Gathering Wool

8.24.2005

Popping in

To say:
Not much more done on Lullaby - it was too bulky to work on during the car ride. I did however start a fun project I'll tell you more about later, as well as delved into the stash to knit up some cotton dishclothes for Mom.

Lake George was fun as demonstrated by the CatMan.

And the weather was perfect.

8.18.2005

Frustration breeds the creeps

We are off to Lake George for the weekend so I'm scurrying about - packing clothes, toiletries, knitting. It's supposed to rain/be on the cool side, so I'm looking for my black 3/4-sleeved cardigan.

Still looking.

Looking.

Did I mention I was looking?

Right. No cardigan anywhere. Frustration/low blood sugar/exhaustion set in. I blame Meepus for dragging it up into the boxspring. I blame Cashew for making it a kittybed. I blame Izzy...well she's trouble and I just blame her 'cause I can. I even check the CatMan's dresser/closet on the off chance he's taken up cross-dressing. Rest easy - he hasn't. I've made a list of places to call tomorrow morning - I may have taken it off at our favorite restaurant or left it at church. To dissipate the residual frustration, I blogsurfed.

Look at this. Ok, now try NOT to look at it. This was created by a UK artist named Freddie Robbins. While the object is a bit repelling, the technique is a bit compelling. Maybe it would be less alien with an actual human being present in the pic. Or maybe not.

Wow. Just wow.

8.17.2005

Here's the Update

Wendy jinxed me! After some blog commenting back and forth re: the trials and tribulations of knitting with Lullaby, I encountered my first issue today. I must have had an invisible snag on my fingernail which caught every. single. stitch. I have now filed that nail into oblivion. Next stop? Amputation.

I'm just finishing the second set of armhole decreases on the front half, then it's some straight-on knitting to the shoulders. I've got 48+ hours to my self-imposed deadline. Gentlewomen, start your engines.

Here's a pic of progress so far. 1 skein had some serious pooling issues. I'm leaving it - no time to frog. I'll see if it drives me "guano loco".

8.16.2005

MIA Camera

Seems the digital went MIA again. Mr Catty took it with him to the Adirondacks this past weekend and promptly downloaded the pictures when he got home Sunday afternoon. But now? Not on my desk in its place of honor. Rassin' frassin'!

The Lullaby Shell is done to the underarm point, split onto two circs, prepared for the underarm shaping. From this point on, it's "front and back" until I seam up the shoulder seams and work the neck stitches in the round. Love the idea of putting live stitches on the needles to finish the neck - no annoying stitch pick-up (hate that process with the fury of a thousand nuns!)

So to satiate those of you who like a pic in the post, here's my next project. Remember Olivia the Poncho then Olivest that never happened? The Koigu is now designated for this sweetie. I think the "Meadowflowers" type colorway will be well suited to the Leaves and Flowers design.

8.10.2005

Reality Check

Look at this beauty! For a woman constantly in search of the Holy Bag Grail, this one has angels singing, doves descending, and beams of light radiating from the lovely espresso lining. I reach for its funky rubber dotted body, but lo - it's $345.00+. Um...er...ah...

Let's take a moment to ponder this wicked twist. What else will that $345.00 buy me?
--4 new snow tires, mounted and balanced.
--1 very nice weekend in Quebec City, food and lodging included.
--1 month's worth of groceries.
--1 month's worth of lunches, tip included.
--150 gallons of gasoline.
--LOTS of yarn.

Sorry Orla Kiely! I'm gonna have to pass.

8.09.2005

Potential Black Hole

I have a feeling the Lullaby Shell is going to be a time-sucking black hole. This is just over one skein's worth of knitting, started Sunday afternoon. Part of the problem? I've altered the pattern (I know! What a surprise!) to knit the body as one piece to the underarms, then split it out. I hope what seems like a endless knit now will be saved when I don't have to seam up this puppy. Other pattern alterations include a rolled hem (vs. rib) since the neck is rolled. It's all about balance.

Lullaby is fine to work with - there's a little issue of splitting with a too quick stitch and the yarn doesn't seem quite as soft knit up as it does in the skein. I'm thinking the post-knit wash and block will take care of that issue.

The question remains - will I have this done for the weekend of the 20th?

8.06.2005

The Best Cat in the World

Mosa

May 4, 1984 - August 7, 1999

Meet the best cat in the world. I picked her out of the litter 2 weeks after she was born and she was my faithful friend up to her death 6 years ago. Mosa taught me some very important lessons:

As Queen, exert your authority quietly and without violence. Stare at the offender until the clue is received.
Be vocal in your happiness, not just your needs.
Bed is the ultimate happy place.
It is possible to retain cuteness, even in old age.

Even now with a household of cat personalities, I miss her peridot eyes and her wise love.

