It's That Time of Year Again...

Getting ready for fall ...

Cat mats!

This batch is for my stray kitties, to line their porch boxes with. Last years' collection will go underneath the new mats for this year, for extra cozy cushioning.

I've mentioned these before -- the mats use up a LOT of yarn, so if you have large amounts of inexpensive (acrylic) yarn to use up, cat mats are a great way to go.

I wind four strands of yarn into giant balls, and then crochet mats out of them.

When I first started knitting, I bought a lot of yarn I wouldn't dream of knitting with now. That, plus odds-n-ends such as a quarter-skein of baby yarn and a ball of truly hideous knobby acrylic, and some cheapy yarn that was given to me by someone whose mother quit knitting due to arthritis ... it all makes very vivid, warm, and much-appreciated cat mats. If you don't have cats, shelters love to receive these. Cats love to dig their claws in to them, and doggies love to lay on comfy yarny beds.

I'm still working on the skirt. Not very quickly, because I'm also preparing for two races next month (5 miles and 8 miles) and I'm still enough of a running newb to think those are great distances. But rest assured the skirt is plodding along!

So don't forget to pop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday, and I leave you with this really weird bug I saw in my front yard:

Happy Trails!

Where is the Finish Line?

I had hoped to get this Sasha Skirt finished by autumn ... now I'm not so sure!

I'm just so caught up in other things right now, I knit maybe one row a day. I have about 13 rows left on this part of the skirt, then I will dunk it in some Jacquard Acid to make it all one color. Blue or purple, or both together, since I don't have a lot of either color. Then I'll start the next layer, which will be a forest green.  The next layer is picked up from the purl row under the waistband.

 The detail is pretty, but it will be a bit revealing. I'll have to wear a dark slip underneath.

Petunia REALLY wanted to be in the picture.

That's it for this week ... what are you all up to? Visit Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday! 

A Micro-Mini Skirt

The Sasha skirt is turning out to be a fun knit. I've just started the pattern on the underskirt. I've got a long ways to go, but it is a faster knit than I thought it would be.

The hardest part was threading the elastic into the enclosure, and then sewing the elastic together. I really hope to have this done by the time the weather gets cold! I'm looking forward to wearing it over snug warm tights in the winter. It'll be a spot of cheerful color in an otherwise gray season. That, or I'll static-cling myself to death.

In other news, I'm not too happy with the progress on the homespun shawl. The pattern is Sari Silk Crescent Shawl, which is gorgeous in the photo ... but not meant for a thick heavy yarn. So I don't know what I'll do with it now.

Meh. 

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

Scotland!

I spent the last week in Scotland with two friends ...

Melrose Piper's Competition

Abbotsford, home of Sir Walter Scott

Self-Explanatory

Baa-aaa

Why is the steering wheel over here...? Is it even possible to shift left-handed?

 Partway up to Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh

Melrose Abbey

Hadrian's Wall

The only knitting I did was at the airport en route and in the plane coming back. I had a great time! We went just to see castles and abbeys and ruins and such, so there were no knitting-related activities, except for this: 

Working mill near Edinburgh Castle

Black thread for .... 

...threading onto the giant wheel. 

I couldn't take a lot of pictures of the mill, because it's a working mill and they don't want the workers distracted. This guy is winding colored threads onto a giant wheel, in preparation for making a tartan. Each tartan is different and has its own pattern; this one has a lot of black in it, so he is threading a lot of black onto the wheel. I wasn't there long enough to see the next color. But I understand the idea is that he'll thread the colors onto the wheel in the order of the weaving. I should have taken more pictures around the mill, I only have these three. 

I had no idea there was such history behind the tartans. There were dozens of gift shops with tartan-patterned purses and such. I bought one wool wrap in a lovely purple plaid ... It's still upstairs and I'm lazy, so I'll show it off next week. 

Back to the knitting! I'm still working on the skirt I have such high hopes for. 

Cheers from the HMS Britannia crew mess!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis,who is unfortunately suffering from a bad wisdom tooth, to see what everyone else is up to! 

With an Eye Towards Autumn

That's the thing about being a fiber artist ... if you want to wear something handmade in autumn, you have to start preparing in early summer, or thereabouts.

I wanted to use my squooshy soft merino that I spun with cotton thread, so I'm making this shawl:

I still haven't found the pattern for this. It was on Ravelry, it was free, and it's very simple --- You double the knit rows from 8 to 16 to 32, etc, then K2 (yo k1) to end, then K2, for the increase rows.

I also really have a crush on this Sasha skirt.

