Pink Lemon Twist

Logan

2012-02-03T09:37:00.000-05:00

I decided to blog today since Mommy is busy getting the Maximus kitty off the kitchen counters. He keeps jumping up there and she keeps scooping him up and dumping him on the floor. I don't know why he goes up there, maybe there's bacon up there that I've missed in my own many counter surfing expeditions. (Never once found bacon, got a ham sandwich once, but no bacon randomly laying on the counter.) Anyway, since Mommy can't come to the blog, the least I can do is help out.

She's been doing the yarn things around here when that kitty behaves himself. She did something the other day with lots of different yarns and water and it took all day and it was just crazy but then she hung up the yarn and it made drippy rain drops in the laundry room. I just asked and she said she was washing the yarn she showed last Friday to make sure the colors wouldn't run. Also she says she got in the new red color, Tart, and will wash it this weekend. I didn't know colors could run. I've never seen them when I go for walkies, only people and sometimes dogs running - oh, and bunnies, they run.

Max can run, actually he runs really fast, usually after he taunts me rudely. Also he runs at me and jumps off me to change direction. If I wasn't so busy chasing him, I might get offended that he uses me for a bumper. My friend Barclay came over and stayed with us for a few days (Mommy said it was a doggy sleepover) and he had never met Max. Barclay is an older dog and I have to be careful not to sneak up on him because Mommy says he's deaf and he has something called the arthritis which makes him move very slowly. I tried to be a nice friend to Barclay, but Max was not very nice. He jumped off the kitchen table onto Barclay's head! Barclay made squeaky noises when that happened. I tried to protect Barclay from the crazy kitty, but he scares me too. Mommy calls Max a Little Wrecking Ball. Know what she calls me? Her Sweet Marshmallow of Love.

Have a great weekend, I'm going to go get some cuddle hugs!

Jaali

2012-02-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a growing day for Max so I didn't have to wear him out! That's what I call it when he spends a day sleeping more than normal, but seems otherwise fine, I figure he's growing. He could just be plotting, but I'm more comfortable with the idea of him spending the day growing. So anyway, since he was curled up asleep most of the day, I got my cast on done AND I worked four rows! Four Rows! These are the long rows of course, so four rows is impressive - be impressed.

Today is not a growing day: as you can see by photo, I had a little assistant this morning (the white smudge at the lower left corner is Maximus). Actually, Logan was also right there to help out (he loves blog-photo-time in the mornings), but as a more experienced assistant, he stayed out of the camera frame and waited politely. Max doesn't do polite. Max just barges in on whatever he wants and then he picks it up and walks off with it. This morning he wanted Jaali. Looks like he's going to be helpful this month too!

Oh, I almost forgot, Happy Groundhog Day! This is also the anniversary of when I started blogging - seven years ago! That's a lot of rambling about yarn and fur balls isn't it?

February Knit Something of the Month

2012-02-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

Since there are only 29 days this month, I figured I'd better hit the ground running! This month's project will be the Jaali shawl. I'll be using some yarn left over from this project, so I'm actually doing some stash busting. The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha in Rosebud and I have enough to do a large sized Jaali (which means I'd better get knitting). This shawl is knit from the lower/long edge up towards the neck, which means the rows will be getting shorter as I go. Of course it also means a HUGE cast on. I'll be exercising Max before I start and using lots of markers to help me count, but I'm hoping to at least get through the cast on today.

January Knit Something of the Month

2012-01-31T09:36:00.001-05:00

I've completely finished my January Knit Something of the Month project! All knitted, all ends woven in, not kidnapped (glove napped?) by Max! These are Glacier Gloves but instead of doing full fingers, I made them fingerless. I made the smalls and I used The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Cornflower to make them. I only used one skein and I did have some left over. I knit them on US 0's (2.0 mm) to make them a little smaller than the smallest size and they fit perfectly. Other than not knitting the full fingers, I didn't make any changes to the pattern as it was written, and while there's a lot going on in the charts, if you've done cables and are comfortable with charts, it's not a hard pattern to knit.

Good thing I've finished since February starts tomorrow!

Glacier, Quality Inspection

2012-01-30T09:11:00.001-05:00

I'm through with the knitting portion of the Glacier gloves and they're getting their inspection. Apparently they passed because Logan tried to walk off with one right after I took this picture. The finger things amuse him for some reason. Today's job will be to weave in all those ends. There are more ends that you can't see that are inside the gloves so I'll be weaving in ends for a while, I think. It feels good to have them done though. I'm going to try to get Mickael or Caleb to take tomorrow's picture, so you can see them on, but they aren't always cooperative. If only Logan could take pictures!

Knitter's Crayon Box

2012-01-27T09:31:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd give you a break from Glacier (next time you see them, they'll be done) and show you something new. Actually the yarn for something new, or most of the yarn. This is for a Christmas gift, but I'm not going to tell you exactly what the project is yet. All of the yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh DK which is a multi-plied superwash merino (not to be confused with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK, which is a singles yarn of superwash merino). I've got to get one more color that The Loopy Ewe is out of, but I've contacted someone on Ravelry who has the color in their stash and is looking to sell it. From the top, starting with the black and going clockwise the colors are:

Cloak
Mare
Ink
Fathom
Betty Draper's Blues
Norway Spruce
Moorland
Jade
Nutmeg
French Grey
Moccasin
Sequoia
Oxblood

The color I'm going to add is Tart which is a dark, true red. It would sit between the Sequoia and Oxblood in the wheel, if I were working things in order. When I was picking colors, I was looking for colors you might find in an antique Oriental carpet. Maybe the kind that flies! Before I start working with all these colors, I'm going to wash all the skeins, just to make sure none of the colors are going to bleed on any of the other colors. This will take some time to get everything washed and dried, but I'll be sure to blog it once I actually get started on this project. For now, I'm just loving all these rich, deep colors.

Have a great weekend!

Glacier

2012-01-26T09:32:00.000-05:00

I've gotten to the point where I work fingers! I'm now very hopeful that I'll get these finished by the end of the month. (Fingers are quick, and the thumbs shouldn't take too long, but there are lots of strings to weave in at the end!) Also, I'm still on my first ball of yarn (The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Cornflower) and I might be able to finish these with one ball. I'm working the small size and I'm working at a slightly smaller gauge than the pattern calls for because the small size was a little bigger than I needed, so that might be why I've got so much yarn left.

I don't think I've shown you the palm of these yet, because most of the twisted, traveling stitch action is on the back of the hand. The palms are pretty too and the design comes up over the heel of the hand, onto your palm a little. It's really a pretty design and the thumb gusset is increased within the stitch pattern itself, almost like it grew there. (Please disregard the scratches in the floor, big dogs and hardwood aren't the best combination, particularly when the big dog in question believes he is a direct descendant of Seabiscuit.)

More Glacier

2012-01-25T09:20:00.001-05:00

I think I forgot to mention yesterday that this will be all I'm working on until both of my Glacier fingerless gloves are finished. Just to warn you.

I got a little farther on them yesterday. I'm now to the point where the palms are just stockinette so that is making the rounds quicker to knit. Once I take the thumb stitches off the needle and put them on a holder, things should move even faster. I'm less than 10 rounds away from taking off the thumb stitches.

Just in case you've never knit anything with thumbs, once you get to the point where the stitches that will be your thumb reach the top of the webbing on your hand between your thumb and hand, you take the stitches off and put them on a stitch holder or waste yarn and then continue knitting the hand in the round. Then later you can pick up the thumb stitches and knit a tiny tube for your thumb. Since most of the knitted thumbs I've made increase from the wrist to the thumb for a thumb gusset, the rounds working up to the point where the thumb stitches come off are longer than the rest of the glove or mitten. It always feels like I'm on the home stretch once I put these stitches on waste yarn. Also, for some reason, I always do both thumbs together at the end. Fingers or fingerlets I'll do as I finish each glove, but thumbs are last and together.

More Glacier tomorrow! (Try to control yourselves.)

Glacier

2012-01-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning ended up being one of those crazy mornings, and when crazy happens on a Monday, it's REALLY crazy. Fortunately, we're reasonably back on track this morning so I have a chance to update you on my Glacier progress. I'm about 2/3 of the way from the beginning of the glove to the point where I work the fingers, so I'm hopeful that I will get these done in time (the deadline being next Tuesday at midnight). I am also still working on the left glove - didn't change over to a right glove partway through - yet. I'm hoping the thumb will stop me from doing that at this point.

Max has been distracted by Caleb's Legos the last few evenings so I've been able to get some work done on my knitting. Who knew kittens liked Legos this much?

Maximus Friday

2012-01-20T10:44:00.000-05:00

The Mommy gave me the blog today, although isn't really my blog anyway? Everything else in this house is mine, I think the blog should be too. (I'm still training the Mommy and Daddy that everything is mine, they aren't easily trainable.) Sometimes Mommy plays with string (mine) and I try to help. Often she uses sharp sticks with the string and I take them from her so she doesn't poke herself. It's best when Mommy packs the string and sticks into a bag, then I can just grab the bag and run off. My biggest problem is that Mommy can get under the bed where I hide things. Then she takes back the things I'm protecting her from. Mommy is also fun to snuggle with. She'll let me sit in her lap a lot and if it's cold, she lets me climb in her jacket and wraps it around me. Sometimes I just climb down the sleeve and sleep there if she's wearing one of Daddy's big jackets. Daddy is proving to be more easy to teach than Mommy and I've found that if I jump on him, he'll carry me around on his shoulder. If he does a good job, I give him a tail moustache as a reward. The Daddy is easily amused. He's also fun to purr at in the middle of the night. He'll pet me back to sleep and I'll just purr and purr and purr at him.

I also have a boy who is very fun to play with. He has lots of fun toys that fit in my mouth and I can carry them around. We also play a game together. The Mommy and Daddy think I should go to my bedroom when they leave the house (it's not bad, it's pretty big and I have a king size bed in there that I share with the Mommy and Daddy). Sometimes the Mommy asks the Caleb boy to bring me downstairs to the bedroom. That's when we play our game. Caleb calls me and tries to catch me and I bounce away, just out of reach. Then I sit down and wait until the Caleb gets close again and bounce away again. We have lots of fun with that game. I have other games I play with Logan dog. He and I love to chase each other and sometimes I can circle around and sneak up behind him. Then I bounce off of him and take off in another directions. He loves to run, but he doesn't corner as well as I do. One of my favorite things to do with the Logan is when Mommy or Daddy put him into a "stay", then I run up to him, puff up really big and hop sideways at him a couple of times. Then I tear off at top speed and he HAS to chase me, I mean it's a moral imperative that a dog chase a cat after we say that to them (Mommy says I can't give an exact translation because this is a family blog). Then the Logan gets in trouble. I usually take a bath then and wait until he's forgotten he's supposed to be staying before starting it all over again. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have such a fun family. I love weekends when everyone is around all the time though. I hope you have a good weekend!

Halfway There

2012-01-19T09:19:00.001-05:00

I've finished the first Glacier fingerless glove (minus the thumb - those I do together at the end, and a bunch of yarn ends) and started the second one! I did start a left glove (the first was a right glove) so assuming I don't get confused, I should end up with a left glove. I don't take this for granted, I know it will take constant vigilance on my part to end up with a left glove and not a weird, hybrid left/right glove. I only had to remove Max from the yarn seven times last night, and only removed him from the needles four times. This is an improvement, but the round where you join the cast on edge to the working edge to make the hem still took over an hour. (I zipped right through that round on the first glove.) At this point, I think I might get these done before the month is out. At least there's a chance. I haven't run this by Max yet, he might have other plans.

Fuzzy Daisies

2012-01-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

I've gotten some more done on my Horai scarf. Remember how I mentioned what an easy pattern it is to work? It would be twice this size if I didn't keep making stupid mistakes! I get to the end of a row, find out that I'm off somewhere, and have to tink back. (So. Much. Fun. With. Mohair.) I've got to figure out how to read the pattern as I go before I drive myself crazy. Otherwise, it's really an easy pattern!

Actually, I find that I make more dumb mistakes on "easy" patterns because I don't pay attention as well as I do on the complex ones. I'm not sure how smart that makes me.

You'll be happy to know that Max is no longer dabbling in lesser crimes, he's graduated to federal crime now - Grand Theft Auto to be exact. Last night, after Caleb was tucked into bed and fast asleep, Mickael and I were getting ready for bed, Logan had been out for the last time and everything was locked up. All of a sudden Maximus came running into the room, carrying something. Sure enough, he'd been in Caleb's play room again and what had he brought downstairs? A Matchbox car. Not just any Matchbox car, it had flames on it, so it's not like he's stealing cars that blend in either - he's going for the flashy, high speed kind of cars. Yep, Max lives his life a quarter mile at a time. (Bonus points for knowing what movie that dumb line came from!)

Glacier

2012-01-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

I've actually made some progress on my first Glacier mitt! I'm ready to start the little finger things now. (They're not full fingers, they're just little finger things.) I'm hoping they don't take too long, but since I'm adapting the pattern (which is for full glove fingers), I'll have to take notes so I can do them the same on the left mitt.

