Crafts and cats

Hello again from Chilmark!

It’s a wonderfully sunny weekend here on Martha’s Vineyard.  It’s been raining and gray Monday through Friday, but seemingly as soon as Saturday hits, the weather clears and things are just B-E-A-UTIFUL!  :)

The rainy days actually make for better crafting days for me.  The cold damp always makes me stay indoors, make a cup of tea and get down to business, while the sunnier days like this see me outdoors, wandering around in the meadow, taking photos of all the new flowers and playing with the kittens, Charlie and Butters.  

Such talkative little ones!

I adopted these kittens from the Animal Shelter here on MV last fall and boy were they ADORABLE when I first got them.  They’ve matured into wonderful, friendly animals and Chilmark is the perfect place to allow them to explore safely.  We live relatively far back from the main road, and we’re surrounded with woodlands and grassy meadows for the cats to play in.  We began taking them outside about six weeks ago, during our unseasonably warm March and April.  The hot weather made for perfect opportunities to take Charlie and Butters out for some training sessions.

As you can see, they LOVE to be outside!  

Most of their day is spent rolling in the dirt, hunting for bumblebees and other small animals.

When they are inside though, its a different story! Butters likes to get into my crafting supplies and has devoured a full yard of pink organza ribbon before!  They are good little finders, as they discover beads and yarn scraps I didn't even know I had dropped, until I hear them skittering across the floor - the latest "cat toy" for Charlie.


I have to keep all of my things - especially my hemp and bamboo cord for jewellery making - well out of reach of these little scamps.  


They’re also suckers for playing with my yarn balls when I’m trying to crochet.  I like to let my yarn fall to the floor at my feet where I can just let the lead come naturally, rather than yanking at the skein to get some loose yarn every few stitches.  This is great for my crochet stitches, but also extremely tempting for little kitties.  


Every now and again I'll feel a tug on my work, look down and see one of the cats looking up at me, with their paws on the yarn. Their face seems to say, "WHAT? I didn't do anything!", but I've caught them red-handed!  


Or red-pawed, as it were :)



Do you all love animals, as well as crafting?  What sorts of trouble do your pets get into while you’re trying to be creative?