Saturday, February 25, 2017

Getting Things Done

Last weekend, I finished my yellow socks while watching "The Walking Dead."
This is the first one, and
this the second.  I knit all my socks flat.  I've only successfully completed one pair in the round.  I used two circulars, and gave the finished pair to my mother.  She tried so hard to convince me that DPNs weren't as hard as I made them out to be.

Over the week, I remade three Headway hats for an etsy customer that didn't receive the first ones she ordered.  She wanted one for herself, one for her daughter, and one for her son.  Thankfully, she just sent me a message saying they arrived today.  Whew.

I also made this
with the same yarn (Lion Homespun) pictured.  Interestingly, my colors fell almost precisely as they did in the photo.

The "winners" of the Same Name matchups of the other day were
Justin Trudeau (shocker)
Chris Pine (my preference is Evans, but, whatever. . .)
Sam Elliott (about whom I had a dream this morning)
Hugh Laurie (glad he's still in the game)
Robert Redford (same).

Would you like to vote a little more?  In one way or another, these have come across my eye line in the last couple of days:
My mother once told me that one of the first things she noticed in men were how their pants fit in back.  I always thought, being a seamstress, she was talking about tailoring.  Then, one day, I realized she was looking at their butts.  It was one of those "oh-my-goodness-my-parent-is-a-real-person" moments.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Kathy Asks, I Answer

*How lost would you feel without your phone for a day?
Not too much.  I don't think.
*Have you ever had Pavlova?
No.
*Have you ever seen a feral cat colony?
Only in photographs.
*Are you a loose knitter or a tight knitter?
Tight.  Especially when casting on.  It's a habit I keep trying to break.
*Do you play the lottery?
No.
*If someone gave you the yarn, the pattern and a guarantee you’d knit it to perfection, what would you want to knit ?
This was the first thing that came to mind;  "Dreambird."

*What’s your limit for a day of driving on a trip?  (hours? Miles?)
I can go for 6 or 7 hours.  It all depends on where I'm headed.  If I'm on my way to the beach, I can drive all day!

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Practice, Practice

Well, Lorette offered up a popular opinion with Prime Minister Trudeau!  You will most definitely be voting on him in six months.  For now, flex your voting muscles on these. Just for fun. Nothing binding.

Friday, February 17, 2017

From My Narrow Little World

Bojangles has delicious, delicious macaroni and cheese.

There is nothing more fun in knitting than turning a heel.  Especially when the turn lines up like these
 
This is the same yarn I used to make the arm warmers a while back.  For some reason, the shimmery gold threads aren't showing up in these photos.

When I look to my right at any given moment, this is what I see:

A post I made on Facebook had one knitter saying, and a couple of others agreeing, that we should "just declare Justin Trudeau 'Knitters' Hunk' and get it over with."
I can't say that's a bad call.


Saturday, February 11, 2017

Chewy Influencer

My product choice for this month's trial was
dental treats from VetriScience.  All three cats have sort of unpleasant breath, and none of them have ever been fans of brushing, so. . .

Erin loves them.  Madeleine doesn't like them at all. Riley goes back and forth, depending, I suppose, on her mood and the emptiness of her stomach.  There is one problem that the bites give the cats:
I have to snap each one in half so that they can be picked up and chewed easily.  That, though, is nothing compared to how Erin chows down on them, and Riley occasionally indulges.

Each month, I select one product offered by chewy.com for in-home testing.  They ask that I give honest reports of my pets' experiences with the products.  There are no monetary transactions whatsoever.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Just Some Stuff, Pretty Much

The Debbie Bliss yarn remains divine.  It's going to be hard to turn it into something;  it's just wonderful the way it is.

Some hard rain passed through here the night before last.  I used the opportunity to read and have some tea.
I'm a teacup snob.  Interesting, pretty, unusual cups make tea taste better, I find.

The "cat hats" I'm selling in my etsy shop have raised over $200 so far.  For some reason, that stuns me.  In a very good way, mind you, but it stuns me.  The hats there are in colors other than pink, for variety.  Pinks will be there, too, though.

In other e-commerce news, Sephora has evidently joined Amazon in the Ridiculously Packaged Items Club:

In today's mail, I got a notice that I have been selected as a "prospective" juror in US District Court.  I had to fill out a questionnaire, and I may or may not be chosen, yada yada.  I've been called for plain ol' jury duty three times.  The first time, I had just had Briton.  The second time, I had just had Hannah.  The third time, I went downtown and, most of the morning, sat beside a former colleague of Dale's.  She had been nothing but a backstabber when they worked together --- even when he was desperately ill, so I wasn't thrilled to be next to her.  But she made all phony-nice, and I have never wished for some knitting to do or a book to read more in my life.  Neither of us made it onto the panel, and she was dismissed before me.  At least I didn't have to walk with her to our cars. . .

Do you have any jury experience?





Monday, February 6, 2017

Oh, It's True

I just got a hank of 
and I can't stop squishing it and holding it to my face.  That's normal, right?




Sunday, February 5, 2017

And The Winners Are

RED
WHITE
BLACK

and

Camille!



Give me a day or two, sweetie.  Some little things will be headed your way.



WHITE

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Super Bowl Sweepstakes!

The Super Bowl is tomorrow.
  Really.

So,

Imagine that you have to knit something in the colors of one of the participating teams.  Using those colors doesn't necessarily mean you support that team, your choice is simply one of the aesthetics.

Do you knit with the red, white and black of the Atlanta Falcons,
or
the red, white and blue of the New England Patriots?

Leave your choice in the Comments section below before kick-off tomorrow. (5:30 CT)  The names of all who answer will be placed in a baseball cap ('cause I don't have a football helmet), and the winner's name will be drawn at random.  The winner will be announced at halftime.

If you win, you'll get a knit goodie or two.  Possibly personalized.  Possibly edible, or drinkable.  Possibly useful.  The Contest Committee isn't entirely clear on it all yet.  But it won't be awful.


Friday, February 3, 2017

Yarn and Yarn and Yuck

Over in my etsy store, I'm selling cat ear hats --- in different colors and sizes --- for the charities of the buyers' choice.  I'm not calling them by their better-known name, so as not to tread on the originators' turf, but I have gotten requests for bright pink ones.  I've just cast on using this KnitPicks Mighty Stitch, and there are two things to tell you.  First, it is hot pink, but quite pretty.  Second, it has such a great feel to it.  It's soft moving through the fingers, and just a joy to use.  This color is "Pucker."

Before the hat madness, I had finished my long arm warmers,
and even had enough yarn left for a pair of socks!  At least I hope there's enough;  that's my working premise.

My sinus infection/strep throat finally wore itself out.  That was a hard couple of weeks.  In the middle of it all, my septic tank backed up into the house.  Whee.  Looking at the big picture though;  I've lived in this house for 30 years, and the tank had never given me a speck of trouble.  So there is that.



Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Hats In Hand

 The day after the Women's March on Washington, DC, I had an idea.  I would make some of the cat ear hats thousands were wearing, and make them available in my etsy shop.  They aren't all hot pink (because hot pink yarn is in short supply here), and they aren't for women only, and every cent of the purchase price + shipping charges will be donated to the charity of the buyer's choice.

I've been knitting lots of cat ear hats.  One person, on receiving hers, immediately ordered three more.  Fortunately, my credo at hand eye is that I will never make two things the same.  That means that there's enough variation in every hat I make that I don't get bored.

The hats have brought the Blankapalooza sewing together to a screeching halt.  I've got a center square maybe 24" x 24" done;  I'll get back to it, I promise.

48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch"...