Cats knit?

This is a knitting project bag (or a lunch bag, I suppose) that I made out of some fabric I had printed through Spoonflower. This time, I had them print on cotton twill, and I really like how nice and sturdy the fabric is. Perfect for a bag.

This bag measures 7 inches wide and 7-1/2 inches tall and about 3 inches deep (at the bottom). I think it's perfect for a pair of socks on-the-go. The zipper keeps everything safe. The strap makes it easy to carry. And because a friend had a very near miss with one of her bags (briefly lost! :(  but then found! in a most unlikely place - a parking lot! - by her husband -The Hero!), this one comes with an ID card that fits into a pocket in the lining.

I'm putting this bag in the online auction that the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project is holding to benefit the Gananoque & District Humane Society. The auction runs from March 1st to 5th this year, and I'll be sure to share the link the Facebook page for the auction when it goes live.

Festive Cats in Santa Hats

Sometimes the best ideas sneak up on you. At least, they sneak up on ME. Several months ago, I was doodlin' around with my watercolour pencils, and came up with this image:

I thought it would make a good greeting card. And then, because the universe works in strange and magical ways, I learned how to make a truly repeating image for fabric design. I took that image to Spoonflower, and ended up with Festive Cats in Santa Hats fabric. So, what should I do with THAT, I wondered?

It seemed logical that I could make Christmas gift bags with it. Right? And, of course, I needed beads for the ends of the drawstrings. I searched through my stash, and found the perfect beads. These came all the way from Kenya. My niece was there a couple of years ago, volunteering at an orphanage as part of her final college requirement. She brought me several strings of these lovely locally-made beads. Perfect for my bags!

But, what to put inside the gift bags? Festive Cats in Santa Hats cookies, of course!

So, now I have 6 (SIX!) and only 6 gift bags of cookies in my freezer, where they are safe and sound until Christmas. I've decided to offer them up for sale, to fundraise for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. $20. ea.  I think they'd make good Secret Santa gifts.

The gift bag is re-useable. It comes with a matching gift card, and is filled with 6 individually wrapped Festive Cats in Santa Hats cookies.

Oh, and by the time it took to type this, 2 of them are already spoken for. :( Please leave me a comment, if you'd like one. I could mail them, but unfortunately, they'd cost about $15. for postage. :(

Cupcakes!

This is a cupcake time of year.  Last year, around this time, I baked cupcakes for our local shelter and the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. This year, the LFCP is holding a massive online auction in support of the Gananoque & District Humane Society. Our auction is meant to coincide with National Cupcake Day which is February 29th. The G&DHS is, in turn, planning its own Cupcake-themed fundraising event next month. They're calling their event, What's Up, Cupcake? Fun, eh?

That's a lot of cupcakes!! And Grandma Coco can't be left out! Here's a little something 'for the kiddies' (as Kevin McCallister would say)! (Click HERE to get a full-size version for colouring.)

Please go to the online auction site (It's a Facebook page.) and have a look at all the items on offer. And it would be great if you could share and spread the word! The site is open for viewing now, but the auction doesn't start until Thursday, February 25, 2016 at noon. You can place your bid between then and Thursday, March 3rd at 7 pm EST.

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?

Cardinal Cookies

Amanda and I don't think so. We're already baking cookies. Did you know cookies that are well wrapped can be safely stored in the freezer for months?? We haven't had any hang around that long, but we can attest that a few weeks in the freezer doesn't seem to hurt them one bit. The secret? Wrap them really well in an air-tight wrap, and put them in a sealed container. That means, we can get the jump on all our holiday baking.

Cats in the Christmas Tree!

My co-cookier, Amanda, had the brilliant idea that we should make some gift boxes of assorted cookies. We'll have a limited number of these gift boxes that we're offering for sale with all proceeds.....100% of the selling price... going to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. That's right, all the cookies and packaging are donated.

So, if you live nearby, and you'd like to support the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project AND pick up a present for your child's teacher or a co-worker, at the same time, just let us know in the comments. And, if you especially like any of the boxes in the photo, just tell us which number you prefer, and we can make that happen. Or, pre-order an assortment, and we'll surprise you. You can stash it in your freezer until you need it. These would also make good 'just in case' gifts to have on hand for when someone surprises you with a present, and you need something to reciprocate.

The red assortment boxes measure 5 inches x 7 inches, and they're sealed in cellophane, with a festive ribbon and gift tag. $10. ea.

This black box with the greeting card cookie measures 5 inches x 5 inches. Also sealed in cellophane, with a ribbon and a gift tag.  $5.

The cookies are all made from my grandmother's shortbread recipe, and decorated with royal icing.... and they're made with love! Just like she did.

Meowie Christmas!

Zippered Cat Pouches For Sale

About 6 inches wide x 4 inches tall x 1 1/2 inches deep (at the base). #'s 4, 6, 7, and 8 are already spoken for. These adorable cat pouches are $15. each (plus shipping) with all proceeds going to The Feral Cat Project. If there are any left (!), they'll be for sale at our booth at the Lyndhurst Turkey Fair on September 19th.