For all the hints and tips you gave me on my last Glacier post, the panicky one because Max won't leave my project along, thank you. Max is a unique kitten and has his own way of doing things (I say unique because crazypants isn't a nice way to refer to a kitten).

As far as a certain time of day that he consistently sleeps, yes he has that time it's between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM. Funny enough, I'm consistently sleeping at the same time.

If I close a door between me and Max, he will either (A) destroy the house with Logan, or (B) howl outside the door the whole time. I tend to knit while everyone else is at school or work and when there are other people to entertain Max and Logan, I need to be doing other things (helping with homework, cooking dinner, etc.)

We do have a squirt bottle and it worked really well on Ramius when he was a kitten. Logan also responds to the squirt bottle and stops whatever it is that got him squirted in the first place. Maximus finds the squirt bottle refreshing and could I please continue watering him, maybe get that left shoulder? Yeah, he doesn't care a bit about being squirted with water. Honestly the only thing I've found that he dislikes is the scent of lotions and face creams, but somehow, "If you don't stop attacking my knitting, I'm going to moisturize something" just doesn't quite sound right. I know we'll get there eventually and he'll be a good cat someday and curl up nicely while I knit, but it's going to be interesting getting there.

Also, I used to have a kitty named Minkey too! His real name was Hot Fudge Sundae and he was a Birman, but he preferred being called Minkey to Fudge. He also responded well to the water bottle.

(Of course, as I write this blog post, Maximus is curled up sweetly in my lap dozing like a little angel. Honestly, he's probably plotting his next attack, but he sure is cute and cuddly right now.)

Kittens...

2012-01-13T09:07:00.001-05:00

...are exhausting (but their scratching posts make great pillows)!

Have a great weekend!

Houston, We May Have A Problem

2012-01-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

It's official, I'm beginning to panic a little around here. I know it's just the 12th of January and we do have the extra (31st) day in the month, but every time I pull out my Knit Something of the Month project, Max starts attacking. Despite attempts, I cannot knit while a 6.5 pound kitten dangles from my knitting (yes, he does this, yes, I've tried), purring like a lunatic. He's very cute, he's very playful, but he seems to sense a tremor in the force when I get this project out. I'm very chart dependent on it, so there's a bit of setting up every time I start (leaving charts and project bag out will only result in tents being made from the charts, corners of pages being eaten - yummy!, and the project bag "walking" off). I've tried playing with him and trying to wear him out, but he always seems to have enough energy left to attack this project. I'm wondering if taking him for a run would help - surely 3+ miles would take the edge off, don't you think? Do they make tiny treadmills? Right now he's upstairs playing with Caleb's toys, but if I get out my Glacier gloves, he'll be down here in under 30 seconds. Wait 'til he passes out? He'll miraculously wake up within 2 minutes. It's truly impressive to see his level of dedication to making sure I get nothing done on these! I wonder if they make straight jackets for kittens?

Glacier

2012-01-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

I've gotten a little bit more done on the Glacier Mitts (or should I say mitt, since this is the first one), but I don't think I'm as far as I should be. I'm not to the halfway point of the first one and the month is 1/3 over already! Seeing as this is my Knit Something of the Month project for January, I'd better get a move on these. On the other hand (no pun intended), the second one always goes faster than the first because I know what I'm doing by then. I've just got to be careful to knit a right one and left one on these and not two right ones. This isn't usually a problem with socks!

Another New Project

2012-01-09T09:27:00.001-05:00

With the new projects from last week, I really felt like I had enough going on (after all, I still have unfinished things), but then I realized that I didn't have anything to work on while I was waiting on Caleb. None of my projects were easily portable, easily memorizable and easily stopped when people speak to me. Naturally, I had to cast on for another project! I'm now officially out of row counters and places to keep projects that are safe from Max.

This is Horai and it's meant to be a wrap/wide scarf kind of thing. I'm using Shibuiknits Silk Cloud in Fjord which is double stranded. Fjord is a very dark blue green that skews more to the blue side. Kind of almost like navy but it went a little green at the end. That probably makes no sense at all, but that's what it looks like. It's photographing lighter than it really is because the flash is bouncing off the silk, but flash was mandatory this morning since it's cloudy and rainy today. This pattern isn't charted, but it's only four rows and it's easy to memorize. Max would also like you to know that he really likes this yarn. He tried to walk off with a skein (repeatedly) and when I was starting this project, I couldn't convince him to take a nap for the life of me. It's probably a good thing that this will be an out of the house project!

Hexipuffs - Fun For the Whole Family!

2012-01-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

I've gotten back on my hexipuffs lately and I'm now up to 27! I realize that at this rate, I might have enough for a small blanket by the time Caleb graduates from college. With a doctorate. It doesn't help that if Caleb sees me making hexipuffs, he asks for another one. I guess the red one is lonely, but it's not getting a friend. Max doesn't ask for a hexipuff he just takes them. Either flat out picks one up and walks off with it or scoots it away playing hexipuff hockey and then picks it up and tries to run. So far, he's been unsuccessful at keeping them, but he's getting faster. And craftier.

Sitting next to the hexipuffs is one of my new double points. I only had one set of size 4 (3.5 mm) DPN's and I knew that the hexipuff project would be an ongoing one, so I ordered a set of Dyakcraft DPN's in the Vermont Rosewood that could be exclusive to the hexipuff project box. I also figured it would give me an idea about their needles and I could decide if I want a set. (I do.) Max would also like a set. (He's not getting one.) The wait on these needles is long, but the needles are beautiful and well made. The fact that they're made here in the US is important to me also.

I hope you have a great weekend and remember to guard your hexipuffs if you have them!

Knit Something of the Month

2012-01-05T09:12:00.001-05:00

Introducing the first project for my 2012 Knit Something of the Month Club! The pattern is Glacier and the yarn is The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Cornflower. I'm making the small size and making them fingerless gloves (there will be little finger parts, but not full fingers, versus fingerless mitts which don't have separate finger parts). In our climate here in Texas, fingerless gloves/mitts pretty well take care of things and they're easier to walk Logan and drive with than full gloves. Also, if it does get really cold, I can always just put mittens on top of them.

A strange thing happened when I was taking the picture this morning. I had put Logan into a stay beside me since this wasn't his photo shoot and I thought it was just the two of us in the room at the time. It's easy, when you're taking pictures, to completely block out everything that's happening outside of your little view window on the camera and between one picture and then next, my glove disappeared! Using my keen detective skills, I followed the blue yarn leading from my project bag away from me and heading across the room to figure out what had happened. Maximus had picked up the glove by a double point and was trying to escape with the whole thing. The yarn, project, and needles are all fine. I gave Max a stern talking to but I don't think he was listening since he was playing with the strings on my hoodie the whole time. The yarn does match his eyes, but it's not his glove!

A New Project For The New Year

2012-01-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

Remember this past Fall when I knit Kleio and I made the comment that I'd like to keep up with Romi's shawls as she releases them in this second eBook? Well, there was a second design released months ago and I'm just now starting it. The second muse is Melpomene and I had originally planned to use my overdyed Pashmina, but for some reason it didn't feel right once I saw the whole pattern. I've been following the chatter on the Ravelry thread for Melpomene (Romi has a group on Ravelry that has ongoing KAL's for her designs, I probably need to look into doing something like this for my own designs, don't I?), and recently someone made the comment that Melpomene really felt more like a scarf than a shawl. That's when I realized that I wanted to use a heavier yarn and just go with the more scarf-like feeling of the design (there's no lace, it's all texture). Fortunately, my stash had just the yarn for it. I'm using the now discontinued Peruvian Collection Uros Aran from Elann (50/50 wool and llama) in color 4143 which is a dusty, pale aqua. I'm also using bigger needles - US 7's (4.5 mm) on the heavier yarn. I think it's working out pretty well, but it will need a good blocking when it's all done.

Hopefully, if I knit this quickly enough, I can be ready to start the third design when it comes out and be on track again!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T09:28:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We got together with family at Christmas but New Year's Eve was very low key. It's not usually a big blow out around here, but Max had the big snip snip on the 30th so we were doing our best to keep things quiet. Not that he wanted things quiet, he was attacking Logan's head a few hours after we brought him home from the vet's. He seems to be healing well and Logan was of course thrilled to be attacked. This morning Mickael and Caleb are off to work and school while Logan and Max sleep and I drink my tea. It was a wonderful Christmas break and none of us were ready to go back to the usual routine (Logan actually groaned when the alarm went off this morning), but it was time.

There wasn't a huge amount of knitting while I was away from the blog, more reading and watching movies actually. I did get a few hexipuffs made, but it's been so long since I did that, I had to get out the directions. The pattern is back in my head now, but I'm not making them quite as fast as I was when I started them. (Yes, I time them. Yes, it is a race.) Also, I decided that I needed a new hat and a few weeks ago I saw Gretel from Ysolda Teague and couldn't get it out of my head. I dug up the leftovers of my Tea Leaves Cardigan (Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Cream or Ivory or something else that means Off White) and got to work. This was a very fast knit and I made the slouchy version of the pattern, but when I went to try it on I realized that this style of hat really doesn't work for my hair or face shape. I think it might work better with curly hair to balance the flop of the hat (and to help hold the hat up a bit), but with my straighter hair, it's just not working. (Also, despite the rather possessive paw in the picture, it doesn't work on Logan's head either.) So while I love the hat and think its a great pattern, I will probably be frogging it and making something else with it - possibly another Riply (I've done the lace edged, non floppy version and it's really cute - scroll down a bit to see this version). It would be pretty in the cream color. So now I've learned something already this year (floppy beret type hats don't work on me) and it's always good to learn stuff, right?

Cambridge and Christmas

2011-12-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

Mommy finished her Cambridge shawl and I got to be the first to wear it! I think it's too big for me - she wrapped it around my neck several times, or maybe I've just gotten used to the perfectly fitting, small shawls she's been doing. This is a big, wrap around yourself, snuggle into it kind of shawl. I think it will keep Mommy warm and I know that when I cuddle with her, she'll wrap it around me too. She used 4 skeins of Madelinetosh Pashmina in Logwood to make it and I like this yarn - it's very soft. Mommy says it's nice to knit with too. She also said to tell you that once you get a feel for the pattern (it takes a few rows to figure out what's going on), it's very easy and she worked on it all over town and with Maximus and didn't lose her place.

We've had lots of things going on around here lately. My human brother turned 11 and he loves these really scary things, so Mom and Dad got him some for his birthday. These things are scarier than Max (who's really pretty scary when you have teeth and claws flying at you). They float and they look at me and they're way to close to my kitchen cave - I won't go in there unless I absolutely have to, and then I'm not staying for long. Those scary things are watching me, I know it. Mommy says they're called balloons and they won't hurt me, but I don't think Mommy understands the true threat here.

Yesterday Mommy (with Max's help) did something really weird and it didn't involve yarn. She did her nails (which isn't weird, she does that all the time), but she did something called water marbling. Now her nails look like swirly peppermints. She said she watched several videos on You Tube (just search water marbling tutorials) and each was a little different and when she had it figured out, she did it. Now my Grandmommy wants festive Christmas nails, so they're going to do Grandmommy's nails later today.

Mommy wanted me to tell you that she'll be blogging off and on through the end of the year, but it won't be regular. We all hope every single one of you has a wonderful Christmas. I hope Santa has something special in his bag, and maybe your gift won't have as many teeth as mine does. Merry Christmas from the Pink Lemon Family to all of you!

Remember Babette?

2011-12-21T09:59:00.001-05:00

I finished crocheting the squares to Babette and got them all laid out ages ago. Then I joined together about a quarter of the squares and that was it. Babette has been in the center of the floor of my sewing room all this time. I've blocked around it, designed around it and gone stash diving around it. Logan, who had just been allowed into the sewing room right before I laid out Babette, was gated out again and ~~The Wrecking Ball~~ Maximus, doesn't even know there's a room there because I keep the door closed. (He' SO not ready to find out about things like yarn stashes and spinning wheels and fiber and sewing machines.) This meant that for me to do any work on Babette, I had to shut myself in the room (or go behind the gate pre Max) and then I could only work on anything while Logan squeaked his Squeaks of Great Loneliness as he was unable to be near his Mommy. This was already the tragic sound track I wind balls of yarn to (if Max knew there was a ball winder and swift in there his head would probably explode) and you can imagine the guilt I get when I wind more than one ball at a time. Never mind if everyone else was home at the time, Logan cannot be separated from his Mommy for any length of time and be expected to survive such trauma. So since I knew that any progress on Babette would be accompanied by a big, heaping helping of doggy mom guilt, Babette has just sat there, in the middle of the floor.

Then one day a light bulb went on in my head! Why the idea only recently appeared, I do not know, but it occurred to me that I could take small sections of Babette and pin them to a towel, which could then be rolled up until it was safe to work on (i.e: Max was completely worn out and had fallen asleep with his legs in the air, preferably under the covers). I got a second quarter of Babette pinned on a towel and moved it downstairs. Last night, I unrolled just a little bit and started working on joining squares. I got what you see at the top half all joined up! I can't believe how fast it went once I remembered what I was doing. Once I get the rest of this quarter joined, I'll pin another quarter's worth of squares to the towel and work on those. I might actually finish Babette in this lifetime!

