Guest cats!

Here are a couple of pictures of my friend Steve's boys, who heard a can opener.  His girl cat, Hettie, is too much of a lady to get in line with these guys.

Meanwhile, Jack the Cat had a strange and undignified accident.  Somehow, after he used the box, he managed to fling the heat register cover across the room.  (It belongs on the space above the box.)

We have no idea how he managed it, and he's refusing to say.

Turning a stupid mistake into a pretty design feature

Hot Patterns come not on tissue paper, but on good heavy paper so your pattern will last.  So, I traced out the size I wanted on Swedish pattern paper and started to cut out.  When I reached the front facing piece I mistook my own markings, and cut on the grain marking line instead of the cutting line. 

Many, many bad words were said before I realized it didn't have to be a disaster.  First of all, it's on an inside piece, which won't be seen very often, and secondly it was a chance to make my coat even prettier.

First I darned the cut neatly closed.

Then I spent a long time in Nancy's wonderful ribbon room deciding which ribbon would bring me the most hidden happiness.  Finally, I decided on this one, and stitched it neatly in place.  Now it is so very pretty!  And like no one else's in the world.

Annie returns to sewing!

This morning I cut out a jacket I'm going to call Silver Moon.  I'm using Hot Patterns 1030, Weekender Shine-On-You-Crazy Parka, shorter version.

And this is the just too gorgeous fabric:

It's from Marcy Tilton, and it's called Silver Moon.  It's a rather hefty cotton fabric, essentially pillow ticking, with a beautiful silver laminated on one side.

It's going to be a drop dead beautiful jacket.  Right?  But just in case I blow it, I'll just pull the post off the interwebs.

Jack the cat

Jack the bottom sniffer

Jack the mentalist

This really creeps me out.  He's exerting his mental powers to make me get up and feed him, and he's been sitting there for hours.  It's like "Now I'm watching Roger."  He's never noticed that Minkie doesn't bother and she gets fed anyway. 

Happy Halloween!

Here is my cat, Lucy Fur, who is always in a bad mood.  Especially at Halloween, the only time she's allowed out of the closet.

I never got around to getting out the Halloween decorations this year, just the crabby cat and the big bowl for candy.

Homage to Constance Contraire

Sis made these:

This is in response to Constance Contraire's poem "Why don't you leave?" found on page 56 of Trenton Lee Stewart's wonderful book "The Mysterious Benedict Society : Mr. Benedict's book of perplexing puzzles, elusive enigmas, and curious conundrums," published by Little, Brown and Company, 2011.

Wien, nur Wien!

Caryatids everywhere you turn.

Goethe, in the courtyard of the Hofburg.

Beautiful gold art nouveau building near the Naschmarkt.

Cafe and gift shop at the Naturhistorisches Museum.

Art nouveau shop front off Kärntnerstrasse.

Peterskirche , where we heard Mozart concert.

Homemade sauerkraut at the Naschmarkt.

Stephansdom.

Venus of Willensdorf in her temple at the Naturhistorisches Museum.

Sis's Venus of Willensdorf story (she was in kindergarten):

"It was clay day (my favorite day!) and all the other kids were making clay snakes and blobs. So unimaginative! I had seen Venus in your (or someone's) art history book and wanted to re-create her. Mrs. Myers was outraged. I remember trying to explain to her that the Venus was a significant Neanderthal fertility artifact but she wouldn't listen! I was sent home in ignominy."

This is what happens if you're a superbright child with several superbright older siblings.

Homemade vinegars at the Naschmarkt.