What shall I do with this yoga mat? (Other than make a nice bag for it.)
A bright bag for the yoga mat
When I recently signed up for some belly-dance workshops, I saw that I needed to bring a yoga mat with me. I don’t own a yoga mat. I deliberated on what to do for about a week.
Should I buy a yoga mat, which I may never use again?
It was a very silly question to ask, of course, because if a yoga mat was on the list of “things to bring,” obviously I needed to bring one. Also, I’m the sort who bruises easily, so taking my chances on the bare floor was not an option.
Luckily, I found a good mat at 1/2 price. I didn’t even have to look very hard. Joy! But it didn’t come with a bag, so I made one with the bright red Ikea fabric I bought a couple of months ago. At first I thought the fabric was just a little too sturdy for a yoga mat, but now that I’ve used it, I think it’s perfect. It’s a linen/cotton blend, and thick enough to upholster a chair, which was why I thought it may have been too much at first. But it turns out my yoga mat is a little on the heavy side, so a thinner fabric might suffer more wear and tear in a shorter period of time. (I make it sound like I’m going to be using this yoga mat a lot. Haha.)
Maybe I should try yoga classes and see how I like it. Not being a very flexible person, I’ve always dreaded any kind of stretching exercise. I know it will help me be a better dancer. And now that I have a nice, brand-new yoga mat….
Most times, I make something and I love the result, even if it’s a little (or a lot) imperfect. This time, I’m not so sure. It’s got a lot to do with the fabric, I know. It seemed like a great buy at the time … in the shop, I liked the burnished gold of the florals and the retro-ness of it all. Back home, I started finding fault with everything about it. And so it languished in the back of my cupboard.
Enter the a supercheap Ikea mini cushion. I figured my cat might like to have something to plonk down on. Out came the ill-favoured fabric. Thirty minutes later, the cat cushion was done. The elation of having finished another quick project blew over, and I realised I actually felt sort of ho-hum about it.
If I have the time, I’ll go in search of something that brings out whatever beauty I initially saw in this fabric — that’s probably the only way I’ll be able to make use of this eeky orange thing. Else it shall have to be relegated to some other menial task, like being made into apron ties or something.
Well, lesson is well learnt: one should be more careful in one’s fabric selections.
An apron changed my life
The 30-minute apron, useful for doggie meal times
A bit dramatic, I know, but this little apron has improved my life so much! For weeks now, I’ve been meaning to make an apron. I needed something I could wipe my hands on during doggie meal times, and a little pocket to keep the glucosamine tablets and biscuits that I feed them daily. I admit that I procrastinated because I couldn’t quite decide how I wanted it to turn out. In the end, I decided to keep it simple and just make something already.
Now I’m wondering why I didn’t hurry up and make one before this because it’s so useful. I love how I don’t have to run around looking for a towel to wipe my hands on anymore, or how I don’t have to make a second trip after they finish eating, to get the tablets/biscuits, etc.
I love it when I finish a quick project that not only improves my life, but also soothes the craft-starved soul.
Belling the cat
For panic-attack prevention, one needs a bell and cat collar
After a couple of panic attacks when I turned around for just a second and then couldn’t find Pomme, I decided a bell would be in order. I didn’t like any of the collars in the shops (why do they have to be soooo colourful and soooo expensive?) so I crocheted one with some string I had at home. I would have liked to include the snap-on fasteners that usually come with pet collars, but I didn’t want to wait anymore, so I came up with this Chinese-button-inspired fastener instead. I like that it doesn’t easily come undone, and yet fastens/unfastens quickly and easily — before my fiddling with the collar annoys the cat!
Testing Pomme with bell on a piece of string
Before I put on the crocheted collar, I wanted to see what she would do if I tied the bell to her. I used a piece of string … and she got straight to work. At first, she tried to lick the bell. Then the excess string behind her neck came into her view and so she tried pouncing on it. Failing both activities, she decided to chase her own tail instead.
She seems to me quite used to the bell now. Happily, my crocheted collar is holding up very well!
Honey & Daisy : sewing and other lovely things 