All Done!

2011-12-20T09:55:00.001-05:00

I finished up Just Enough Ruffles over the weekend and it came out great! It's folded in half here as it finishes drying and blocking. (Logan was busy running in circles and clearly didn't want to model - he thinks running in circles makes breakfast come faster.) I used Valley Yarns Northampton (Lake Heather colorway) for this and while it felt like a nice standard grade wool while I was knitting (think Cascade 220 or Elann Peruvian Highland Wool), when I washed it, it REALLY softened up! This is going to be such a great scarf and it's done in time for the really cold weather we get here in January and February. (I know those of you up North are laughing and mocking me, but we do the same thing to you when you complain about 80 degrees in the Summer - it's all relative to what you're used to.) I loved the pattern and once you're through the cast on (you have to count) it's really a pretty easy pattern to work up. Now I have a scarf to match my Chimera Mitts!

Ruffle My Feathers

2011-12-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

Mommy finished something else for me to wear but I've got to do this quickly - the Max kitty is sneaking up on me. He's a very scary kitty sometimes and he attacks me, but I chase him. Sometimes I help him take a bath and sometimes he gives me a bath. I'm wearing Mommy's new lace thing. She says it's called Ruffle My Feathers and it's made in Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga in the Bomber Worm Colorway. Bomber Worms sound scary, I hope I don't meet any! The color actually matches Max's eyes so maybe he knows about Bomber Worms.

He did something yesterday morning that scared everyone in the house! I'll tell you about it. You all realize that the Max kitty isn't quite right in the head? He's also able to get into small places and he had walked through the railing on one of the upstairs balcony areas. Then do you know what he did? He jumped! From the upstairs to the downstairs, just jumped! He landed on the slippery floor that Mommy calls "hardwood" and he didn't do it right or something because he was holding one of his paws funny and doing something Mommy called "limping." I gave him kisses on it though since everyone knows Golden Retriever spit heals everything. By the time Mommy was dressed to take him to the vet though he was starting to put weight on it. She called the vet instead and they said she could just watch him for a bit since he seemed to be able to do that. Sure enough, after a nap, he was chasing me again with none of the limping. I'm glad I was here with my magic spit and I could help the Max kitty. I hope he doesn't do it again because Mommy and Daddy estimated the jump at 12-15 feet and that's too far for a Max kitty to jump. I wouldn't jump that far, I think Mommy and Daddy have the stairs in the house for a reason. This morning the Max kitty has been staying on the inside of the railing, where he's supposed to.

I've got to give this lace thing back to Mommy, Max just hopped sideways at me and ran off. It is on!

Knit Something of the Month - 2012 Edition

2011-12-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

I've figured out the line up for next year so I thought I'd show you. I've got patterns picked out for all twelve projects, but I'm going to keep those a secret, but I will tell you if the project is a shawl or mitts. Sound good? Here we go (starting at 1:00 with the pale blue and going clockwise):

January - The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Cornflower - Mitts
February - Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha in Rosebud - Shawl
March - Fleece Artist Kidazzle in Beach House and Topaz - Shawl
April - Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Cherry - Mitts
May - Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Iris - Shawl
June - Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Vermillion - Shawl
July - Wollmeise 100% Merino in Neptun Dark - Shawl
August - The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Dove - Mitts
September - Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Maia and The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Navy - Shawl
October - The Woolen Rabbit Kashmir in my own overdye - Shawl
November - Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga in Longhorned Beetle - Mitts
December - Dream in Color Smooshy With Cashmere in Dusky Aurora - Mitts

So at this point I have five mitts and seven shawls planned. I say "at this point" because I reserve the right to change my mind, change yarn, and change patterns because that's just the way I am. Also, Max might steal some of my yarn or something (he's not trustworthy). My goal is the same as last year: begin each project on or after the first of the month and finish (and block) by the last day of the month.

This is the plan and of course you'll find out the patterns as I start the actual projects. The scary part is, I'll start the first one two weeks from Sunday (eep!) Where did 2011 go?

Almost Ruffled

2011-12-14T09:26:00.001-05:00

I'm moving along on my Just Enough Ruffles. In fact, I'm getting pretty close to the actual ruffle (of which the being just enough of, the pattern is named). The hardest part of this (so far, although I don't expect any major issues at this point) was casting on because you start with a big number and big numbers mean lots of counting. If you had a kitten free environment and could count without feline assistance, you would probably have an easier time of it than I had. The reason I'm mentioning this is, for one, I always try to tell you about patterns that are easy but cute because I figure most of you are looking for them (there might be one or two of you looking for insanely complicated patterns I guess) and sometimes, as knitters we find ourselves approaching a major holiday and need a last minute gift to knit. I think in a normal* household with a fairly normal** stash, a knitter could whip one of these up pretty quickly and have it wrapped and ready before you hear hooves on the rooftop.

Speaking of hooves on the rooftop, Caleb has informed us that he believes Santa is a stalker, "I mean he knows when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, Mom - total stalker." Yes, he's almost 11 and he figured out Santa/The Easter Bunny/The Tooth Fairy a while back. Ah, the magic is gone.

*My definition of normal for a household does not involve baby animals of any kind - kittens or teenage dogs (or human for that matter). I realize that most of us operate with some version of crazy all the time, but as long as that crazy is an established kind of crazy that you're used to, it's normal.

**No idea what normal is for this, but you need about 400 yards of a heavy worsted/aran weight yarn for this - most stashes should have something sitting around, right?

Just Enough Ruffles With Assistance

2011-12-13T09:18:00.001-05:00

I decided to cast on for a scarf last night (because, why not?), so I started Just Enough Ruffles. I thought this was the cutest scarf the first time I saw it and I knew I wanted to knit it. I'm using Valley Yarns Northampton in Lake Heather (yes, this is one of the colors I used in my Chimera mitts) and I cast on. As you can see, I'm getting assistance* with the photography for today's post, but don't worry, he's also helping with the knitting. Nothing like trying to knit while Max is dangling off the circular needle. Such a helpful feline! If I can convince Maximus that he's a sleepy kitty, maybe I can get this done before the weather gets really cold around here (January is usually pretty cold here). I wonder if he would get sleepy if I made him a turkey sandwich?

*Just in case you were wondering, he has dog spit on his back end because he and Logan were playing earlier this morning, but he hadn't bathed yet. He can't be bothered with hygiene when there's a dog to attack.

Cambridge

2011-12-12T10:22:00.001-05:00

I got a lot done on Cambridge this weekend when we were all snuggled up watching movies. Mickael is sick so there wasn't much else going on. I'm almost done with the third ball of yarn and at this point it's narrow enough that it doesn't have to bunch up on the needle. I'm looking forward to getting this finished and wearing it. Short blog post today because I've got to get going on errands and laundry. Be back tomorrow!

Ta Da!

2011-12-09T10:12:00.001-05:00

Stick a fork in it, the December Knit Something of the Month project is done! All finished! Twelve projects in twelve months, completed! I don't know how you felt reading about my little challenge, but I really enjoyed doing it. It gave me an excuse to cast on a new project when I was feeling bored with what I was working on, it gave me a sense of completion when I finished it, and it helped use up some stash yarn that had been waiting for me.

I've (obviously) got to block this, but now I can go stash diving and match another 12 patterns to yarns. Yes, I'll go ahead and plan on 12 again - I clearly have high hopes for Maximus becoming a more mature kitty who doesn't "help" with the knitting so much. I might be delusional, but I function pretty well that way at this point.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Ruffly Worm

2011-12-07T09:04:00.001-05:00

I'm moving right along on my December Knit Something of the Month project. I've got eight more rows plus a bind off and I'm done! This is a great little knit and clearly works up quickly. I'm waiting until I'm through with this before I drag out the potential stash for next years Knit Something of the Month projects. Then I'll sort through things (with Max and Logan helping, I'm sure) and see what I'm doing next year. I'm still debating eleven projects or twelve, but I'll figure it out before 2012 starts.

There was a question yesterday about ducks and yes, I'm afraid of ducks. I was attacked by ducks when I was small and have considered them bloodthirsty and untrustworthy ever since. Just to reinforce my duck issues, I was chased by one when I was running earlier this year (and no, I did not provoke it). Caleb thinks it's amusing to walk around the house quacking.

As for today's blog title, my pattern for this month is Ruffle My Feathers (I linked it on a previous post) and the yarn is Bugga in Bomber Worm. See? Ruffly Worm.

Cambridge

2011-12-06T10:04:00.001-05:00

I was able to get a photo of all of Cambridge so far. It's pretty hard to get the whole thing into frame at this point. I've got the pattern memorized again (it changes at the halfway point so the two halves mirror each other), so even though it's pretty big, I can work on it in public and it's not an at home project only. Also, when I am working on it at home, if Maximus is in a quiet mood (not attacking everything in sight), I can put the end I've already knit over him and help him to stay warm. Once he figures out that knitting can keep him warm, he should behave better when he's sitting with me and I'm (trying) to knit. Theoretically.

Also, I have to share, I saw a pair of coyotes this morning when I was running. It looked like a male and female but I couldn't quite tell. They were crossing the street and thankfully, they both made it safely. I've never seen coyotes on a run before so this was pretty cool. When I told Mickael about them, his comment was, "You're not scared of wild dogs but ducks terrify you?" Yep, that's right.

December Knit Something of the Month

2011-12-05T09:08:00.001-05:00

I'm doing much better at my December Knit Something of the Month project than I did with November's project. It was portable during all that garter stitch, but if you look at the top center you can see I've started the lace. The lace section isn't portable, but it still feels like it's moving pretty quickly.

This second picture shows one of my assistant photographers (the other one is off camera to my left). Apparently there were some wrinkles that needed smoothing out. Or something.

As quickly as this project is going, I'm questioning my earlier thought of only doing one project for November and December for next year's Knit Something of the Month. Next year Max will be older and (possibly) more mature, or at least he shouldn't attack knitting as much as he does now (feline yarn tensioning device anyone?), so it's possible that I could do one project a month next year. What do you think - leave a comment and I'll let you decide: do I do 12 projects next year or only 11? (This is just for the Knit Something of the Month thing, I'll still have other projects going on at the same time.)

Maximus' First Blog Post!

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

I am Maximus! I am ruler of all I survey, and also the rest of the house which I can't survey right now because there are walls in the way.

Do not disappoint me or you will hear my wrath. Also, leave the closet door open, that place is great - who knew those shoe things and pants things had so many STRINGS! Ahem, I mean, as ruler I shall not be denied access to the closet anymore, and also the pantry shall be mine.

Anyway, you would not believe the state of things when I arrived here. The people were in charge and the tiny marshmallow of a dog was completely out of control. Obviously there was a lot to do to whip this place into shape. I have pounced upon that which needs pouncing, disciplined those who needed discipline, and fortified my defenses under the bed with all necessary equipment that I requisitioned from around the house (Mom took the cashmere sweater back from me, I will thwart her and her cashmere later, when she's not looking). It's been a lot of work, but things are starting to look better around here but I can tell it's going to take years to get things exactly as I desire. I shall be back to update you on my progress but now I have to go sign for the truckload of Fancy Feast that I ordered on the Internet.

December

2011-12-01T09:06:00.001-05:00

Here we are on December 1 and I'm getting ready to start my last Knit Something of the Month Club project for 2011. This is the first year I've challenged myself this way, but it will not be the last! I wasn't sure how this would work for me since I don't always respond well to deadlines, but for the last 11 months, I've knit my project. I've swapped some patterns and some yarn out from my original plan from last December, but I've done either socks or a shawl (and one scarf) each month this year. Most have been in fingering weight except for January, which was worsted, but the yardage was about the same as the fingering weight projects.

I'm going to start my last project today, and it will be Ruffle My Feathers in Bugga (Bomber Worm colorway - here's what the actual Bomber Worm looks like if you're curious - don't worry it's not a really scary looking bug). The nice thing about these smaller projects is that they give me something that can be finished quickly, which is a nice feeling to have when I'm also working on (or ignoring) larger projects (I'm so sorry Austin Hoodie).

Since it is December and I do plan to Knit Something of the Month next year, I need to pull out my stash soon and find some projects! I'm not sure what I'll do yet and I might either skip socks or cut way back on them (the sock drawer is a bit full), but I'm not sure I want to do a dozen shawls either. Maybe I'll add in some fingerless mitts! Or a tiny, kitten shaped straight jacket...

November Knit Something of the Month

2011-11-30T10:07:00.001-05:00

Last night, before 7:00 PM I finished my November Knit Something of the Month project! Not truly a squeaker, but with just over 24 hours before my self imposed deadline, it felt a little too close for comfort. Seeing as I had successfully completed 10 months of this little journey, I didn't want to go down in flames at the last minute, although the reason for my potential crash and burn sure is cute and purry. He's sitting in my lap right now, purring at me and Logan is curled up on the floor next to us. Yes, it's a good morning.

On to the project details: the pattern I used is Mad Color Weave (I linked it yesterday and I'm feeling a little lazy, sorry) and the yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Little Bunny Foo Foo. I used US 1's, worked the repeat 8 times in the leg and had yarn left over. It's an easy pattern to memorize and it breaks up pooling a bit, and I can definitely see myself using it again. It would be easier to knit without kitten assistance, but really, what isn't?

