Shut Up & Knit!

YarnLove & Bloglines

I ran over to my LYS yesterday.

I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find some lovely yarn to use for a pair of mitts for me.  I can't remember the last time I knit anything for myself, and the boy told me I should knit something for me before returning to his scarf.

I'm doing both.  Shhhhhh... don't tell him.

The yarn is Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran.  The color is 149 and good luck finding it online.  On my monitor, the picture is spot on.  However, that's on my monitor.  YMMV.

It's a tweedy yarn, and 85% Merino wool, 10% silk and 5% cashmere.

I think I'm in love.

I also think I need to find a sugar daddy and/or win lotto, so I can make a sweater or two out of this stuff.  It comes in 50 gram balls... 104 yards per ball.  The math made my head spin. 

Maybe a sugar daddy who's good at math...

Where I Try To Be Artsy

That's what happens when I try to take a picture of a black hat in November.    There wasn't going to a good photo, so I just went for it.  Sorry, ya'll.

It's a beanie style version of the Kitty Hat.  No ear flaps, I-Cord or pompoms.  I used black Patons wool and size 7 circular and DPNs.  Oh, and two size 0 DPNs to pick up the stitches for the ears.  I used the ones I just got from KnitPicks and really like how they felt while using them.

The mitts are tiny, but so is the friend who is getting them.  I used size 6 DPNs and 36 stitches.  Oh, and a simple three x three rib.  The left one is slightly bigger because that's the one I modeled.  *L*   

Photo of me modeling looks off because I played with it until you could see the ribs.  Before it was just a black thing on top of a brown thing.  Go me!

While I did enjoy making them, I do not see myself using black yarn again any time soon.  It's just too much for my old eyes.

Plus removing cat hair is not my idea of a good time.

No... really.

A Cat & An FO

Isn't she cute? 

She's sleeping off breakfast.  She totally pigged out this morning.  She usually does not eat so well and this has given me some new hope.  It's also proven our beloved vet wrong.  He told me that she doesn't need different flavors of wet food.  I've been giving her fishie wet food for ages now because she used to love it.  *L*

See our problem? 

I was eating something beef the other day.  A kosher hot dog, I think.  She was all purry and lovey and needed a taste.  I told her no because I am not sharing with a cat, and, kosher or not, it's still not good for her.  However, it got me thinking.  I picked up a few cans of beef wet food and this morning I opened the first one.  She went back a few times until her dish was clean.  I am very happy and now thinking she needs more cow in her diet.

You see, she gets glucosamine/chondroitin in her wet food every morning.  She's been on it for years now and we have seen an improvement in her movement.  She seems to be less stiff... if that's the right word... and limps far less than she did without it.  Because of that, it's very important that my old cat eat her brekkie every single day.  Let's be honest, I'd sooner take her to the vet every day to get pilled than to pill her on my own daily.  Slipping her meds to her in wet food is a blessing that I embrace wholeheartedly.

Actual knitting content:

Yes, I am going to get my money out of that neon green fleece.  :p

Another version of Fetching.

The tiny version made for a girlfriend in England with tiny hands.  I only used 35 stitches around.  Freaked me out, lemme tell ya.

I'm going to send her these so she can tell me how close I am to making something that actually fits her.   I've got my fingers crossed that these are close.

Yes, it's that bright pink Patons wool again.  She requested pink and/or black, and knitting with pink is so much easier on the eyes.

Oh, and speaking of eyes... that double knit headache I had? 

Yeah, it was a hormonally induced migraine.  If I was smarter, I would have noticed that sooner.  Still thinking about that scarf and the boy that may or may not get it. 

Love you, honey!

Today We Remember

On Friday*, October 13, 1307, the Knights Templar ran into some trouble.   Of course, that's a bit like saying Sept.11, 2001 was a bad day, but you get the idea.  Their world came to an end.

However, they did leave behind a few things.  Lessons about following blindly and how well that goes, lessons about how even the most modest can grow an out of control ego, and our friend Friday the 13th.  Plus my personal favorite... credit cards and banking.  They made it possible for men to go on Crusade by working out a system that made their monies available while away from home.  Our modern banking is thanks to them in a lot of ways.

Oddly enough, I was cursing them yesterday. 

No... really.

I'd run out to do some shopping.  I still need felting jeans.  More so now as it's felting season again.  Trouser shopping is always a nightmare and yesterday was more of one than usual.  Turns out that the Visa I was going to use no longer had a working strip on the back.  I was told to call my financial institution.  While better than having it taken away and cut up in front of me, it was still a less than happy experience.  I'm getting a new one in the mail, btw.

On the upside, I got my prize from winning the most traditional mittens during Bitchin'Mittens.  I'm looking forward to finding some things to order.  Not that I need another project or anything.  *L*

* Trust me.  I was driving carpool that day.  Traffic was a nightmare.  Templars running around all over the place... being all drama queenie and shit.

Fingerless Mitt Monday!

Finished!

I really liked making these and will be making a few more pair. 

Plus my mother wants the pattern. 

The photo doesn't do the yarn justice, but that's the way it goes.

The wrists are longer than they were in Fetching, but I like them longer.  My version of binding off was different/simpler.  Thumbs, too.

I think the next pair will be a little tighter around the fingers, but that's the only thing other thing I would change.

They were a quick knit, but that might have been me.  *L*