Well, This Took Longer Than Expected

It took much longer than expected, but I finally put the finishing touches on my Aurora Shawl Collar Cardigan!



I started this the day after I purchased the yarn, so that would be February 7, 2010.



It languished for a while ("for a while" = "about 3-4 weeks") because I wasn't sure if the circular needle I had would be long enough to handle all of the stitches on the collar (it was, but it was a bit tricky for a while).

Then I was lazy about blocking it, because that would require moving some stuff around in the back room to make space to block it.



Then I only had the button loop and the button to put on it, but I was pretty lazy about doing that, too.



(Speaking of. . . that button loop looks a little bit stressed. I think my epic boobage is putting that to the test, or the loop itself is trying to tell me "Fuck You, Fattie!")

Now that's it's done, I can jump up and down like a monkey:



(Yes, I was doing a monkey imitation there. I don't think I can ever stand for photos without doing something goofy.)

And I can hold a fat cat:



Mike pointed out that it's the first photo of me holding Ellie. I hadn't realized that. I suppose I usually only hold her briefly, because as soon as I pick her up she says, "MRRRRAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!", which, I don't think is her saying, "Don't pick me up!" usually because she's quite a chatty cat, but it does often make me put her down. Plus, she's, um, kinda chubby. You may have noticed that.

So, back to the knitting. I was hoping to have this sweater finished within a month, and I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids!!! Oh, wait. I'm not pretending to be a ghost. The only reason I didn't finish within a month is because of the excuses I listed above. But I'm not complaining. It's still cool enough to warrant wearing such a sweater; it was, in fact, 33 degrees when I woke up this morning and our heat was on. That's something to complain about. And I would complain if it wasn't expected to creep up into the high 70s by this weekend.

I'm still working on the Bacon and Lattice socks - I have about 1.5 pattern repeats and the toes, and then I'm done! Done, baby!!!

I switched my progress of the Swallowtail Shawl to "hibernating" on Ravelry, because I don't anticipate getting to work on it any time soon. I'm anticipating being a bit preoccupied for the next month or so (I'll disclose the reason for that as soon as is practical, but I can't yet).

We went to the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend, and I did take photos - they just aren't on Flickr yet. I also purchased a few things, but haven't taken those photos yet (which I should do, because I got just a small amount of yarn, but it's beautiful yarn). I'm hoping we can get to the NH Sheep and Wool as well as the MA Sheep and Wool, but I can't make a solid date of it yet.

Oh! I also want a close up of the button on my sweater! It's quite pretty -- it was in my collection of old, dusty (and, in the case of one jar, stomach-turningly stinky, but a soak in pine cleaner helped out with that) vintage buttons. It was painted black, and lots of the paint was chipped off and just didn't look good. I used some nail polish remover to clean it up, revealing a lovely faux-tortoise shell button underneath! I'll upload that photo soon as well (gotta take it first).

The Flashing of the Stash

I know I'm late doing this -- two days late to be precise. I had taken these photos last Sunday, but hadn't had time to edit and upload them.

I got bored with dragging all of my stash out of the hutch, spreading it out on the coach, and taking photos. They look the same year after year because - hey, I'm a slow knitter and have had stuff in my stash since I started knitting in 2004.

Between that boredom and the hubbub that started over my Dickenson Pullover, I decided to do something a little different for FYS2010. That incident actually empowered me, and gave me more confidence in my body. Yes, it is the body of a 41-year-old woman, and it's not the Hollywood/fashion perfect body, but it's my body and I love it, my husband loves it, the cats love it, and anyone who doesn't love it can just look away.

Here I am, flashing my stash:









I have a collection of mint-condition (in many cases, new deadstock) vintage nighties from the 50s and 60s. I thought this to be a good time to show one off:



I also get to show off Mike's fantabulous legs too:



And, finally, a flash of the pussy:



Have a great weekend! We're off on a hike today to firm up these legs a bit more!

Knit-A-Thon!

Last weekend was the finale of the Pine Street Inn Knit-A-Thon! I made a total of 12 squares, and was feeling very proud of myself for doing so, and then I saw women coming in with garbage bags full of squares and knew that I will need to do better next year.

Personally, I raised $380.00. As a whole, the Knit-a-Thon raised $35,000 for the Pine Street Inn!

It was fun!!! I helped put together a blanket with some of the other South End Knitters and we even had time to pose for a photo:



I had to leave at around 2:30-ish (I got there at 11 a.m.) so that Mike and I could spend some time in the great outdoors while it was a nice day (we went to nearby Allandale Woods, and found a salamander, but haven't updated our other blog yet.)

I brought home a "blanket to go", so I could put together a blanket at home and deliver it to the Pine Street Inn when it's finished. My first step was to lay the blankets out on the futon so I could assign each square a place. It seems like I had plenty of help with this:





Mike also helped with the arranging and color-coordinating, but he stayed off the squares while he did that. Why do cats like to sit on whatever it is you are doing?