One day to work on my other projects before I start the December Knit Something of the Month project. I guess I better start pulling yarn and ideas for next year!

Do you know what this is?

2011-11-29T09:28:00.001-05:00

If you guessed that this is the beginning of the second half of Cambridge, you'd be right! I finished the increase side of Cambridge and now I'm decreasing back to the other point. I've also started my third skein of Pashmina (Madelinetosh Pashmina in Logwood). Each row is a little bit shorter than the last row, so I hope to pick up some speed and get this finished soon. Of course, it has to wait until I'm done with my November socks, but I've only got 24 rounds before toe decreases at this point on the socks. Oh, and there was a question yesterday about the sock pattern I'm using, it's Mad Color Weave and it's a free pattern on Ravelry. It is a good pattern to break up multicolored yarns.

November's Knit Something of the Month Project

2011-11-28T09:55:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving if you're here in the US! We did, complete with way too much food, and a kitten with no table manners, and James Bond. Max eventually fell asleep in my lap under the napkin and then we didn't have to fight him so much. Last year of course, we were guarding the food against Logan's expert counter surfing, so fuzzy weirdness is becoming a tradition. (I'm really hoping that we have no new fuzzy weirdness next Thanksgiving.)

I did get some knitting done this past week although Max doesn't feel as sleepy as I think he should, as often as I think he should and Max doesn't help with knitting. I finished my first sock for November's Knit Something of the Month project and I've made it past the heel turn on the second sock. Ordinarily, even though we're two days before the end of the month, I would still have plenty of time to finish this second sock, but Max being Max, I'm afraid it might be a squeaker. I am determined to stay on track with this though, so it might come down to a battle of wills between me and tiny Maximus. Or I might just lock myself in the bathroom with my knitting. That would probably be easier as anyone who's engaged in a battle of wills with a cat can tell you, it won't end well.

This Week

2011-11-21T08:52:00.001-05:00

This week I won't be blogging regularly. We'll be getting ready for Thanksgiving around here, Caleb's home all week (I love that the school systems are giving us a full week again this year), and I'll be doing things with my little sidekick. I've been knitting on my Cambridge shawl and I'm almost to the place where I start decreasing (AKA The Second Half), but at this point it still looks pretty much like what you saw when you saw it last time, only bigger. No point in boring you with another photo of a purple triangle right now. I'll catch everyone up next week with whatever happens this week.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I hope you have a wonderful one. We'll be celebrating just like they did at the original Thanksgiving - turkey, lots of pies and a James Bond marathon (it's on SyFy this year if you're interested, I just checked). Wednesday is our one year Dogiversary (Logan became part of our family the day before Thanksgiving last year), so we'll be celebrating that too, probably with bacon. Travel safely, don't eat TOO much turkey, know that I'm thankful for everyone who comes here to read my babbling, and I'll see you next week!

Socks

2011-11-18T09:40:00.001-05:00

I haven't forgotten about my Knit Something of the Month Socks in all the overdyeing and kitten confusion around here. I'm almost done with the leg of the first sock now and I expect to get some knitting time in on them this weekend and next week. I am determined to get both the November and December Knit Something of the Month projects done on time because I've gotten the first 10 months done - I won't go down in flames now! I am thinking that next year I will probably only choose a single project for November and December instead of one for each month. That might help with my sanity a bit, what's left of my sanity anyway.

I'm loving this yarn in this pattern. It reminds me of Neapolitan ice cream. The pattern is also pretty quick and easy to work, I'm just not moving too fast on it because of a certain blue eyed boy who just discovered the top of the refrigerator. Yeah!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Overdyeing - Part 2

2011-11-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

After the overdyeing I showed you Monday, I had one more skein in my stash that was planned for overdyeing, but this time, I was going for something completely different. The Pashmina went from silver to dark periwinkle, but this time I was just adjusting the color just a tiny bit, not completely changing it.

The original skein is Kashmir (Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Nylon) from the Woolen Rabbit in the Oh Ruby colorway. It has a lot of different reds but they were all warm, orange and brown based reds. I loved the skein and kept playing with it, thinking it would work for me (fair, cool toned skin), but I knew in my gut that it just wouldn't. I still wanted it to be red though and I didn't want to lose the lights and darks that were part of the original dye process. This time around I just needed to overdye it a tiny bit, just enough to tip the red towards the cooler side of the spectrum. I'd just barely overdye it with a cool red dye (cool red is a magenta type color where warm red is more of an orange based "Chinese red" type color). If I used too much dye, I'd lose the light/dark variation and could risk taking the color past red and into magenta. Also, I needed to dump the skein into the dye bath and not mess around with it because the more you stir, the more solid the color tends to be.

I put just enough water into the dyepot to cover the skein, poured in a very weak dye solution, gave it a quick stir and plopped the skein (presoaked) in. I smooshed the skein down into the water and let it do it's thing. Not stirring the dye pot is harder than it sounds because I'm naturally a curious person and I want to know what's going on in there. I did pretty well though with leaving it alone and this is what I ended up with.

I now have a cool, dark red skein of yarn and while the lighter places are darker than they were originally, I still have lights and darks in the skein (they're hard to photograph well, you'll have to take my word for it). There's something warm and snuggly and Winter-y feeling about the color now even though it's no where near a Christmas red. It kind of reminds me of dark red plaid flannel things. Someday, after it's dry, I will knit Vlad with it. Because warm, snuggly, Winter-y feeling just says vampire, doesn't it?

You Would Not Believe What's Going On Around Here

2011-11-16T10:17:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Mommy left the house with the Other Crate. (Let me explain, I have three crates - the one I go into when the humans leave the house, the one I sleep in sometimes just for fun, and the one that I just recently found out about that is only for my head. The rest of me doesn't fit in the Other Crate, but it is my crate, I'm sure about this.) Anyway, Mommy left with the Other Crate and when she came back, there was Someone in it. She says he's my brother, but I'm not too sure about that. He does all sorts of weird things and you should see him jump - no one in my family can jump like that. He wasn't too sure about me either at first and he made these funny hissing noises, but now we're pretty good friends.

He's even given me a bath, but it was with his tongue and that was kind of scary - he has sharp teeth. Apparently when you get a brother, you also get rules. For instance, I'm not allowed to put him in my mouth. This is a dumb rule - you should taste him, he tastes great!

Also, I'm not allowed to pet him. Everyone likes to be petted, but Mommy says when your feet are as big as your brother's head, no petting. And the dumbest rule of all is that I'm not allowed to chase him. If I can't chase him, he shouldn't be hopping sideways at me all puffed up, I mean that's just wrong! He corners better on the hardwood than I do, but Mommy says I have to be a "good dog." Mommy tells me that as Maximus (that's his name) gets bigger we can play together more, but in the meantime she's happy that I have figured out what I'm going to do when I grow up. I have finally found what I want to do for the rest of my life - according to Mommy it's called Feline Proctology. I'm training to be the best Feline Proctologist ever!

Overdyeing, Part 1

2011-11-14T10:04:00.001-05:00

There are a couple of projects worth of yarn that I have been planning to overdye and I finally decided to just go for it. My reasons for overdyeing (versus just returning the yarn and getting a different color) are complicated and different for each instance. The yarn I'm showing you today began life as Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Silver Fox colorway. Madelinetosh is one of my favorite dyers and with the huge range of yarn bases they now have, if I had to knit from only one dyer for the rest of my life, Madelinetosh would be it. I had ordered the yarn looking for a pale gray and that's what Silver Fox is. My problem was that I was looking for a pale gray just slightly lighter than standard sweatshirt heather gray and Silver Fox is even lighter than that. As you can see in the picture, it's almost like the undyed skein walked past a gray dyepot without jumping in. It is truly the lightest shade of gray that can possibly be gray - any lighter and it would be cream. It's a beautiful color.

So what's the problem? My skin tone is the problem. I have very fair skin with cool undertones. The cool undertones mean gray is a wonderful color for me (I love gray, seriously love it). The very fair part means I need to have color that's actually there. I can do pastels, but they must have some substance. Wispy, delicate, barely there color just washes me out. I can do whites and ivories, but any actual color has to actually be there, not just maybe be there. Silver Fox was bordering on the maybe being there against my skin and I would have looked like a corpse (lovely, no?) If my skin tone was darker it would have worked out just fine - I don't want to turn anyone with a more normal skin tone off of this color because it should be wearable for other people.

I contemplated trying for a darker gray, but gray dyes tend to pull to one color or another (you've all seen blue grays and green grays and even warm grays) - if I was using gray, I wanted just gray, no undertones. That meant going for a color on the overdye. As light as the yarn was to begin with, I knew I could go with pretty much any color I wanted to and except for being just a little bit muted, it would come out pretty pure. I decided to go for a rich iris or dark periwinkle blue. I used blue dye with a little bit of purple dye (to swing the blue over into the periwinkle range). I wasn't necessarily going for a solid, but it seems that that's how it came out. I'm thrilled with my finished color and once it's all dry, I'll cast on for Melpomene, the newest Muse in Romi's second 7 Small Shawls ebook.

Houston, We Have A Name!

2011-11-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

After over a week of thinking and trying to get to know the Kitten, trying and discarding ideas, trying and liking ideas, but not getting everyone else on board, we've finally found a name! (Can I just say right here that getting three people to decide on a name is difficult - two isn't hard, but getting the third person to agree doesn't happen easily, and we all took turns being the lone disagreer.)

I'd like to introduce you to Maximus! Or actually, Maximus' back end, which is really pretty cute and you can see his sweet little tail stripes (probably not supposed to be there according to the breed standard, but they totally crack me up). It's hard to get a picture of a kitten - they're either right in your face (no, my camera cannot focus on your sweet whiskers 1/4 inch away from the lens) or they're dashing around and you get a lot of pictures of empty carpet/bed/lap. When I was editing photos for this morning it reminded me of a lot of the pictures Caleb used to take when we'd hand him the digital camera to play with. (He took lots of pictures of dirt, stuff on the ground, sticks, the sky, blurry stuff, you know, stuff that looks great to 2 and 3 year olds.)

Here's a better picture of him on his climb-y thing. He's done better the last few mornings and when he's gotten up before the alarm, he's gone and done whatever needed doing and then come back to bed. He sleeps snuggled up against me, under the covers, which makes it pretty easy to keep up with him. As long as he's coming back to bed without starting a ruckus, Logan just keeps on sleeping. The humans like to keep on sleeping too.

A Little Bit More Sock

2011-11-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

I've actually gotten some of the main leg pattern worked on my November Knit Something of the Month Socks! The "weave" pattern is pretty easy to work and you don't have to think too much, which is a good thing around here right now. There's not much else to say at the moment and I'm not sure I can string together too many more actual sentences. Someone small and white decided 4:20 AM would be an excellent time for Circus Hour and someone large and white decided that was a genius idea and it was time for a Par-Tay! No one asked Mickael and I what we thought. Let's just say there will be lots of tea today.

Progress

2011-11-07T09:09:00.000-05:00

There was progress yesterday - 2 1/2 repeats of progress, to be exact. Knit with a kitten in the lap. The kitten in question passed out under the knitting and allowed me to knit without "assistance." It was amazing. It involved a 2 hour play session before the knitting, but I got to knit.

He Who Has Not Been Named is doing great and has been playing with Logan a bit. There's no more hissing, growling, or puffing (except when he's taunting Logan by hopping sideways, then he's puffed up), but instead there are nose sniffs, purrs, and head butts. Logan isn't sure what all this is, but he's being sweet, trying not to get frightened by the enormous mountain lion that's giving him purring head butts, and trying to stay calm. I think they'll be friends and conspirators in no time.

Kitten and Socks

2011-11-03T08:56:00.001-05:00

First of all, thanks for understanding about the little kitten (nope, still no name). The enema worked and we should get the results of the blood test back today and tomorrow (quick stuff today and bigger stuff tomorrow - I don't know why, I don't work at the lab). We did blood work because he was running a fever, but there were no signs of infection or anything definite the vet could put his finger on. The kitten got a shot to reduce the fever and they gave him antibiotics just to cover our bases while we wait for the test results. He felt better last night and this morning was full of sass. He even approached Logan (who was on the other side of the child gate), and while he puffed up, he didn't growl or hiss. Definitely feeling better. He's asleep now on the bed, curled up in the down comforter - sensible kitten!

Also, thanks so much for all the pattern suggestions! I've peeked at all of them and while several were in my favorites in Ravelry already, there were some new ones I'd never seen. Thankfully the Ravelry favorites section seems to be infinite or mine would have popped ages ago. I should ask you guys for pattern ideas more often, this was fun!

I did choose a pattern last night (but like I said, I favorited many more to knit later) - Mad Color Weave Socks. The socks on the pattern page are solid, but if you look through the projects you'll see lots of multicolored yarns used. Since you guys were so helpful with the pattern suggestions, I thought I'd do a little blog tutorial for you!

