Definition of a successful weekend?

This weekend was filled with sunny gorgeous skies, air that smelled of fall leaves, and lots of little loose ends being tied up around the CattyAbode. My goal is to have most of my 'in process' projects done by the end of the month. Izzy's goal was to knock pillows over to have a comfy place to sunbathe. 

So I'd say we both had successful weekends!

I wish I was...

But I'm not...

Hangin' around

It's raining (still) and a bunch of projects are mid-point.

But there's always some kitteh (in)action happening.

Stealth [Funny]

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I felt something brush my foot as I was about to get into bed. I looked down and saw nothing. Tried again. Same thing. Interesting. I'm pretty sure it's not a mouse.

Summer love

Meet my new summer boyfriend, Del. I'm looking forward to cuddling up to His Coolness in a few short weeks. Evidently, so is Meepus; she doesn't even care if he's out of his box yet.

Another foundling rescued.

First he looked like this, found on the side of the road.

Now he looks like this.

The denim cushions were done by Cindy Spence (Robinson) Upholstery in South Hero, Vermont.

The dark spot behind the chair is Izzie biding her time until I'm done taking pictures so she can get back up on it.

Look at the kitty [Pretty]

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Here's something for the Pretty category...at least she thinks she is!

And be distracted from the lack of actual blog content. There is some coming, I promise! But until then, here's Izzy.

Another one off the list

Here's the upstairs cat tree torn down and ready to fix. The wall has its final skim coat and is curing before painting. Let me go on record saying the CatMan rocks my world: he was all over the this project!

Here's the cat tree after stabilizing. The CatMan attached L-shape brackets to the underside of the shelves and main pole. I rewrapped the torn areas of the main pole with rope and we reassembled it.

The cats are still a bit tentative - I haven't witnessed any 'flying squirrel' leaps which is their normal late night behavior. After one occurs, we'll deem the project a success.

Oh, the indignity!

Of a cat hat. A co-worker saw this pattern and thought it looked like fun. I knitted one up, but it was too small for all the cats except Isabelle. I modified the pattern a tad, and the other two were fine! No, Izzy isn't mad - she's 'just drawn that way'. And yes that's a yellow, treble crochet mohawk.

All the seasonal decorations have been purged down and organized into 3 boxes. I'm looking forward to  going to just one place to find what I need.  

Advent Week #3

My mother was very wise - as we were growing up, she bought her Christmas ornaments and decorations in groups of 4 so each of us kids would have a 'starter kit' when we moved out onto our own. Right now, the CatMan and I don't have a tree since we both work long hours and then are gone the week between Christmas and New Years (and then I jump right into inventory-chaos time when we get back).

But that doesn't mean that I don't set out some decorations for the holiday. Little strings of light here and there, a switching-out of the china hutch in the kitchen, and this little space next to where I sit when I knit and/or watch TV. The little red reindeer is not my original one - I found it in a thrift store somewhere - but it looks just like the ones we had growing up. I think mine might have been white...or green...or maybe it was red after all. The green metal bucket holds our Christmas cards, and the small black frame holds a piece of sparkly green scrapbook paper with a Christmas tree sticker. 

Meepus appears to be the only thing in this picture not decorated for the holiday.

And I wonder why I can't get out the door on time?

Seems Pip loves my sweater as much as I do.

Chair, deconstructed

So this is what the Viking chair has looked like for the past 1 1/2 weeks. I've ripped off the vinyl (which I saved as a pattern for the new material), thrown away the old batting, and stripped the exposed wood of the nasty nude/pink flat paint. I don't even want to know what was going through the mind of the person who painted that color onto a chair covered with green vinyl. Preppy is was not.

I found some interesting things when I deconstructed the chair. The frame that is covered by upholstery is actually thick plywood and the chair back? Is...wait for it...heavy pre-formed non-corrugated cardboard. With the right tools, this chair would be a cinch to DIY.

Izzy was truly fascinated too, but I don't think it was for the same reasons!

An almost finished object.

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May I present my new craft room? Tada!

Shew is very happy with carpeting and the patch of sunlight that she follows around the room. I'm looking for a small end table with storage options to fit under the window, and I have a Target table in mind for my sewing table. (Pictured is my $14.00 Target clearance chair! Yippee!)

In a side project, I converted my yarn storage bin to a tool caddy. I already love it: no more taking out everything from the tool box to find a nail!

Things you find while spring cleaning -

I finally did something with the OCD mitered squares! I sewed them all together and had just enough to cover this pillow. I love it! So colorful! So much fun to see all the different sock yarns! It's amazing to me that I had enough for this pillow as well as a large portion of the sock yarn scarf still on the needles (currently waiting for me to finish up some more socks to feed it's ever-lengthening self!)

Project specs: Leftover sock yarn knit up into mitered squares on #3 needles. My cast-on was 29 stitches for each square.

I have also cast on for a spring-y version of the Tweedy Vest. The yarn is "Little Lehigh", manufactured by Kraemer Yarns, the same manufacturer as the tweedy yarn for my grey vest. I'm also sticking to the same improvised pattern. The grey vest fits so well, I'd be foolish to mess with it!

And look who's been hanging out in my knitting basket while we're sleeping! One night a few weeks ago, I found Mr. Pip curled up on the Danish shawl in my knitting basket. At first he was worried I was going to shoo him away, but how could I deny him? He loves my knitting as much as I do! So he gets to sleep in the basket when I'm not using it. Of course, the rest of the Catty family is not pleased they don't get the same privileges.

Here comes the sun!

What a glorious weekend in my neck of Vermit! Sure, it was cold but the sun was promising spring right around the corner. I even saw some muskrats making forays out into the open. Izzy has been basking in the new window, and the cluster flies have been emerging (I know...ewww..but hey, spring's coming!)

