A Prize for Me!

So, I was just over at Knitterella's blog, checking it out as I often do 'cause of all of her wonderful, fun creations, and I just discovered that I won a sample pack of some of her stationary! I love all her work! She's a graphic designer and a knitter so her stationary isn't just beautiful, it has a knitting theme to it. She sells her stationary at her Etsy store. And just check out the crocheted flowers she whipped up to adorn her gift tags and barrettes.

As far as my knitting goes, the battle with Apricot is well underway. I'm having some guage issues. I'm concerned that my work is too loose for the yarn I'm using (Cotton Fleece.) I'm using size 7 needles which gives me the right number of stitches/inch but after a few inches of ribbing it just seems a little too loose. I decided to start on one of front panels on size 6 needles and follow the directions for the larger size. I'm also going to check out Ravelry to see if I can gain any wisdom from those who've already done this sweater. Yay for Ravelry!

Apricot Underway

Just a quick post to show my start on the Apricot Jacket. This ribbing is endless, although I do plan on shortening it from what the directions call for. I'm only about 5'2" and I can see this thing being way too long if I don't make some adjustments.

Not Just a Bag Lady

That's how one of my internet friends refers to me on her blogroll, as "The Bag Lady." I know I've been all about the bags so far on this blog (except for a scarf or two and one glove) but I'm here to tell you that's about to change.

I just started an actual sweater last night! I've been lusting after the Apricot Jackets I've seen all over blogland and I finally managed to gather the pattern, the yarn, and the time into one room last night and got started! I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in New Age Teal.

I have made a few sweaters before, back in the olden days before I took my long hiatus from knitting. I never seemed to have much luck with them though. Oh I made some beautiful sweaters: stranded sweaters, cabled sweaters, all kinds, but there always seemed to be something wrong with them. They were either the wrong size, or they weren't flattering, or they were too warm, or too itchy. I realize now I was picking sweaters that I wanted to knit, but not necessarily ones I wanted to wear.

I'm determined to make this one work though. Thanks to the internet, I've seen it worn on several body types and it managed to be flattering on just about all of them. Wish me luck. From what I hear (and have already noticed so far) the pattern directions are vague at best and in some cases just wrong. I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm still excited about making it!

Shiny New Toy

I finally got an invite to Ravelry yesterday and that's how it feels, like I've just gotten a shiny new toy. I logged in just to poke around a bit. Woooowwww. The possibilities seem endless. I've been pretty eager to sign up for Ravelry, but in a way I'm kind of glad that it's taken this long. It's been fun just anticipating it and now that I've had to wait there's so much there already to see. I just wish I'd been taking more photos of my projects and stash while I waited. I have the day off tomorrow, so I intend to try to make up for lost time.

I finished my wristlet a few days ago, but have just gotten around to photos, editing, etc. Here it is before felting with some wristlets in the background that I made last fall. They're in various stages of completion. Only the one on the far right has been felted so far. These are just some little bags I whipped up that I figured would be great for last minute gifts. In fact I had more but some were given away for Christmas last year.

Here it is felted (along with one of the other bags.) After felting it's just about the right size for a cell phone and maybe a credit card. The large loop slips through the small one, effectively keeping a phone from falling out. I've never seen a need to line these, though of course you could.

And here it is with the purse that inspired this particular wristlet.I'll probably make some more of these this fall too, just in case.

Projectlet

Sometimes you just need a little something to work on when you've just finished one Big Project and you haven't decided yet what the next one will be. Just for fun I decided to knit a little wristlet to match the stranded bag I did a few weeks ago. Instead of combining Noro Kureyon with the Lamb's Pride I just used all LP. It would have been too difficult to duplicate the color changes of the Noro, especially since scale of the wristlet is so much smaller. The colors aren't as subtle, but I think felting it will calm them down just a bit.

"Sorbet" Entrelac Tote

Sorbet - that was the comment a few people made describing the colors in this bag as I worked on it. It helped to think of it that way when the temperature outside was 100+ and I had a large pile of wool in my lap. I finished this latest entrelac bag just in time for the end of the Summer KAL-CAL Purse Round-up. I posted a few pics there, but I haven't had a chance to write about the details until now.

I decided that I wanted to stabilize the bottom of the bag with plastic canvas. Fortunately Darice makes their plastic canvas in round shapes that are easily cut down to smaller circles, although the 9 1/2" size I bought was already just about the perfect size. (Actually it was labeled 9 1/2" but it was really 9 1/4.") I tacked it down inside the bottom of the bag, being careful not to let the thread show through to the outside.

I found a really fun, bright Kaffe Fassett fabric for lining the bag at a local quilting store. It was an easy job to
line this bag, but difficult to photograph the lining in the bag since it's not very structured.
I really needed to have items in the bag to have it stand up and photograph at all well.
Materials used:

• Lamb's Pride Worsted in Orange You Glad - 1 skein
• Lamb's Pride Worsted in Lotus Pink - skein
• Lamb's Pride Worsted in Supreme Purple - skein
• Noro Kureyon in Color #102 - 3 skeins

Needles:

• Size 11 Denise Needles
• Size 10 Denise Needles
• Size 10 Bamboo DPs

Pattern:

• My design

Pre-felting Measurements:

• Circumference: 35"
• Height: 19"

After Felting:

• Circumference: 29"
• Height: 17" (This is the measurement taken from the center of the bottom of the bag to the top. The bag actually stands about 12" high.)

Goodbye Madison

My heart is broken. My cat Madison, who I just talked about here a couple of weeks ago, is gone. She had health problems (diabetes, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism) but we had been managing them well with proper diet and medications. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that her appetite had begun to decrease and she seemed to have no energy.

We took her to the vet a few times that week and we assumed that an infection was interfering with her insulin. We hoped that a course of antibiotics would straighten everything out, but her health continued to decline. It happened slowly at first and then more rapidly as the week went on. I won't go into a lot of detail because it's already everything I can do to keep from bawling again now. Suffice it to say I was with her at the end and I think she was comforted to have me there.

I've had a few days now to get used to her being gone but I'm still reeling at how quickly her health deteriorated. I didn't really have a chance to adjust to the idea that she wasn't going to get better. I still catch myself looking for her in her favorite spots, but then I remember.

I suppose it's so difficult for me because she was such a strong presence in our household. From the time we got her as a tiny kitten, she was hell on wheels. She was fearless and quickly decided that our dog (though many times her size) was her plaything. A few years later, when we brought home our first German Shepherd puppy, she seemed appalled that he didn't have a proper respect for cats. She set about correcting that immediately. She made it her job to "break in" Morgan and a couple of years after that, Max. She made sure they knew what cat claws felt like from the get go and they learned to avoid pissing her off.
As I've said before, she was not exactly the sweetest of cats. You were rewarded with her company when she was in the mood for it. One of her favorite things to do was to curl up in my lap, allow me to pet her, and then after one stroke too many (a number known only to her) she would reach over and bite my hand. I'm pretty sure she did this solely to see the surprised look on my face or to hear me yelp. This among other things earned her the nickname "Attitude Kitty."

I think maybe I loved her all the more because of her prickly personality. She was very independent, never liked to be picked up or held, so when she came to me for attention it meant that much more (and she didn't always bite.) In the last couple of years she started spending more time with my husband and me, actually preferring our laps to most of her old haunts. She seemed to know that she needed us more. I miss her so much. I can still hardly believe I'll never see her again.