How To Knit Socks With A Kitten

Pick sock pattern and wind yarn. Get everything together and sit down in easily-kitten-accessible location.
Remove kitten from pattern to find out how many stitches you should cast on.
Hide DPN's from kitten so the one's you're not using for cast on don't disappear.
Find page of pattern that kitten removed so you can recheck how many stitches to cast on.
Begin cast on.
Remove kitten from yarn.
Cast on a couple more stitches.
Remove kitten from yarn and turn him around so he faces a different direction.
Cast on a couple more stitches.
Remove kitten from yarn and put him in cat bed, suggest a nap.
Count stitches you've casted on so far.
Remove kitten from yarn, despite the fact that his purr volume suggests this is the best game ever.
Recount stitches you've casted on so far because you forgot the first count, lose count when you...
Remove kitten from yarn.
Finally get all the stitches on the first DPN.
Double check count three times due to ...
Removing kitten from yarn.
Begin cast on to second DPN.
Remove kitten from yarn and work steps 5-17 one time each for remaining three DPN's.
Being careful not to twist cast on stitches, join -
Remove kitten from yarn.
Being careful not to twist cast on stitches, join to work in the round very quickly before you have to ...
Remove kitten from yarn.
Begin Round 1.
Remove kitten from yarn.
Start knitting, lose place, due to...
Removing kitten from yarn.
Get your place in the pattern, find it on the sock and knit as fast as you can - not easy with DPN's for the first few rows, but do it anyway to conquer your fear that you might not ever be able to knit again because your new craft will be...
Removing kitten from yarn.
Finish Round 1 and breathe a sigh of relief that Round 2 is worked exactly like Round 1 and you no longer have to follow the pattern, but can just read your knitting.
Remove kitten from yarn.
At some point in Round 2, you realize kitten (who might be a very cutely disguised knitting nemesis and not a feline at all) has curled up and fallen asleep.
Knit quietly so as not to awaken the wee beast.
Knit Rounds 2-10.
Answer phone, which just rang and woke up the wee beast.
Assure your Mother that kitten seems to be feeling better.
Remove kitten from yarn.
Mentally thank Mother for waking up kitten.
Finish Round 10 and put sock away after...
Removing kitten from yarn.

Yes, it's going to be a while for these to get done, but here are the first 10 rows and I fought for every stitch!

Help Needed!

2011-11-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

I need a little help with something. My original November Knit Something of the Month project isn't going to work with my yarn (not enough yarn) so I need to find a new pattern. I thought I'd ask you guys to help me out here and maybe I could find some new patterns I don't know about too!

The yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Little Bunny Foo Foo (light browns with pink and cream).

Here's what I'm looking for:

Probably a sock pattern, November is for socks, but I'm not 100% locked into socks if you come up with something else that will work.
The pattern has to work well with multicolored yarns. This is kind of the tricky part.
There are only 360 yards of this, which is enough for socks, but not cabled socks.
I'd prefer a pattern with a fairly easily memorizable repeat. This is probably a given with anything that will work with a multicolored yarn, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. My brain is a little crazy right now and even when the kitten (still no name) settles in more, the month isn't going to get any easier as it goes along.

So, if you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments! I'll take both pay and free patterns into consideration, and I have a pretty huge number of sock books so if you can think of anything in a book, feel free to let me know about those too. I do have a couple of patterns that I tend to use for default in these types of situations, but it's always fun to find new patterns too. Oh, I should probably share my own "default" patterns:

Waffle Socks - I adapt them for fingering weight which is easy to do with the 4 stitch, 4 row repeat. Easy pattern to memorize and it works great with any yarn.
Vog On Socks - Easy lace pattern and the pair I've made are regular sock length without the ruffle.
Waving Lace Socks - I've done these in solids and multicolored yarns and surprisingly, they work well both ways. Easy pattern to work and memorize even though it's a longer repeat than the other two. They're the pair on the cover.
Plain Vanilla Stockinette Socks - Classic for a reason and you can't get any simpler.

I just want to add one more non knitting related thing (and this is gross so stop reading if you don't do gross). The kitten hasn't gone #2 yet and he's at the vet's today having an enema. I hate dragging personal stuff onto the blog but you guys are so supportive and sweet about all the fur babies who've been here and after what happened with Finn and the intestinal blockage, I'm a little freaked out. If you don't mind, it would be truly appreciated if you could say a prayer for the little guy or send good wishes if you don't pray, that things will "move" along for him soon and he'll feel better. We're assuming at this point that it's stress related which is totally understandable, but he needs to get things moving at this point. Thanks so much.

A Little Treat

2011-11-01T08:49:00.002-05:00

I told you all that I would tell you what the mystery object was this week. I did enjoy the guesses, but no, I'm not pregnant and we aren't adopting Tony Romo. Maybe I should just show you what the mystery object looks like when it's being used.

Yes, it's a felted kitty bed! I used the Chaton Minet pattern with stash yarn. The last picture you saw was the unfelted bed, and of course it's felted here. Yesterday we got the kitten to put in it (which is really the most important part of a cat bed). Don't worry, there's plenty of growing room for him in there!

He doesn't have a name yet but he's a Platinum Point Tonkinese (same breed as Ramius, who was a Champagne Mink). He's got a great purr motor and doesn't hesitate to let us know that we've displeased him (serious lungs on the little guy). He's not too sure about Logan yet, but they touched noses this morning. Logan was wagging the entire time and when the kitten had had enough, he hissed. Logan was naturally terrified. The kitten was a little overwhelmed by everything yesterday, but he's doing some more exploring and feeling better about things this morning. He's about 15 weeks old now and when he curls up, he's smaller than Logan's head. (Due to the size difference, contact will be supervised between them for a while.) He seems to like all his people - particularly Caleb who is holding him in these last two pictures. He greeted Caleb with a purring head butt this morning!

As soon as he settles in more and is up to it, he'll be blogging of course. I'll let you know when we have a name picked out for him too! Sorry about all the mystery, I just didn't want to share him on the blog until we had him home, but once we had found his breeder and put down a deposit, I was just too excited not to at least show you the bed.

Up Close and Personal With Cambridge

2011-10-28T09:06:00.001-05:00

Since most of the wraps I do around here are lace, I thought I'd show you a detail of my Cambridge shawl, since it's not. It's got texture instead of lace. The ruffle (at the lower right) is garter stitch and the body of the shawl is a smallish, repetitive pattern of knits and purls. It's not as textural as cables, but the way the light hits the knit stitches differently than it hits the purls give the shawl detail, without any lace at all.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm enjoying the guesses about yesterday's Mystery Object. You'll find out soon, I promise.

Something Mysterious

2011-10-27T08:31:00.002-05:00

Remember how I said I knit on something over the weekend, but I wasn't ready to talk about it yet? Well I finished it last night and while I'm still not ready to talk about what it is (I know, I might be a little bit crazy), I decided to show it to you. Logan is very curious about it and wanted to help with photos. He felt like whatever it is might need smacking with a paw so he slapped at it some. You're welcome to guess what it is, but I'm not ready to confirm or deny any guesses. Don't go running to Ravelry to check my projects - the information isn't there either. I hope I'll be able to tell you sometime next week though, but I don't want to jinx anything. Sorry to be so mysterious, but I think you'll all agree when you find out that it was worth it...

Something Not Cambridge

2011-10-26T09:18:00.001-05:00

I've gotten back on the sleeves (or first sleeve) of the poor, neglected Austin Hoodie. I'm past the halfway point, but I didn't have a tape measure within arms reach last night so I'm not sure exactly how much more I have to go on this sleeve. I'll measure it today and see where I'm at. Second sleeves always seem to move faster for me because all I have to do is follow my notes from the first one - no stopping to do math and make notes, no finding a tape measure, just knitting. Of course, before I can start the second sleeve, I have to finish the first one. Guess I better get on that!

Cambridge

2011-10-25T08:35:00.000-05:00

You knew you'd see this one again soon, didn't you? I'm still working along on it and I'm still dragging it around in public. It curls up nicely in my lap while I work, so it's still getting to go places with me. I've had a couple of questions in the comments about this and about Logan, so I thought I'd answer them today.

I'm planning on making the Medium size of Cambridge and according to the pattern yardage listed, I bought 5 skeins of the Madelinetosh Pashmina. I'm on the second skein now and I'm not even to the halfway point of the skein. The shawl is looking pretty big and I'm getting to the halfway point on it. My guess is that I'll probably only use 4 skeins of the Pashmina to make this shawl, but I'm pretty sure I can find a use for the other skein. I'm not alternating skeins, but before I started, I laid out all 5 skeins and put them in order so the colors blended. (Yes, they are all purple, but it's handdyed and there are variations from skein to skein.) I think this is going to work since there is a texture to the shawl itself and while the purple in the skeins is within a pretty narrow range on the color wheel, it's not a solid colored yarn in any way, shape or form. The play of colors in the yarn and the texture of the shawl should pretty well camouflage the changing of skeins. If you look at the top edge of the shawl about 2/3 of the way across from the point there is a dark spot (it shows up better in photos than in real life). That dark spot was actually near the end of the first skein and it was all in the first skein. The place where the second skein was added in isn't visible on the shawl. All this is just to say that I think my plan to not alternate skeins every two rows and just add a new one when I get to it has worked so far - at least when I changed from skein 1 to skein 2.

There have also been a couple of questions about Little Logan. Logan is a Golden Retriever but he's not an American style Golden Retriever. Logan is an English or European style Golden Retriever and while the only mention of color in the breed standard is that the dog must not be white or too dark (like mahogany), dogs bred to this standard tend to be lighter than the American type of Goldens. Logan is actually fairly dark for this type of Golden (the English/European). He's about the color of a lightly toasted marshmallow with yellow red ears. There are some differences in temperament between the American Goldens and the English/European Goldens but the intelligence, sweetness, friendliness, and general suspicion that your dog might have been dropped on his head at some point are the same. (Goldens are crazy, ask anyone who has one.) There are a few breeders here in the US who are breeding this type of Golden, but they're few and far between. We actually got Logan from a breeder in Ontario, Canada (Chrys-Haefen) and he's registered in the CKC, not the AKC (Chrys-Haefen Little Logan TK421 - bonus points if you can figure out the TK421.) If there are any more questions about Logan (and I don't mind at all), please feel free to PM me on Ravelry (PinkLemon) - that's easier than posting email addresses on the Internets.

Look At The Dog

2011-10-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

Who's chewing on his giant Kong toy - yum! I did knit this weekend, but I'm not ready to show it to you yet so all you get is information that I've knitted and a picture of Logan. I figure most of you are here for Logan anyway, and I can't blame you. I'll show you the secret project later this week or next week, so you won't be in suspense for long!

Yep, Still More of the Same

2011-10-20T08:11:00.000-05:00

I keep telling myself to work on the Austin Hoodie sleeves, but when I have a minute to knit, I grab the Cambridge. From the comments it seems that you don't mind seeing it again, which is good, because it's all I've been knitting on lately. I've finished the first skein and I've worked 2 rows in the second skein. I did get a little pooling from the first skein (see the dark spot at the top right?) which was surprising, but doesn't bother me. I have the stitch pattern memorized and it's going pretty quickly as long as people aren't talking to me too much (there's some counting in this pattern). As fast as this shawl is growing, I'm afraid it's going to be a stay at home project before too long, which will solve the problem of the talking people, but will slow down the overall progress. I might have something new tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it.

I know, I know...

2011-10-18T08:19:00.001-05:00

... it's the same project as yesterday. Monday's are always crazy around here and my knitting time is limited so since I had packed up my Cambridge to carry around with me and knit in public, that's what got worked on yesterday. I really do try not to have the same thing over and over (boring blog, readers lose consciousness) but sometimes that's how it works out. There are about 5 more repeats now than there were 24 hours ago, but I'm still on the first skein of yarn. I'll probably go ahead and wind the second skein into a ball today though, so I'm ready for it when I get there. Try to control yourself with all the excitement around here. I hope no one has a heart condition.

Something New

2011-10-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

I know Friday I was babbling about sleeves, but I got distracted and decided to start something else instead. Back in April, shortly after marrying Prince William, Kate (the Duchess of Cambridge) was spotted going grocery shopping in a shawl! Of course the general public probably didn't get the significance of this, but Ravelry picked up on it and went crazy (or parts of Ravelry did). There are probably ten or more patterns for Kate's shopping shawl, both free and for sale, all slightly different. Being someone who loves princesses (even though she's just a duchess for now), I knew I would want to make one of these shawls. The fact that she wears it with a long tee/tunic, jeans and ballet flats means it would totally fit into my own wardrobe of tees, jeans and ballet flats. (Do I have royal style and didn't know it?) I decided to use the Cambridge pattern, and instead of a dark olive/forest green (or is it an olive in a dark forest?), I decided to go with purple - Madelinetosh Pashmina (love!) in Logwood to be exact. The ruffles are done with short rows as you go and except for two tiny Kitchener stitch seams to join the ruffle at the beginning and at the end, there's no other finishing. This will probably be my drag around in public project because I've gotten the pattern memorized and at this point, it's not huge.

