Meet Our Cats

My husband, Chris, and I have two cats. Their names are Whiskey and Tango. I would totally go for a third (and fourth, etc.) but Chris has a rule about not becoming "crazy cat people" and there is a strictly enforced rule of having no more than two cats (at least for now... >.>).

Tango (left, gray) and Whiskey (right, B&W)

Whiskey is our food-loving sweetheart. She is timid and sweet, and is the perfect definition of a "scaredy-cat." She loves to bask in the sun. On weekend days when we are home, we leave the door open and with the sun streaming in, she is in pure bliss. She also loves to play, and her personality comes out even in "play-mode." She's very clearly just enjoying herself (no sign of predatory instinct whatsoever, see Tango below) and has the best pre-pounce butt-wiggle. Her favorite thing in the entire world is food. We only feed our cats dry kibble and, on occasion, dry treats, but Whiskey just LOVES food so much. That basically sums up our Whiskey: sun-bunny, food-motivated, sweet and timid.

Paw Pillow! 

Tango is our high-maintenance, tiny cat. At barely 6 pounds, she is able to climb on and around just about everything. She is super vocal and explorative and while we are in this transition period where boxes are in various stages of "being packed" and rearranged, she is loving exploring each individual box. Tango loves food as well, and makes sure that she gets her share when feeding time comes, despite Whiskey being 150% heavier. Tango also loves to play, but her method of playing is more vicious and instinctual and predatory. She attacks most string toys like they are a mouse or bird, going in for the kill with a quick and efficient swipe of her paws. There are two sides to Tango -- the playful, "always-in-motion" tiny kitten-like cat is her mode more than half the time. The other Tango is a sweet, adorable lap-cat. When she's in the mood, she is the most sweet, loving little lap cat. She will unceremoniously climb into your lap, sometimes pushing aside whatever is currently occupying your lap (i.e. laptop, book, iPad), step around in a few circles and then plop down. She then proceeds to look like the most adorable, angelic, peaceful kitty in all the world, deceiving you into believing that her high-maintenance side doesn't exist. She is a special, special kitty, our Tango.

MODE 1: Play! 

About to pounce!!!

MODE 2: Sleepytime. Z Z z....

Loving the sun!

What is a Woolie?!

I imagine that not everyone will be familiar with what a Woolie is, especially since it is a term that I sort of made up to describe them. Essentially, Woolies are little animals that I craft out of wool.

First off, here are some examples of Woolies that I've made to give you an idea of what they look like.

Penguin Familia

Gilbert the Frog

Bobo the Penguin

These were my first few attempts at making my little Woolie animals and I have to say that I think they're rather cute! The first set of three penguins and Gilbert the Frog were modeled off projects found in a book that I purchased of Amazon. This is the book: Woolbuddies: 20 Irresistibly Simple Needle Felting Projects

After even just those few Woolies, I was hooked! For Bobo, I sort of made him up myself. I usually pull up Google Images of animals that I want to try and create and just sort of free-hand it. For me, this type of craft is extremely relaxing and fun. Each animal usually takes me between 2-5 hours total, depending on the complexity. 

I start with just plain white wool and mold all the shapes using my felting needle. Once all the shapes are there, I start adding color to the pieces to form the distinct colors of the animal. Then I will attach the pieces together; i.e. head to body, limbs to body. Finally, the last touches are usually the face. Sometimes I just add eyes, often there is a beak or nose involved. I add what I think makes the animal as cute as possible. 

Anyway, I'll share more of the animals that I have made in the past. Usually, I give them away as gifts to friends and family, and sometimes I forget to take pictures before sending them off. This is the case with a few of my little Woolies and I must wait to receive pictures from their new friends before I can show it on this blog. Until next time! 

The Beginning

I've started a blog... This is a bit out of character for me. I'm usually the quiet observer, especially on the Internet. I will read blogs, watch YouTube content, Instagram, and generally spend a lot of time on the Internet, but the most that I will do is "Like" a video, photo, or comment. I enjoy not having much of myself on the Internet. In my opinion, there is too much negativity on the Internet as it is. A lot of comments that I see on the Internet are so nasty and mean or unnecessary and vapid. I have never felt the need to throw myself into that mix and express every single thought or feeling I've ever had on the Internet. In the same vein, I have not really created my own space on the Internet, because of my desire to keep my private life private.

All that being said, in recent months, I have felt a little... one-dimensional. I feel like all that I do is work. I am a research scientist, by the way, and I really enjoy the day-to-day life of conducting experiments to (hopefully) elucidate answers to scientific questions. The problem is that I feel a bit in a rut with the rest of my pursuits. I am and always have been a crafty person, but for the last 10 years or so, I have focused more on academic and professional pursuits. This year, I want to make more of an effort to indulge in my crafty side. I enjoy it a lot, and I am usually quite pleased with the results of my projects. To help keep me motivated and also diversify my creative side, I am starting this blog to be a space that I can use as "a good creative outlet" and a place for me to document my craft projects. I am hoping that having a space to display my projects will also motivate me to start, work on, and complete new and challenging projects.

Another major motivator of my starting this blog is that a lot of change is on the horizon for my husband (Chris), our two cats (Whiskey & Tango), and me. At the end of April, we are moving to Vienna, Austria.
The move is job related and we are very excited because:
1) it has been a long time coming;
2) it will be an adventure;
3) the job will be at least 6 years of job security, and finally
4) its Europe! and Vienna is centrally located to boot! So much exploring for us to do!

So along with my crafty projects, I will be documenting all the adventures of Chris and Tiffany (and Whiskey and Tango) as we make the journey and transition to living in Vienna.

I'm really excited for this space. I plan to keep it up at somewhat regular intervals and hopefully make it into somewhat of a time capsule of all things crafty and adventurous.