Good Times

"Why would I ever want to spend another day outside when I can stay in and sleep under Mom's flannel blanket?"

Gandalf would like to thank everyone for their concern about him after his little adventure outside on Monday! He's not likely to do it again. He ended up in the kitty hospital later that night. After vomiting blood and being generally lethargic, I decided to take him to the clinic just to be safe. He ended up staying the night, being stuck with an IV and other needles, and recovered just fine, as you can see. Little pooper... The kindly vet thinks he may have chomped on a bug or a slug while outside. I was very concerned he had licked some motor oil, or something equally dangerous. He's all better now!

Phew!

Knitter's Frolic

Lorraine and I spent a wonderful morning yesterday at the Toronto Downtown Knit Collective's annual Knitter's Frolic. Lots of good stuff to be had!

And, I was good. I picked up 2 skeins of sock yarn - one "Fleece Artist", and one "Socks That Rock" (Fairgrounds). Also, some new Fiddlesticks patterns and a copy of Poems of Color. The book in the background is titled "Your Cat's Just Not That Into You", was a pressie from Lorraine! Thanks Lorraine! It has the funniest caption at the top (you can't see it, it's written on the kitty - who looks surprisingly like my Atticus), and reads "what part of meow don't you get?". Hee hee... I also picked up some "Soak" fabric wash, not pictured though.

And this? It may be my favourite purchase!

A very bright pink insulated lunch bag! With little sheep on them! I'm going to be the hippest lunch carrying girl at work. It's so cool.

Well. I, uh, think so...

And...

Yay me! I have a new job! Still within my company, but more in line with my skills. Of course, it's a bit more money, but the best part of all? No more after-hours support!!!! Music to my ears. And another Yay Me moment - I won a contest! The first time - for commenting on my favourite birthday moment. Thanks DeeAnn!

So, it's been an interesting week, stressful at times yet in the end, all's well that ends well.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Gandalf's Big Adventure

"Me sorry, Mom..."

Oh. My. Stars.

I leave from my backdoor nearly everytime I leave the apartment, and come in from the front when I come home. And everytime, Gandalf plays a game - runs to the door, and won't let me leave until I rub his belly.

Only today, he slipped out. And I didn't notice.

Until I came home.

"Where's your brother?" - Me

"I dunno..." - Atticus

"What, he's not here?" - Mae

I looked everywhere in the apartment - under the bed, in the bathroom, the closets, even the fridge - he was nowhere to be found. But I did hear a faint little "meow..." coming from somewhere. Outside.

I looked out, and there he was, huddled under a little table on the deck. In a wet little ball.

For the first time in my life, I think my heart stopped beating. He was outside all. day. Alone. And we had a thunderstorm earlier.

I feel AWFUL. Poor little guy! :( But, he's fine. Hungry, and pretty much back to normal. He doesn't seem to have been affected by his little adventure, although I don't think I've recovered yet.

My mind hasn't stopped racing about what could have happened. My neighbour's dog...the raccoons...other cats...cars...non-cat people...

I need a stiff drink.

My Opinion On Cotton

With emphasis on *my*!

I've been working away on this -

"Peace", by Kim Hargreaves. Don't get me wrong, I love Kim Hargreaves, I always have. And this is a lovely design. It's knit with Rowan Handknit cotton. I mentioned in the previous post that I actually don't mind this cotton too much. I'm normally not a fan of working with cotton, but I found the Rowan Handknit to be quite nice, and the stitch definition is lovely. It's good quality cotton, without a doubt.

Where I lose it? Finishing. Finishing is just part of the process, and I neither like or dislike it. However, with cotton? It drives me *mental*. I was ready to chuck the thing, or start using it as a rag to clean my windows. No matter how hard I tried, it was near impossible to get a half decent seam! It looks bumpy, increases/decreases stick out like a sore thumb, and the yarn piece used for seaming "pulls" if you so much as tug on it. The seam looks crooked, regardless if I used mattress or backstitch. Cotton has NO give. At all. OK, I'm sure if I were to work a bit more in cotton, things would be better. But I'm a wool girl. Wool is flexible, forgiving, and in my opinion, softer. I love my wool, *sigh*...