Luciano also tried to claim the bags the squares came in as his own:



I was having none of that, and the squares are back in the bag, in their assigned order (with numbers pinned to each one, just in case). I've been working on that periodically, along with the other projects I've mentioned in recent posts.

I'm sick today, and have been most of this weekend. During the week, I was blowing my nose a ton every other day, and sneezing but otherwise felt fine. I had a crappy night's sleep on Wednesday, and felt really tired on Thursday and Friday (but still, not entirely sick, although I did have a sore throat for a while on Friday). Here it is, Sunday, and my #1 symptom is still being tired. Sure, I have blown my nose quite a bit today, but I don't feel too bad other than being really tired. I don't have a fever, or any other H1N1 symptoms like chest discomfort, so I don't think it's that. I think it's just a cold with a nice added bonus of malaise.

I've been working on Mike's orange socks today, and have two whole pattern repeats of the leg done. One more to go, and I can start the heel flap! The more I knit it, the easier it gets.

I still haven't woven in the ends on the other side of the Weird hat. I guess the 90 minutes it took me to weave in the other side has turned me off to it. What sucks it that doing that and turning up the hem is ALL I have to do on this, and then I'm DONE!! I feel like a bit of a turd for not doing that tiny bit that's left. Hopefully I can finish that today while sitting on my ass and watching more movies.

I haven't spun since the last time I posted about spinning, nor have I blown the dust off the Swallowtail Shawl yet. I have had one request for a hat for Xmas, but otherwise I am hoping to only work on finishing the projects I have on my needles for the rest of 2009. I'll cast on something new on January 1, 2010, but nothing new unless I finish everything I have on the needles before then! Can I do that?

Now I just need to figure out what to put in the DVD player when I return to sitting on my ass and knitting. I already watched "Prison a Go Go" (which I recommend, since it's hilarious!) and all of the extras. I finished my current disc of "Beverly Hills, 90210" from Netflix yesterday. Now I need another great, trashy, funny film to watch - zombies optional.

It's all about yarn. And cats.

Yup, that's what it's all about. Yarn -- making yarn, making things with yarn, hoarding yarn until your yarn hutch pops open by itself. That's what it's all about, whatever that it is.

First up, making yarn:



Feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum, feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum. . .



I started back up on spinning the 8 oz of blue fiber I got in last year's Halloweenie swap on the knittyboard. It's a blend of domestic wool, and really gorgeous. I know the Mister covets the colorway (called "Moody Blues").

Speaking of my honey, his Sam socks are coming along:





I love the color. It's more carrot that hunter cap.

check out this mess of spaghetti:



That's the backside of the secret project I alluded to in my last post. Since taking that photo, I've woven in the ends on one side of it and actually finished the knitting part. Now I have to weave in the rest of the ends and hem it.

Here's the front:



It's a little puckery -- changing colors and keeping things looking nice is hard! The Weird logo is one of the logos used in the comic books that Mike's upcoming book is about. I'm really surprised at how fast I knit this -- I started right before Rhinebeck. Usually a new-to-me technique takes a while. I used the KnitPro application at MicroRevolt to make the chart (I LOVE that application!).

Since I have no more knitting photos for you, I thought I'd post some sleeping cats photos.

Here's Luciano looking much like Marmaduke as he sleeps inside the scratching post:



He loves that thing -- I don't know what he'll do when he no longer fits in it. You can pick it up and turn it sideways, looking in at him, and he purrs. That thing has great acoustics.

He also likes to lay on his back with his feet in the air:



Sometimes he does the classic curled up kitty pose:



Meanwhile, Ellie's most favorite place in the world is on the new sheepskin we bought for her at Rhinebeck:



She's definitely claimed it as her own, and makes bread on it every chance she gets. I did sit on it on the couch one chilly day, and it does help generate heat.



It's been a long time since she fit in the cat scratcher. This photo was taken a month after we adopted her:



She was definitely MUCH younger than the 1.3 years the MSPCA said she was. I wonder how old she was when she had her kittens?

I have a bit of a busy weekend coming up. On Sunday, I'm getting together with several other knitters to put together the blanket squares for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon I talked about in my last post! This should be exciting!

I don't know when I'll have time to make more progress on my current projects. Maybe tonight, after the gym.

Full of Fail turned into Full of Win!

I feel so full of fail right now. Not only have a barely blogged this summer (summer? don't you mean YEAR???), but I finished my socks two weeks ago and haven't posted them yet.

I hope to now turn that fail into a WIN!





Gratuitous Ellie shot:



Hopefully I can gain some readers back by posting cute kittie pictures.



It's never not funny when Luciano does this. He looks like a cat skin rug. Or a leaf gecko. I can never decide which one.

He does Pilates too:



And delivers the smackdown to his poor big sister:



The funniest part of that picture? Ellie's face!!! She looks like she's thinking, "Holy shit -- here it comes!" I've seen her give him an unprecedented wallop a couple of times, though.

Last Saturday's brunch was also full of win:



I'd weigh a million pounds if I did that every week. We only go to this diner on the way to one of our hiking spots. For the record, it's the "50s Diner Special", which is 2 eggs any style, choice of 2 meats, home fries, choice of a short stack of pancakes or French toast, and a bottomless cup of coffee for under $9. I've never finished it.

