WIPs Gone Wild!

Never underestimate the power of caffeine.

Oh coffee. How I love you...

For the past few months, a certain black kitty has learned to tell the time. He knows exactly when it is 3:02am, and he's so proud of himself, he insists on telling me.

"Not just another pretty face, you know."

Not only does he sit outside my bedroom door meowing while the others egg him on in the background, he actually will fiddle with the door handle, and has succeeded in opening the door on a few occasions.

"You'd think she'd be happy to see me. It was kind of a letdown, let me tell you."

"I would have thought she'd be happy to see us too. And she wonders where Malcolm gets his potty mouth from..."

So, as the title suggests, I've been suffering from a serious lack of focus these days.

I'll admit to the following:

A great big mess.

I'm not going to give a count. Let's just say, there are...a few. A lot of what I end up doing is trying something out. Curiosity. But at the end of the day, I do know a few things. I always go back to the stuff I love working on - colourwork, and cables. And there's very little in between. I will knit some lace, and yes, I'm getting better at it. But, any time I venture into a different knitting territory, I usually end up getting bored, and lose interest very quickly. I guess I've earned the right to be one-track minded when it comes to my knitting.

I'm slow getting to some parties sometimes. I do work on socks a couple times a week, and I've determined that top down work best for me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the toe on the toe-ups right, and I had a hard time casting off the leg loosely enough.

I like what I have on the go right now. The old faithfuls - Fulmar, Delores, Lorraine's Dorset Down, Dunadd and Princess Line. I have a pair of socks, and I work on the endless stocking stitch body of Norfolk when I can't focus. So, I guess it'll all get done when it gets done.

It makes for some yawn pictures, but hey. It's my knitting.

Meanwhile...

Comfy Atticus?

"I'm good, thanks."

The Old Man has received a reprieve of sorts. His regular vet is away, so he's not booked for another few weeks for his yearly exam. I don't know if you can tell, but the King has his head resting on the side of the little swing table, while reclining on a pillow. It's all good to him.

But, we did have our first thunderstorm of the year a couple weeks ago.

At nearly 12 years old, Atticus is still a bit scared of the thunder and heavy rain.

"A bit?? I'm hiding behind girly baskets in shelving unit. It's more than a bit, Einstein."

And this is what Gandalf and Malcolm think of storms.

"No, I wanna be Batman!"

"No way! You're Robin! I'm Batman."

"You're always Batman! That's not fair!"

"Yeah, well I'm older than you!"

"Fine, but next time I'm going to be Superman, and YOU can be Supergirl for once."

And in "This Week in What's New Malcolm?".

Bumblebees.

"Awesome! They're like, huge! Not bird huge, or Atticus huge, but...wow. Hmmm... I wonder if Mom would mind if one came into the house so I could chase it around?"

He is fascinated by them. Last week was the orange tuxie from a few doors down that loves coming right up to the back door to harass them. This week it's bumblebees. Next week? Who knows.

"I'm watching you, lady. If need be, I can be lightning fast. Ninja Atticus! I can strike hard and fast, you won't even see me coming. So, don't try any funny business with the carrier and stuff. The others are weak, and I know your plan. So I hope I instill fear into you. Oh yeah."

Spring Cleaning...Oh, and an FO

This...
Has turned into this...

Not bad, huh? I went through each and every bin and bag, and put aside anything I either did not remember having, or did not have any intention of using. You gotta be ruthless...

I ended up with 4 large Ziploc XXL-sized bags, ready to be donated. So, Lorraine came over, and I packed up her car with the yarn, and we dropped it off at the Purple Purl, where they would be donating it to Sistering - a drop-in centre for homeless and socially isolated women here in Toronto. And excellent cause, and I'm glad I could contribute in some small way.

Let's face it. If I haven't used it by now, chances are I won't. Sure, I could have sold it off, but to be honest - I don't have the time. And you know what? Donating it was a much better solution.

What I kept - all my Virtual Yarns kits and Hebridean yarn, all my Norwegian kits and yarn, my "basic" wool, most of the Fleece Artist/Fiddlesticks yarns, and the Noro Kureyon (I want to make Lizard Ridge...). Oh, and all of my Jamieson's too. What I gave away was good stuff, but nevertheless stuff I would not have ended up using.

Hey look! It's an FO! Wow!

Hello, Genevieve.

Here she is, completed. Genevieve is by the very talented Dorothy Siemens, of Fiddlesticks Knitting. I bought the kit, and the yarn used is Silken Merino (a lovely blend of merino wool/silk) in the Amethyst colour. It's knit using 3mm and 3.5mm needles, and using 3mm to 4.5mm for the collar.

I thoroughly enjoyed this project! The pattern was well written, and the charts were fool-proof. Now, yes this is "lace", or rather, it uses lace techniques. However, I didn't find it difficult, primarily because of the excellent charts. And the yarn wasn't tiny and floss-like. So, it worked out well.

Not too much else to report in my corner of the world... Let's see... Work is...there. I actually have to finish up here and log into my work laptop. We are working on a server upgrade that's being rather difficult. Such has been the weekend up to now...

The neighbours. Well. It seems they're back together. No s**t. Didn't see that one coming. Although she did mention to me again that she plans on giving her notice. I'm really not holding my breath. But, they have been pretty quiet of late, so I'll take what I can get.

And the Little Dudes?

Very little changes in their world. Which is what they like, so it seems.

Atticus dodged a bullet Saturday morning, simply by being a pill. He was supposed to return to the vet, but put up such a fight, I had to call and cancel.

"Return visit? I don't think so."

Mae is still fidgety when it comes to posing for pictures.

"It's like drinking a ton of caffeine AND sugar together!"

And Gandalf still plays the suck card, milking it for all it's worth.

"My turn! I want to do a crossword puzzle now! Me! Me me me!"

And I must sign off for this week! Have a great one!

What Now?

Peace, and somewhat quiet, has once again returned to the household.

The patient continues to heal, although a bit reluctant to show off the battle zone.

"I sleep. You go 'way now."

If he were awake and alert, he'd take the time to thank EVERYONE who sent good wishes for a speedy recovery his way. To think - he has all these friends all over the world who know and care about him! He's back to his old self now. If anything, he seems to be cuddlier of late, wanting to be even closer to me when I'm on the couch. Little competitions to see who can cause Mom to overheat the quickest is springing up between him and Gandalf, as they try to cover every square inch of my thighs while on the couch. Great fun! And I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

Oh! And he did want to send some Greenies-induced gas toots in the general direction of the person who said I was crazy to have spent so much money on a cat.

Would you not do anything for a cherished member of your family??

So. Everything *seems* to have calmed down (except for work, ugh) - so, what now?

I face the knitting music -

I finish long ago started projects. Such as this little Fleece Artist number. Which, in theory, should take a second or two to make. But, in my universe, it isn't always so. Because this WIP is probably, oh, pushing 3 years old? That's about right. Mainly because the Silk Spun "yarn" may be beautiful to look at, and to the touch, but it is one supremely large pain in the ass to knit with. All those knobby boucle'd bumps drive me cuckoo. But, I will finish this thing, if only to mark it as DONE. After all, it's not difficult...

And there is this little number, which I love. Oh, and I may have uh, forgotten to mention it before...

It's one half of "Genevieve", from who else? Fiddlesticks Knitting. One of the only lace designs I will attempt. She makes it look easy, and at least for me - knit-able.

A somewhat close-up of the detailing:

You can't go wrong with Fiddlesticks Knitting patterns, and really, this design is not difficult at all. And it moves quite quickly, once you get the hang of it. I've completed the back, and have started on the front.

Now, the reason I decided to show those 2 projects... I figure if I want to clear up all of the WIP's on my table -

(which does in fact look as bad as it is), I should finish off those that are either simplest to complete, or, are close to being finished. Obviously.

And the Fleece Artist Silk-Vee, and Genevieve are first in line. Never mind what's after that...if I think too far ahead, I'll end up in a corner rocking. And possibly sucking my thumb.

Of late I haven't been up to the challenge of working on anything that requires too much concentration. Go figure.

But that's OK. Little bits at a time.

"Oh! You will become my Yoko Ono. Atticus! Mae! I'm going on the road with Yoko!"

"You can't go, we're a team!"

"To hell with you all! She's my muse!"

Gandalf may have become enamoured with an inanimate object. He becomes even sillier when little Miss Hello Kitty is around. I picked her up while at the MAC store last week, and I also got the tote bag for free! Oh, and of course some MAC cosmetics too... Kind of hard not to pick that stuff up while at the store...

Lorraine understands. She's probably one of their best customers.

Here's to peace. And quiet. And a healthy little feline family.

Life Experiences

Sometimes, all you need is a kick in the pants. And sometimes, that kick in the pants has to come from yourself. And it can remind you that for reasons you may not understand, you need to focus on other things.

Of course, had I listened to myself, and realized that I was only stressing myself, I could have avoided the last few stressful weeks!

After finding a great apartment, filing out the forms, getting the certified cheque done, I decided I'm going to stay put. Did I make the right choice?

Less than one hour after dropping off my papers at the (potentially) new place, I received a phone call from my current landlady telling me that her mother, who had originally rented this apartment to me, had died. I can't tell you how sad that made me. As much as my current landlady may frustrate me, her mother and father were exceptional. They treated me as one of their own.

After I got off the phone, a whole bunch of memories came flooding back. Sophie was in her mid-80's, and was very matter-of-fact about life. She was born in the Ukraine, and would tell us stories of growing up there. How she lived through Stalin's collective farms in the 30's. Living through the Battle of Stalingrad during WWII. Escaping to England after the war, and coming to Canada. Her husband George was no slouch either. As a young boy barely in his teens, he was in the Resistance, fighting against the Nazis in Romania. He too escaped after the war, and made it to Canada via Scotland. And they met and married here in Toronto - working several jobs to eventually put both their kids through medical school, and buy 2 houses that they rented out. They really were the salt of the earth. Often I'd come home from work to find a container of perogies or cabbage rolls left inside my door. And every year, Sophie would plant a vegetable garden in the back yard for her tenants from seeds she saved from the previous year. And in the fall, she'd plant her garlic. She'd cover the back yard with leaves, explaining that it was the best way for the garlic bulbs to "mature". Then she'd trudge back to their house, not too far away, and nag George into something or other. I remember my surprise, and everyone else's, when she came around one day to tell me to take $20 off my rent because I was the only apartment with an electric stove - all of the other apartments had gas stoves. When George died a few years ago, she'd continue to come around, but eventually she passed everything on to her daughter to take care of. She still lived on her own; we used to say "as long as Sophie still went to church, everything was OK with her". She was still going as of last fall.

What can I say? Slave to the memories? If so, it's not so bad. I just don't have it in me to call up Lena and say - sorry about your Mom, oh, and I'm taking off now. Let her get Sophie's stuff in order, and I'll revisit moving later in the year. It's the least I can do to honour this wonderful lady who did so much to make this apartment a home for me.

And it's OK. I'm actually a bit relieved. And you know what? Ever since Psycho Sister moved out downstairs - things have been much better. It's up to me now to get that lovin' feeling back. And it's started, little by little. I'm going to take some of my bonus money (whatever's left after Atticus and Mae get their teeth cleaned, that is!), and maybe buy a few new things I've been meaning to get for this place.

So, did I make the right choice? Yes.

Maybe now I can put more focus on KNITTING. Because you know. This is a KNITTING BLOG. Sheesh.

