Ladybugs & Yarn

Yarn: Regia Tweed 6ply
Pattern: 60 sts + stockinette heel with garter border + flat toe + stitch pattern
Needles 3.0 mm KP circs

I was going to wait until after my Dad’s birthday to post photos, but then I remembered that my Dad doesn’t read my blog unless I specifically ask him to go see a photo I’ve posted or something. So! Socks. Thick house socks, specifically, because the flooring in the family house is rather chilly in the morning and evenings, especially with winter approaching. Plus, wool socks don’t get damp from the patio dew as quickly as regular store-bought socks when the dog needs to be taken out at six a.m. I’ve been meaning to knit my Dad socks for ages, and have started/frogged a couple of pairs, but it took until now to find a yarn + pattern combination I thought he’d like.

The Railway stitch pattern was borrowed from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks, and I’ll be using it again. It’s easy, memorisable, and interesting enough to keep the sock-knitting motoring along. I taught myself to knit by touch alone with these socks, too, which is different from just knitting without looking. I wondered why I’d never been able to manage to just knit along for more than a few plain stitches without looking down for a moment, until it hit me that I needed to be far more tactile and really use my fingers to feel the stitches as I was knitting them.

If Dad likes these, I’m all set to make him another pair, only with thinner yarn (and knit a lot longer in the leg, obviously) so they can be worn like normal socks.

Pi seemed to like them, anyhow. He tried to make off with them, and although he didn’t succeed, I caught a photo of the attempt:

Foolish kitten.

Pi knows that he’s supposed to stay off the kitchen table. But if I’m sitting at it doing a pharm math assignment, and he jumps up, takes my pen from me, throws it on the floor, then wraps his paws around my neck while purring… how, exactly, can I possibly scold him?

Stupid cat.

I have generally well-behaved cats when it comes to yarn. They might occasionally paw at the dangling tail from a cast-on, but don’t attack my projects nor pounce the balls of wool. So I was unprepared to get out of bed this morning and see this:

That atrocious tangle was formerly two balls of KSH. Augh. It’s no use disciplining Pi (I am under no illusions as to which cat is responsible), because the damage is done and he wouldn’t understand, but augh. I’ve laid the mess in a drawer until I can face the thought of sorting it out. *flails*

Onto better things. I have a book of vintage doily patterns, and I went looking for it today to see if one of the patterns in it was, as I suspected, the doily that the popular Hemlock Ring Blanket pattern had been based on. (It was!) But while skimming through it, I noticed that there were a lot of large doilies in there that would probably make gorgeous lap blankets if worked in heavy aran yarn rather than fine crochet cotton.

I also, randomly, think that My So-Called Scarf has a lovely stitch pattern. Anything that’s almost-mindless-but-interesting and makes handpainted yarns looks gorgeous gets my vote.

I cannot find my 6mm needle tips, and of course that’s a) the only size missing from my Options binder; b) the size I need right now. I don’t like you very much right now, Mr. Murphy. I tried casting on with a 6mm Susan Bates circ, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how I ever knit with them before. I’ve been spoiled, I guess. Still, in this apartment, there are a limited amount of places those tips could be hiding. They’ll turn up soon.

It’s raining outside. Pouring, actually. I like autumn rain–I like how it makes the leaves stick to the sidewalk and/or gather in the currents and float down the river. I like how it makes the trees look after dark when there are only streetlamps for light. Rain at this time of year, like snow in winter, makes me want to curl up on the sofa with tea, knitting, and a warm cat, and I think as soon as I’m done here that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

One more thing. I went to a blood donor clinic at the local air force base this afternoon–where I used to live, there was one once a year, but the size of this new little city of mine means that the clinic comes once every two months. I strongly encourage anyone who can get to a donor clinic in their own area to do so, as it doesn’t harm your system to donate (actually, it’s beneficial in some ways) and, of course, it saves lives.

Right! Tea. Knitting. Cats.

Pharmaceutical Mathematics I
Assignment #1 — A+ (100%)
Assignment #2 — A+ (100%)
Assignment #3 — A+ (98%)
Ch. 1/2 Test — A+ (104%)
Ch. 3/4/5 Test — A+ (95%)

Medical Science I
Ch. 1 Test — A+ (98%)
Ch. 2 Test — A+ (100%)
Ch. 3 Test — A+ (100%)

Keyboarding
Final Mark — A+ (100%)

I have no scores for my current lab course (Non-Sterile Compounding) yet; the first practical exam is tomorrow morning, and the written portion is Thursday afternoon. As far as Keyboarding, I’m pleased with the score but glad the module is over–I’ve had computers in my home for twenty years and am quite comfortable with my skills, so the basic learn-to-type exercises and speed tests were boring. I made a comment last week that my keyboard was missing a foot, and the teacher replied that I’d likely burned it off by typing too fast. =D

We’re starting Pharmacology next week, and although it’s supposed to be challenging, I’m looking forward to it. I think. Eeek. Fingers crossed.