To celebrate, I crafted a Dumpling Bag from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. Since I am using glass rings, I opted for just one instead of the two the pattern calls for - I didn't want to take the chance on breakage. The knot can be easily undone if I want to open the bag all the way. I do have to felt it some more: when I used the bag earlier this week, my dpns poked through a bit.

A current WIP is my version of the Danish tieback shawl. I'm using Plymouth Encore in several different colors. KYarns is hosting a charity knit project using Encore, so all my leftover bits will not go to waste.

And for my travel project, I started a 3rd pair of socks for the Breast Cancer Center in Plymouth's Happy Feet. This pic doesn't do the red justice: it's very rich with lots of variations. In other news, the window is drywalled and the other (old exterior) window has been pulled out. So on the CatMan's side of the bed, we are looking at a wall of green trash bags stretched over the hole leading into the new space. The first night with this new arrangement, we realized the cats had emerged from their hiding places (the workmen don't believe we really have 6 cats - they've only seen 2) , pried a corner of the plastic back, and had gone exploring in the new space. Not wanting to lose a cat down between the walls or into a nook that hadn't been closed up yet, we took it upon ourselves to do a little preventive construction much to the disappointment of the intrepid cat explorers. Hopefully, their disappointment will be short-lived and we'll be able to use the space by the end of this month!

Scarves 'n Stacks 'n Stuff

First - the knitting!

I finished Cypress Lace Ribbon and had a chance to wear it early this week (until it warmed up to summer temps again!)

Project specs: Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty using 4 skeins of Rowan Wool Cotton in Cypress Green (color SH968) on #3 Addis. I loved this yarn enough to get me through the acres of pattern repeats and have received many compliments already which I attribute to the lovely pattern, not my mad knitting skillz.

Then I (*pun alert*) blazed through my first 2008 Red Scarf using the great Harlot pattern.


The CatMan and I made the call to have the doors professionally stripped (way cheaper than I expected!) which may mean I'll have a chance to attack my reading stack.

And guess what? I had my 15 minutes of internet fame this week! (Izzie says I had nothing to do with it - she's just that purty!)

Anniversaries come and go.

Sometime in the past two weeks, my blogiversary came and went with nary a nod from me. Maybe next year, we'll have a big party complete with prizes, cake and beer. This year, I'm in the home zone. Actually for the past 18 months I've been in the home zone, with the last few months being less about the renovations and more about decluttering/simplifying.

It is amazing to me that the more I declutter, the more I find to do. And I'm a purger by nature! I think a lot of it has to do with the fact this is the longest we have lived in any one place and the natural purging that happens when you move hasn't happened here in 12 years. I also find that as I get older, I get more ruthless. I have never been a sentimentalist, but now I'm finding stuff that was on the fine line between 'memory' or 'dust catcher' status has fallen decisively onto the "I don't want to clean/maintain this anymore" side of the fence. So Goodwill has received several CattyAbode dropoffs in the past month (cast iron skillets and a set of dishes, anyone?)

While I'm in the home zone, knitting is now deadline-driven only. I'm working on Chas Arthur's baby sweater, which is not speedy due to the sock yarn/#3 needle concept. And since he was born last Sunday (2 weeks early, thankyouverymuch) at almost 9 lbs, I've kicked the sweater up a size which only compounds my problem.

So it's time for me to get back to work, but I thought you might enjoy a picture of Isabelle in an empty box (I was purging old receipts and records.) I think she's honing her Serengeti skills.

(I) Like a cheap distraction

Ever since we dug out the wedding pics last weekend, I've been on an 80s video kick. Here's one of my favorite bands singing one of my favorite songs.

This weekend has been about the punch list - all those little items that needed touchups/fixing. The separation between the trim and the ceiling over the bed, the missed 2nd coat of paint on the baseboard behind the laundry hampers, the loose lamp socket - all taken care of now. And to treat myself, here's a cheap distraction brightening my windowless bathroom. The bamboo is from Creative Habitat, the dish is an old canary birdbath picked up somewhere in my journeys, and the filler is from my jar of polished stones and seashells.

I'm off to iron a stack of clothes while watching some movies. And then on to this other cheap distraction -

Pip says, "I got my tummy to distract me."

A unplanned organizational side trip

Friday night, the CatMan was looking for our wedding pictures. Unfortunately, they were not in the album conveniently located in the bottom drawer of his nightstand. They were in the last box I pulled out of our upstairs storage closet. Culling through this space had been lower priority on my to-do list. This is the shred box (receipts/statements/etc. older than 7 years - Jack the cat is for scale.) I also have one banker's box of photos which need to be sorted and labeled; easy enough to do while watching TV.

Here's the closet, cleaned out and organized. What you can't see in this pic are my feet wrangling cats out of the way. This closet is the feline version of spelunking. With my clothes as the belay lines.

I ended up frogging last week's Cypress Ribbon scarf and started over doing it the right way. This is a little over 1 skein into the project. Yes, that is a safety line. I'm not tempting any fate while doing this lace pattern. I've got too many other projects to get on the needles.

Bandwagon--->Me

Yep, all the cool kids are doing it. Here's my version of the Lace Ribbon Scarf that 1180 Ravelry knitters are working on. The yarn is the Rowan Wool Cotton in Cypress purchased at Kyarns' sale. In my usual let's-not-really-read-the-pattern style, I didn't do the pattern repeats as outlined so I have solid stockinette ribbon alternating with the undulating waves. And I like it enough not to frog it. So there.

The finished Spring Cleaning socks. Project specs: Lang Jawoll Aktion (wool/cotton/nylon) , color 7113, using my favorite sock pattern on #2 Inox DPNs. And I can say my spring cleaning is done too. I think.

Isabelle says "It's hot, but I'm gonna sit in the sun anyway."