Cat notebook and finishing an old project

In spring I've made a couple of felt notebook covers with a picture of a calm black cat sitting next to a houseplant. These turned out to be a success, so this week I've made some more:

It was a pleasant experience to take them to our new local arts and crafts shop SewArty.

Thanks to «Coffee and crafts» mornings at Sew Arty I've also been able to get on with my other project, which has been neglected for years. It started as a crocheted flowery poncho for my daughter, who was, I think, 4 at that time. I modified the design for a shawl found on one of the Russian blogs; unfortunately, I cannot remember which one (it was 6 years ago), but recently I found the description on several other blogs. 

So I began to crochet the motifs. After about 20 I got really bored and stuffed the bag with the motifs and yarn somewhere out of sight, not to give me bad conscience. Then, two years ago, when we went on a driving holiday around Scotland, I took the bag with me and crocheted another 20 or so motifs. I can now recognize the motifs made there – soft, stretchy and relaxed in every aspect. 

Two months ago, the wait for the car to be serviced resulted in 5 more motifs. Finally this week I took what I had to «Coffee and crafts». Showing the pile of crocheted flowers to other people and talking about how it is going to look like when it's finished really got me inspired again (and added that healthy bit of pressure to be able to show the finished poncho in a week's time). 

2 1/2 still missing - that was yesterday!

I am now half way through joining the finished motifs together!  The ambitious goal is to finish the poncho this weekend. Pictures to follow!

A night owl's diary

One evening a couple of weeks ago I got such a strong itch in my hands to make something RIGHT NOW that I couldn't get to sleep. A picture of a city at night came to my mind, something one would see out of the window. And it was partly inspired by the recent Venus-Saturn display:   

Although I don't live an a city anymore, I thought I would combine my rural view from the window with the memories of the city: 

 This is what came out of it:

It is a cover for a diary or a journal, A5 size. I've got a stash of very nice hardcover lined notebooks with ribbon bookmarks, so this is what's inside the cover. Once I finish with this post (and, judging by the time, with the dinner for the family), I will list it in my Etsy shop!