Austin Hoodie

2011-10-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

I'm moving along on the sleeve. I know at this point it doesn't look all that impressive, but you have to go around in a lot of circles to get a sleeve and that's what I'm doing. Going in circles. I'm going to really work on this cardi this weekend and see if I can't get some serious headway on it. I started it back in May and it's now getting (or thinking about getting) cool enough to wear it around here. Also, I've got other things I want to start knitting but I'm making myself finish this up first.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and if you're going to be updating your iPhone (or iPod) with the new iOS5, make sure you've got several hours. I updated yesterday and it took a little over 2 hours (on my 3Gs), but it worked perfectly and put everything back how I had it. (Just a little public service announcement.) Now I've got to figure out how to use all the new stuff!

Celaeno

2011-10-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

Mommy finished up her Celaeno shawl (she helped me spell that) for her October Knit Something of the Month Club. I got to wear it this morning but I really wanted to help her with those little sparkly bumps that are on it. She says they're beads but I think I could pull them off for her and make it look better. This is me looking deep into the camera to hypnotize Mommy with my big, dark eyes. I figure if I can't get those bead things, maybe I can get some bacon. Mommy says I have to tell you what yarn she used so blah, blah, Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the Bacon colorway, blah, blah. Oh, Mommy says it's not the Bacon colorway, it's Lepidoptra (she helped me spell that one too, but she isn't sure she even got it right).

Here's what Mommy calls a "Detail Shot." I call it taking a picture of a shawl on my drumstick, which is a little weird. I mean, OK, the edge is kind of interesting (more of those bead things), but you can't see my pretty coat on my drumstick. I think I need to get some photos made without shawls because I really don't walk around wearing them in real life - Mommy takes them away from me when she's done getting pictures. I know where she keeps them though - in the closet place that I'm not supposed to be without "adult supervision" but I know how to open the door now and I play with Mommy's bathrobe which is a magical thing she puts on first thing in the morning to take me outside. It has a rope thing I can use to pull her along if she's moving slowly. All Mommies should have a rope thing to get them to move along in the morning! Oh, I've got to go, she's coming back and I don't want her to know that I can get into the closet by myself. Bye!

A Sleeve is Born

2011-10-12T08:17:00.003-05:00

I've started the first sleeve of my Austin Hoodie. These are knit in the round, from the top down, and yes, they are set in sleeves. That means the sleeve caps are knit with short rows, but it also means I don't have to sew in sleeves later. Connie Chang Chinchio (the designer) did this on the Metro Cardi also. I did that one in black last Fall, and I'm betting she has other designs that use this sleeve technique as well.

Anyway, I'm now to the part of the sleeve that goes round and round and round so all I have to do at this point is keep knitting and take notes so the second sleeve matches the first. It looks a little gathered and puffy because it's on a 9 inch needle. It will be a regular, long sleeve when it's all knit, not puffy.

There was a comment on this sweater on Monday about the color and unfortunately both Monday morning and this morning it was overcast (today it was actually raining!) so the flash washed out the color some. I tried to correct the color, but it's actually a dark, wine red, not a deep rose. At some point you'd think I'd realize that reds don't photograph well, but as a brunette I just love reds too much to stop knitting with them. Sorry about that.

October Knit Something of the Month

2011-10-11T08:36:00.000-05:00

I know it's already October 11 and I haven't shown you my Knit Something of the Month project for this month, but I haven't forgotten about it. In fact, I'm binding off now. I started it last Wednesday or Thursday and since garter stitch is easy even for sick people, I plowed through the first section pretty quickly. By the time I was ready to start the lace I was feeling better, so I just kept going. Now I'm just past the halfway point of the bind off.

Oh, what is it? It's Celaeno from Romi's first ebook. I used Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Lepidoptra. I didn't put beads in the top garter section because I didn't have enough beads (and the being sick), but I did bead the lace section as it was charted. I also skipped the last lace row on the chart because of yardage issues, but the pattern still works out without that row (I think). Once I finish binding off, I'll get it blocked so Logan can wear it. The silly puppy was hopping and dancing around yesterday morning, trying to model my Austin Hoodie, so I know he'll be happy to wear Celaeno.

Austin Hoodie

2011-10-10T08:41:00.002-05:00

Sorry I dropped off last week. I've been sick and while I'm feeling much better now, I still don't have all my energy back. While this has meant that laundry is being neglected, knitting hasn't been. I finished up the fronts of the Austin Hoodie AND I joined the shoulders AND I wove in all the ends! There were a lot of ends. Next up are the sleeves, and I did get the needles in, so I'll do those before I do the hood. Now I've got to run. We have no food in this house and the dog fuzz tumbleweeds are starting to get bigger than the dog!

Chimeras

2011-10-05T08:04:00.001-05:00

I've finished up my Chimera mitts. These were a fun project to knit and I love the way they look all finished up. I used Valley Yarns Northampton in Lake Heather and Chestnut Heather. The only change I made to the pattern was to go up one needle size on the outer layer of the mitt so they'd be just a little bigger than the inner layer (this helps the two layers lie nicely together). Other than that, I just followed the directions and knit my mitts!

Kleio

2011-10-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

I finished my Kleio Saturday morning but didn't want to unpin it from it's blocking until I was sure it was completely dry. I enjoyed working on this design and I love the finished shawl. I used Socks That Rock Lightweight in Rook-y for the main color and The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Malachite for the contrast color. I decreased the cast on by two repeats because I didn't have as much of my Main Color as Romi did. The shawl still came out plenty big but I didn't have to worry about running out of yarn. The only other change I made was to use a US 7 (4.5 mm) for the braids so they wouldn't be too tight. The braids took a lot of time and the twisty yarns nearly did me in a few times, but I love the added texture they give to the shawl.

And since we need a glamour shot to prove something is finished, Logan stepped up to help. This was his best photo shoot yet - perfect behavior!

Camp Loopy Reward!

2011-10-03T08:58:00.002-05:00

I got my Wollmeise! This was the prize for completing all three Camp Loopy projects this summer. This is the first Wollmeise I've ever even seen in real life and I just love the color. I got Neptun Dark which is a gorgeous dark blue green color. It's the Merino Superwash base, which gives me 574 yards. I'm thinking about making And So Are You with it (this pattern is part of an ebook with Roses Are Red, Violets are Blue, Sugar is Sweet, And So Are You, and Sugared Violets - the name makes more sense with it's other patterns). For now though, it's just going to sit with me so I can pet it.

Kleio

2011-09-30T08:55:00.001-05:00

Keep on knitting, keep on knitting, keep on knitting...

Yep, still on the edging. Have a great weekend!

Kleio

2011-09-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

I realized when I was correcting this morning's photo for color accuracy that Kleio looks like a wave. I'm on the edging now! Yes, the final edging that binds off the entire shawl! When I began this project I took out two repeats from my cast on (there are directions for doing this in the pattern) because I didn't have as much yardage in my main color as Romi did. When I finished up with the main color, after the third braid, I had 12 grams left, so it worked out nicely. I have plenty of my contrast color so I'm not worried about running out mid-edging. The edging isn't difficult, but with 500+ stitches to be bound off, it's going to take some time. I'm hoping to get it finished up this weekend sometime though. The edging can be worked on in front of the TV so that shouldn't be a problem, particularly Saturday.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but on Saturday mornings, once everyone is fed and taken care of, I make a big pot of tea (every other morning it's just a mug of tea), get out a fancy tea cup and make a nest back in the bed. Once I'm properly snuggled in with my tea and knitting, I watch the SyFy channel - they play their own original movies on Saturdays, which are so wonderfully cheesy and silly. There's usually some sort of theme to each Saturday: mutant dinosaurs of destruction, mutant space invaders of destruction, giant mutant dinosaur sharks of destruction, medieval monsters of destruction, you get the idea. It's good knitting TV and its fun to watch all that destruction and bad acting.

I forgot to mention, Logan's vet appointment went well. He's healthy and growing nicely. He weighs 76.5 pounds now and since he's 15 months old, he doesn't have too much more growing to do. (He won't be full grown until he's about 2 years old.) To compare, Finn weighed 62 pounds full grown, but our first Golden, Bear, weighed 80 pounds full grown. We think Logan will be close to Bear's size, but he could be even bigger. We're all happy he's a healthy boy, and he's happy he doesn't have to go back to the vet's anytime soon (although he did get lots of doggy cookies there).

Something to Pass the Time

2011-09-28T09:33:00.000-05:00

When I put the Paraphernalias on hold while the extra yarn was zipping its way across the country, I needed a portable project. Fortunately I had just the thing in my stash. I'm doing the fingerless mitt version of Chimera and I'm using a yarn that is new to me - Valley Yarns Northampton. I'm using Lake Heather and Chestnut Heather and so far, I'm really liking the yarn. It's comparable to Cascade 220, but it actually has 247 yards per skein and a price tag under $5.00, it's a win win. It doesn't have the color range of Cascade 220, but nothing does, does it? It's a good, basic, mid grade wool that will work for a number of projects and I'll be using it more, now that I've tried it.

September Knit Something of the Month

2011-09-27T08:19:00.000-05:00

In what must have been a land speed record for the post office, I got my extra skein of Rosebud yesterday from New York! I now have a full pair of Paraphernalia socks with matching toes and they're all finished in plenty of time before the end of the month! Yipppee! I loved knitting this pattern, it really did knit up pretty quickly, but I'd recommend having at least 380 yards before starting it, or plan on shortening the leg.

Logan wanted in on the photo shoot this morning so you get a little puppy eye candy this morning. He's heading off to the vet with me in a little while for his yearly exam, but he doesn't know yet. He's still not a fan of being in the car. Oh, and last time his paws were in the sock photo, someone thought they looked like Sheltie paws, but they're not. Logan is a Golden Retriever (which is easier to see when his face is in the photo).

Kleio

2011-09-26T08:15:00.001-05:00

Kleio spent all last week waiting for me to do the second braid. The braids, while they look really interesting (and don't photograph that easily), and add a lot to the design, are not fast and they can't really be worked in different knitting sessions. Which means I needed a big chunk of time that I knew I could work fairly uninterrupted to do a braid. I've been worrying about running out of my main color of yarn (it's Socks That Rock Lightweight in Rook-y), so when I started Kleio, I cast on for two fewer repeats to save some yarn. When I started the second braid, I weighed my main color and had 42 grams left. Four and a half hours later (see, I wasn't kidding about the big chunk of time), I weighed it again and had 34 grams left. So I should be OK to get it finished. As you can see above, I've done the stockinette stripe after the second braid and now I'm ready to do the third braid and the cast off edging and then Kleio is finished!

Where We Come To A Screeching Halt

2011-09-23T08:14:00.001-05:00

I'm out of yarn. 2 1/2 rounds before I start toe decreases. I read through the comments yesterday and while the toe in a different color idea is genius (and I hadn't thought of it), I don't want to do that to these socks. I think they're really pretty and I want the toes to match. I will have to do a pair of pink socks with yellow toes though because that just sounds really cute and I am the Pink Lemon!

I ended up looking in Ravelry for destashes in this color and found two people with it (one person actually had two skeins), so I've already paid for another skein and it should be on it's way to me soon. This will be faster than going through Blue Moon since they might or might not have Rosebud dyed and ready to go. I love this color, so it's not a hardship to have another skein around here. I'll just use it to make fingerless mitts or something. So a little bump in the road to a finished pair of socks, but Yeah Ravelry!

Have a great weekend and I hope you don't run out of yarn!

Am I Going To Make It?

2011-09-22T08:18:00.001-05:00

I'm zipping along on my second Paraphernalia sock and I've got plenty of time to get it finished by the end of the month. (As of right now, I'm 42 rounds from beginning toe decreases.) My question is, do I have enough yarn? My gut is saying no. Do I have a Plan B? No. There are a few things I could do if I run out of yarn:

I could frog the socks and reknit them with fewer repeats on the legs, but I don't want to.
I could keep going and just finish the toe of the second sock with something else pink if I need to, but I'm pretty sure I don't have anything else This Color of pink.
I could order more yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and cross my fingers that it's fairly close colorwise, but even if they keep highly detailed dying notes, this is handdyed and there will be differences.
I could scour Ravelry for other people who have used this yarn and beg them to let me buy their leftovers.

That's what I've come up with so far, but I haven't really settled on any one plan. For now, I'm knitting as fast as I can, in the hopes that the yarn will stretch just because of my knitting speed - kinda like when you're low on gas and you drive fast so you can coast farther if you do run out. Doesn't yarn allow coasting? I guess in the meantime I should start looking in Ravelry for people who've used this color because that should get me the extra yarn the fastest. Cross your fingers for me and send me stretchy yarn thoughts!

Remember This?

2011-09-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

It's the Austin Hoodie and it's been sitting patiently, waiting for me to get back to it while I worked on Camp Loopy projects all Summer. It didn't help that I had stopped knitting at a place where I'd need about 30 minutes to sort out where I was and to restart, so it was easy to overlook the hoodie and work on other things. It's getting closer to sweater weather around here, or at least acting like it might get closer to sweater weather at some point, and a fingering weight cardi is a useful thing in this climate. I'm working on the fronts right now and as soon as I get them knitted and the shoulders seams sewn, I'm going to spend some time weaving in all those ends! I don't think I've woven in a single end on this sweater yet and it looks like a Ghillie Suit on the inside. I've also got to track down a US 5 needle for the sleeves. I like the 9 inch circulars for sleeves and I have a size 4 and a size 6. I might have to do the hood first while I wait for the needle to get here.