And because of all this, I neglected to show you this beautiful acquisition!

Some Hebridean 2-ply in the "Strabhann" colourway, from Virtual Yarns!

Lordy. It's a beautiful colour. I was going to make the Driftnet Wrap, but, I'm thinking I may end up making something else with it, because the colour is so amazing.

What do you think?

The Little Dudes Have A Pissing Match, or, Neener Neener Jerk-Face!

"...mmrrrrrrrrrrr...*growl*...you stink Atticus! *hiss*... You're not my brother! ...mmrrrrrrrrr..."

"...*hiss* to you too! I went to the vet! So what! Geez... Stop making those engine noises Gandalf, you sound like a old fridge."

"You smell like some other cat's pee, Atticus. And I don't like it! At. All."

"Gandalf! Stop being a jerk! Don't hiss at your brother!"

"Hey, did that sound tough, Mom?! Did I sound all Tony Soprano-like?! Oh wait, he's coming over...mmmrrrrrrrrr...*growl*...mrrrrrrrr...*hiss*"

"GANDALF!"

"He's really trying my patience. Why do I have to be the "bigger" cat? I don't want to walk away. He's annoying. And lame."

"You guys are dweebs. I'm going to eat your food. 'Cause you're obviously too busy seeing who's the tougher one."

Gandalf spent most of the day yesterday growling and hissing at poor Atticus - who had to endure a trip to the vet, a rectal exam, a needle, and a blood test. I was standing in the waiting area with the Captain, cringing at the noise coming out of the exam area! Poor guy. It took 3 people, 3 towels, and a Hannibal Lector-type mask on his face to finally get some blood drawn from his back leg. Well, at least they know what to expect when they put him out for his dental work.

And, he was NOT happy with me for a few hours after we got home. By the afternoon, he had settled down, and was basically ignoring Gandalf's tough-guy growls. But still, it was...annoying. If seems better this morning, although there were a few times when Atticus would whack Gandalf on the head out of annoyance.

Mae? Loving all the food. While these guys are busy trying to out-do the other, she's scarfing back all the food.

Smart girl.

Oy.

I really had a theme planned for this post. I was going to give my progress reports for various projects I have on the go...blah blah blah.

But, I kind of got sidetracked. See, sometime late last year, Lorraine started on about my stash, and how it should go into Ravelry. I think it started sometime after she had come over for a visit, and saw my newly "organized" stash central.

Looks daunting, huh? I do have plans to reorganize it all, somewhat. And, it is looking slightly more "organized" since I took this picture.

I decided that I'd start with the visible yarn, the ones I could see without having to rifle through everything. That was easy enough.

Then I thought I'd list all the heavyweights - the Jamieson's, Virtual Yarns stuff not in kits (2 and 3-ply), old AS yarns, and the "bulk" all-purpose stuff like the Patons Classic Wool and Cascade 220. And wouldn't you know it - I have A LOT more than I thought I did. Including a whole whack of 3-ply Hebridean in Mara and 2-ply in Selkie that I can use for something else. (Why did I get the Mara in the first place? Oh yeah, I think it was for another Sand Dance.) I have yarn for Sand Dance (listed in kit form), with completely different colours...

See? It never ends. AND I haven't listed all of the "remnants" of old projects either, and some have a lot of yarn leftover.

Most of this stuff has been accumulating over the years. Whether or not it ends up getting used is another thing.

Oh, and I keep remembering all of the stuff I know I have, but still haven't gotten too! Some various Debbie Bliss, more Rowan stuff, and I haven't even touched the cotton... Or the Fleece Artist. Or the Fiddlesticks Knitting Country Silk. Oh, and I just remembered some more Cascade 220! A bunch more Shelridge Farm. Oh! And a pile of Briggs and Little.

My head hurts. I'm up to 56 stashed entries in Ravelry. I'm betting it'll get to 75. Not including sock yarn.

