All good things...

must end. And so, the weekend comes to a close. Everything on the list was accomplished (+ some!), except for... c'mon you know you wanna guess... first two don't count... that's right... CatMan Aran never saw the light of day. But I did get one Bubby knit, and the second is at the point of needing the arms sewn on and the face embroidered.

Here's the first Bubby (or Bubbette, since it's going to a little girl baby)

I bet if I had another 4 days off, I'd get to the CatMan Aran. Uh-huh, ayep I would.

Some more ways to procrastinate

The Yarn Harlot
Wendy Knits
Stella Knits
Punk Rock Knitter

Knit TogetherCoffee Crazy Knitters

Or get inspired!

Progression

I'm making some progress - at least in the KYarn Charity knitting. The knit on the needles is a ski hat using some acrylic yarn left by another tenant (who also left a pair of #10 Susan Bates scratchy aluminum needles. No wonder the poor thing didn't take it with her.) You gotta have the right tools for the job!

Presenting the legless Bubby (and its companions, still in the embryonic stage)

And finally, Jack checking out the non-progress on the CatMan Aran.

Of Yarn and the 4-Day Weekend

I'm thankful. I'm thankful I have a four-day weekend of grand, glorious, fun-filled nothingness stretching ahead of me.

I've got a to-do list, cause that's the kind of girl I am. But I'm not compulsed about it. It's just a guideline/course correction for when I get to the point of 3 days in the same pair of jammies.

1. Finish the CatMan Aran (stop cackling now)

2. Finish another Bubby (ok, really? Finish Bubby 1 and hopefully Bubby 2)

3. Knit a hat for the KYarn Charity Knit (2 scarves done already, baby!)

4. Update the blog with some links (and hopefully some pictures if I can find where the CatMan put the camera)

5. Pay bills (Verily, 'tis better to pay bills by the due date rather than incurring the charges of the finance)

6. Clean out my desk's inbox (this will make me very happy!)

7. Watch the AKC Dog Show tomorrow (while in my jammies, knitting)

8. Start thinking about Christmas (I said "think", this implies no other action verb)

9. Go see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (mmm...popcorn)

10. Make a yummy T-giving dinner for just the CatMan and me

This is just a list. If this had been an actual take-action list, you would have been instructed where to reach the nearest exit. Happy long weekend, everyone!

Giving of the best kind

My LYS is hosting a holiday knitting bash for some local VT charities. Here's why it's a "good thing":

1. Use up the stash (sh-yeah...like that could really happen!)

2. Quick knits - hats, scarves, mittens

3. For every item you knit, you are entered in one of two drawings for $75.00 KYarns gift certificates. (and no, two mittens are not two entries BUT a pair of mittens and a hat are!)

4. Out-of-state? No worries - one drawing is just for the internets peoples!

5. Your lovely knitted items benefit someone who needs them terribly during the very long, cold winters here in the Green Mountains.

So go check it out! I raided the stash last night and I think I'm gonna have a great long Thanksgiving weekend of knittin'.

Nicknames

We've got a lot of cats. But we've got even more nicknames for them. I will probably be the crazy old cat lady who can't get any of their names right. The nicknames evolve on a regular basis as witnessed below:

1. Cashew = The Big Fat Shew or (insert Ed Sullivan voice here) The Really Big Shew.
2. Cinco = Senor El Cinco, Fluffy White Cat (usually sung to the Foreigner tune "Dirty White Boy"), and because he has two annoying habits, Chewbooka and ChewbookaPeeBoy (he has a little Alpha Male issue with the CatMan)
3. Jack = Jackalope, then JackaBlope, now just Blope.
4. Pip = Pipperdoodles, Doodles, sometimes Dudes (usually sung to the Aerosmith tune "Dude Looks like a Lady" Dudu, dudu, Dudes looks like he's crazy)
5. Meepus = Meepy, Meepy-deepy-dooze
6. Muffy = Duffy, Duff, Duffydooze (they're sisters - what do you expect?)
7. Isabelle = Bizzy, IzzyBellie, Belle, Bellie, and when she's spoiling for a fight? Belli Cose and Belli Gerent.

And our parents wonder why we don't have children...

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

Finished!! Grammie's Hearts knitted with 1 strand Antique Rose and Burgundy Alpaca from Peru held together, using #8 Addis. There is a 5 row seed stitch border all the way around, with alternating rows of stockinette and drop stitch (note: the part of Vanna White is being played by Bizzy Izzy Bellie).

And here's a quick knit - Nights can get a bit chilly up here in the North Country and with electric heat, we tend to keep it cool in the apartment. Ta-da! A Oranginee Beanie! This was made from a skein of Paton's Divine I picked up last Christmas at an AC Moore in PA. I love the fluffy orangey color flecked with yellow. I did not love the texture as it slid across the Addis. I used #4s, dropping down to my Brittany DPNs for the crown. The design is my own.

For those keeping up, there will be no snakes knitted onto this beanie.

And now a word from our sponsor

Actually, I'm sponsoring her and it's very well deserved. Please check out my friend Fan's stamping website to see some of the gorgeous work she does. She's finally put up a site - with a contact link to purchase! Click this here button to take you away (but be sure to come back and visit me!)

And I hate to tell you Fan...but I made out on the barter.

Not a whole lot of knitting goin' on the past few days. I did finish Grammie's Hearts - all that's left to do is block and take a pic. Worked a little on the CatMan Aran last night. And then ripped it out. Grrr (note to self - insert a lifeline. Stat!)

