Welcome back to Planet Penny and another Handmade Monday post.  It’s also a catch up post, because last week I didn’t feel able to bring you up to date with the ‘Clovis the Cat Saga’ because I was dreading the outcome.  But I’m back now, with more crochet, more mice, and even more cats!

If you’ve not visited before, Clovis is my ‘foster’ cat, living with my mum and who suffered a nasty accident 10 days ago, you can find out more in this post.  Last weekend he was safely ensconced in his crate, and I thought I had the after-care sussed.  That was before the Break Out, when he hefted his 8 kilos plus frame out of the crate just as I was juggling with a used earth tray (YUK!) and got out outside!!

To cut a very long story and traumatic story short, he got out, panicked, ran under the neighbour’s car, got up inside the car while we searched elsewhere.  Reappeared several hours later when the neighbour started the car and belted down the garden on three legs and vanished into the undergrowth.  Hours of fruitless searching and calling later I gave up for the night, hoping he would creep in via the catflap under cover of darkness.  The next morning my mum went to look for him inside…no sign… By now it was raining, and I went back to search, dressed in waterproofs and wellies…convinced that he had displaced the pins, caused an infection, had soggy bandages,  was lying somewhere in pain and unable to move and it was all my fault…

The neighbour came out and suggested starting his car again, just to make sure he hadn’t gone back underneath, and, just on the off chance before he did, I went back inside  just to check Clovis wasn’t inside.  And there he was, on the bed in the spare room!!!  I couldn’t get near enough to check him over, so I shut him in with food, water and a tray and left him alone over night to recover his nerves, as the following day I had to catch him again and take him to the vet.

Against all the odds he was absolutely fine, I meanwhile have aged 10 years….

Tomorrow of course, I have to catch him again for the next vet visit, please wish me luck!

However, I have still fitted in some creativity, the first being a little ‘Granny’ project with the Planet Penny Cotton.  It’s fun making all the little bits and bobs with the rainbow colours, but I wanted to make something pretty for the home…

This small remnant of beautiful vintage Provençal Print was crying out to be a cushion back…

…and I was pretty pleased with the front too!

I can’t get away from pussy cats though, while my back was turned Henry decided to give it a quality control check!

…it passed!

And the crochet mice?

Well, after my last post about using different yarns and hooks to change the size of the mice on the Mouse Patterns, I had lots of comments via the Planet Penny Facebook Page about the cuteness of the teeny tiny mice made from Coton Perlé using the Planet Penny Mini Mice pattern.  I’ve raided my embroidery basket to make some pretty little crochet mouse hair slides…

and have now bought a mini rainbow selection to have a play with using this much finer crochet hook…

Very happy colours!

I hope you’ve had a slightly less exciting time where ever you have been over the last week.  I know I’ve given the impression with my photos lately that Norfolk has been having the summer no one else has had, but we’ve had our share of wet days too.  It’s St Swithin’s Day today, and this is supposed to happen…

‘St. Swithin’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain nae mair.’

So far around here it’s been dry, so fingers crossed!

I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour where you can find lots of lovely blogs to visit…

See you soon …x