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.

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?

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?

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

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.

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.

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.