I spent tonight catching up on my blog reading. Girls - you are inspiration! You might be picking up old projects, you may be starting new projects, some of you are planning adventures, and others could be struggling with the current WIP but yea verily, are not being defeated.

I salute you! Oh, wait. I need a cocktail to do that properly, right? *toddles off to the kitchen to rustle up a gin and tonic and some of those loverly little garlic stuffed olives*

The Barter System

The Barter System works, people. Look at these loverly cards my friend Fan made in trade for 3 Bubbies. She does gorgeous work, and I'm encouraging her to sell them (whether on the Internet or locally).

In knitting news, I'm on the Grammie's Hearts home stretch and rounding the bend on the CatMan Aran.

A Confession and Confection

First the confession - I am not a cable girl. Nosireebobcattail. I'm enjoying the CatMan Aran, but it's not a mindless car project. It requires some focus and attention. So I'm thinking cabled projects larger than a breadbox are not for my needles. Sometimes, it's good to do a project that confirms these things.

The confection is this:

My nickname is "Dusa", short for Medusa so how funny would it be to knit this in a big person size? Of course I don't wear hats, and I would be even harder pressed to wear a hat with knitted snakes, but dang. This just made me laugh out loud.

On a clear day

You can see the Autumn Sky (sorry, Babs!) It feels so nice to take an item off the WIP list! It will feel even better to add one. I'm 31" into Grammie's Hearts and hope to have it done by next weekend. I'm thinking the Leaves Shawl is next onto the needles since I want to wear it over my winter coat (and it is that time of year!) I've also had a request for a Bubby or three, but those don't get started until the CatMan's Aran is out of the small project bag.

I'm not in the market to start a knitalong right now but if you are, be sure to check this one out! It's already promising to be fun.

Halloween's a'coming

Scary isn't it? I'm thinking either a "Norwegian FisherWitch" or a "Trend gone sadly wrong". And could those diamonds be placed in a more inappropriate spot? Wait, don't answer that.

It is indeed frightful!

The weather, that is. Cold, blustery (ok, downright windy!), and it's slushing from the sky. And me without my snow tires on yet! Grrrrr...and brrrrrr.

So as soon as I pay bills and catch up on emails, it's back to Grammie's Hearts armed with a cup of Stash's Lemon-Ginger Tea (a close second behind coffee in my book) and Pride and Prejudice in the DVD player. And probably a cat or three curled up with me for good measure.

But before I go, I must share a yarn story. Went to my LYS to pick up a top-down swing coat pattern posted in their online newsletter as well as a fill-in skein of Colorlash (yep, you guess it - not enough to finish Autumn Sky). *sigh* Pattern sold out, Colorlash discontinued (for them). I did pet some Cherry Tree Baby Loop boucle (1000 yds for $36.00 oo-la-la!), but you know how it is when your mind is focused on something else? I did find the Colorlash on sale here, which I promptly ordered. I'll keep you posted on service and delivery.

In the meantime, any thoughts what to do with this? I mean, my mind might have been focused on something else at the time, but now with the immediate crisis resolved, I'm thinking this is too good a deal to pass up!

Once a scarf knitter...

Always a scarf knitter it seems. Lethargy had set in while working on Grammie's Hearts, so I thought a little cure may be something quick from the stash. Witness Autumn Sky:

This little scarf is 10 stitches across, knit on one #9 and one #13 needle. I think alternating the needle size gives a neat stitch pattern, not too tight, not too open. The yarns are Fonty Serpentine in a cloud-like blue/grey (hence the name of the scarf - it perfectly matched today's sky) and Color Lash in medium blue. The scarf looks a little wiggly, since Bizzy Izzy decided to walk across it right before I snapped the pic.

And here's one pattern repeat of the CatMan's Aran - I can't wait to finish and block this. I think the cable will really pop and the seed stitch edges will be nice and straight!

The CatMan went to Oregon

And all I got was this lousy picture.

Ok, so it's not a lousy picture. It's actually a very very nice picture of Multnomah Falls. In fact I like it better than this one you can purchase online from a website.

The Catman took the color photo with our camera which explains why you haven't been seeing much in the way of Catty knitted stuff for the past few days. (Well that, and the fact that I haven't made a ton of progress, but there is knitting in short, controlled bursts.)

He had a wonderful time and resisted the urge to bring wildlife home (specifically the bat which he nicknamed Otis Myotis, the two snakes, and the 4+" slug he found in his various climbs and travels).

Thanks honey. The picture is enough. Really.

In the words of Henrietta Pussycat

meow meow meow meow me-OW. purrrrrr. (And I ain't talking about no stinkin' scarf, y'all.)

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTyorick.html

Notice how I restrained myself from saying I wish "I knew HIM well", accompanied by a nudgenudgewinkwinkknowwhatI mean.

Knitting Happy

I've calculated just how long I want Grammie's Hearts to be = ~40". So imagine my joy when I realized that I'm halfway through (insert Kermit-arm-waving dance here). Since the day was rainy and glum here, I cheered myself up by doing a little work on the CatMan Aran. The fall/winter stuff is out of storage, the bed is made up with fresh sheets and the down comforter, and the cats are curled into assorted balls throughout the house.

It's a good night to knit.

A new addition to the Blog world!

Now you all can see my LYS up close and personal. Stop by and say "hey". And I'm loving this sweet thing. I'm seeing a visit in the very near future.

Dear Mr. Thompson

This particular "creative jacket" may cause the Sweet Baby Jesus to cry. And he's a much stronger soul than I.

Sincerely,

Catty