And the Winner Is....

My Eyelet Cardigan is finally done!

It's taken way too long. I started it back in the middle of June a few weeks after we got our kitten Macy, and I guess I underestimated the effect she would have on my knitting. I've had to work around her quite a bit, waiting until she's asleep or distracted to get a few rows in here and there. She's pretty much convinced that everything, and for that matter everyone in our house is here for her entertainment. My knitting in particular seems to fascinate her though: the yarn, the needles, the sweater that (to her) looks like a tangle of yarn just waiting to be attacked. It's been quite a battle, and she's a worthy adversary, but I have emerged triumphant.

Here are the specs on the sweater:

Yarn: 4 skeins Blue Skies Alpaca Dyed Cotton in periwinkle

100% cotton

150 yds/skein

Needles: size 7

Pattern: Eyelet Cardigan from Blue Skies Alpaca

This was a pretty fun knit, kitten wrangling aside. I'm really pleased with the fit. The only changes I made were to the ribbing. After reading the comments of others who've made it, I decided I liked the idea of the ribbing matching up with the eyelet/cable pattern. I adjusted the ribbing accordingly. (Thanks Ravelry!)

I think if I make this again, I'll skip doing the cuffs on the sleeves. They're just a little too heavy for this weight yarn, especially for a summery cotton sweater. The yarn feels nice and soft, but it's loosely plied, so I'm a little concerned about how it'll hold up. We'll see.

Oh and here's another little distraction I had acouple of weeks ago. I decided at the last minute to knit a little hat for a friend's baby shower. After looking at a few sample baby hats in my LYS and checking out some hats on Ravelry, I cast on and kind of made it up as I went. I used Tahki Cotton Classic in blueberry and bright teal, size 6 needles. It's a little puckered looking at the top where I did the decreases, but overall I think it turned out okay. It just took a couple of days. I had never used Cotton Classic before and I really like it. The color selection is amazing, and you've got to love a machine washable yarn.

Progress

Progress on the knitting front, with the Eyelet Cardigan. As usual the picture's a little out of date. I've done the armhole decreases and just have a few more inches on the back. And progress on the Kitten Integration Project. This is our dog McLeod. He's a good boy, but not exactly kitty friendly. He's always viewed cats as something to be chased or pushed around. With Macy I think he's met his match.

Oh he tried to act aloof.....

but she would not be ignored.
She was a little tentative the first time she met him, but now she's just determined to play with him. She's shown bravado beyond reason. He's used to having kitties run away from him. He's not used to them running back and jumping on his head.

He has no idea what he's in for.

Blue Skies Ahead

I've started another sweater, another cardigan (big surprise I'm sure!) It' the Eyelet Cardigan, a Blue Sky Alpaca pattern, and I'm actually using the yarn it calls for, Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton. The shade I picked is periwinkle, one of my favorite colors.

I've adjusted the ribbing so it will transition more neatly into the pattern stitch, an idea I got from alltangledup's version I found on Ravelry. Ooops, I just realised that I've photographed the ribbing from the wrong side. Oh well, I've gotten a lot done since this photo and I'm going to try to get more pics taken later today so I'll post those soon.

Macy (or the "little monster" as we've started calling her) is growing like a weed. She had another check up at the vet last week and gained a full pound in the first three weeks we had her - up from her original pound and a quarter. Ironically the only other pet in our household who I can trust to just hang out with her without having to supervise every second is my big dog Max. I had predicted that he would be the easy one. Max is a big sweetie and he loves cats. He's always seemed to enjoy hanging out with the kitties in our family. When he was younger and a little more mischievous he liked to put his mouth around their heads or their necks ever so gently, just to hear that irritated meow when they complained.

Fortunately Max has the patience of a saint, and doesn't mind having his foot gnawed on.

The other two cats we have, Mallory (the black kitty) and Murphy (the tortie) barely get along with each other. I took this picture of the two of them because of how unusual it is to see them together like this. Neither one of them has the slightest interest in getting to know the kitten.

McLeod, our younger German Shepherd is coming along. His first instinct with cats and other small critters is to chase. He's a bit of a bully with the other kitties, but he's never hurt them. I've been working with him a lot, first to teach him that Macy is part of our "pack" and not some little creature that happened to wander into the house. Second, I'm trying to get him used to having his tail, foot, or whatever being used as a cat toy, 'cause that's already a given. Third, I need to teach him that even if she attacks me or his daddy (DH) that's still not enough reason to do any damage to her. He's been amazingly good so far. She's been pretty merciless playing with his tail, but he could care less as long as the dog treats keep on coming!

Lace Hem Cardigan

I finally finished my sweater! I actually finished it two weeks ago, but blogging and knitting time have been in short supply lately. It's very difficult to concentrate on typing when you've got a kitten attacking you or just climbing up you legs. More about her later.

First up, sweater pictures! This is the 106-3 Jacket with 3/4 Sleeves and Textured Hem in Muskat by Drops Design, but I'm just going to call it my Lace Hem Cardigan.

Yarn: 4 skeins TLC Cotton Plus Solid in Spruce

51% cotton, 49% acrylic

machine wash and dry

178 yds/skein

Needles: Size 7

Pattern: 106-3 Jacket with 3/4 Sleeves and Textured Hem

by Drops Design

available for free

Mods: Left off the bobbles, shortened the overall length a bit

This sweater is knit in one piece from the bottom up until the armholes. The lace was easy and kept things interesting. There's a bit of waist shaping for a flattering fit. Pattern was well written and I liked the results well enough to knit it again.

You may have noticed a lack of buttons in the pictures. I struck out at the first place I checked and haven't had a chance to look further. I had in mind some shell buttons with a hint of green in them, but we'll see.

And now for the reason it's taken me so long to post again. I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since this little furry bundle of distraction entered our lives. She looks so innocent, doesn't she? Heh, heh, heh.

I'd forgotten how much work a kitten can be. When we get home from work she wants to play, and eat, and play some more. And she can be pretty ferocious about it. I have so many scratches on my arms and legs I'm starting to feel like a pin cushion.

Just look at those stripes! I'm in love with those stripes! They were barely noticeable when she first arrived, but over time they've become more pronounced. Can you tell I've never had a tabby before?