Kleio

2011-09-20T08:06:00.002-05:00

It's not just little pink cabled socks around here. At least not all the time. Sometimes I set the sock down to take things out of Logan's mouth. And sometimes, in between taking things out of Logan's mouth, I work on something else. I've gotten all the way through the lace section of Kleio now and I'm ready to start my second braid. The first braid took several hours and this next braid will have more stitches than the first. Of course I'll also get to spend time taking things out of Logan's mouth while I work the braid, mainly the yarn I'm knitting with since he thinks he's part kitten and just can't control his yarn urges. I've never seen a dog as interested in yarn and strings as Logan is. Kleio is really fun for both of us - I get to knit and he chases yarn!

Paraphernalia

2011-09-19T08:16:00.002-05:00

I've finished the first sock and I'm just past the twisted ribbing edge for the second one. I'm still loving this design with the single large cable. The majority of the rounds are just a simple rib, but the cable crossings happen often enough that I don't get bored with the ribs. In a way it reminds me of Rogue. (Remember that one from years ago? Still a great design.) Rogue has the same balance of simple with cables and you didn't get bored while you worked on it. Thinking about Rogue, I should do another one in the cardigan version. I need to finish these socks first though.

Almost a Sock

2011-09-16T09:10:00.002-05:00

I did get some knitting done yesterday and I'm almost done with my first Paraphernalia sock. I've started the toe decreases but didn't quite get finished by bedtime last night. Since yesterday was the halfway point of the month (and this is my September Knit Something of the Month project), I'm pretty much on track to have them finished on time. I just counted up and I've only got one more pair of socks after this one for the year. The October and December projects are shawls. I've really had fun with this little monthly project plan and I fully intend to do it again next year. I've mostly stuck with the original yarns and patterns that I set aside back in December of last year (which is surprising as often as I change my mind). I think alternating types of projects (socks and shawls) has helped keep me interested. As far as actually busting my stash, I'm not sure the sock yarn box is any lighter than it was a year ago, but I did pull out and use some things that had been in it for a while.

Nothing to See Here

2011-09-15T07:58:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to pop in and say that everything's fine here, we're fine, we've had a reactor leak and we're trying to shut it down, give us some time, ... how are you?

No actually, there just hasn't been any knitting for a couple of days so there's nothing to blog about. As far as Han Solo, we haven't seem him around here but I don't think he's done any knitting either.

Puppy Paraphernalia

2011-09-13T08:35:00.000-05:00

As soon as I got out the camera this morning Logan bounced over to the fireplace and struck his pose. Clearly he was wanting his picture taken. Caleb even noticed how still he sits while he gets his picture taken with knitting (I got the picture early). He's becoming such a good helper with knitting pictures!

This is the Paraphernalia sock for my September Knit Something of the Month project and I've finished the leg and have done the heel flap. For some reason my brain says it's later in the month than it is and I'm panicking a bit on getting these done. Then I look at the calendar and realize I still have more than half the month left to finish them. Maybe I should just really knit on them until they're done. I don't know why it feels like it's sometime later in the month, it just does. It's the same feeling you get when it's actually Tuesday but it feels like Wednesday or Thursday, only instead of being off by a day or two, I'm missing a week or so. Does this happen to anyone else or am I losing my mind?

Kleio

2011-09-12T09:12:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend I finished up the garter stitch section of Kleio and I did my first braid and I got started on the lace section. I've never done a braid before (in knitting that is) and it was interesting. One of the things Romi says to do when you start the braid is to pull out lots of yarn from your ball. Yards and yards of it. Of course, she doesn't mention what to do with your dog who thinks he's a kitten who decides to be "helpful" with all this yarn all over the floor. So it went a bit like this - knitty braidy thing, knitty braidy thing, "Leave it Logan," knitty braidy thing, "Drop it Logan,"knitty braidy thing, knitty braidy thing, "Move Logan, you're laying on the yarn."

Yes, it took a while to do the braid. But now I'm on the lace and while I have two more braids to go, the lace is doing just fine for now. Also, I'm back to normal lengths of yarn, not yards and yards in a pile on the floor, so the dog kitten is being good with it right now.

Oh, I almost forgot, my contrast color is from the Loopy Solid's Series in the Malachite colorway. This is a fairly decent picture of my main color too, you can actually see the colors in the black from the Rook-y (Socks that Rock Lightweight).

September Knit Something of the Month

2011-09-08T08:19:00.000-05:00

Since September has started, I've started working on my September Knit Something of the Month Project. This month is a sock month so I'm knitting Paraphernalia socks. It's a free pattern and I think it has just the right amount of cables. There is just one single big cable going down the outside of each leg and the rest of the sock is ribbed. This means it's been a very fast sock (as you can see by how far I am already). I'm using Socks That Rock Lightweight in Rosebud and the cables are popping nicely in the yarn. I did change the cuff of the sock a bit - I just started in the K3, P1 rib that the main part of the sock uses, but I worked the knit stitches through the back loops. This tightened up the edge a bit, but it still flows into the main pattern. It's also biasing a bit right now, but I think that will disappear when I block them or when I wear them. I had never seen this pattern before Camp Loopy and several people did it for their second project (cables). I just loved the look of it and I'm so glad I found it because I'm really enjoying knitting it!

Something New

2011-09-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

After I finished my Vitamin D cardi, I started Kleio, the first pattern from Romi's second year of seven small shawls, based on the Muses (all nine Muses will have a project in the book, but only seven of them get shawls). Kleio is the muse of History.

I'm working on the top part of the shawl which is garter stitch short rows right now. I forgot to get a picture of the other yarn I'm using so I'll surprise you with it later. It's not really surprising, it coordinates with the yarn you see here which is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Rook-y (from the Raven series). If the second yarn were surprising, it would be bubblegum pink or something that doesn't work with the raven black. Maybe the second yarn is more mysterious than surprising. Whatever, I'll show you the second yarn next time. They work together nicely though, I think. I also have to say that I love all these shawl/shawlette designs that have come out in the last year or so that use two colors of yarn. It's fun not being limited to one color!

All Finished!

2011-09-06T08:07:00.003-05:00

Finished! In 18 days, I knit a sweater in fingering weight yarn! I love the way it came out and I'm really glad I added long sleeves. Thankfully, I might even get to wear it. The temps have dropped here and yesterday's high in the low 80's was what we were seeing for lows all summer! It's actually a little bit chilly right now.

All the details - this is the Vitamin D cardigan done in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Vermillion. Knit as written, except for added length to the sleeves to make them long. This was also my third project for Camp Loopy 2011, so by finishing all three on time I should be getting some Wollmeise!

More Sleeve

2011-09-01T08:07:00.003-05:00

I'm now about 4 inches from finishing my first sleeve. The first one always feels like it takes longer than the second one because when I get close to finishing it, I have to keep trying it on. Since I'm obsessive about using a row counter, I can just knit the second one straight through without stopping, by following my notes from the first one. I'm planning on finishing this sleeve today and I hope to get started on the second sleeve, even if all I do is pick up the stitches for it. I may or may not blog tomorrow (there's only so much you can say about sleeves, and I think I've more than covered it), but my goal is to have the whole cardi finished over the weekend. If I can do that, you realize that this means you'll get to see Other Things next week, right?

The Sleeve

2011-08-31T08:31:00.002-05:00

I'm still working on my first sleeve. There's just not that much to say about it at this point. It's coming along just fine and I'm doing fine on time for the project.

To distract you from the lack of interesting information about the sleeve, I will tell you a story. A true story. The other day Mickael and I were at WalMart and after we parked and were heading across the parking lot, a squirrel came running out from between two cars and crossed in front of us. I have no idea what the squirrel was doing in the parking lot because the part of the parking lot we were in was about as far away from trees as you could get. It would have made more sense to see the squirrel closer to the trees at the edge of the parking lot. So anyway, the squirrel ran right over to an Infinity SUV and climbed through the grill and up under the hood! It was the strangest thing. We have no idea why the squirrel did this, but this incident combined with the time I saw a squirrel and a duck sitting together on the sidewalk by the golf course has made me very distrustful of squirrels lately*. I mean we already know ducks are shifty, but if squirrels are fraternizing with them, I think we should keep an eye on the squirrels too. Also, I'll be slapping the hood of my car before I start it up to leave Walmart just to give any squirrels a chance to leave before I start it up.

*On the day I saw the squirrel and duck together, the duck chased me after I ran by so clearly the two of them were discussing something they didn't want me to overhear. At the time I was more concerned with the duck than the squirrel since I was attacked by ducks as a small child, but apparently squirrels are also untrustworthy wildlife.

Hexipuffs!

2011-08-30T08:10:00.003-05:00

It's time for a Hexipuff update! I've got 15 of them now so I only need eleventy billion more to make The Beekeeper's Quilt! (I'm planning to make mine bigger than the original, but how big will be dependent on how long I keep going on hexipuffs.) You can see my color scheme now, or my lack-of-color scheme, since I'm using pale neutrals. I've got one fluffypuff (Shibuiknits Silk Cloud), three silkypuffs (Hand Maiden Sea Silk), a fuzzypuff (alpaca), and a half and half puff because I ran out of one color mid puff. I'm starting with my leftovers, but eventually I'll buy yarn for this project and I'll get some less solid colors. I'll probably also make stripypuffs and I might embellish some of the puffs just for fun. I'm keeping the finished puffs in a little box but I'm running out of room and I'll need to find someplace else to store them. Some people have been putting them in large bowls, but I'm afraid if I have them in a bowl Caleb will walk off with them. If I use a large basket without a lid, Logan will walk off with them. I've got to figure out a safe place for them, where they won't get squished or stolen!

Blazing a New Trail, or Sleeve

2011-08-29T09:02:00.002-05:00

I've completed the body of my cardigan! It really needs a good blocking. I'm now working on my first sleeve and I think I'm making them long. I tried on the cardi once I finished the body and front bands (it fits!) and I'm pretty sure that the long sleeve idea is the right way to go for me on this sweater. I'm going to double check other Vitamin D projects on Ravelry because I'm sure at least one other person has lengthened the sleeves. Hopefully there will be pictures so I'll know if what's in my head is what it will look like or notes if they ran into any problems when they knit them. How did we ever knit without Ravelry?

I realize the picture is hard to see but it's overcast here this morning and we actually got a tiny bit of rain earlier! Makes it hard to get good pictures, but we need the rain so badly, I'm not complaining.

Blazing into the Weekend

2011-08-26T09:29:00.003-05:00

I'm within sight of finishing up the body of my cardigan. My goal this weekend is to finish the body and the front edging (just discovered yesterday that there is a front edging, it's amazing what you find when you read the directions), and start a sleeve. I'll be working the sleeves in the round and before I start them, I'll try on the cardi and decide if it's going to be 3/4 sleeved like the pattern calls for or if it's going to be long sleeved. I love the 3/4 length, but for some reason, I'm thinking long sleeved on this one.

Of course there might be a hexipuff or two churned out this weekend also, you never know! Hope you all have a great weekend and if you're on the East Coast, put on your water wings and hold on tight!

A Little Bit of Glory

2011-08-24T09:06:00.002-05:00

Not much has been done on my cardigan since you last saw it, but it's slowly getting closer to being finished. I've started the decorative increases at the lower edge now. Pardon the fingers, but I couldn't get it to show without holding it. On the other hand, this is probably the most accurate picture of the yarn color I've gotten so far because when I was adjusting the color of the photo, I adjusted for my nail polish color (seeing as my hands are right here with me and the sweater gets put back away after it's morning photos). I didn't really get anything done on it last night because I got distracted by organizing my computer. I've got more work to do on the computer, but I'm ready to finish up the body of the cardigan so I hope to get back to knitting tonight!

What's This?

2011-08-23T08:08:00.002-05:00

I wonder what could be inside this Cinderella lunch box? It turns out that lunch boxes are the perfect size for yarn, double points, a row counter, a darning needle, a stitch marker, and a little bag of stuffing.

Know what it's for yet?

Hexipuffs! It's my little take along kit for making hexipuffs. Finished hexipuffs get unloaded at home, but the little lunch box is perfect for hexipuffing on the go. I get bonus points because Caleb is horrified that I'm walking around with a Cinderella lunch box. As you can see, I've made four* so far and I think I've figured out a system that works for me. It takes me just about 30 minutes to make one, from casting on to weaving in the last end, so I should be able to crank out one every day in the carpool line. On days when we have other activities, I might get even more done.

*I've actually made one more hexipuff, a red one, for Caleb. As soon as he saw the first few he announced that he wanted one of his own so I let him pick out yarn and made him one. He likes to squish it in his hand.

The Blaze of Glory is On Fire!

2011-08-22T08:56:00.002-05:00

I got a TON of knitting done this weekend! I'm most of the way through the body on my Vitamin D cardigan now! I tried it on when I divided the sleeve stitches from the body and it looked like it was going to fit the way I want it to. I'm also doing fine on yarn - only on my second skein now - so I should have enough to make long sleeves if I decide that's what I want. (The pattern has 3/4 sleeves, which I love, but I'm thinking of doing long sleeves for this.) I'll finish the body and try it on again and decide then.

