Purple Haze

Yes, there’s been a lot of purple knitting going on around here.  First it was the beautiful Gossamer Stars Scarf from my Loopy Ewe Two Swap partner.  I actually got to wear it as a small stole earlier this month.  There there is the Orchid Lace Scarf, done in Plum.  I finished it the other night.  I’m not thrilled about my grafting, but maybe it’ll block out.  WIth a new kitten and a tiny house, I can’t promise that it will be blocked any time soon.

I’ve just started my newest purple endeavor.  It’s part of the Loopy Ewe Dream in Color Baby KAL (Knit-a-long).  We just knit something using DIC Baby and we’re a part of the KAL.  I love DIC Classy and I really love DIC Smooshy, so it’s no surprise to me that I love DIC Baby.  It’s not a super fine laceweight, which I’m very happy with.  It has the classic smooshiness of DIC yarn, but it thins out a bit as you knit with it.  Very similar to Smooshy.  I chose the Cluaranach pattern, by Anne Hanson of Knitspot.  I’m making the stole version in the petite size.  I did not swatch and I went down a needle size to a 6.  My KnitPicks Option 7’s were being used for another project.  It should be fine, since it’s just a stole. 

I’m not one of those people

You know, the people who have all sorts of interesting stories and have come into contact with really interesting people.

My brother is one of those people.  While we don’t talk all that often, when we do, it’s usually an extremely enjoyable conversation.  He almost always has some kind of funny/interesting story to tell me.

The most recent is that he was clawed very badly by his cat.  The same cat that he calls, “The best kitty in the world.”  This cat freaked out on him and clawed and continued to try and attack him for quite some time.  He tried to patch himself up, went to work the next day, was told by a nurse (who was a customer) that he needed to get to a doctor, NOW.  And the story continued…with him hanging out in a major metropolitan emergency room for four hours, giving up and going to work (he can’t afford to miss any work), thinking about going back, being talked out of it (late at night with it filled with drug addicts, etc. didn’t sound good), and going to a free clinic and getting antibiotics.  Because it’s my brother, I kind of expected him to say, at the end, “Kidding!” or something like that.  He didn’t, but he sent me pictures of the damage, and it was very bad.  Poor guy.  Turns out the cat had some kind of “misdirected aggression” episode (ya’ think?) and my brother still loves him. 

Maybe it’s that my brother is living as a single guy, with no major obligations, trying to make money doing what he loves.  Or maybe it’s that he is a natural storyteller.  If something like that happened to me, it would be a very short, “My cat attacked me and I ended up having to get antibiotics,” and that would be that. 

In any case, I can’t wait for the next installment in his life.

Orchids and Impudence

I’ve been on a bit of a lace kick lately. 

Here’s half of the Orchid Lace Scarf:

The side are very pretty, but it’s curling so much that you can’t see them.  Once I block it, it should be fine.  When I first started this pattern, I was feeling a little “eh” about lace.  It might have had something to do with the fact that I had to rip it back about three or four times.  Then there were the mistakes that I fudged.  Since I’ve gotten back into it, I really, really like it.  I’ve started the other half, which looks much better and I’ve gotten a good bit done.  I’m going to have to graft the two ends together in the middle, which makes me a little nervous.  Sure I’ve grafted toes on socks, but I’ve never grafted with laceweight. 

Eloise Sock number 1 is also done:

I’m about halfway done with the second sock.  The yarn is called “Impudence” which is a word that I kind of like because it’s a little old-fashioned.  The online dictionary says it’s the “quality of being offensively bold.”  I think that word perfectly describes LouLa’s behavior the past couple of days.  That girl can sure push my buttons.  I have to keep reminding myself that these are behaviors that I need to nip in the bud and that a few minutes of a temper tantrum now will mean less problems later on.  Yeah, right.  She’s going to dance camp all week for two hours each morning.  Maybe she’ll get some of that impudence danced out of her. 

Meet George

This wasn’t totally planned.  I told a coworker about Punk and she asked if we wanted another cat.  Ummm…yeah, maybe, in the Fall….  Turns out that her daughter had picked up a couple of strays who turned out to be pregnant and she couldn’t keep all the kittens.

George is six weeks old and so far has been pretty sweet.  He’s playful, but when he’s tired, he loves to cuddle.  We kept him in our front porch (where many of my knitting pictures are taken) last night and I didn’t hear him cry or anything.  He’s using the litter box and eating well.  We took him to the vet yesterday for his first set of shots.  He’s pretty tolerant of LouLa and the other cats are pretty tolerant of him. 

Knitting content this weekend, I promise!

Loopy Ewe Swap Two!

Check out my lovely package (does that sound weird to anyone else?)….

This came from Sarah (a.k.a. PrairieKnitter on ravelry).  Everything was wrapped so pretty and it was obvious that she put some thought into it.