Oy.

Lorraine will be entertained for a long while to come.

Oh, and by the way. Speaking of stash enhancement. Fiddlesticks Knitting has two new designs out. Just sayin'.

Someone has just taken up residence on my lap, using my left arm as a head-rest.

"...lalalalala... Who's "Chucky"? My name's not "Chucky" Mom, it's Gandalf."

Maybe it's a simple coincidence, but Gandalf turns into a terror with every full moon. Then, just as soon as it starts, it ends. I've nicknamed him "Chucky" during these episodes. During his check-up last weekend, the vet mentioned that he had a bit of a heart murmur (but not to worry). Judging by his antics of late, I doubt it bothers him.

And his silliness is contagious.

"Hey, what's the big deal? You should be happy I'm getting some cardio and boxer-cise without having to go to a gym. What's that? Oh, you mean we shouldn't be running around early in the morning? When it's still dark out? Why not??"

This apartment is not my own.

Oh, and by the way. Did you know you can organize your queue in Ravelry now? Maybe you always could, but I just discovered the option.

I have 35 Starmore projects queued.

Oy.

Stash Flash

I've been asked a few times in the past week to show off what I've got. No, not that. Be nice.

This.
You get only one guess as to what this is. My stash, in all its glory. How do I even go about putting it up on Ravelry?!! OK, so what's not in the picture - um, there are two small bins sitting under the laundry basket with my work stuff. And my basket of sock yarn is on the floor, below one of the big honkin' Ziploc bags. Oh, and the shelf? Is actually a bit bigger than it looks. It holds all the stuff in kit form. Although the stuff in the bags in the upper left hand corner of the picture is actually sitting on my dryer, so it's not as bad as it looks.

*silence*

OK. It is. Yes, in upcoming posts I will show you how it's *somewhat* arranged. As much as I can arrange it.

And to be fair: My WIP table. Which would probably be somewhat less busy if it weren't for Marina queuing pretty much the same stuff I want to make. Like now. (Say in Jerry Seinfeld voice - "Marina!" like "Newman!".)

Oh, ok. Because someone is bound to ask:

Most of my knitting books. Most of them... You know, because some are in use...

Yesterday was a banner day! I had visitors from Knittingham, as in Lorraine and her daughter Laura. As always, we had a great day. We went on a yarn crawl, Atticus and Gandalf successfully sucked up for treats, and I got pressies!

"Look! I rearranged everything for you Mom! You're welcome."

It's near impossible to get a half decent picture with Gandalf around... But, you can see pretty much everything - a huge honkin' hank of Brooklyn Handspun Superwash merino in "Earth", 2 skeins of Lorraine's handdyed yarn (the stuff I coveted in the summer - it has orange, pink and fuschia! Love!), some Body Shop stuff, tea, treats for the Little Dudes (not pictured for obvious reasons) and a super special pressie -

No, not Gandalf. The pretty shiny thing resting on him! It's not easy to photograph, but it's a handmade necklace. The little shiny things? Cat heads. The dangly thing at the bottom? A mouse with a movable tail. And what I'm stupidly covering up with my hand at the top? The clasp, which is a cat. It is too cute, let me tell you. I'll have to lock myself in a room, and take a better picture next time around. It's just so funny!

"Funny? I'll tell you what isn't funny, and that's that camera. Let me relax a little. My life is hard you know."

The cat bed is a hit. I think they have a rotating schedule - Atticus in the morning and during the day, Mae is usually there after dinner and throughout the evening, and Gandalf during the night. For the most part. Unless he feels the need to muscle in on Atticus.

He doesn't muscle in during Mae's rotation though.

"He wouldn't dare. Punk..."

Mae would send him away with a growl. He listens to her...

Oh, and before someone asks about what I picked up yesterday during our yarn crawl. I didn't show it for a reason - you'll see next time around. Yes, that means another WIP.

Heh.