Sittin' and knittin'

Over the Christmas holidays, I was given a large bag of alpaca yarn. As a thank you for such a generous windfall, I knit this wrap with some of the yarn. The yarn is Classic Elite Inca: I used the blue and multi colorways from the bag. The stitch is a very easy lace pattern: basically Knit 2, [Yarn Over, Knit 2 together] until the last two stitches, then Knit 2. I picked up the stitches and added a ruffle to both ends. This yarn knit up quickly on #10 circs and the resulting fabric is lightweight but very very warm.

This pair of socks uses On Line Supersock Cotton Beach Colors in colorway 947. I'm not fully feeling the beachy vibe just yet (maybe when the thermometer decides to break 0 degrees?), but it's good to have another pair of socks in the drawer.

Once I finished these projects, I tried my hand at a little crochet. But that's a post for another day.

Another find!

This is our new linen storage from Junk and Disorderly in South Hero. She definitely needs to be stripped and repainted. I'm thinking french vanilla outside and orange inside: a Creamsicle! Stay tuned.

If at first

you don't succeed, gouge a big hole in your wall and try again!

Fixing this corner of the drywall in my craft room was making me guano loco. So finally, I took my Exacto knife and cut out as much of the old compound as I could. I guess the angle of the wall  coupled with the new addition settling prohibited a smooth job the first time, so I figured starting over with drywall mesh and compound was the way to go. It's curing right now. My goal is to add the skim coat and repaint the corner by this weekend. It already looks (and feels) much better. 

While I was working painting and staining projects this weekend, I realized I had never shown you a picture of my paint storage. It's a mesh cart I got from Target about a year ago (didn't see it on their website, though). The bottom drawer holds little cans of stain and touch up cans of all our wall colors. The second drawer is primers, spackle compounds, and the trim paints. The top drawer is painting supplies like rollers, steel wool, sponges, trimmers and stirrers. The basket on the top holds spray paints, polyurethane, the paintbrush cleaning jar, metal brush for cleaning bristles, and my much-loved angled paintbrush. The beauty of this cart is that it wheels easily in and out of the kitchen closet which means I don't have to dig for what I want. One of the best $20.00 I've ever spent.

A Cinderfella story

Once upon a time, there was a Viking Artline chair. His green vinyl coat was tattered and someone had splashed his body with flesh-toned paint. He thought his last days were destined to be spent on the porch of a small little junque shop and he shivered at the thought of Vermit winters.

One morning just as he had given up all hope, Queen Dusa spied him on her way into work. She contacted the proprietress of the the junque shop to pay his bail. In short order, the Viking moved to her castle, where he languished for several months in his deplorable state. Finally Queen Dusa lovingly dismantled him, removing his torn vinyl and painted sacrilege. She applied baths of Red Mahogany and Gunstock Miniwax stain to his wood, and gave him new cotton padding and a jacket of grey tweedy suiting fabric.

He has regained his rightful place in the Mid-Century court where he shall live happily ever after!

I gotta get a bigger car!

Because this side-of-the-road foundling didn't fit in the Saturn. Amazingly enough, it was located right next to the apartment of a co-worker. So I tied a note to him and left him on her porch. Another co-worker who lives near me graciously brought Rotex home to the CattyAbode. My plan is to have a local upholsterer make removable denim cushions (just waiting to hear back regarding yardage, etc.)

And the coworker on whose porch I left Rotex? Had scoped out the chair the previous day, but decided she didn't have enough room for him in the apartment. She found it funny, that when she went out the next morning, he had mysteriously made his way to her porch. I'm just amazed nobody adopted him before I did!

Thinking Spring

It's been waaaay below zero here for the past few days. To counteract the chill that seeps into bones (not to be thawed for a few more months), I'm thinking Spring. (all images from Google Images, saved to my server) 

Lilacs (should have been our state flower!)

Lambies!

The Green Mountains

The cure to what ails me

When I'm not feeling motivated or crossing items off my list, a quick organizational project makes me feel better. Here's the top drawer of my tool chest. I just sifted through some of the stuff that had accumulated there and put it all in the proper containers. *sigh* I'm happy for a little while.

And hopefully the touch up spackling and painting project will be finished this weekend. I sanded down the craft room area and found it needed one more coat before I painted.

