Tree of Life potholder

I am not sure where I got this pattern, probably Pinterest. I wasn't able to find it again to give credit. There are lots of Tree of Life patterns though. I am not crazy about the colors, so I will probably make it again down the road.

 

The Only Turkey I Made Today!

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, the day we celebrate turkey and food. I have made turkeys for years for family and friends. However today, it is just our son who came down from Fort Collins, his two dogs, Ken, and me. We will zoom with our other son and his partner, who live in LA later today. 

We couldn't see making a big turkey for the three of us, so I am making chicken, potatoes and a circus salad. Our son brought a pecan pie. No pumpkin. Not a big fan.

This turkey potholder is a free pattern, so use the link to download your own pattern. It was a fun pattern.

Free pattern on Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/potholder-turkey

Hibiscus potholder

Another potholder in the flower series. After the holidays, I plan to do a bunch of flower-related potholders. I have a lot of colorful yarns that does not work well with animals. I will use them up with flowers

Peacock not so much fun

 This peacock was actually not as much fun as many of the other designs. It was the tail. Even though it is a silhouette, it seemed to change yarn just about every other stitch. My eyes were crossing by the time I was done. It is cute though, but I doubt I will ever do it again.

Up, Up and Away

Okay, it is not exactly the southwest theme, but it would be if you have ever been to Albuquerque, New Mexico in October. It is the Balloon Festival and it is really a sight to see. Hundreds of hot air balloons in all sizes and shapes.

New Mexico is one of our favorite places to vacation, not only because it is close to Colorado, but also because there is so much to see and do. From Chaco Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns to the wonderful cities of Santa Fe and Taos, it is a wonderful paradise.

The background is again Premier Hipster, this time in Summer Splash. 

 

Howling in the Southwest with a Coyote

This picture does not do justice to this cute little coyote howling at the moon. The colors are more dramatic in real life. If I had a darker brown, it probably would have been better, but this is as dark as my stash had. There background is again Premier Hipster in Desert Sunset.

Here is Colorado, we have coyotes, and they are not as cute as the one in this potholder. It is why we need to keep our kitties and dogs in at night. Coyotes, as well as owls, bobcats, bears, and cougars. Our pets are just safer inside.

 

Keeping with the Southwest Theme

I have to admit this is one of my favorite patterns to make. It goes very fast because of the straight lines, but the true fun is the sunset colors. I use Premier Hipster cotton yarn and this color is even called Desert Sunset. Using a darker color for the contrast, it makes a very dramatic scene. 

There is another southwest theme potholder coming up in another couple of days so stay tuned.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/southwest-potholders

 

Sun Spiral Potholder

I love southwest designs, and this is one of my favorites. I have made this design several times and every time, I end up selling it or giving it away. Let's see how long this one lasts this time. Stay tuned for my cactus that I am working on now.

 

Corgi potholder -- longer than tall

I have a friend who loves corgis. She has had several throughout her life, so it is only fitting that she needs a potholder to match her baby. I think she actually had a corgi once named Baby, and one named Foxy. They were rescue corgis so they had those names before she got them so it was not her fault. All I remember about those is they barked a lot, but after that they were adorable. She only has one corgi now who is sweet and quieter.

Moon and Stars

 Sometimes my potholders don't turn out well, and this is one. I think it was that I used sport-weight cotton yarn instead of a heavier weight. Anyway, I still liked the moon and stars design, which I found on Pinterest. Not sure what I will do with it though.

Happy Sunflower Potholder

 I guess I have always been a simple girl. Instead of fancy clothes, give me jeans and a tee shirt. Instead of umbrella drinks, give me a beer. And instead of orchids and roses, give me a sunflower. It's not that I don't like those things, I just prefer the simpler things. So here are my cotton potholder of a sunflower. Even though summer is ending (yay!), I can still celebrate my sunflowers. 

Sayeth the Raven, Never More! Happy Halloween and Blessed Be!

 My friend Sue asked for a potholder adored with a Raven, one of my favorite designs, especially on Halloween. I think it may also be because she comes from Maryland so she's a Baltimore Ravens fan (after her alliance to the Denver Broncos). But this bird is pretty cool.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Back to one cat

Our cat Omi did not like our new kitten Harlee. It was getting so bad that we were afraid of severe injury of this precious little kitty. Although Omi bounded with Wookie for 8 years, apparently that was a one-cat relationship. After six weeks of keeping them separated with no softening, we made the sad and difficult decision to return Harlee to the shelter. I knew she would be adopted quickly whereas we couldn't give us our Omi. This potholder is a tribute to my Harlee.

So I have lost two kitties in less than two months. Wookie passed away and we had to give Harlee back. I have shed so many tears over kitties in this time. The good news is that Harlee was adopted within one hour of becoming available at the shelter, and she is safely at her new home. 