Gone, but not forgotten

These are the cat face cookies I made for the Canada Day sale. Calicos, of course.  I forgot to show them to you before the sale.

And now, it's too late, because they're all gone. They sold out REALLY fast. We had a great day (in spite of rain earlier in the day) and we made some money for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Yay! And not a moment too soon, because .....

Photo credit: Stephanie Etherington

I give you Willow (female brown tabby), Giles (male brown tabby) and Oz (male orange tabby), 3 of this season's newest. Available for adoption. Which one would you like?

Getting ready

Canada Day is only a few days away. The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project is going to take part in the big Canada Day event in Seeleys Bay (Ontario) this year. We'll have an information table with photos of all the cats in the Lyndhurst colony, and we'll have some crafts and baking to sell to try to raise money for the cause.

I'm busy making cookies and cupcakes. My friend Kate reminded me I needed Canada flags for the day, so here are some flags I'm making for the tops of cupcakes.

It's a little scary trying to pipe red maple leaves on white backgrounds, so I piped them on parchment paper. Once they were dry, I was able to place them on wet white icing. That allowed me to pipe a LOT of leaves and use the best ones on my flags. Oh, and FYI, these flags are tiny. Those are toothpicks!

To give you an idea of what we do, here's Jeff:

He was rescued by someone who saw him trying to cross the main street in Lyndhurst. Stephanie (the woman who heads up the group) took little Jeff to the vet and got him medicine for an eye infection, and the vet removed a tick (!) and treated him for fleas. All that costs money, and that is one of the reasons we are trying to raise funds. If you're in the area on Wednesday, please drop by and say, "Hello!"

There's a mouse in my house!

The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project is going to have a table at the Seeleys Bay Canada Day event this year. I thought I'd like to make some catnip mice to sell. I thought I'd just grab a pattern off the internet and make some down and dirty mice. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately) I couldn't find one I liked. So, I set out to draft my own.

Well, about half-way through, I was so overcome by the cuteness factor, that I knew, without a doubt, that I wanted to write this one up. So, now, if you can't be in Seeleys Bay on July 1st, you can still download your own copy of the Catnip Mouse Pattern from Craftsy and make your own.

Your cat (or somebody you love who loves a cat) will thank you!

All proceeds from the sale of the mice and the Catnip Mouse Pattern go directly to The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project, for the health and happiness of homeless and feral cats in Lyndhurst, Ontario, Canada.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” And, while he might not have been thinking of them, it's true of cats, too. Unfortunately.

Kitten season is soon to begin.

While I was messing around in my workroom this morning, I found a few pairs of orphan mittens. I'm thinking in honour of this, the first day of spring and kitten season, we might have a pop up sale with the money going to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. There will be vet bills ahead, as they work towards stabilizing the colony.

All mittens are 100% wool. Hand knit. From the top left, clockwise, we have the Embroidered Felt Flower Mittens, Things Are Looking Up Mittens, Pistachio Mittens (all for an adult hand) and the child-sized Pink Flower Mittens (to fit a child 4 - 6 years old). Posted prices include shipping.

Rock bottom prices! The sale will end on Monday, March 23 at midnight.

Please leave a comment if you'd like one of these pairs of mittens, and I'll give you the Paypal info.

I did a little tallying this morning, and was surprised to find that I had knit about 28 pairs of mittens in the past year. One idea leads to the next, and before you know it, you're up to your nose in mittens. Sort of. Many of these mittens have gone to The Warm Hands Network. Some have been sold to fundraise for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Some have gone to friends and family. As I said recently, I feel I'm done with mittens for a while ... at least until next fall. :)

And, for those who might be interested, here's a photo of one of the colony cats:

Photo courtesy of
The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project Website

His name is Andy, and from what I understand, he's been around for a while. He has what looks like, one crumpled ear. Word is that he's the father of many of the village cats. We met him in the village recently, and he let Mr. Coco pet him. Very sweet, and a handsome guy. (Andy, not Mr. Coco.....well, Mr. Coco is, too. You know what I mean.)

The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project made Andy a priority, and he was neutered late last year.

What a face!








Edited to add: The 2 pairs on the bottom have been sold. Thank you.
(The child's mittens and the Pishatchio Mittens) .....ugh, make that Pistachio Mittens. :)

Last mittens of the season

So, here we are mid-March, and it's feeling pretty spring-like here in the Kingdom. For the last year, as you know if you've been following along, I've been obsessed with mittens. Colourwork mittens, double-knitted mittens, appliquéd and embroidered mittens. Owl mittens, for heaven's sake. I don't think I've completely finished with mittens, but I feel a change coming on. Some new direction is calling. So, today, I offer these:

Cardinal mittens. Based on a photo taken by Michael Simmons, and used with permission.

