase:


and a sweet terracotta dove:




These were both made by the mother of one of the little boys I worked with last year. Aren't they exquisite?

I'm very fond of the dove ... the little boy and I share a love of living things and we used to talk about the birds that came to visit our gardens. I told him about the fledgling doves that used to wait for their mother on the fence outside my kitchen window:




He chose the pottery dove especially for me.
(The thought so many children, and parents, put into the gifts that they give me, handmade or not, is really touching.)

I also received a crystal wreath from a colleague I work closely with:

The Christmas before last, she gave me this beaded angel:

It's really tiny ~ only half the height of my little finger. I love the delicacy of both the angel and the wreath.

Last, in my array of hand~made gifted goodness, is a button cuff that my dear friend Robbo bought for me:

It sits really comfortably on my wrist and I've been wearing it a lot.
I wish I knew the stories behind all of those buttons!

...and finally,
here's a picture of some crochet I've been working on,
my very first amigurumi:

Can you tell it's the beginnings of a cat?!
The pattern, and an image of a complete kitty, can be found in Mutts, over at etsy.
It's fiddly but fun to make. It crochets up quickly too; hopefully I'll have photographs of a finished feline to show the next time I post.

Have a wonderful week!