The other good news is that our sweet and affectionate Omi has returned. We were always surprised that Omi reacted so viciously to a kitten. We got another cat because we thought she missed Wookie. I think she did miss Wookie, but she didn't want to replace her. So Omi is now an only cat. She is very, very clingy now too. We love our Omi, but I miss my Harlee too. It is so easy to fall in love in only six weeks.

Wookie and Omi

Omi now alone

'Owl' Post One for Halloween

We have lots of owls here in Roxborough; in fact, we are warned to keep our cats and small dogs in at night because they are more in danger from owls than other predators such as coyotes or pumas. My kitties have always been indoor cats. 

But I love hearing the "Whoo Whoo" when the windows are open at night. We have had a very mild fall with temperatures only falling to the 40's at night, so we don't close the windows down until bedtime. With Halloween only a few days away, the owls seem to announce themselves even more so. 

Bears Slowly Disappearing for the Season

Bears are worth a potholder here in Roxborough Park, CO. This is also one of my most popular designs, often being sold with the moose design (See design of August 24, 2025). 

We live in the foothills of the Rockies, so wildlife is just a part of our lives. We have lots of deer, wild turkeys, foxes, raccoons, skunks, as well as numerous birds and squirrels. We even have some predators such bobcats (see July 10, 2025 blog), mountain lions and of course bears. Bears can be quite intrusive right now because they are preparing for hibernation. Since we back up to the mountains, I know they are hiding in the caves just a few hundred feet away from our back door.  

Just so you can see how close bears are to our house, this photo was taken from our living room. That is my husband Ken trying to take picture of a bear family with a deer carcass. The dot you see over his shoulder is the mama bear of the pictures below. This was taken in June a few years ago. We have had bears in our garage and on our deck as well. 

The mama bear had two cubs which probably were a year old because they were fairly large. This is why we make lots of noise when we go outside at night.

 

Lab potholder - Sometimes only one side works

See the face of this adorable Labrador? Head tilted, sad, pleading eyes, so cute. In double knitting, the opposite colors show on the other side, much like the negative of a photograph. In most cases, it appears good, but this is not one of those potholders. Even I have a hard time seeing the lab on the negative side of the potholder. I can see the nose. That's about it. I guess not all pictures work being reversed.

Lesson learned.

 

He Otter to be in Pictures!

 My son is obsessed with otters. So I made this potholder of his favorite wild animal. He immediately demanded I sell it to me. Like I am going to charge my son? I told him he only needed to buy me lunch the next time we came to visit him.

How much does he love this animal? When we were in West Yellowstone this past May, we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Center. He took this film of an otter playing in the stream. So cute!

Kitty and Yarn Potholder

Back to doing some potholders. This is a companion potholder to the one posted on July 20th. When I am not doing potholders, I am working on potholders, I am working on a long, blue, lace scarf. The problem is I don't really know when I need to stop. I find I am missing working on my Herding Cats scarf (September 5). I might have to make another.

 

Meet Harlequin, our new kitten!

It is time to meet Harlequin. She is a sweet, affectionate, loving, playful 6-month old kitten. We got her earlier this week. I have a story about my tortoiseshell Wookie and how she led to my new Tabby. I told the story of loving and losing Wookie on the August 27 post on this blog so you can see how special she was.

I like to believe that cats have supernatural abilities and Wookie seemed to have more than most kitties. A couple of weeks after she passed in my arms, she came to me in a dream. Her message was that it was time to move on and get another kitty. Our other kitty Omi was grieving and not eating much. And she told me the name of the new kitty was to be Harlequin. Where that name came from is a mystery. I hadn’t recently read it or heard it anyway, nor do I read romance novels (only mysteries; someone has to die in the first 30 pages or I don't want to read it). I told my husband Ken, and he said, “Good! Let’s go find her."

So meet Harlequin. When we saw her at the shelter, she reacted to us immediately as if she knew we were coming. We were not intending to get a kitten, but she grabbed Ken's arm as we walked by and then leaned into my hand as I patted her. I know she was sent by Wookie. So now, Wookie's work here is done but she will always be with me and never be forgotten.

Oh, and I was informed by Harlequin that she wants her nickname to be Harla, not Harley or Quinn. I guess the supernatural abilities will continue with Harla.

Now for some really weird signs that Harla was meant to come to our house. Back on June 23, I posted a small wall hanging of a tabby face that I knitted. At that time, Wookie wasn't sick and there was no hint that we would have a tabby in our house a couple of month later. Even the markings on the head are similar! Now you know why I believe cats are supernatural?

Here are some more pictures of our Harlequin aka Harla.