Here are the goodies…

She totally played into some of my other “stashes.”  I have tons and tons of various lip products and I especially love Burt’s Bees stuff.  I don’t have that particular lip balm and it’s now tucked away in my lace knitting bag.  I also have a thing for pens.  I love all sorts and I have a special fondness for different colored inks.  Then there is my obsession with notebooks.  I’m a sucker for any kind of small, cute notebook.  This one she sent is so “me” becuase it uses a library check out card for the cover.  So adorable!  Then there is my bookmark collection.  I can never have enough, only because I tend to misplace them over and over again.  And really, can you ever have enough needle cases and stitch markers?  I think not!  Everything is perfect for me and all things that I will use.

The whole idea of the swap is that you’re supposed to knit something for your partner using yarn bought at The Loopy Ewe.  Sarah knit the most amazing scarf.

I don’t have a great shot of it, so you’ll have to believe me when I say it’s perfect.  The pattern is the Gossamer Stars Scarf from the summer issue of Interweave Knits.  I have that issue, but I don’t remember seeing that pattern.  It just goes to show that with the right combination of yarn and pattern, you can have an amazing knit.  The scarf is lacy and pretty, but I know it will keep me nice and cozy warm in the winter.  The yarn is from Cameleon Colorworks in the Bambino line.  It is 60% merino, 30% bamboo, and 10% nylon and it’s in the Eggplant colorway.  The picture makes it look a little blue, but it’s a true eggplant color.  Just beautiful.  I personally don’t like knitting scarves because it takes too long, and I don’t have any knitted scarves at all because of that.  I would have been thrilled with anything, but this is really great.

As if a beautiful scarf weren’t enough…

Sarah also sent a skein of the Loopy Legends yarn in Michelle’s Pretty Pink Cactus.  The only color request I gave was no neons and while these colors are bright, they are happy colors and are very spring-like.  I can’t wait to try the yarn out and see what the colors do. 

Thank you so much, Sarah!  I truly appreciate all the work that you put into the scarf, as well as all the extras. 

Thank you

I appreciate everyone’s comments and support.  It means a lot to me.

Punk will be put to sleep tomorrow at 4:00.  The pathologist wasn’t able to say for sure that the tumors are malignant, but they probably are.  If we wanted to know for sure, that would mean x-rays and a more intensive biopsy.  Regardless, the pronosis isn’t good and any treatment would buy him a few months, rather than a few years. 

I’ve come to terms with it, but it’s still heart-breaking.  Josh will take him in and be with him, which makes me feel better.  I know that I couldn’t do it, but I think he needs someone who loves him close.

 

Rest in peace, my sweet Punkie boy.

I’ve had him longer than I’ve had you

Right now, that’s how I’m feeling. 

My cat is sick.  Sick, as in, lots of various tumors of various sizes, kind of sick.

Let’s face it folks, it doesn’t look good.  The vet did a biopsy and we should know on Saturday what it is.  It’ll be time to make some decisions.

Josh is all for having him put to sleep (what a stupid phrase).  He has a point.  There’s no sense prolonging the inevitable.  Since he’s spent the last 24 hours under the bed, his quality of life isn’t good.

But, I’ve had him for almost 12 years.  Thats more than twice as long as Josh has been in my life and three times as long as LouLa has been around. 

I don’t mean to be melodramtic.  He’s just a cat, after all.  It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with a pet’s sickness, rather than have it taken care of by my parents.  One of the many things about being a grownup that isn’t fun.

I feel like I should be the one making the decision.  Being part of a family sometimes stinks, too.

There is the cost, too.  I feel so guilty for even thinking about that.  This visit alone was $150.  We aren’t made of money and while we can afford a one-time kind of thing, we won’t be able to afford many more visits like this one.

Being sad makes me very tired.  I’ve never understood those comercials that talk about depression making you tired.  I’ve been exhausted all day. 

 

 

*Sorry for scaring anyone.  My previous post was very cryptic.  I was at a point where I couldn’t bear to actually type out what was happening.  It’s all I’ve thought about all day, so I’m a tad numb right now.  It’s too bad I’ve used up all my personal leave at work.  I could sure use a day in bed, preferably with my cat.

Jumping to Conclusions

I’m really trying not to.

But, it’s hard, when all signs point to one particular outcome and you’re a pessimist, on top of it all. Usually, being a pessimist is something that I like. I expect the worst, and then when/if it doesn’t happen, life is good.

It’s not working this time.

And I’m terribly, terribly sad.

Eloise

This is Eloise, done in the Impudent colorway.  The pattern is by Kirsten Kapur and the yarn is by Chewy Spaghetti.  It’s part of the Blue Plate Special, which has one more round (June, July, August) and then it will be over.  I’ll miss it, that’s for sure.  I love getting a surprise yarn in the mail, and I’ve loved everything about this sock club.  I’m going to be on the lookout for something like it, and if anyone belongs to a sock club that they really love, let me know.  The picture is pretty much crap, since it’s raining today, but the yarn has that great little bit of sheen that bamboo yarns do.  The colors are grey, dark pink, light pink, and yellow.  Those four colors sound so weird together, but they look really nice.  There’s a reason that I don’t dye yarn, and my lack of color sense is just one.