8.04.2005

Bag Lady

I'm not a shoe person. I'm really not a jewelry person. But a display of bags/totes/carryalls? Get outta my way! Yet just as I'm on the endless quest for the perfect purse, so it is with a tote. This one's too big. This one's too small. This one has too many pockets. This one has none. Witness this:
This would be my collection of totes/bags. Most of them were gifts, not quite the Grail.

I can safely say the Monkey Bags are not going to satisfy my search, but I do believe they are going to bring smiles to the faces of their new owners. (And to me, because I'm finally moving on to something else!)

8.02.2005

Downhill Slide

The end of the Monkeys is in sight! Can you see it? Over there? Maybe this weekend? Maybe if nothing else gets done for the next4 days? Ok, I'm not just hallucinating then! Lucy and Lullaby are starting their siren call from the stash.

Must...not...give...in...so...close...now.

7.30.2005

It's baaaaaack!

It's amazing what a little flyby of your LYS will do to your get-up-and-go. I picked up this little ditty (pattern called for Eros, but I'm going with the cool tones of Lullaby).

And then of course there is the obligatory skein of scarf yarn (for a friend who I promised a scarf to over a year ago - oops!), another skein of fringe yarn for the Monkeys (cause you know how I am with trying to use up skeins and running out before the project is done!), and a skein of sock yarn.

Yep, I'm jumping on the Cherry Tree Hill bandwagon. KYarns just picked up the line and surprise surprise! They're Vermontian! Which explains colorways like "Champlain Sunset". This is Java and even the closeup doesn't do justice to it; it's a lovely coffee brown with subtle striations of olive and eggplant. It's drinkable! This skein is destined for socks, but if it knits up as lovely as it looks in the raw, I will have to find another project to knit more!

7.27.2005

Ewww!

The efforts to restore the "get-up-and-go" are in baby steps. I've changed my diet a little and am using the "10-minute" guide as posted by Wendy at Knit and Tonic . But until I'm up and running full speed, I've been taking it out on the cats.

This is one day's combing off two cats. Granted it's the two tri-colors who always seem to have their share of hair as well as some share of the others. There's gotta be a knitting use for this. Right? I can just see "Catty's Luxury Feline Fibers". Who needs stinkin' sheep, camels, llamas, muskox, or silkworms? Not me, baby. I'm in the money. In fact, thousands of dollars are rolling around on the floor right now.

Mr Trump? Have I got a business proposition for YOU!

(And to answer your burning question - no, neither combed cat is anywhere NEAR hairless/baldness as of yet.)

7.24.2005

My Get-up-and-go

Got up and left. I'm not feeling the motivation to knit or do much else. Maybe it's coming down off the heat. Maybe it's the summer doldrums. Here's to a new week and finding where the get-up-and-go got-up-and-went-to.

Meepus says she'd come help me, but she's got a boxspring mattress to climb up into and explore.

7.19.2005

Must Haves

This summer's must haves include:

Seal's Greatest Hits. Love him, love his voice, love the music!

One of this lovely little creatures to make lazy mornings better (at this rate, maybe just make lazy mornings, period!)

Four words: Snarky Englishman Hugh Laurie.

Date of release? My birthday.

7.17.2005

Lucy Lu

Meet Lucy. I was browsing the local Joanns and happened upon some Lion Brand Microspun. Hmmmm, that French Vanilla color would go perfectly with the sleeveless dress I happen to be wearing, and hey? Isn't it a little airconditionchilly in here? I overcame my inner yarn snob and bought a few skeins.

Of course, my yarn is not the Zen called for in the pattern, and I want to bell the sleeves a bit and shorten the overall length. But this has to be a first! I've got the yarn AND the pattern at the same time.

Now could I get a little help with the Monkeys?

7.15.2005

Lookee!

Serendi-pattie the shrug. Now if it would just get cool enough to wear it.

1 1/2 skeins of Chocolat, 3 skeins Aquarelle. Done on #10 Addi Turbos.

7.13.2005

Don't you hate it?

When

The digital camera goes missing as you prepare to take FO photos
It's hotter than it has a right to be in Vermit
You don't own an air conditioner for said hotness
And this happens

7.09.2005

In Retrospect

In celebration of my one year blogging anniversary at the end of this month, I cleaned up my sidebar a bit. My FOs have been sorted into a less-than-perfect classification system (some items fit into more than one category).

While sorting the FO, the revelation dawned on me: I'm a scarf knitter. Some people are felters, some people are sock knitters, some people are circular gurus. Me? Hi, I'm Catty and I knit scarves. (You? Say "Hi Catty".) And I've only knit one sweater in the past year?!? What have I been doing?

So I've made some resolutions for the next year: