Happy end of summer!

Crab apples

My tomatoes are taking their sweet time ripening, but while I was on vacation last week, I picked these beauties off our Dolgo and turned them into crab apple jelly. Aren't they gorgeous? I also went to the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market, where I picked up a bunch of wonderful produce, including a LOT of basil, which I promptly turned into pesto. I also found a new quilt for my bed, which will be the basis for some redecorating I plan to do (and blog about) later this fall.

It was a busy holiday week. We saw Tim & Margaret in St. Thomas (Derek helped Tim with some landscaping), dropped in on Sabina & Mitch in London, visited with Al and the recuperating Kristen in Welland, spent some quality time at the farm (which included working on a flowerbed), and also took a couple of days to just kick back, relax, and veg out here at home. My favourite vacation day was this past Sunday, when we went to Point Farms Provincial Park for a short hike and a lovely swim in Lake Huron, followed by dinner at Paddy O'Neil's in Goderich.

And, I got to knit -- as promised in a previous post, I cast on a sweater for myself last month, and it's coming along beautifully. It's Cherie Amour by Ashley Adams Moncrief, from the Fall 2007 Knitty. I love this pattern! (It's a good thing I like the Stevie Wonder song, because I keep hearing it in my head and humming it as I work on this.) I can hardly wait to wear it. I'm hoping to have it done in time for the K-W Knitters' Fair on September 13, where I will be volunteering. I'll devote a full post to it when it's done, but for those Ravelers who are curious, you can take a look at Cherie's Ravelry page here.

In other knitting news (which I've been meaning to share for a while), my Grape Tomato was on Knitting Daily TV!! You can see it here by scrolling down the page to section 102-5, "The Sweater, You Made It" (mine is the purple one at the bottom right). They saw my Tomato on Ravelry in the spring and asked whether they could use it (they apparently liked my mods), so of course I said yes and mailed it to them! (And yes, they did return it promptly when they were done with it.)

I should purchase the DVD of that Knitting Daily TV episode; I can't watch it since we turned off our satellite TV subscription in order to focus on watching DVDs and online TV instead. I've noticed that I seem to be more diligent and productive at home since we've made this change, too -- now I do the dishes pretty much every night (like a real grown-up) instead of letting them sit around for days so I can watch some more Mike Holmes or whatever. I hardly miss it. I'm listening to more music too.

Finally, as part of some recent blog design tinkering, I thought about sticking some widgets in the sidebar, but I decided instead that from time to time I'll devote a blog post to a brief snapshot of what else I am up to.

• Reading: Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy (perfect bedtime reading)
  
• Watching: Angel, Season 1 (BTW Lorne, we're finally done with Buffy, and we'll give your DVDs back when you visit at the end of the month -- and you can borrow Angel if you like.)
• Listening to: Best of Howard Jones (Ah, the memories!)
• Weight Watchers progress: 10 pounds lost so far (approximately halfway to my goal weight... my enthusiasm is flagging a bit though, so if you have any encouragement, I would welcome it!)
• Eating: Fruit smoothies (I cut up and froze a bunch of gorgeous ripe peaches, and bought some frozen mixed berries -- whir them up with skim milk in the blender = YUM! Awesome for breakfast!)
• Non-knitting WIP (work in progress): Refinishing the kitchen table (picture to be blogged when this is complete.)
• On my mind: Passive-aggressiveness... I have a hard time directly asking for what I want sometimes. I am trying to weed out this insidiously bad habit I have of expecting people (especially Derek) to read my mind when I make a statement instead of a request. Does anyone else struggle with this problem? Any thoughts on conquering it?
  

How about you out there? What are you all up to?

The Ballad of Bill the Cat

I had been meaning to post about my friend Bill here for a while, then kind of forgot my intention as life got busy. Better late than never. Let me tell you the story of my friend Bill the Cat.

Bill was a stray who hung around outside our house the last couple of months. When we first met him, he was terribly scrawny and beat up, but completely tame and very sociable. He would follow me and Derek around our daily tour of the garden after work, rubbing up against our ankles and purring. After a day or two of this, well, we had to give him a name, and Derek thought to call him Bill, as in Bill the Cat of Bloom County. (He'd put on some weight and the scratch on his face had healed by the time I took this picture. It was quite a suitable moniker on first acquaintance.)

A couple of days after we first met, I caught him trying to eat a dead, maggoty bird on the ground. At that point I took pity on him and started feeding him daily, as he was clearly starving. (Besides, once you name a cat, you kind of become responsible for it.) I'd guess he's maybe a year or two old; I got the sense he may have been someone's pet who got "dropped off in the country" when he outgrew cute kittenhood and developed a rather distinctive (some might say annoying) adult meowy voice. Anyway, when we gave him that bowl of cat food and bowl of water, he became our friend. He lived under and on our porch outside. He never wandered far, and would greet us every morning as we left for work and every afternoon when we returned, begging for attention and food, and purring very loudly whenever he got what he wanted.

Despite lingering grief over Spot, and reluctance to take on any more vet bills, Derek and I did briefly consider adopting him, but Joey made his feelings clear on the subject: NO WAY. He would hiss and bite my ankles when he smelled Bill on my pantlegs. It's too bad; Bill didn't return Joey's aggression at all, and from his side of the screen door he seemed to want to be friends with Joey. Of course Tisha would not have appreciated the disruption either. In any case, sweet as he is, he just couldn't replace Spot in our hearts or our lives, so we made a decision to find him a home. After a particularly cool night that reminded me of the autumn (and winter) to come, I posted an ad with his picture on the e-bulletin board at work, and to my great delight, found him a home last week. The couple came by on Saturday to pick him up. He was absolutely frantic when he got put in the cat carrier, but I knew it was for the best.

Still, I miss him a little. I did get the nicest email from my coworker yesterday, though, updating me on his adjustment to his new home. She told me he purred so much at the vet's office that he charmed all of the staff, and the vet couldn't really hear his heart over that loud motor! What really got me, though, was when she wrote that he had "slept in his little bed." That image just warms me through and through. Fare thee well, Bill the Cat. May you live long and warm in your new home with your new friends. Though you may have already forgotten us (cats aren't particularly known for their long-term memories), we won't soon forget how you brightened our days after our beloved Spot left us.

A hint for my downstream Knitty Summer Lover...

Shoelace bag

I don't think the secret pal I was sending gifts to for the Knitty Summer Love swap, Knitting-Cat, has figured out my identity yet now that she's received her package, so I'm posting this picture of the bag I knit for her to try and help her out! Some of her other gifts are shown stashed inside.

The pattern is Elisa's Nest Tote from the Purl Bee, knit with two skeins of purple Berroco 02, yarn that had been living in my stash, waiting for inspiration, for something like 3 years. (It was included in a "grab" bag I bought on sale at Cloth & Clay, with other yarns I liked better.) The handle is done in Bernat Handicrafter gifted to me by Megan way back in Knitty SP4. I only cast on half as many stitches as the pattern called for, since this shoelace-style yarn was so bulky. Ravelry page is here.

And if I may interrupt my train of thought here for a moment to say how much I adore Ravelry! The pattern search feature is just such an incredible, amazing resource. I knew my pal loved purple, and I figured this yarn would work well for a quick gift, but I had no idea what to make. So I did a search on "shoelace" yarn, found this bag made by a fellow Raveler in a similar but thinner yarn, and poof, problem solved!

Anyway, I used these giant 19mm needles that felt like tree trunks in my hands. I looked rather ridiculous knitting in public with those bad boys, lemme tell ya! It made for rather large holes, so this shopping bag would not really be suited to carrying smaller items... but the top of the bag ended up being rather small and tight, so it's a bit hard to get larger items into it as well! I'm sure this would not be a problem if I had knit the bag to gauge in DK or worsted weight cotton like the pattern called for, given that I would have had twice as many stitches to pick up when doing the i-cord handle/trim. (I love how the i-cord came out striped in the variegated yarn.) Even so, I think this is quite a cute project, and I will be making that bag again in the future at the intended gauge, maybe for me this time!

While we're on the subject of knitting for me... I've noticed lately that I have been knitting nothing but gifts for what seems like months now. I'm starting to think that as much as I love knitting for friends (especially baby things -- I mean, my gosh, the CUTENESS!!!! Squee!!!), I'm going to need to put a stop to it soon, at least for a while, and focus on making myself some beautiful knitted items. My friend Julia commented to me in the car on the way to Stitch & Pitch (which was a blast, by the way, and for once, the Jays won), as she watched me working on a scarf for another friend, "You're a saint." She's smart; the only gifts she knits are baby items. The rest of her knitting is for her. And she's got some lovely things to show for it. The thing is, I'm really not a saint at all. There's a certain selfishness in wanting to give hand-knit things to my loved ones. Pride in saying, "I spent time thinking of you while making you this one-of-a-kind item." Almost smugness, you know? Vanity -- "look what I can do." But at the same time, it's starting to feel, I don't know, martyr-ish? "Look at the sacrifice in hours and energy I made for you." As Derek pointed out to me in talking about this tonight, there's a little too much approval-seeking in it. I know I'm a good, kind, thoughtful, generous friend; I don't need to prove it with the knitting. I don't want to resent my knitting. I don't want to resent my gift recipients -- and I don't, yet -- but this trend could lead in that direction, and I need to head it off at the pass. I'm starting to emotionally (and not just intellectually) understand why Kristen no longer gifts her friends with the gorgeous jewelry she makes. I only have so much time to devote to my hobby and craft, and I want to keep some of what I produce, especially since I am still quite a slow knitter. In the car on the way to work this morning, the thought crossed my mind, as fall approaches ever more quickly as this cool, wet summer flies by, that I should start planning my Christmas knitting. This thought was immediately followed by, "But when will I get to make something for me?" I have all this beautiful yarn I intend to turn into scarves, wraps, and sweaters for myself. (You should see my stash on Ravelry. Whoa.) The vast majority of my Ravelry queue is projects for me. I just never seem to get to them. Well, enough. Once I finish Margaret's birthday scarf that's on the needles (and do the fringing on Kristen's completed birthday scarf), it's time for me to cast on something for myself -- or get back to one of my hibernating projects, like my Party Lace scarf, my Cardigan for Arwen, or my sari-silk wrap. And then I'll start planning what Christmas gifts I'm going to BUY this year, not make, aside from knitting for friends who continue to make their gifts for me. Maybe I'll even join the "Selfish Knitters" group on Ravelry. ;)

ETA:

P.S. Knitting-Cat, please don't feel the above rant is directed at you! The Elisa Nest Tote was a very quick and enjoyable gift to knit. (Like I said, I'd make it again at the pattern gauge.) You were a lovely downstream, and I felt you needed an especially nice package since you were co-hosting the swap. :)

Summer Lovin', Had me a blast...

Fleece Artist Suri Blue

I participated in the Knittyboard Summer Love swap, and look at the gorgeous yarn my no-longer-secret-pal Crystal AKA Driver8 sent! This one is Fleece Artist Suri Blue. It's as soft as it is pretty. I've posed it with Rosy Returns daylily. She also sent this absolutely scrumptious Malabrigo Silky Merino in the Teal Feather colourway, as well as some Tazo chai, and a really cool CD of MP3s and pictures she took. She really got my tastes bang on. Thank you Crystal!

Malabrigo Silky Merino with Lacorno lily

In other, "keepin' it real" news (and there's been lots of stuff going on, despite the scarcity of updates), I have decided that it is time to stop talking about losing the spare tire I've had around my middle for so many years now, and actually DO something about it. I have joined Weight Watchers online and am doing the FlexPlan, the one where you count points. They have all these nifty online tools that are really pretty useful. They're keeping me honest and accountable *to myself* about what I eat and how much I move. When I started last week, I was pretty much at the very top of the range of what is considered healthy for my height. But I know that is not a healthy weight for me, because too much of my weight is fat, and particularly abdominal fat, which is bad for the heart; I have very fine bone structure, and not a whole lot of muscle mass (which I know weighs more), so I know that a healthy weight for me needs to be much closer to the bottom of the BMI range for my height. I lost three pounds in my first week, and the numbers on the scale continue to move downwards! (Even after a feast with my knitting pals last night -- although I did budget points for it.) Looks like WW is going to be a really great investment in myself. If I lose at the rate of 2 pounds per week, it will take me about 10 more weeks to reach my goal. I am really looking forward to getting back into single-digit clothing sizes after so many years in double digits. (The budget protests that I can't really afford to be replacing my clothes, but I'll deal.) I have a pair of size 6 jeans that I am able squeeze into and can even do up, but over which my belly, love handles, and back fat pooch out very, very unattractively. When I can wear those jeans in public with a fairly close-fitting shirt without sporting the mortifying "muffin-top" look, I will know I have attained my goal. (I suspect there may be some situps in my future. Aargh.)

Birthday celebration continued!

Linz's sheep

Lookie what I got for my birthday!! A handknit and felted sheep from my friend Lindsay of Linz Knits! I took yesterday off and ventured into Toronto for the day, and what a gorgeous, hot, sunny day it was! I did some shopping by myself on Queen West (scored some AWESOME buttons) and got a pedicure before meeting up with Linz at The Queen Mother for a superb lunch, where she presented me with this Suffolk sheep she made -- details here. I have named him Thurston! We then checked out a bead shop (project to follow), and headed to Romni's 20% off sale! I was good and only bought one sweater's worth of yarn for me (apple green sportweight superwash wool, 124 m/50 g ball) at $2.40/ball!! (Oh, and some more absolutely adorable buttons, and goodies for my current secret pal.) Thanks for a great day, Linz!

Two for one post!

baby sweaters

I seem to have a baby sweater obsession right now... of course, I really am in the midst of a baby boom. (Oh, and I've decided the ladybug sweater is for my boss Lyn, who is due August 3rd.) The one on the left is Debbie Bliss's Baby Shrug. It's knit on 5 mm needles, using three balls of KnitPicks Main Line yarn, which is scrumptious; I will definitely be using this yarn again for something for me! I ran short of yarn so I used some Mission Falls 1824 Cotton from my stash to make the stripes in the ribbing. This is supposed to be a 6-9 months size, but it fits my 2-year-old niece Aria perfectly, so I've decided it's for her. (There's no way my gauge is that far off, using the same size needles and comparable yarn to what the pattern calls for.) I added a tie as I noticed it was falling off Aria's shoulders when we tried it on. Here's a closeup of the sweater alone. Ravelry details here.

The one on the right is Elizabeth Zimmermann's famed Baby Surprise Jacket, knit in Bernat Handicrafter (variegated) and coordinating Lily Sugar & Cream (solid blue). I ran out of the variegated, so I sure was glad I had the solid on hand, a gift from Pam last year! This is an utterly charming pattern and I will definitely be making it again. This sweater is for Sabina's new son Kai, born July 4th. It won't fit him for a while, but that's OK. You can see a closeup here, and check out the Ravelry details here.

I finished both of these today when my friends Lynne and Julia came over to knit with me for my birthday! (I focused on finishing, rather than knitting per se.) I had a lovely day. Of course I scrambled a bit this morning with some last-minute cleaning (what else is new), in addition to preparing snacks -- homemade French bread, Millbank cheeses, veggies & dip, and sangria to drink -- but the weather was perfect, and my friends were very impressed at Derek's gorgeous gardens. We sat on the porch, eating and drinking and chatting and knitting, and Julia took a couple of turns in the hammock. After they left, Derek came back from seeing his folks at the farm, bringing back chocolate cake his mom, my dear MIL Shirley, baked for me, and then he gave me my first gifts, wineglasses and beer steins... that will be washable in my new dishwasher that is being delivered later this week!! WOOT!!!!!!!

Baby sweater extravaganza!

Amy's baby sweater

My friend Amy had her baby Lila today, my birthday! I knit this little sweater for her over a month ago already, just never got around to blogging it... Lila's the baby bump in the background! It wasn't done in time for the baby shower so I gave it to Amy when our knitting group got together a few days later. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 cotton, knit on 5 mm needles. using Debbie Bliss's charming (if possibly oversized) Ribbed Baby Jacket, that I personalized with ribbed cuffs and hem in addition to the contrasting colours. Yarn purchased half-price at Cloth & Clay's store closing sale. :( Ravelry details here.

It's been a busy month since last I wrote! And while I do intend to discuss more personal things here than just knitting in the future, I still do think of this as primarily a knitting blog, so it's time to share some of my latest finished objects!

Amy was fairly certain from the ultrasounds that she was having a girl, but she was panicking about what she would do if the baby turned out to be a boy, so I knit this in colours that were not too girly, just to be safe; blue and green has always been one of my favourite colour combinations. Aside from the way the front hem pulls up, I'm really happy with how this project turned out. (I should have taken a closeup of that clasp I got from Philosophers Wool last summer, it was gorgeous.) Of course, now that I know she's a girl, and that she shares my birthday, I desperately want to knit her something very, very feminine! I have a few different things in mind... I won't share any details just yet so that Amy can be a little surprised. In any case, more terribly cute baby things are sure to follow. For now, though, I have two more finished objects to share in my next post!

Rest in peace, Spot: Autumn 2003 - May 29, 2008

Spot's memorial garden

Spot has already been gone for two weeks. Lorne sent me an email yesterday asking after her. I announced the sad news on Facebook when it happened and was surprised to learn that he had missed my update. Still, I know I have been remiss in not posting here. I've been procrastinating, partly because I've been sad, but also busy, partly because I've felt blocked on just what to say, but really, most of all, because I've just been in "avoidance" mode. Putting it in writing here for all to read re-opens the healing wound a little, and at the same time, it just makes her death all the more real, final. I don't know. Anyway. I have other things I want to blog about in the days to come -- my trip to Québec, personal stuff, knitting -- but first I need to wrap up the story of Spot. It's time.

Spot's last meal was the tuna she loved so much, although by then she was too weak to jump up on the table to get to it, so I had to help her up. It was a beautiful sunny day. Spotticus was an indoor cat from the time we brought her home that fateful November day Derek found her abandoned and freezing with her littermates, but every so often (mostly in the summer), she would dart outside when we opened the door, wanting to widen her vistas and pursue the tantalizing smells and sounds out there. So in that last half hour while I waited for the vet to arrive, I took her up in my arms, and brought her outside to soak up some of the sunshine she loved so much. Unfortunately, our neighbours' very enthusiastic young German Shepherd came bounding along, very much unwelcome. To my surprise, Spot still had enough energy to give Soda a spirited hiss before I whisked her back inside. She had not purred for us in those last couple of days, though, no matter how we held or petted her, so we knew it was time.

The vet from our new clinic arrived, a doctor I had not met before, a lovely older lady. Derek was running late getting home from work, but she and her assistant were patient and kind while we waited. At last he arrived. We spent a few last minutes petting and cuddling and loving Spot, and when we were ready, the vet injected her with a sedative. Spot flinched and hissed momentarily, but soon calmed, then fell asleep, limp on Derek's shoulders. He gently placed her on the kitchen table, then the vet set up a catheter, injected the lethal drugs, and it was over. All of us were in tears -- me, Derek, the vet and her assistant, all crying over the death of our beloved Spottifier, a death that came far too soon. It touched me that this very experienced woman, who had clearly had to euthanize animals many times over the course of her career, could still be so moved by Spot's death and by our pain.

The vet and her assistant left, and Derek went downstairs to retrieve the beautiful little pine box he had made for her the night before. (You can see a picture of it in my Flickr photostream by clicking on the "Pictures" link on the right in the sidebar, if you are curious and do not find it too morbid.) I cannot tell you how grateful I was to him for being so thoughtful, for thinking ahead and preparing. It was a heartbreakingly painful task for him -- he cried bitterly while working on it, and so did I when I saw it. I probably would have just stood there, completely undone, and thought, OK, now what? A plastic bag, like so much garbage? I didn't have a shoebox... I would have been utterly lost and bewildered and unprepared. Derek made sure we had a suitable resting place for her, as she was a beloved family member entitled to far better than any inadequate solution I could have come up with after she was gone, or whatever anonymous disposal the vet might have offered. We lined the little box with T-shirts Derek had worn that were still impregnated with his scent, put her ever so tiny, wasted, fragile remains inside, put in a can of tuna and some pictures. Later, we brought her outside, and Derek dug a hole under one of the maple trees, next to the driveway, where we will see her on getting into and out of the car every day. I'm so glad we live in the country, where we're not breaking any bylaws by burying her in the yard. We marked the place with a grey stone for our Grey Ghost, one of her many nicknames. Then on the following weekend, Derek built the flowerbed you see pictured above, a little memorial garden for her. Over her grave, we planted a pulsatilla, or pasque flower, that we have named Spot; I wanted that plant because it's fuzzy and beautiful and well-mannered, like its namesake. (We name our favourite plants. We're funny that way.) We also planted a Grey Ghost hosta in the bed, and a Limey Lisa hosta to keep her company, and gooseberry bushes that will attract birds to entertain her. (She would probably like the fruit itself, too; she always loved fruit, especially mango.) Are we weird? Probably. But it feels right to us.

My friend B. wrote to me the other day, telling me about a beloved dog her family once had, who also died too soon; she said, "they broke the mold" when they made that dog. I know exactly what she means, because the same is true of our dear sweet Spot.

Stay of execution

We didn't go through with it on Thursday. Spot is still eating and having good days with us. It won't be much longer -- I expect probably later this week sometime -- but for now we are bittersweetly enjoying every last cuddle we can get with her, as long as she still does not seem to be suffering. Thanks to all for your support, I can't tell you how much it means to me. I really appreciate it.

Well, at least we have an answer.

Spot has been diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer. I'm on vacation for a few days right now in Quebec with my cousin (scheduled long before we knew about this), so I'll keep this short, as I am tired and it's very late. I've never been in a position before where the only humane choice I could make for a beloved companion was euthanasia. I'll get to spend one more full day with her when I return before we bring her back to the vet next week to have her put to sleep. Or, to be blunt, put to death. It sucks. I cried many tears on the train yesterday after Derek told me, as did he, and I expect I will cry more, but I can't say I was surprised. I'm trying to stay cheerful before heading north tomorrow to visit with extended family. Time with friends and Marie-France, and some serious Montreal retail therapy today, have both helped. Still, thank you all for your kind support.

Another sick kitty, and an announcement.

Spot and the Ballband Dishcloth

Before I get to the subject of today's post, my dear Sweet Spot pictured here (alongside my first Ballband Dishcloth, one of the several dishcloths I've knit for Linz in the last while... love this pattern and project), I want to make an announcement. 42 Main Street has been my humble and very sporadic little vanity page for over four years now. Up until now, I have intentionally used this website to share almost nothing ever but good news. I haven't wanted my blog to be a downer. I don't want my peeps out there reading to worry about me; I just want them to share in my little joys in life, unexciting as those joys might sometimes be. But the fact of the matter is, my life isn't just about knitting, and recipes, and flowers, and secret pals. Like everyone else out there, I have problems -- some of them more serious than others. I struggle with my work, with my relationships, with my moods. I've decided it's time my blog started talking about all the aspects of my life, and not just the happy stuff. As the old saw goes, pain shared is pain divided; joy shared is joy multiplied. If I lose some readers (and I have no idea whether I have any, or who they are, aside from some of my friends, family, and fellow Knittyheads; maybe I should be embarrassed by this, but I have no clue how to use a site meter or track my readership or see who links to me or find out what Google searches lead here or anything like that, and honestly, I don't even want to learn or go down that road)... well, so be it. Welcome to 42 Main Street, version 2.0, "keepin' it real."

All right, moving on to today's not-so-happy news. Spot here has been sick for nearly a year now, and so far, no vet has been able to tell us what's wrong with her. Derek and I took her to a third vet this morning, who's going to give her an ultrasound and possibly a biopsy on Thursday. I love this cat. If she were a child, I wouldn't be allowed to think this, or feel this, or say this, but she's a cat, and the fact is, the Spottifier is my favourite one. Spotnik is the sweetest, gentlest, cuddliest cat you can imagine. We've had the Spottificator since she was a three-week-old kitten that Derek rescued from the farm after she and her siblings were abandoned by their mother at the first snow in November 4 years ago -- we nursed her with a dropper until she could eat solid food. She is our little love muffin, pure affection in a fur coat. She started puking up furballs last year. Over the course of months, the furballs stopped, but the vomiting has become more and more frequent, and more and more severe. Our first vet had us try stomach medicine and cortisone, to no effect. We tried all kinds of different foods, thinking maybe she had an allergy or an intolerance to something she was eating. Still no better. She's had blood tests and x-rays, and everything has come back negative. At one point she had a nasty blockage and had to have it cleared out with a barium enema, but that problem has not recurred. In the last 5 months, she's lost far, far too much weight... this picture is from February, but she's much thinner now, skin and bones. She's managing to keep down some food, but not nearly enough. And yet for now she is still her lovely and spirited self -- a bit lethargic, but not in any obvious pain, not hiding away like a dying animal. As tired as I am of cleaning up cat vomit, I still don't want her to die. However, the prognosis doesn't look good. The new vet doesn't want us to get too hopeful about finding a treatable condition or disease with the next round of tests, although it is still possible. If that's not the case, though, it'll break my heart, but Derek and I have already decided we need to ask the vet to help her leave us, because slow starvation is not a good death. So again, my friends, family, strangers out there who might be reading, I ask for whatever prayers, healing thoughts, or good vibes you might be able to send out to the universe or whatever deity you believe in, this time to find a cure for my most dearest kitty, my beloved little Spotticus. Thank you all.

Knitting and Flowers - Together Again!

Lion Brand dishcloth and pink hellebore

Along with the crocuses and the iris reticulata, the hellebores are blooming, and they are lovely. This WIP is not just a Lion Brand dishcloth (registration required) for Linz, but also an excuse to post a flower picture. Yay spring!! Here's a second shot with another hellebore, a burgundy one...

Spring has sprung!

ladybug baby sweater

After what was probably the snowiest winter in a century, it's finally spring, and about time. As you can see, the little irises are blooming -- hooray! And the bunnies don't seem to be interested in them. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of our poor crocuses, which have been laid waste by the little buggers. *Sigh* Posed among the purple beauties (gifted to me by blu roux last year) is the little baby sweater I just finished last night... I was so excited to sew on the absolutely cutest buttons I think I've ever seen. I found them at Fresh Baked Goods on a recent trip to Toronto. I haven't decided which of my three pregnant friends this purposely unisex cardi will be a gift for yet. (The spacing between the buttons only looks uneven due to a trick of perspective.) The pattern is Diane Soucy's Easy Baby Cardigan from Knitting Pure & Simple, size 18 months, and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim Aran, knit on 4.5 mm Addis.

In other knitting news, I've been on a dishcloth kick lately -- you can see some of them on Linz's blog!

I'm percolating with lots of knitting plans; I recently bought a whole whack of yarn at Cloth & Clay's [sniff!] 50% off, going-out-of-business sale, and queued a bunch of patterns in my head (now I just need to add them to Ravelry). I think I'm going to try having at least one active WIP on the needles for myself from now on... much as I love knitting gifts, I want some pretties for me now!!

Knitherapy Rocks!!

SP10 final package

I got my final Knittyboard SP10 package on Friday, and my pal revealed herself to be Knitherapy! Look at the thoughtful loot she sent: Crazy Aunt Purl's book that I've been wanting for months; chocolate; yarn wash; stitchmarkers; cat treats and toys; a hilarious card; and finally, a gorgeous lacy scarf pattern, and the yarn to make it, Simply Shetland Lambswool & Cashmere, in a lovely deep loden green. Knitherapy, you have been an outstanding secret pal! Thank you so much!! The best part of this whole thing is that I have now "discovered" your blog, and I really like what I've read so far... I've added you to my links on the right, and I'll definitely be following your future adventures!

A great day off!

Liz wearing Elbac

So I figured with the new job starting soon, I'd better take a day off while I still can, since I'll likely be in training for quite some time and might not have another opportunity for several weeks, perhaps a couple months! I spent today in Toronto with my Knittyboard friend BluRoux. She met me this morning at the bus station, and we went out for coffee and chocolate croissants. Breakfast done, we headed to Kensington Market, where we sat in the very cozy Moonbean Café while I finished the decrease rows on her gift scarf pictured here, Knitty's Elbac, in Cascade 220 Tweed. (I didn't leave myself quite enough time to finish it on the bus, unfortunately. Those of you who know me as "Last Minute Lisa" will not be surprised.) Here's a close-up for a good look at the texture and great stitch definition. From the café, we hit Lettuce Knit (scene of our photo shoot) for some yarn shopping, then went to the Red Room for very yummy Pad Thai. (And beer. Now that is a fine thing on one's day off.) We wrapped up our yarn crawl at Knitomatic, where there was a pretty awesome sale going on, although I couldn't make up my mind what to get, so left empty-handed! Liz, I had a great day. Thanks for your lovely company during my Toronto yarn crawl!

Oh happy day!

SP10 package 2

On Friday, not only did I find out that I got the new job I wanted at my company (with a nice fat raise, thank you very much), and start a very enjoyable visit from Lorne for the weekend... I also received this fabulous package from my Knittyboard SP10 secret pal! Inside were seven balls of KnitPicks Swish superwash wool in Truffle (enough for a planned future cardigan project when combined with some yarn I have in my stash), two of my beloved KnitPicks Options interchangeable needles, Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, and two yummy Ghirardelli caramel chocolate squares, all beautifully wrapped! (I should have taken pictures of the wrapping.) Click on the picture to get a closer look at the notes she enclosed: my pal definitely has a sense of humour! Thank you so much, 42MainSpoiler -- it was a truly excellent package and I am delighted!

Derek's "nightcap"

Derek's nightcap

My secret pal hat below just arrived yesterday, but I've been meaning to blog this hat that *I* knit for a while now, as it's already been off the needles for for over two weeks. I had bought two skeins of this worsted weight Briggs & Little Regal Regal yarn in charcoal grey about a year ago, with the intention of trying my hand at making socks as a surprise for Derek some day. Well, the idea of knitting socks didn't get any more appealing as time went on, but I still wanted to knit Derek something. At first I was going to try to do it secretly, but as Christmas drew closer, I just asked him if he would like me to knit him a plain, simple hat in this nice scratchy wool, and he said yes. (He LIKES scratchy wool!) Here is the result. As goofy as it looks, that's how my "night bandit" likes to wear it to sleep, as a combination hat and mask to keep out the light. (Here's a "regular" picture of how the hat looks when worn in public.) It is a bit loose -- 100 stitches, using this pattern, yarn held double on 6 mm needles. Next time I'll make it with more negative ease to account for wool's stretchiness. Still, it's very warm and D. is delighted with it, so I call it a win!

A tale of two hats

SP10 hat

Look at the pretty hat my Knittyboard SP10 secret pal knit for me! Just in time, too -- it's windy and COLD here! (Well, OK, not remotely as cold as out on the prairies... I've been talking to people in Saskatchewan and Manitoba this week who told me the temperatures were in the minus forties... at that point it doesn't even matter if it's Celsius or Fahrenheit, since -40 degrees is the same in both!) She was kind enough to include the ballband; she used Valley Yarns Berkshire, an aran weight wool alpaca blend, in black with burgundy stripes that coordinate well with my feather & fan scarf. You can barely see it but there's a very cute tassel attached to the top that dangles in back. Sorry the picture's a bit blurry (self-posed with the camera in hand instead of sitting it on a surface and using the self-timer); it's too cold for re-takes! Amazingly, my expression isn't too goofy, and I don't look nearly as weird as I usually think I look when I wear a hat. I should have taken a picture of the top -- the decreases make a pretty spiral. She also sent me the sweetest mini-mitten ornament that she knit for me to put on my Christmas tree next year, as well as some yarn needles for seaming (did I ask for those? Or is she a mind reader? I was just thinking I could use a couple more!), a very cute card, and a KnitPicks Options tightener tool with a note indicating that it's a "hint of things to come"! I can hardly wait, 'cause I do love me some KP Options needles! Thank you, 42MainSpoiler!

More Christmas knitting, done!

Kristin's scarf WIP

I didn't get a picture of the FO before giving it away to my secret Santa at work today, but this WIP shot gives you a pretty good idea of the end result -- picture the ends fringed. Here's a close-up. It's my reversible mini-cable scarf, done in chunky Patons UpCountry, 20 stitches across on 8 mm needles (should have used 22 for symmetry, oh well). I thought it looked really pretty on my coworker. Next time I use this yarn, though, I'll make a swatch and wash it before I cast on anything with it -- the scarf grew about 30% (mostly lengthwise) with soaking and laying flat!! The fabric loosened up and draped much more nicely after that (no pinning out required), but I could have stopped knitting at 2 skeins instead of 2 1/2, and I would have had plenty of length post-blocking. Rae, if you're reading this, I really hope you washed your swatch and took the yarn's tendency to grow into account before starting that lovely ice-blue sweater a few months ago...

Ah, the cuteness!!

Tanya's snowman

We were snowed in on Sunday, so I spent the day in my pajamas, watching DVDs (It's a Wonderful Life, the Charlie Brown Christmas special, and Buffy season two, 'cause you know, those go together!) and finishing this adorable snowman ornament as a 10-days-late birthday gift for my friend Tanya, who has a snowman theme for her Christmas tree. I designed him myself and knit him from stash yarn on a variety of small DPNs I already had, so the only cost was my time. For three years in a row, my friend has gifted me with beautiful Christmas ornaments that she hand-paints herself, so I wanted to give her an ornament that I had made in return this year. The body is fuzzy old 100% acrylic Patons Misty, which I assume is discontinued -- the label looks 1970s vintage. I'm pretty sure this yarn was given to me by my MIL when she helped a neighbour clean out his house after his wife died, and brought home her knitting supplies rather than donating them to the thrift store. The hat is Patons Classic Merino left over from a previous project, and the scarf is 1x1 rib in leftover Opal self-striping yarn that my SockapalTwozza pal sent with the socks she knit me a couple years ago. I stuffed him with synthetic batting, wired the hat so that it could be used as a hook for hanging on the tree, and sewed on buttons for the eyes and an orange bead for the nose. The underside (where I cast on) is a bit untidy, but I'm otherwise just tickled with this little fella, pleased as can be. I think I'll make him again next year (in different colours for the hat and scarf), and write down the pattern to share. At the very least, even if I never make him again, I do suspect this photo will be recycled into Christmas cards next year... just saying!