The hunt is over

A new purse is a big thing for me. You see, I've been using an Eddie Bauer black microfiber diaper bag for the past 3 years not because I have children, but it was the best tote I could find with lots of pockets and organizational space. It's a workhorse. It's a lifesaver. It's my home away from home. It's causing curvature of the spine. So since Christmas, I've been looking. Online, in stores, accosting women on the street. I felt like Goldilocks testing porridge.

Today I was in a 'big box' store (what we here in Vermit like to call those mammoth national retail chains that are ruining the pristine beauty of our state but where almost everyone in the state can be found shopping on any given day) and there she was. Sure there were pretty pretty pink ones, gorgeous green ones, beautiful blue ones; but I'm a simple girl and gravitated to the black streamlined hobo.

Now I'm purging the old nag workhorse and putting her out to pasture. And purge I must because the new beauty is smaller. So I chant "Simplify simplify simplify" - is it really crucial to keep the Siblings' kitten pictures in my purse? And the dozen gorgeous gel pens in antique colors? And the the cold lozenge from 1999? At the risk of losing "Let's Make a Deal" because I didn't have 3 cent stamps at my immediate disposal, out it all goes.

To reward myself, I bought the cute little tweedy cosmetic case. So I guess a purse can be a reflection of its owner - this one says, "utilitarian on the outside, girly on the inside."

A really big Shew

Cashew says, "Look into my eyes from which my evilness emanates."

What I'm loving right now

1. Leaving work 1 1/2 hours early
2. Mr. Catty doing the dishes and cleaning the litter
3. It's 8:30 at night, and it's still light out
4. It's cool enough to sleep under a quilt
5. The tree frog 'singing' outside my window
6. Planning some day trips for next month

Monkey#2 - off the needles. The Farrow scarf is still a WIP - I think I dropped a stitch somewhere and I'm afraid to go any further until I'm sure. #2 needles and mohair - it seemed like such a good idea at the time.

I've committed myself to finishing the Farrow scarf before I start the shrug. I've buried the lovely pool-y yarn deep in a stash drawer, ignoring the siren call.

Na-na-na, I can't hear you. Nope, nosireebobcattail.

Very Dangerous

Jack the spider stalker, awaiting his next victim.

You see, a few days ago when I was deepcleaning the Catty abode, there was a SOUS (Spider of Unusual Size) under the kitchen sink. Since Mr Catty was not here to protect and defend me from the SOUS's desire to leap from its web to my jugular, I postponed the undersink cleaning. Enter Jack who casually opened the cabinet door, entered the SOUS's lair, and emerged moments later - cobweb draped - with the SOUS in his mouth. Which he proceeded to eat on my newly mopped kitchen floor.

Isn't he dreamy?

My new Handheld

This was my weekend project - prayer beads. The aim of the beads is to keep you focused during prayer. I now understand why so many different cultures (Hinduism/Buddhism/various tribes beliefs worldwide/Catholicism/Judaism) have some form of bead/hand held aid to assist in meditation. The workshop was tons of fun and it was fascinating to see what different beads represent to different people.

The beads on the left are me (amber), Mr Catty (tiger's eye - the color of his eyes), a marbly green brown for our friends, an exotic turquoise embellished bead for our life mission, and an agate fish to keep us focused on who's really important.

The middle strand is Colossians 1:10-12 in bead form.

The strand on the right is my family, starting with the crystal bead at the top for my grandmother, the hexagonal fluorite bead for my immediate family, the red bead for my father (cherry Lifesavers in church), the multifaceted peacock blue bead for my mom, the green beach glass bead is me, the blue unusual bead is one brother, the long skinny wood bead is the other brother, the blue green zircon bead is my sister, and the teardrop shaped peridot bead is for my cat children, past and present.

TSNYN

Here it is! The Shrug Not Yet Named (or Started). Don't you love the cool pool-y turquoise playing off the cocoa brown? Well, I do. And that's all that counts.

Bringin' the Bling

A treat for me - a different type of crafty break from the scarves and purses. A trip to Bead Crazy where I found 4 strings of freshwater pearls, the silver clasp, and a kyanite bed for the dangle. 1 1/2 hours later (who knew it takes so long to string alllllll those little beads?) and it looks like something from the Sundance jewelry catalog? Kinda. In the right light. With one eye closed.

And lookie, a new addition for the sidebar. Gotta love a woman who knows her priorities.

Isabelle taking a rest from being very dangerous. And yes, that's Plush Blankie II acting as Protector to the new futon.

The view from the gable. Sunset - check. Rolling farm land - check. Red barn - check.

Whew!

The cleaning frenzy finished this afternoon. I even got MrCatty's office cleaned out (without throwing too much away, dear). My hall is now filled with stuff for the garage sale and clothes to go to Salvation Army.

I'm working the last two scarves of the scarf project - a farrow rib in the violet Kidsilk Haze and a pocket scarf in a Manos Cotton Stria multi-lilac colorway. The double eyelet scarf is being blocked and all the other scarves are wrapped, tagged with the Catty tag, and ready to be given away.