So. This is being done for someone else, but this will be the end of my cotton experience. I think I may have to go through my stash and see what I have...

Stick to what I'm comfortable with...wool! Look here -

A lovely shot of Amphora, basking in the lovely spring sunshine. Her sleeve is coming along nicely. I worked on her yesterday, but didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. You know how there are days when you're just all thumbs?! Yeah. That was me.

OK. I have a bit of a confesion to make. Nothing serious. I do not own an air conditioner. It gets hot here in the summer. And, my main sitting/TV room faces west, and can get VERY hot in the late afternoon/evening as the sun begins to set. Every year I get through the summer, and say - next spring, get an air conditioner, you dummy! And every year, I forget. But not this year! I'm getting one - primarily so I can keep working with my beloved wool. Oh, and the cats will be more comfortable. And me. But mainly for the wool. I love you, wool.

Priorities.

Reason #1085 To Love Atticus

I lay down the other day for mid-afternoon snooze, and left the bedroom door open so the Little Dudes could come in and snooze on the bed if they wanted to. Normally, Gandalf will, Mae will creep in sometime during the night, but Atticus? Hardly ever. Just the way the little man is, and always has been.

I tend to get nightmares, I have for most of my life. I'm not sure why - anxiety, stress, an over-active imagination? Probably all of them. On this particular occasion, I was having a doozy of a dream. I know I was in the half-awake, half-asleep zone. In my dream, I kept telling myself that this was so weird and creepy, I knew had to be dreaming, but when I would try to wake myself up, I'd find myself to already BE awake. In my dream. OK.

I started feeling someone poking at my head. Poke. Push. Poke. Push. Push. I finally woke up, a bit confused, to find Atticus on the bed next to me, trying to wake me up.

"Meeerrrooorrrwwww Mom?"

I got up, and he jumped off the bed, looked back at me, and went back to his sleeping spot, and just fell back asleep. He didn't want to be fed, didn't want to play, or want attention. He just wanted to wake me out of what he must have sensed was a bad dream.

*sniff*

I challenge anyone who does not think animals possess the capacity for love and caring, or can sense beyond what we allow ourselves to see and feel in this plastic world of ours, to spend a day with Atticus. He'll change your mind.

"Aw shucks Mom! You would have done the same for me!"

No Knitting Content!

None! It's been a quiet week.

Actually, I have been knitting, only I can't post what I have been working on. It's another stealth project for a friend - worked in cotton (!). It's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of cotton. I've always had problems with tension, and I don't like the look of most finished cotton items, except when worked in stocking stitch. Just a personal preference... But, I will say - this cardigan has some moss stitch, and I really do like how firm the stitches are. It seems to be a good stitch combination, perfect for this sturdier cotton. I'm using Rowan Handknit cotton. Pricey, but if I'm going to work with cotton, I'm glad I'm using a good quality one. And - it doesn't irritate my wee girlie hands, which most mercerized cotton will do (this one isn't mercerized).


King of The Castle

"...la la la...I'm the king of the castle...and Atticus an' Mae are the dirty rascals...la la la..."

Gandalf explores the new Kitty Condo/Jungle Gym climbing thingy I picked up while away last week at my sister's. He loves it, as does Mae. Atticus, not so much. He tried exploring the little cave section at the very bottom, and uh, didn't quite make it in. At all.

I'm thinking he's quite offended by it all.

Next time around - some showable knitting content. Oh, in the meantime, go have a look at Lorraine's Kilkenny! Her latest design, this one an Aran, and it's just a beauty!

(Hey, this little, dull post marks my 75th post! Yay me!)

It's Good To Be Home!

"You smell. Like dog. What? You think presents and treats will square it up?! Well...maybe. Later though...sleeping now. You go think about what you did."