Usually, if you follow this blog, you know that I'm all about the whimsy. Fun and silly. Childlike. But these are serious mittens. 100% wool. Lovely and warm. Soft. Sized for an adult hand. $40. includes shipping, and the money goes to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Leave a comment if you're interested. LFCP can accept payment by Paypal. Delivery by Canada Post anywhere in the world.

SOLD! So happy to report that the mittens are going to their new home, The feral cats of Lyndhurst will not go hungry tonight! :)

Things are lookin' up

I'm pretty sure I'm no longer contagious. It was a pretty bad bug, and I'm very glad to have survived it. My world stopped spinning for a few days, but the dust bunnies kept multiplying. I keep thinking I'll feel up to getting everything ship-shape once again (Ha! As if things are ever ship-shape in the Kingdom!), but so far that hasn't happened. I DID manage to complete my current mittens, titled (hopefully....as in, with hope) Things Are Lookin' Up. The kitty in my sketch really did look hopeful and sweet.

In wool, she looks kinda surly. As if she's looking up at something that doesn't please her. Or maybe something that smells bad. That's kitties fer ya. They're a law onto themselves.

The stripes (for those who are technically curious) are mock Latvian braids. They're actually applied as a surface technique after the knitting is done, by crocheting a line of stitches through the knitted fabric. Very fun.

These mittens are currently homeless. They would fit a small lady's hand. Available for a minimum donation of $30. to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. (We're coming up to Kitten Season, after all.) Shipping included via Canada Post anywhere in the world.

So exciting!

This morning, I was greeted by this:

Thank you to all of you who donated to The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project by downloading my Cassie Cupcake Wrapper .PDF from Craftsy. It's still only 2 bucks, and all proceeds go to caring for the homeless and feral cats of Lyndhurst.

Cassie Cupcakes

Remember when we were kids? When we were Brownies and Girl Guides? Every year we had to sell those cookies. Don't get me wrong. They were delicious cookies, but I was shy and selling stuff was really, really hard for me. Still is. So, what did I do, you ask? Well, I 'sold' them all to my parents. My dad had a terrible sweet tooth, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. He bought a couple of boxes of cookies. My duty was done. All's well that ends well. In fact, as in most good causes, you only really need EVERYONE to do a LITTLE bit. For example, if everyone in Canada donated a dollar to any good cause, it would add up to a big amount, and the world could change in a good way.

Next Monday, February 23, 2015, is National Cupcake Day. On that day, humane societies all over Canada are fundraising with cupcakes. You can visit their website if you'd like to host your own cupcake party.

I thought I'd do things a little differently. Quelle surprise! Since I don't know a lot of people who'd buy my cupcakes (which IS kinda surprising, because I'm a darned good cook!) I decided to revert to my usual childhood MO. I've baked a dozen chocolate cupcakes, and I'm selling them to Mr. Coco. Yup. That's right. You want a cupcake, buster? Where's yer toonie? ($2 per cupcake is the suggested donation, according to the Gananoque Humane Society.) We've decided to support the Gananoque Humane Society and the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project in equal measure.

But isn't there some way that we could all just toss a toonie in the hat? A toonie! It's nothin'. Not even the cost of a Starbucks coffee. So, I had another idea...

I've been seeing those really cute cupcake wrappers around the internet lately. They jazz up even the simplest cupcake. I thought Cassie cupcake wrappers would be fabulous. So, I made some. And here's the thing: If you'd like to make your own Cassie Cupcakes and help a great cause, you don't have to spend much. Just a toonie will make a difference. You'll find the Cassie Cupcake Wrapper template on Craftsy.  Print the .PDF on your home printer on heavy-weight card, and cut on the lines. Just like in kindergarten. Simple. All the proceeds will go to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. How else can you feel so good about yourself for only 2 bucks?

The world will be a better place. I promise.

Monkey Mitts

I like to think that even monkeys like to keep warm. And I'm sure they think about fashion, too.

These mittens fit me snugly, but my hands are small. My hand is 6 1/4 inches from tip of longest finger to the base where my wrist starts, and about 7 inches around. The ribbed cuff is 3 1/4 inches to keep the snow and cold out. They are 100% wool.

Since these mittens currently have no home, if anyone would like to adopt a pair of monkey mitts, they can be had for a minimum donation of, say, $25. (postage included) to The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Cheque or Paypal, just leave a comment, or email me directly at covillewood (at) gmail (dot) com , and we'll work out the details.

Edited Sunday, December 14, 2014...... The monkey mitts are SOLD. Glad to know they've found a new home, and the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project benefits, too.

Sweet nothings

Sometimes it's fun to just dash off a project. Something sweet. Not too time-consuming. Something bright and shiny. With BEADS!!

Photographed on a stump! How attractive. How arty. :)

Here's a pair of fingerless texting mittens. Perfect to keep in your pocket for cool days.


100% Alpaca. They're only $20 in the fundraising shop for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. If you're not local, I'm sure you can work something out to have them slipped in an envelope and mailed to you.