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.  

Good Intentions

Ah, the fresh beginning of the new year.

Ah, the reality of the weekend after as witnessed below - 

One project on my to-do list is to organize all my seasonal decorations in one place. Well I got them all in one place, but this is neither the organization or the place where they will eventually reside. 

(See that white strip behind the chair? That's one of the spots I need to finish spackling/touching up.)

There's more on top of the pie safe. 

However the interior of the pie safe was purged and organized this week.

With all this organizing and purging, the knitting WIPS are languishing in the project box. :- (

 Here's hoping 2011 week 2 will see some items crossed of the list!

Hello 2011

image courtesy of Google Images, saved to my server

We're back from our Tour. Much fun was had by all, gifts were given and received (and appreciated on both sides), and I even got in a little junqing in Lewisburg and State College. I'll post some pics once I finish digging out of our dirty laundry!

Can't Hit a Moving Target Tour - Christmas 2010

 First, we are here...

Then we are here...

And we bring in the New Year here...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

At the last minute

I needed to come up with a quick gift, so I raided the stash and found this Knit Picks "Get Away" yarn (picked up for 1.00/skein at the local Goodwill). 3 skeins later, the simple YO lace scarf is done, wrapped, and gone.

We received this paper cutting as a Christmas card in 1991 (it's signed and dated - which is the only reason I know when we received it!) I've had it stashed away since then and last week, decided to actually do something with it. I found a dollar store frame, some dark blue fabric (with light blue stars) and a little spray adhesive later, I have a print I can keep over my kitchen sink until February - or when I can't stand looking at snow anymore!)

Advent Week #4

Star Queen Galaxy photo courtesy of Google Images, saved to my server.

This week, amid all the to-do lists and work to be accomplished before we travel, I am planning to look at some stars and think about the first Christmas Eve and Star.

Remind me not to do THAT again!

A pompom garland for a niece's Christmas present. Things were going swimmingly until I set it down for a second and Izzy tried to make it her bed. Cue immense tangling and frustration. But now it's wrapped up and safely tucked away from heat-seeking feline missiles.

These projects went a whole lot quicker. A baby hat for a co-worker's great nephew and a tiny sock that I have since added to a key ring and gifted to another co-worker who just bought a new car. The yarn was leftover from this project.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to using my yarn for knitting.

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!

Advent Week #2

This weekend, I had a full page of to-dos and have accomplished most of them. I didn't get the Viking chair stained (more on this in an upcoming post), but I did get all the Christmas gifts wrapped and the Christmas cards addressed. At the risk of sounding like a Scrooge, I do not enjoy wrapping presents -  at least not in the quantity this holiday normally entails. About halfway through, I lose steam and a small headache starts right behind my eyeballs and then my lower back begins to ache. Thankfully this year, the actual number of wrapped gifts is low, so my dread lasted longer than the actual wrapping session.

This little angel band was tucked in a corner at the Apple Hill Antique Mall in State College last Christmas. I'm pretty sure the white angel is new to the band - the original percussionist must have dropped out to join Mannheim Steamroller. The little glittered cottage was another antique store find in PA.

I've perched them on the upper frame of this picture next to my side of bed. So far they haven't attracted the attention of any of the cats and I enjoy waking up to them each morning. Now if they could only wrap presents...

Instant gratification

I've got a co-worker who loves to preface his ramblings with "Quick and dirty..." I'm altering that slightly to say "Quick and crafty". And I mean it!

I'm including a few of these little minifolios in the Christmas cards to my girl friends. I found the idea here. The cost was $0.00: everything was in my stash.Time: about 1 hour from pulling out the supplies to putting it all away.

On my most recent trip to Junk and Disorderly, I found a straight-sided glass jam jar (I love the straight-sided ones and can never seem to find them!) I brought it home, pulled another one from my recycling bin and used this concept to make them cute! They really are 'gleeful'. Total cost: 0.00 (again, scraps from my stash), total time: about 1/2 hour each (I'm not a crocheter so it was a little futzy, but nothing too distracting).

 

The Mary Engelbreit Christmas card was from forever ago. I love the colors and the quote, "We shall find peace, we shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." (Anton Chekhov: Uncle Vanya)