"Oh, don't listen to them. If they want to sulk and won't eat their treats - hey, more for me! I love you Mom!"

Awww... They were happy to see me! Uh, well, they kind of had to. There was an unfortunate incident while I was away. Let's just say that the person who was looking in on them couldn't get into my apartment, and they were alone...the whole time.

Such. A. Bad. Mom. :(

But they were fine! Happy to see me, and no worse for wear. I had left them a ton of food and water, but it still makes me sad to know they were alone and foodless for some time. I know cats are resilient, but I still feel soooo bad! And so does my cat-sitter... I just remind myself that they're fine, had each other for company, and they weren't too overly upset with me.

Look! Someone had a birthday!

"Oh, you think this is funny?! Do you do this to the cats?? No? I didn't think so. That Bil-Jac pancake you're making me better be good. I feel like an idiot."

Finnegan was good enough to pose for a few pictures, despite being less than pleased about the birthday hat. And the birthday boy-puppy is 1 year old today!!! Happy Birthday Finnegan!

I had a great time in St. Catharines, and got a lot of rest and relaxation in. Oh, and shopping. Living within the city of Toronto, we have quite a few large stores, but none of the "super stores" are close to me. You know, the big ones that have everything AND the kitchen sink? So, I need to go to the small town of St. Catharines to discover the awesome power of the Great Canadian Superstore. Oh. My. Stars. You can buy 48 rolls of toilet paper? AND shoes? AND turn around and buy ALL your groceries? *thump*

But no yarn! I don't even think there is a yarn shop in St. Catharines, come to think of it. Look what else I managed to do:

I finished Amphora's body! And all that running around looking for a 60cm 3.25mm needle? For nothin'. Because it turns out the neckband is done with a 3mm needle. Had I taken the time to READ this before I left...what a concept! Oh well, I started on a sleeve instead. I ripped that out 3 times before I was satisfied that the centre of the motif lined up with the shoulder join, and that I had the correct amount of stitches picked up on each side of it.

It's a good thing Shetland wool is so resilient...

Thanks everyone for all your "Feel Betters!" for my shoulder! Which is, for the most part, better, although I do have the odd twinge now and then. I'm pretty sure posture, and scrunching myself on my left side while trying to fall asleep at night is contributing to it not healing as quickly as I'd like.

"I really miss you now Auntie Brigitte. Do you miss me?? Huh? Say Hi to my cousins for me, and come back and visit soon!"

It's A Good Thing...

...that it's still cold outside, and I still need a coat. Because I went to the grocery store yesterday with my shirt inside out. *both thumbs up* Good job!


I think I need a vacation. Oh hey! I think I'm going to have one too - I'm heading out this week to visit my sister, SIL and puppy Finnegan in St. Catharines, just west of Toronto.


And I have NO knitting to show! Nothing. For one, I've been finishing up my stealth knitting these last few days, and I can't show it just yet. And, I have a pinched nerve in my left shoulder, and it's causing me a bit of grief, although it's getting better now. Serves me right, I think I swung my backpack over my shoulder a bit too roughly.


Let's see. My backpack. Home away from home. It's always packed with stuff, and last Thursday, I had - my breakfast, lunch, and 2 snacks; my blood glucose monitor; 2 magazines (an issue of Canadian Living, and another one on Container Gardening); my umbrella; a juice box; my notebook; of course, my knitting (socks); work stuff, as I was on call last week; and a bunch of batteries for recycling.


No wonder I pinched a nerve.

"It may be pink and fluffy, but I'm no less a boy-kitty. And I'm comfortable. And no it's not too small. Go away now."

Atticus enjoys Mae's favourite resting spot...

Have a wonderful week everyone, I'll catch up with you all when I'm back!

OK. So It's Like This...

"Uh oh, I think Mom's on to my obsession with fridge magnets... Oh, there she is! Play dumb Gandalf, look busy!" - Gandalf

OK. It really doesn't matter that the picture is blurry. What you need to look at is that strange empty spot on left side of the picture. It seems I'm missing a few things...and you know, the fact that one of them is partially OFF of the fridge tells me someone is pawing after the magnets from the counter. And last I checked, my name wasn't "Rigitte". I found the "B" under my bedroom door.