Picture by inatwist from Ravelry

I am going to try to make this, using KnitPicks yarn from a sample pack I bought a few years ago. 

The sample pack is a variety of colors, so there will be a variety of colors in the skirt. I hope it doesn't look too clownish ...

I've done the doubled-over waistband with a hole to thread the elastic through, and then about an inch more from that. 

If this comes out right, I can wear it in the winter over tights, and be super snuggly warm. I suspect I'll have to invest in that anti-static-cling spray, too. 

That's it for me. What's everyone else up to?

Fat Petunia and Edgar remind you to visit Tamis Amis!

A New Project, and a Mended Doggie

Thanks everyone for the well-wishes. Despite the sad puppy face here, Georgie Girl is just about back to normal health!

This is how I get goodies. And pats on the head. And attention. 

Don't let the well-rehearsed puppy-dog-eyes get to you. I've seen her practicing that look in the mirror. 

I'm happy to report that my doggly is feeling much better. It wouldn't have happened without the good folks at Paradise Animal Hospital, and their patience trying different tactics to get her to eat, and the vet techs' constant attention to her for three days! Georgie Girl had a little crate right there in the middle of their work area in the back, and they fussed over her for three straight days. She absolutely loved the attention. I know it's their job to take care of animals, but they genuinely care about them and they get personally involved. They were just as worried as I was when Georgie didn't seem to be improving on the second day.

It finally came down to having to give her an appetite stimulant, at which point she was willing to eat out of the vet's hand. And then my hand. And I had a day or so to worry that she would never eat out of a dish again, so spoiled was she! But all's well that ends well, as Shakespeare said, and Georgie Girl is a happy little doggy again. Despite the sad face. Seriously, don't fall for it! She is posing for the camera.

On the knitting front, I am on a bit of a break, but determined to do something about this lovely handspun I have laying around. 

Merino, which I spun as singles, and then twisted with matching cotton thread. 

I don't want to name this project yet because I'm not sure I'll stick with it. (Okay, the honest truth is I scavenged Ravelry, found a likely pattern, wrote it down on a piece of paper to follow, then forgot what the pattern was.) I don't think I can pull this back if I change my mind, because I didn't give it a lot of twist so it isn't very sturdy.

This is exactly what I envisioned when I started spinning it; a thick, loosely spun yarn with a lot of fluffy character!  I think it will make a lovely warm wrap for the winter time. Or the summer time in my chilly office. 

Good luck to everyone participating in the Tour de Fleece! 

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday.

Bag and Doggie

Finally.

The Montavilla Market Tote.

I only messed up a few stitches, close to the top. I didn't stress over it, because it was near the top, and as I've pointed out before frogging or tinking post yarn-over is very, very hard.

I now have nothing on the needles except the Beekeepers Quilt.

I haven't knit anything since finishing this, and I'm so sleepy as I type this I keep messing up and having to start over. I was so tired and hungry while making dinner, I cooked brown rice and noodles as the grain for my dinner and didn't realize till I was done. Why am I so tired? Because this little doggie ...

Has been very, very sick. The vets over at Paradise Animal Hospital figured out pretty quick it was pancreatitis, but it takes a while to get over it. Poor doggie ... she went 5 days without eating or drinking much. I took her to the vet Monday morning, and came back that evening and she had an IV catheter in her poor little foot, and they wanted it to stay there so I could bring her back the next day. And the next ... she spent three whole days at the animal hospital while I was at work. And you know what? They spoiled her rotten. They held her like a baby, and let her sit on the counter while they petted her and fussed over her. The vet techs said while she was in her cage she was "vocalizing," which I know means she whimpered just to get them to come over to the cage and give her some TLC (she's quite manipulative!). Thursday morning when I let her out to pee, she went straight to the car. She wanted to go back to the animal hospital and be fussed over some more. And Georgie Girl hates car rides, so that's saying a lot.

So now she is still very droopy and tired (this picture is from earlier this year, but she's got the same hangdog look on her face). I have to give her pills twice a day, and one of the pills is very bitter and I have a hard time getting her to take it. And I'm tired because I had a hard time getting her settled to sleep at night with the catheter in her foot, and every time I heard her dog tags jingle I got up to see if she needed to pee or do some other business I'd rather she didn't do in the house. And make sure the sock was still over her catheter. You get the picture.

How do you all give your doggies pills? I have been crushing them and putting them in a syringe, or tucking the non-bitter ones in a treat. But it's hard. She doesn't trust anything now, since tasting the bitter pill in a treat.

Have any of you experienced pancreatitis with your pets?

Okay, well, happy weekend everyone, and don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for FO Friday!