If you feel inspired by this simple recycle-DIY-project, I took some photos to illustrate the process :)
Following up on our cat house on the balcony I was busy these days with making cozy stuff for the inside. One easy project was to transform an old plastic litter box into a sleeping basket. I used left over yarn combined into a bulky thread which I crocheted to make a cover. Turned out very nice I think and based on how the cats were busy testing it, I think they liked it a lot :) If you feel inspired by this simple recycle-DIY-project, I took some photos to illustrate the process :)
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This is the story of our last family DIY project: a cat-house for our male Maine-Coon, who discovered that his hormones are functioning well and so he started to mark his territory in house. Bad idea :P that territory is already owned by me. So, to make everyone happy we decided to make his own outside (in our case that means on the balcony) space with his own house in it. We used cheap materials, I admit, we only need the house to survive a year or two and most of the effort went on making the boards water-proofed. By now the house is functional, although not yet finished. I still need to crochet him some nice warm baskets, caves, other stuff to crawl in :) Yes, a cat is inside and one on top :P So two happy cats in one go ^^ But, joke aside, this is my new cat cave design. Again I used left over yarn combined in a bulky thread and a size 12 hook. I also used a plastic hoop to make the entrance. The cave is made out of two circular pieces that are then sewed together, allowing for an entrance. I crocheted around the plastic hoop to secure it. And that was it, easy job :) This one also goes to Romania but I will make sure to make a similar one for my cats also, they really like it ^^ Some time ago I posted a brief tutorial on how to transfer a drawing on fabric for needlepoint work. I said then that it was part of a secret project I was working on :) Well, the secret can be revealed! Yesterday my mother in law celebrated her birthday and the fact that she participate the 4th time to the 4Daagse marches. For those who do not know what 4Daagse maarches are, check this link . In my opinion is a kind of insanity and the same time a remarkable deed - walking 30 km every day for 4 days like my mother in law did is not something that I could do! To celebrate those 2 events I made her a special present: an IPad sleeve specially designed for her :) I used crochet, tatting (for the first time actually), needlepoint and I sew the pieces by hand. The design theme for one side was a "To do list" for her with two goals: finish the 4daagse 2013 (which I checked 'done' since yesterday was the last day of it) and holiday in Romania (which I left un-checked because that is still to come). And on the other side I draw a whimsical picture of her dressed in the colors of the 4Daagse marches - green and orange :) The crocheted flowers are just random patterns I found on the internet and that I saved on my Pinterest boards. I save there quite a lot of free patterns and diagrams, so if you are looking for inspiration it is a good place to start :) I also tatted a butterfly (not very good I must say, but it was my first try at tatting). The pattern is from a free video tutorial , but the catch is that this video tutorial is in Italian. But, if you understand the language and you want to learn tatting, this is a very good way to do it, especially that the butterfly tutorial is from a series that start with the basics and goes on demonstrating a lot of interesting tatting projects. Enjoy watching the pictures I made with the "making of" and let me know what you think of my little project. I am curious to know what you think of it :) I just love making things for a good cause :) Just that I get bored easily and then I need to invent something new. The same happened with the cat nests I was doing - I just needed to do something else for a bit of variation. So I made a cat cave! For those cats out there who just like to dig and hide in the darkness :))) We have one like this, if she finds a blanket she will do her best to crawl under and take a nap :)) Ok, so here is how I did it. Again, I used left-over yarn, combined it in a bulky thread and crocheted using a size 12 crochet hook. I also used a hoop made from a flexible plastic rod that I rescued from an old window cover. I started the beginning row by crocheting single crochet stitches around the hoop. Slip stitch to close the circle and then worked in circles using double crochet only. Because the hoop was a bit large I decreased from time to time (3 stitches every 2 or 3 rows). When I was satisfied with the length of the cave I stopped and left the end of the cave open. Then I asked my cats to test it :P We are going to Romania for holiday and for this occasion I wanted to do a little bit more for the two animal organizations that I support. What I can do best is crochet so it was an easy and obvious choice for me to start working on some cats' (and in the next weeks also dogs) nests. I bought online a big stash of left-over yarn and by combining several thinner threads I created a stronger and bulkier thread that I crocheted with a size 10 hook. I also had some yarn made out of old sheets and I decided to use that also. The result: by now 4 cat' nests :) The simple version is worked just like a basket. In case you want to make a cozy nest yourself there are plenty free patterns online that can be used. If you need help with finding one send me a message and I will try to help :) For the more complicated version I used a flexible plastic rod that I saved from a window cover. I bent the rod in a circle and used it to created an entrance to the nest to create a cozy effect. I crocheted around the rod and because the thread was so bulky it maintained shape and did not collapsed. If you want to make something similar I do not have a written tutorial but I did make some photos to illustrate what I did. And in case of getting stuck send me a message I will do my best to help you. For one of my (very secret at this moment) projects that I am working on I had to transfer a drawing on fabric. I never did this before so I had to search a while on the internet until I found some solutions. I chose one solution - using the sun - and it was amazingly fun and easy to do. So I thought to share it with you, you never know when it could come in handy :) Ok, so, you need a piece of paper, fabric, a transfer pen (that goes away when washed) and some duct tape. Skills to draw are optional, because you can always find free drawing on the internet that you can print . I had a very clear idea in my mind what I want to draw so i did it myself. Next I searched one window in my house where the sun was shinning and I taped the paper with my "wonderful" drawing on the glass. My fabric (which is light colored, otherwise this method will not working) was then taped on top of the paper. The sun will make the drawing visible through the fabric and all you have to do is use the transfer pen to draw the shapes on the fabric. Taaadaaa!!! It is that easy! :) The first project using one of the items I got from the flea market: a lace brooch with an extra decoration element given by a vintage button. I made this brooch as a present for a friend. I loved working on it, it is so rewarding to do something for a friend. I also like the idea of using old items in this way, to create new things. I am curious what you think about it, if you find it as pretty as I do :) PS: and if you want to do one just like this I wrote a short tutorial. You know where you can find it :) Happy crocheting!
Renji - just checking the perimeter...
Finally it is done! Our new kitchen curtain. The old one was terrible - old and full with dust and hair. From the cats. For some reason cats like to stare out the window, and our cats are no exception. To maintain the problem (lets face it, is not that I can do anything to stop the cats doing what they want) I made this slightly shorter curtain in three colors: brown, green and orange. The pattern used is very easy (I already posted the diagram here), works very fast, watching television is not a problem :) To complete the curtain for this window measuring 1m20 cm wide I needed to make 4 double and 4 single pieces each measuring 1m10 cm in length which I hand sew,alternating the colors. To hang the curtain I used the hook-and-loop fastener from the old curtain. To be able to sew the fabric strip to the curtain I crocheted an edge by using double crochet stitch. Washing was the next step - luckily with the weather it was dry and ready to hang in a couple of hours. The end :) Oh no, there is something else: I also used a simple garland I had around to make the window even more cheerful. I m not very happy with the result - that garland needs some color accents. So... to be continued... PS: Sorry for the quality of the pictures - the sun was shinning that side of the house. Just an update and a diagram that I use for one of my projects. A very simple pattern only using triple crochet stitch and chain. I wrote down the diagram for you, I hope it is clear enough but if not, let me know. And then I made some photos of how the pattern looks in three colors - the electric orange is so bright, I love it! |