No. It's not Atticus. Have you seen his girth? His lovable, huggable girth? And it's not Mae. Believe me. It's not Mae. Which leaves Little Gandalf. *sigh* I keep telling myself that no matter what he does - his antics are no where near as crazy as Atticus' were when he was kitten. More on that on another post...

Uh, Knitting...

It's been a productive week, but unfortunately, I can't post any pictures! Covert, secretive knitting...

But - I have been working on Amphora quite a bit -

Oh, and Marina? It's also done in a dark red/black colourway... Just sayin'. However, I've been unable to do much on it lately. Why? (And this is driving me kookoo.) I cannot find ANY of my 60cm 3.25mm needles. Anywhere. And I know I have at least 2 of them. They're not in any project bag. They're not where they SHOULD be. So, I'm stuck, because I'm about to cast off for the back neck, and the 80cm will be too long. I suppose I could use 4 longish DPN's, but I know they have to be here somewhere!!!! Arrrggghhhhhh!!!!!

Also - a few people wanted to know why I swapped my Henry VIII kit. Well, it's not because I didn't love the design - it's beautiful! But, I've had it in my stash for over 2 years, and I knew I would never work on it because the colourway didn't suit me. It has a good and happy home, and will be worked on now.

"I had nothing to do with the disappearing needles. Seriously. Mom, I'll help you look, OK?!"

...As Promised!

Dalarna! Fitting like a charm! So. Loving. It. The red is nowhere near as bright as it looks in the picture. I was finally able to tame the edging thanks to a LOT of steam. A lot.

*sniff* I love this sweater...

And, as promised... I allowed myself one purchase during the first 9 months of 2007. And of course, I made the purchase at Virtual Yarns.

It has arrived.

Such beautiful colours, you can't imagine. But, I will be good, and finish up a few WIP's before I start Rona. In the meantime, I'm happy to fondle and smoosh my face into the yarn.

And, guess what else?!! Now, this was totally unexpected, and such a wonderful surprise!

My Dale of Norway kit! (No! Wait! Don't get mad at me, I didn't break my promise! Come back!) See, this is how I received it. I swapped my Henry VIII kit with Jewel, and in return... I received my lovely Dale kit! It's the Sapporo 2007 Norwegian Ski Sweater, purchased for me from Spin Blessing. So, I should have a lovely ski sweater for the fall. I'm so excited - thanks Jewel - :D!

It's all too much for Atticus and Gandalf.

"Hoonnnnnkkkkkkkk...shu....Hooonnnnnnnnkkkkkk....shu..."

Happy Birthday Baby Mae!

Happy Birthday Baby Mae! My little fluffy girl is 8 years old today! Here she is on her first day with us, at 7 weeks old.


And meeting her big brother Atticus for the first time. We shall not speak of his slender physique back then... He sniffed around her a few times, shrugged his shoulders and decided she could stay. I adopted her through a lady at work.


She continues to be a joy to have around. Loving, sweet and tough when she needs to be, she's always been mild-mannered and gentle. She loves to have her tummy rubbed, and her ears scritched! Unlike Atticus, she's quite the hunter. Now, keep in mind I live in an old Victorian house - so the fact I get the occasional mouse is not unusual. In 9 years, I've only had 2, and both were stalked and caught by my little Mae. Atticus just lay on the couch like a slug, watching the action...


Atticus is less than a year old than she is, and they both share the same Kitty Mom.

"Happy Birthday Mae! You're the best big sister ever!" - Gandalf

"Happy Birthday Mae! Yeah, I guess letting you stay was a good thing..." - Atticus

Everything Old Is New Again

Phew! Here she is - Dalarna!

She's been sewn together and blocked, and awaits her crocheted border and buttons before she can make her debut. In my mind, she's done! DONE!