Another win is putting grapes in your cheeks and lips and taking funny photos:



It's really hard to do without cracking up, and thus looking like the Cowardly Lion:



A cute baby, laughing and trying to grab at your camera -- that, too, is full of win:



Okay, so I was going to post about some crazy internet drama (relating to the Yarn Harlot, Ravelry banned members, Sock Summit, stalking, moebius panties, etc.) that is full of fail, but decided to turn my post into one that is full of happy things. So there, drama llamas! :-p

He's Lucky He's Cute.

The other day, after putting on my makeup, I walked into the other room to see this:





Thankfully, the yarn isn't any sort of super-special yarn. It's some sort of acrylic/fake-mohair/blend that I purchased on eBay years ago when I was buying tons of yarn on eBay. I should make something with it, someday, but I'm not 100% certain how many yards I have. I'd say, not enough for a full scarf, but too much for just a hat. Maybe I'll make a neckwarmer and see what's left.

The night before Luciano did this, he got at my wheel and pulled off the unspun fiber hanging off it, running around with blue wool sticking out of his mouth. He did that again this morning. So, the wheel has to be kept in a room with the door shut (which it is anyway, from the days when Ellie used to chew on the band).

Otherwise, he's still a good kitten. Sure, he does try to climb up on us to get certain foods (peanut butter is a favorite of his -- who would have thought that?). The abundance of cat toys in the house really helps us out there, plus Ellie is the ultimate kitten toy.

It's all worth it for shots like this:



Although I think I prefer his "gangstah" pose:



On to knitting -- I do still knit, you know. I finished one of my floral lace anklets:





The Regia Silk is awesome. Have I mentioned that before? It's so soft and luxurious feeling. I want to wear them all the time, yet I'm afraid of wearing them out quickly. That's the rub with socks, I guess. I wore out many pairs this past winter, and can't knit fast enough to make more.

I haven't worked on the Lacy Waves Top since I posted my frustration on the lace insert. I should go ahead and finish it, then see what it looks like post-blocking, but I'm afraid it may fall victim to being the wrong yarn for this project. Le sigh.

I also haven't worked on the Swallowtail Shawl for a while, mostly because of the attention span involved and because of working on lace with a kitten around may be too distracting. I can't work lace at a knitting group -- I just can't talk or listen while doing it without screwing up.

Much of it may be put on the wayside for the South End Knitters' latest group project -- the Annual Knit-a-Thon to benefit the Pine Street Inn! You can learn about the Pine Street Inn's mission here. My page is still a work-in-progress, and I have yet to cast on for my first square, but I set up a page here. I've never done any charity knitting (mostly because I'm not the Fastest Knitter in the West, or the East, or the Northeast even), so I'm a bit nervous about getting anything done. At least I have until November to do it, and it would make a great commuting knitting project. I've been collecting as many afghan square patterns as I can, and one of my friends has a pretty one on her blog. She makes gorgeous patterns as well; I see a different sweater or tanktop on her every time I see her.

I'll leave you now with Ellie's centerfold shot:

WWKIP!

Yesterday, was WWKIP (World Wide Knit in Public Day), and, for the first time, I took part in some group activities.

ZMrK and I got up really early to arrive in the South End by 9 a.m. See, I recently started meeting on Thursday nights with a group called the South End Knitters. They have been responsible for a few pieces of knitted graffiti around the South End. They were underway with a special tag to hang outside of the Animal Rescue League of Boston. I didn't contribute to the tag, but I was happy to help (and offer Mike's -- hey, let's get rid of this ZMrK stuff, he blogs as Mike and that's his name! -- height to the cause).



(That's Tara, not me! Although my hair has been that color before, you weren't fooled, were you?)



There I am! Concentrating!



Looking a little worried here -- I was working along for a while, sewing away, and then it was pointed out that the sides weren't properly lined up and it was going on crooked. I noticed that it was more of less happening since I took over the sewing. Oops! How embarrassing! It was a really fixable error, though, so it wasn't the end of the world.



I love these black cats (of course!!!). It's a free chart on Ravelry, and I'm hoping to use it for just about everything.



Beth and Amy help me get things straightened out.



Group shot with the finished product!

We also gave them a group donation of over $250. The ARL has an anonymous donor who will match any donation over $250, so that's great news since they are a privately funded organization.

Afterwards, a bunch of us went to Copley Square to participate in WWKIP Day. I saw a few familar faces there, and sat and knit for a while:



Around noon, I was getting hungry and antsy, so Mike and I went to get lunch and ice cream, and got home around 3 p.m. It was a good day.

Now, for an abrupt change of topic, here are some kitty pictures.













Yup, they're getting along.

I don't know what it is about the ribbon on the end of our backscratcher, but it has made almost every cat we have had go insane:







After all that hard playing (all of the above pictures were taken within the same 60 minutes), both cats had a nap attack:





Funny how that works!