While I'm caught up in the now mind-numbing scarf knitting process, I'm pondering my next project (note that I'm totally bypassing the monkey purse project - why oh why did I agree to 'go there'?) I'm thinking maybe Clapotis (with the Koigu from Olivest), or a sleeveless tank (with my leftover skeins of Sunsette from Sitcom), or (squeee!) maybe my Peruvian Alpaca will be here this weekend.

4 days and counting

'Til I'm off for a few days. In addition to cleaning the Catty House from top to bottom, I've slated the scarf project to be fini, make a dent in the purses, and plan my next project - something for moi. And I think Olivest is going to be frogged. It's not you, Olivest - it's me.

Nice purrrrrrrse

Here's the kitty purse, all done. Let's play "Where's Waldo" : there are actually 4 kitties visible in this picture. The girls at work have picked out their monkeys and their yarn colors, so now my work is officially ready to begin.

FluffCuffs

I have a Bean fleece jacket that needed some cuff camouflage. I have a 1/4 skein of Whisper in the exact same color. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?

Since the Whisper doesn't like machine washing, I knitted the 12" long cuffs on #9 needles and attached them to 4 small buttons I sewed around the cuff band via pulling the knit apart slightly to stretch around the buttons.

And guess what? I had yarn left over this time!

It's a Block Party

Monkey Purse, being blocked.

Purse Prototype

I started the Monkey Purse Prototype. It knitted up very quickly, but here are some changes I made to the pattern.

1. I used Inox circs instead of the metal DPNs as recommended in the pattern. I had no issues at all with the twine seizing up on the needles.
2. I single crocheted the bind off. Doing a traditional bind off was very annoying; the twine was very tight on the needle. The single crochet was a breeze since the bind off was taking place off the needle.
3. I hate the I-cord handles, so I did a triple crochet band. It's flat, but I think for the amount of use the purses are going to get, it should be fine.
4. For some reason, my bag is 6-CDs worth of blocking, not the 16 as noted in the pattern. Hmmm. Ya know, I really don't mind the cute littleness. So I guess the prototype will be mine.

The monkeys should be here this week. (And I bought the Black Cats for me)

Piles of stuff

So in this corner, I've started the 11 scarves...2nd up (Aria is #1) is a drop stitch scarf in Berroco Suede. Since it's being knit on #17 needles, it's going quickly. I'm hoping to have it finished and fringed by the end of the weekend.

Over in this corner is the new shipment of 11 skeins of 48 lb twine for the monkey purses. I can't tell the girls at work that it's here or I'll have to stop the scarf project (or quit my job to make enough time).

Of course, we can't neglect the corner over there where Aria is waiting for her eyelet trim to be finished and stitched on...

And of course there's corner 4 where Olivest continues to languish.

Oh, and the order for the Alpaca is in, but won't be here for 2 weeks or so. I think that should give me enough time to clean out the corners.

A Barrel of Monkeys

That's what I'm gonna need to create the great Cocktail Monkey Purses for all the girls at work. Be sure to check the pattern out here.

I also received this for inspiration on the scarf project I need to finish by next month.

And to give me something to look forward to - a friend of mine is going to Lima Peru next month and has promised to bring me back some gorgeous alpaca. My mission - to figure out the yardage conversions for the patterns I want to knit up. I wonder if he has a weight limit on what he brings back....

Just call me Carmen Sandiego

Ok, I really haven't been anywhere interesting or even done some knitting, but I definitely feel like I've been missing in action. As I mentioned last month - I've been divesting myself of responsibilities/commitments/etc. and that is turning into more work that just keeping the farkin' jobs themselves. But I think I actually may get some knitting done this month. Olivest languishes in one knitting bag, Aria is being worked on one set of 5 rows at a time. I've decided to knit scarves for the 11 women who have been my ministry team for the past 6 years. I'm trying to pick out yarns/colors indicative of their personalities, yet go with their wardrobes. So you know what that means? A trip to my LYS! Woohoo!

Speaking of the LYS - check out the new buttons over there---> Ayep, There's one for KYarns (my LYS) as well as one for Bogie's site, Knit Flix. Knit Flix was one of the first knitting blogs I came across and has been a motivation/inspiration for me. Dang, that girl can KNIT! So thanks Bogie! And congrats on nearing the 20000 milestone!

Another Blankie on the Wall

Plush Blankie II

I think I misposted when I said I used Gatto - the trim is actually Crystal Palace Whisper. I really like using brighter, more intense colors for baby stuff. Fire 'em up a little. Get 'em jazzed. Kick 'em up a notch. Ok, I'll stop now.

In other knitting knews - I frogged Aria. The YO patterns SO don't work for me. I'm thinking of doing a cable pattern instead, and using doublepoints for the knitting.

Olivest is coming along - I have about 9" inches done; I figured 14" to the underarm so I'm over 1/2 way there.

I spent this week resigning from a lot of personal commitments; this is a good thing. One little, not-so-silent corner is being selfish in thinking there is going to be more time to knit. Poor little deluded selfish corner!