What: "Red and White" cardigan from page 164 of "Poetry in Stitches". Christened "Dalarna" by Wendy of Wendyknits!

Yarn: Hifa 2 yarn - yarn for this project was purchased from Nordic Fibre Arts, who supply all the yarn packs specifically for "Poetry In Stitches" and "Norsk Strikkedesign". I have A LOT of yarn left over, I'll probably be able to make a matching pair of mittens with what I have left over. I have teeny hands...

Needles: 2.5mm for the red upper portion, and 3.5mm for the stranded design.

How I Blocked Her (Finally): Eucalan, 1/4 cup of sea salt, and a sink full of hypothermia inducing ice cold water. I could barely stand to plunge my hands in the water! Instead, I used an old wooden spoon. A friend at work recommended the ice cold water - a non-knitter at that too! And not a DROP of the dye came out of place.

PITA Factor: Very low. I specifically chose this design as my first Norwegian design as it had everything I wanted to try out - specifically a new way of steeking. I did not find the knitting part difficult (let's not speak of the numerous attempts starting up the second sleeve, 'k?), however I did find that there was a lot more finishing involved than I'm used to with Fair Isle. The front bands alone took me a weekend to complete - probably 8 hours total. Not bad when you're picking up and knitting 150 stitches per side on 2.5mm needles, and knitting for 18 rows per side! The facings on the front bands and the upper sleeves were stitched down in place as well. This is something that I don't do with Fair Isle.

The steeks did not prove to be a problem, thanks to Lorraine and her sewing machine. She had come by awhile back and stitched them up for me.

I've never been one to swoon and faint at the cutting of steeks - it's never rattled me. Just cut. And trust that a few thousand + knitters can't be wrong! So - no issues there, and they worked out just fine. No unraveling at all. I did add a few more stitches to the front steek, probably the Fair Isle knitter in me thinking it would make a difference. But, it was completely unnecessary.

So, I'm very pleased! I was thinking as I was blocking it that it would have made a great pullover. But, I wanted the experience of Norwegian steeks.

What do you think!?!? I will post a modelled shot later in the week, once it's dry! Yay me!!!

"Guys, really - it's done! I saw it for myself. Are you as pooped as I am from the whole process?" - Little Miss Mae

Done. Almost.

Gandalf makes up for being a pill earlier in the week.

"Great. Chaos and Mayhem warned me about being used as a prop."

What is that, that knitted thingy being so expertly modelled by Gandalf (models only use one name, you know)? Why, hello SECOND AND LAST DALARNA SLEEVE! The sleeve, she is finished. Brigitte, she is relieved. Not for a moment did I not enjoy working on this project - I just got a little too ...comfortable... in how well my first Norwegian project was going. And it brought me down a peg or two by reminding me that if I didn't pay attention...it would make me pay attention.

So now the steeks are sewn and ready to be cut, and I have only the neckband to knit up, and the sleeves to sew into place.

I need advice! I will not be able to give Dalarna her bath in order to block her. I took Lorraine's advice and "washed" a small swatch of the red yarn, and lo and behold! The red runs. Good thing I checked it out BEFORE plunging the whole thing in water. If the red would have run into the white... And then it would have become the most expensive and elaborate kitty blanket ever. The design sure to induce seizures in the cats should they stare at it too long (hee hee, anyone remember the Simpsons episode where they go to Japan?!!). But, what I'd like to know - to block it, should I pin her down, spray, and steam? Let me know what you think.

And speaking of Lorraine -

"Wow Auntie Lorraine, you tell the best stories! Is it true Kitten-Chow gets to drink water from a great big doggie bowl? Really?"

(Atticus in the background, vying for attention, paw on her leg) "Hi. Hi. Hi. Auntie Lorraine? Auntie Lorraine? Hi. Look. Lookatme! Hi!"

Lorraine came over this past weekend. We swapped yarn, showed off projects, and Gandalf and Atticus thought she was just the coolest. Here they compete for her attention, Gandalf nicely mellowed out after rolling around in Lorraine's Aran WIP that she brought over to show (oh, and the colour? It's even better than it shows up in the picture on her site). We had a great time! As always :) !

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I normally keep to myself when it comes to current affairs. This is a knit blog, after all. But - this makes me so happy.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/03/14/blackopens.html

How the "mighty" have fallen. Give up your Canadian citizenship to become a British Lord, eh Conny? What's that? You want it BACK now?? Screw over the "little people"? Let's see how well the "little people" treat you in a US jail.

OK. I feel so much better now.

"Oh! I'm so excited! Is it true you might be coming over for a visit soon!? We can play with Sheepie! And go for walks! And play in the backyard! And watch TV! And you can give me all kinds of love and attention! So. Excited!"

Finnegan asked his Moms if I could come over for a visit in April, although the Little Dudes have not been asked yet...

Yet.

Mr. Potato Head

Something's missing...

Hmmm... Didn't I have 2 sweet potatoes?

The culprit returns to the scene of the crime, in an attempt to appear the hero of the story.

"Found it!"

"What? You're assuming it's me. What?!"

It's Been A Long Week...

*sigh*

All I'm going to say is that it's been a long one at work... Stupid DST. If computers are so smart...ehn, I'm not even going to say it! So very glad I am NOT on call this weekend for work.

I have much better things to look forward to now that it's the weekend - Lorraine is coming over tomorrow, and there will be yarn! And it's supposed to be a lovely, warmish (+6C!) day as well. We are doing a yarn swap - my 2-ply VY Hebridean in Witchflower for her Jamieson's DK. Ooooo, the possibilities! Actually, I think I'm going to try for a shawl from the wonderful "Folk Shawls" book, by Cheryl Oberle.

What have I been knitting? Yes, Dalarna's sleeve is in the home stretch. I had hoped she'd be done, however life got in the way, and I've not done as much as I'd like. It's the mid-winter knitting blahs...all sorts of fabulous projects, and nothing done! *sigh again*

Socks

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again - I am not the most prolific sock knitter. It's certainly not because I don't enjoy them - I do. And I love a pair of nifty hand knit socks, however I'm just not very...adept at them. I'm not very good when it comes to the top down variety, so I stick to toe-up. Nothing wrong with that! Rachel H. said that she finds it hilarious that I can do Dalarna's sleeves from the wrist up and not bat an eyelash, but when it comes to socks... I more often than not end with a mobius, poke the cats or myself, lose a stitch or my tension is all wrong. She said I should try a Fair Isle sock! Heh heh, thanks Rachel, I think I may do that. Enabler.

"Oooo, hello pointy sharp stick. I can chomp on this Mom, because I believe you snapped one of your needles trying the sock on. Just sayin'."

Well, you get the idea. I'm using some Lorna's Laces sock yarn, very nice to work with, and very interesting colours! I'm usually quite predictable when wearing colours on garments, however when it comes to socks - anything goes. Gandalf is right - I did snap a needle while trying it on. I'm actually doing a bit of a design on the leg, using Wendy's Feather and Fan for toe up socks pattern. Why yes, it is a lace pattern. Why yes, I did mess up the first repeat. It is lace after all. I can memorize rounds of Fair Isle patterning at first glance, but I can't remember the simple formula of a decrease for every yarn over.

"Finally, he's asleep. That kid's unbelievable! Such a pain in the tail sometimes. But awww, so cute and sweet too..."

"I heard that!"

"You heard nothing. Go back to sleep."

"You love me Mae! I love you too! You're the best big sister ever! Even though you try not to show it!"

"For cryin' out loud...keep it down. So. Embarassed. Getthatcameraoutofmyface!"

Gandalf discovers that even though he may get whacked a few times and more, doesn't mean Mae doesn't love her little bro. She just shows it differently...

Now I'm off to search for another set of 2mm needles for the socks. I'm bound to have some somewhere... After all, I discovered the other day that I have 7 - 80cm length 3.25mm needles, not counting the 2 currently being used for WIP's. I have my priorities.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Little Toes

OK, so it's not the best picture! Do you know how hard it is to even get a picture of kitty toes around here?! I have very tempermental models... And not to be outdone by her brothers, wee Miss Mae allowed me to photograph her paw on her terms.

(little wee Mae paw resting on my hand) Awwww!

*News Flash*

Dalarna's sleeve!

So far, so good! I'm about 40% done, with no messy mistakes or missed rows, phew... I'm going to work solely on this over the weekend, and get her done! Seeing Lorraine finish up her Sirdal (and she gave some great finishing tips too) has given me the push I need to get this done.

As I've said before - it's not the pattern - I absolutely love it. It's my own clumsiness when attempting to complete the last sleeve. If I had been paying more attention, I would have completed her by now. But, looks like this attempt is the charm.

Snow, Snow, Snow!

It's been a strange weather week here in Toronto. Storm on Sunday night into Monday, mild weather through the week, then a kick in the pants on Thursday - another snowstorm that came out of nowhere (so it seemed) on Thursday that packed some pretty brutal winds. It then turned to freezing rain (coating my back door shut with ice!), and then rain. Messy. The ice on the trees caused quite a few branches and limbs to snap, landing (of course) on the electrical wires. Which is what happened to me on Friday, knocking my power and telephone service out for about 6 hours. Good times. Today, it seems to have stabilized a bit. It's still mild (-2C), but we're back into the deep freeze this week!

Who's the boss? Mother Nature, of course.

Keep warm! Today I'm off to search for some kind of Kitty Condo for the Little Dudes. Gandalf continues to demolish the old chair. Little sweet pea that he is...

Do You Think They Are Trying To Tell Me Something?

Exhibit "A"

Exhibit "B"

The Accused

"What?"

I've had the old chair for probably 8 years now. The only reason why I kept it this long is that Mae took to making it her scratching post - on the leg. And that's fine, it worked for her, it wasn't an eyesore, and she didn't scratch anywhere else. Then Little Buddy came into the picture, and I'd hoped he would take on Mae's example, and use the chair to scratch on when he felt the need. And boy, did he ever. I started noticing these pieces of hay scattered around the apartment, and well, noticed how far gone the chair had gotten!

See, I think they want a Kitty Condo. Ever since seeing Casa di Chaos y Mayhem last week, they've been giving me subtle kitty messages. It's their way of saying - "all the cool blog kitties have one Mom...".

Fine.

In knitting news, I've decided to tackle that last Dalarna sleeve this week. I had hoped to finish up with Arangenser first, however my fingers are still sore from the testing to be cabling, and I seem to be OK with anything that doesn't require too much manipulation with my left index finger. I'm just fine with stranded knitting, I was able to get quite a bit of Delores done this weekend.

Send good thoughts my way! She's a stubborn one, that Dalarna! 5th time starting this sleeve should be the charm!

Feelin' The Love

Actually, not so much with this... Only feeling a sharp "ow!" everytime I use it. Guess I'm going to have to get used to it. I'm monitoring my blood glucose now, trying to find that happy place where it doesn't dip too low (causing hypoglycemia), or too high causing me to feel very sluggish in a different sort of way. I'm not sure how to quite describe it, but it's not pleasant. So, I take it day by day, learning what foods and food combinations work best for me. Whatever it takes to avoid going on medication.

So. Virtual Yarns. OK, if I had to decide right this minute, I would go for "Rona". I just love the traditional Fair Isle look, and the colours are beautiful. But have you seen the new colourway for Rheingold?! Pullover AND Wrap available. Just sayin'.

Thanks for all the compliments on Arangenser. Brenda and DeeAnn asked where the design came from. It's from the very lovely "Norsk Strikkedesign" book. The picture in the book is done in a dark colour, so it's a bit difficult to see the finished sweater. But trust me, it's a joy to knit. I absolutely love the fact that the designer chose to give you a row by row chart, such as you would get in Fair Isle or Stranded work. It takes all the guess work out of "what comes next". It is not as challenging as a Starmore cable project, but I find that Norwegian patterns are unique and so beautiful, that I would not place any of them in the same "category" as Alice and Jade's designs. The styles are uniquely Norwegian - although the methods used may be "Aran" or "Fair Isle" or "Stranded", Norwegian work adds a little bit of extra boldness to the finished design. I have a few more in my stash... Um, that's a completely different post... By the way, another beautiful book of Norwegian designs is "Poetry in Stitches", where the much maligned Dalarna is from. I will finish the sleeve, I just need to be in the right frame of mind and not run through it so quickly I end making yet another goof-up.

Oh, and Delores! The other project I am feeling a LOT of love for -

I LOVE this pattern. It's not the best of pictures, but you get the idea. Again - I'm so pleased at how this is working out.

And finally - A cheesecake photo, especially for Atticus' Auntie Lorraine.

*Passes Out*

I nearly had heart failure because there are 5 new designs up at Virtual Yarns. Well, new for me...

And I get my bonus this week from work.

http://www.virtualyarns.com/scripts/showitem.asp?ID=192

Or

http://www.virtualyarns.com/scripts/showitem.asp?ID=191

For now. There'll be more. I know, I know. I'm allowed one purchase until September.

Oooo, I think I need to lie down...

Cold + Snow = Wool Sweaters!

It's been the perfect week for wool sweaters - St. Brigid, Ophelia and Diva all got their chance to shine this week. Cold, a snow storm, and I love it! There's nothing lovelier (OK, well I'm sure there is, but in this context...) than freshly fallen snow. Of course, wind chill in the -30C range first thing in the morning is a bit refresing... But, you dress for it, and your good to go! I always shake my head and laugh at those at the train station in the morning wearing no hat, no gloves, no scarf, coat opened...yikes! The no gloves thing gets me everytime. Hey, you know what? Are your hands cold? They are! Well then you know what would prevent those digits from falling off?!

*crunch* *munch* "...this is the best stuff in the world Mom!"

The life of a kitty is all about eating, followed by a cuddle from Mom, and a nap. As Chris mentioned in her post yesterday - why make a kitty bed when you have an ENTIRE apartment to use are your own personal kitty bed.

Knitting has been rather interesting this past week. Interesting because I cannot seem to focus on ONE project. I'm all over the place - apart from working Delores on the weekend, during the week... Primarily I've been working on Arangenser -

It may not look like alot, but when you consider it's done in the round, I've made quite a bit of progress! I think the fact Wendy has been working on "Cromarty", and Lorraine is talking about putting together an Aran design was what made me want to pick it up again. I started it initially during the late summer months - not the brightest plan! It's actually not a difficult knit at all, despite all the twists and turns. The cabling is all very "logical", one glance at the chart and it's easy to figure out what's next. And the other interesting thing about this pattern - instead of a series of small cable charts, she gives you a "chart" of the entire sweater, row by row. OK, so it's a bit small, but it works! And I find it moves much more quickly.

And Delores! I have not abandoned her, not by a long shot. I'm mainly concentrating on her when I have long stretches of time, which have all been during the weekend. Now that the front and back madness is over with, I'm well into the "normal" Fair Isle knitting in the round.

I love this design - it is so fascinating to see the colours mesh together. It's actually a bit darker than appears in the picture. At 320 stitches around, I'm pretty pleased with myself that I'm 15 rounds into the front steek. Only around 80 or so more to go until I hit the underarm steeks! *clapping hands*

I'm pleased to report there have been no litter box mishaps this week - actually, Gandalf is staying well away from it whenever I'm cleaning it. And although I usually leave from my back door, whenever I do use those steps, I take it very slow. Although I did manage to tumble off the back deck on Wednesday. Uh, because we received so much snow, I couldn't tell where the deck ended and the yard began. So, I pretty much face planted myself in a snow drift. No harm done! Winner move!

Here's to hoping you're enjoying the winter wherever you are!