I have to go now though, Logan is doing his pre-winter shedding right now and my dark hardwood floors are covered in white fuzz. If I don't vacuum, I'll have white fuzz in my sweater.

Gray Tabby in the Snow

2011-08-19T08:26:00.002-05:00

I finished up Mickael's socks the other day! I started these in April and they have been my drag around, knit in public project. There hasn't been a big rush on them seeing as our low temperatures haven't really been below 80 degrees for months. He's just not wearing wool socks too much right now. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in Gray Tabby and the pattern is my own New Fallen Snow. I adapted it to fit Mickael's foot and I switched to stockinette stitch for the foot instead of staying in the stitch pattern.

Of course now I need a new portable knitting project. Hmmmm, I wonder what that could be?

(As of right this minute, I haven't made a single hexipuff. Later today? That's a different story.)

Blaze of Glory

2011-08-18T08:17:00.003-05:00

Work continues on my Vitamin D cardigan and I'm getting closer to separating the sleeves from the fronts and back! I didn't actually work on it at all yesterday, I was finishing up another project that I'll show you tomorrow. Even though I skipped a day, I feel like I've got a pretty good start on my cardigan at this point.

I know Logan talked yesterday about the dog/cat mingling that happened the other day, but there were a couple of things that I was very happy about in their encounters. First of all, Shibori tends to be kind of shy around dogs that are not his, so for Shibori to come out at all and then to growl and hiss at Logan (instead of just running away), was pretty brave. It had to help Shibori's confidence that Logan's response was to back away slowly until he was hiding behind me. The other thing that made me happy was Logan's response to Shibori. No, it wasn't the most manly thing to do, but it showed me that Logan respects the hiss and growl from a cat. This will be good whenever Logan gets a kitty of his own. We're not quite sure how much cat interaction Logan has had because while the breeder we got him from had house cats, she left it up to the cats to decide whether they wanted to interact with the puppies or not. Apparently there was a kitten there while Logan was there and the kitten was more social with the pups, so the chances are probably good that Logan has done more than see a cat, but we just don't know. The important thing is, he realized that Shibori meant business and he respected that, backed off and no one got hurt, which could easily happen accidentally due to Logan's size.

Logan's Big Day

2011-08-17T08:24:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was big! Huge, I tell you, so Mommy said I could blog again today. We got a new roof yesterday and you would not believe the noise they made! Then, after Daddy left for work, one of our somethings called a smoke detector (do you think they have bacon detectors?) decided it needed new batteries. Mommy can't reach it without hauling out the ladder and really the roofers were making so much noise that it wasn't really bothering us that much so she decided to wait until Daddy got home. With all the noise and stuff going on, I suggested that we go to my friend Barclay's house. Mommy says it's actually Grandmommy and Big Daddy's house, but I know that Barclay is in charge. So I gathered up Mommy, with her string stuff, and Caleb with his Wii games and took them over to Barclay's house. It was pretty quiet over there.

I had a lot of fun there. I tried to show Barclay how to play by bouncing around at him, but Mommy says he's an older doggy and doesn't really like crazy puppy games. Also she thinks he's smaller than me, but I think her proportions are off. I mean he's like 20 pounds! That's huge! Mommy says I weigh about 80 pounds, so he's way bigger than me! (Mommy just reminded me that I don't know how to count past 3 since that's how many scoops of food I get in my bowl, so maybe I'm bigger than Barclay after all.) Anyway, I followed Barclay around a little bit and I shared his water bowl (he's nice that way, he lets me drink from his water bowl and also I used his backyard). Then I decided to try to figure out the Mystery of Barclay's House. You see Barclay's food bowl is on the floor by his water bowl. The mystery is, whose food bowls (they have two) are sitting on the window seat in the kitchen? And the even bigger mystery is why hasn't the food been eaten? Why has whoever just left it there? That's no way to treat food. (I'm not allowed to eat it, I've tried.) There is also a smell at Barclay's house of another animal besides Barclay and Grandmommy and Big Daddy, but I have yet to see this mysterious creature. I've done a little bit of looking for the creature before but I haven't had much time to look and I'm a little afraid it might be some blood thirsty, terrifying behemoth who might rip my throat out, you know, like a duck. I think the neglected food might belong to this animal. I started looking for the mystery creature and using my keen investigative skills I found that the scent was primarily located under the bed, but it disappeared into the darkness there.

After lunch, I was actually able to make contact though! Grandmommy was coming from the bedroom back to the kitchen where she and Mommy were doing the string things, so I went to check on her (Grandmommy) and see if she needed me to help her carry any bacon or anything, and there it was - the mystery creature! It came to me and we touched noses and it didn't try to kill me or anything, despite being at least four times my size (Mommy says we really have to do something about my sense of proportion). Mommy said it was Cinnamon, Grandmommy's Siamese kitty. The Cinnamon kitty thing was nice but he didn't let me give him a proper butt sniffing greeting. After we touched noses, he went back to the bedroom and I didn't see him again, but Mommy and Grandmommy told me what a good puppy I was to be so sweet to the Cinnamon kitty thing. I had finally found the mysterious creature who ignores it's food!

Completely tuckered out after all the drama of touching noses with the Cinnamon kitty thing, I soon fell asleep beside Mommy's chair. When I woke up, I sat up slowly and blinked and looked around - you know how it is when you wake up, it takes a minute before you're ready to get up and shake it all out and go. Well, before I could get awake enough to even stand up, I realized I was being watched! This wasn't the Cinnamon kitty thing either! It had green eyes and spots and when it saw my eyes were open, it growled and hissed at me! I did what any 80 pound Golden Retriever would do, I backed away slowly until I was hidden behind my Mommy. The bloodthirsty beast (not a duck, either) kept hissing and growling at me, so since I had Mommy protecting me, I barked at it several times. I mean, really its language was terrible. Mommy said it was the Shibori kitty thing. Shibori must mean Spotted Doom that Curses Like A Sailor because this thing was just cursing a blue streak. I don't speak kitty, but let me tell you, this thing was using seriously inappropriate language in front of my Mommy, so I just stayed hidden behind her and barked at it. The Shibori kitty thing finally left me alone and went away and I was just relieved to have survived the encounter! I mean the Shibori kitty thing was sneaking up on me while I slept! Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't woken up? I know, it just sends chills up your spine!

I'm glad to have solved the mystery of the food and the unidentified scent, but I hope I don't have nightmares about green eyes and spots! It was a very eventful day and even though we went home before the roofers finished, I just fell asleep like a rock.

Oh, Mommy says I have to give string stuff details, so Little Leaves, August Knit Something of the Month, finished last Friday, blah blah. I don't think it would protect against the Shibori kitty thing so I can't see what use it is. I'm checking into doggy kevlar later today.

Blaze of Glory

2011-08-16T07:25:00.002-05:00

I started my Vitamin D cardigan last night. I didn't get very far because I kept making stupid mistakes. It's not that it's difficult, I was just tired. I'm hoping to get back on it once I get some caffeine flowing in my veins here in a little while. Oh, and the name? Well I might be crazy attempting a fingering weight cardigan in a month, but if I fail, at least I'll go down in a blaze of glory.

Camp Loopy Project 3

2011-08-15T08:12:00.004-05:00

This is the last project for Camp Loopy 2011. If I can finish this one, I'll have done them all! The project this time is to knit something using at least 800 yards. Any project you want, as long as you use 800 yards or more. I'll be doing the Vitamin D cardigan out of Madelinetosh Sock in Vermillion. If the yarn looks familiar, it's the same yarn I used for project 2, in the same colorway. It's a great color and when I saw that they had more of it when I was ordering for project 3, I jumped on it. I have until September 15 to get the whole cardigan finished, but I've already done a gauge swatch and marked the pattern for my size, so later today, after the groceries are put away, I should be able to start.

Logan's Day

2011-08-12T08:24:00.002-05:00

Mommy said I could blog today! She took my picture and everything. Actually, she took several pictures of me and this is the one I chose to share with you. Don't I look sophisticated and elegant? Guess what I was doing 30 seconds before she took this picture? I was racing around the house like a greyhound. I tuck my ears back and run and I look just like a greyhound. A big one, that has crazy, curly, ruffle fur and more hair on my tail than a pack of greyhounds. But otherwise, I'm practically a greyhound clone. Sometimes when I'm running it's hard to stop. I usually use walls and furniture to stop when that happens. Mommy isn't really a fan of me slamming into the sofa at top speed, but a dog's got to stop somehow.

Mommy says my Caleb will be going back to school soon. They have been getting stuff together for him but none of it tastes good. Mommy got him some new shoes, but then she tried them on and THEY FIT HER! Mommy could not believe that she and my Caleb wear the same size shoes now. I wonder when my feet will be big enough to share shoes with Mommy? I wonder when I will get shoes? Oh, that reminds me, I need to get Mommy to cut my toenails. I don't like it when they get long so if I chew on them in front of her, she'll cut them for me. I've got her so well trained!

Have a nice weekend! Mommy says she'll be back Monday with the string stuff!

Little Leaves

2011-08-11T07:11:00.002-05:00

I'm working on the short rows now and they're moving right along. My goal is to finish this up by Saturday morning so I can get it blocked and still have time to knit a gauge swatch for Camp Loopy Project 3. I think I'll make it. If I have extra time, I'll see what I can get done on Mickael's second sock. I'm to the heel flap on that and since the foot is stockinette, it should move along fairly quickly from here on. The sock has been my drag around, public knitting project but I think hexipuffs could fill that requirement. Since Caleb will be starting a new school year soon, maybe I can start a new portable project too! (So far I haven't started a hexipuff. I'm holding out and being a good knitter!)

Logic

2011-08-10T08:07:00.002-05:00

Logic says that when you are going to start a sweater in 5 days, and you plan to knit that sweater in one month, you spend the 5 days getting ready to knit that sweater. You print the pattern and mark your size. You read through the pattern and make sure you understand what's going on. You knit a gauge swatch so you know what needles you'll need, wind your yarn, and you get everything ready. You might try to finish up other projects that are already on the needles, like the Knit Something of the Month shawl or the socks you started for your husband four months ago. Under no circumstances should you find a new pattern and fall head over heels in love with it, to the point of buying it, printing it and stash diving for yarn for it. That's what you should do, logically speaking.

Logic and I have never really been on speaking terms.

When the Beekeepers Quilt pattern was mentioned in one of the Camp Loopy threads (I think, but I'm not sure, there are a couple of people doing this for their project 3), I fell in love with it. Never mind the sweater I'm starting next Monday. Never mind the poor Babette laying on the floor of my sewing room, 25% sewn together and the rest just waiting for me. I want to knit hexipuffs! I've even been in the stash to pull yarn - I'm doing it in whites, ivories, almonds, creams, pale beiges, tans, dove grays, pale stone grays, faded driftwood, and any other pale to light neutrals I can find. I'm going to use leftover sock yarn to start with, but I'll have to add more yarns at some point. And just to prove that I haven't completely lost my mind, I haven't started knitting hexipuffs yet, but it's just a matter of time I'm afraid. I'm way too in love with the idea of fluffy, squishy hexipuffs to resist for too much longer. Even the name makes me giggle a little bit. How long can I hold out? We'll see...

Little Leaves

2011-08-09T07:36:00.002-05:00

I'm zipping along on my Little Leaves AKA Knit Something of the Month for August project. I realize that it doesn't look like it's zipping along, but you start on the longer, outer edge on this project and work towards the shorter, inner edge, so I am actually zipping along. I've got less than 10 rows before I start the short rows for the top part of the shawl. I thought about adding more repeats of the lace (I've got plenty of yarn), but the more I looked at projects knit by the pattern compared to projects with extra repeats (don't you just love Ravelry), the more I liked the original proportions. The bead rows really slow me down (I'm using clear beads with silver lining - they look like water droplets), but I've only got one more. I'm still hoping to get this finished by this weekend, so you'll probably be seeing more of it this week. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get Logan, he's licking an electrical outlet.

My Kingdom for A Glove

2011-08-08T08:08:00.002-05:00

With apologies to Richard III, my Kingdom gloves are all finished up! The pattern is Kingdom (it's free, from Knitty) and the yarn is Madelinetosh Sock in Vermillion. This was my second project for Camp Loopy. The only change I made to the pattern was to start the pinky finger about 1/2 inch before the other fingers, in other words, I worked the hand section a little farther on the other finger stitches. I also picked up stitches from adjoining fingers, rather than casting on new stitches for each finger - this meant less finishing at the end because I didn't have little seams to sew between each finger. The pattern is very well written and while it's also complex, if you follow directions carefully, you should be fine. When you're deciding which size to make (there are five different sizes in the pattern), choose one that will give you negative ease. A mitten can be loose and a little floppy, but gloves need to fit snugly or you won't be able to use your hands at all.

Project 3 for Camp Loopy begins next Monday and while I'm not going to tell you what I'm doing until then, I will tell you that the yarn will look familiar. I'm using this same yarn, in the same color for Project 3. Love. It. Also, my photographer was quite concerned that I give him credit for the picture, so you should all know that today's picture was taken by Caleb.