So! Now onto the stash enhancement. Not mine, however, but yours. I’m going to link you all to a few of my favourite yarn-ogling sites, because I like being an enabler and/or watching willpower crumble.

– Colorsong Yarn — Devoted exclusively to Handmaiden and Fleece Artist yarn and kits. Mmm.
– Emtnestr — An absolute ton of Lorna’s Laces and Cherry Tree Hill, plus much-coveted CTH mill ends.
– Pick Up Sticks — It’s Canadian, and it’s awesome. Lots of sock yarn, and other goodies as well.
– Simply Sock Yarn — Much loveliness here, like Claudia’s, Koigu, and Shibui Knits.
– Webs — Uh. Do I even need a description here?

There’s nothing better than yarn p*rn on a Tuesday evening. Or any evening. Or afternoon. Or morning. Or… well, you get the picture.

Because I haven’t done so in a while, I’ll leave you with a photo of cats.

Edited October 10th, 2007 @ 05:56 pm:

Aced my lab practical. Woohoo!

Pattern: What pattern?
Yarn: Fleece Artist merino in Jubilation
Needles: 2.5mm circs

Stevie wanted to help with the photo.

I knit these exclusively on the bus to and from college, save for the toe decreases on the second sock (had to take a few minutes at home to finish that up so I could get them on my feet!) I more or less used my standard sock pattern–64 stitch cast-on, 13 rows of ribbing, eye of partridge heel flap, and flat toe. I probably should have only decreased down to 10 sts on each side instead of 8, but they fit fine nonetheless. Mmm, squishy squishy FA merino.

So! On the needles now: the sekrit socks, Juliet, and a somewhat-neglected Icarus shawl. I’m doing rather well at controlling the startitis.

The leaves are turning. It always seems to happen so suddenly; you go to sleep on a warm indian-summer night and wake up to a crisp autumn morning. I love this time of year, when the leaves are red-gold, when the air has a refreshing chill in the early hours and a lovely warmth mid-afternoon.

I noticed the trees on my way to Lakeburn this afternoon. The transit buses don’t venture that far outside the city limits, but my mother’s car is here while she’s in Alberta visting her sister. I’ve only had it out twice, once being today’s drive and the other a trip to the zoo on Magnetic Hill (more on that, later).

Lakeburn, of course, is home to London-Wul. I could have just phoned them with my questions about spinning classes, but I chose to visit, instead. The studio has such a wonderful atmosphere; it feels less like a store and more like a cozy workshop. Which, I suppose, it is, since the owner does have her own lines of handspun and handpainted yarns. I took a look through Folk Style, More Sensational Knitted Socks, and a bunch of other books while I was there, and of course had to take the opportunity to squish yarns, eye up the Addi Turbo lace needles, and pet the pearly pink plastic sock DPNs. Even in the presence of all that gorgeousness, I did behave myself–almost. I found a lone skein of hand-dyed fingering-weight pure wool in a bright cherry red, and 500 yards for $8 was too good of a bargain to pass up. It’ll make a fabulous Estonian Garden scarf.

Speaking of red, I took out several yards of red corduroy from the fabric bins this evening. It’s waiting beside the sewing machine now, along with a fall jacket pattern. I think I’ll cut it out tomorrow while the cats are napping–much easier that way. They’re positively angelic where knitting is concerned, but pattern pieces pose too great a temptation for them to resist.

I spent a fantastic afternoon at the zoo on Friday. Look at this beautiful creature:

I loved all of the big cats (and the raccoons and the alpacas and the marmosets and the wolves and the otters and…), but this jaguar and her mate had me captivated. Such powerful animals, yet they roll and stretch and paw at each other like kittens in the sun.

More photos!

Oversized teddy bear.

Young stag.

A capybara, the world’s largest rodent. This one must’ve weighed about 80lbs.

Bison.

Tomar the gorgeous tiger.

Baby llama!

Aww.

Adorable raccoon.

Very curious, too. As soon as he noticed us, he decided to sit and watch us the way we watched him.

Bald eagle! Very impressive birds.

Sleepy otter. <3

Another sleepy otter, obviously protective of his toys.

Pygmy goats, looking for handouts.

Norwegian pony. A cute one, too.

Scarlet macaw, king of tropical birds.

This cockatoo was a total show-off.

Some kind of small South American tree snake.

Alpacas!

A cougar, more interested in his nap than in the humans watching him.

Itsy-bitsy marmosets. These little guys could fit in the palm of my hand.

Something tells me it would be a bad idea to turn your back on this deer.

I have loads more photos, but it’ll take some time to sort through them. Also, I think next time I go to the zoo I’ll go in the morning, as in mid-afternoon most of the animals have taken refuge from the heat.

As promised, I took some photos along Main Street. I’ll put them in another post, though, later this afternoon.

I may not be the Wicked Witch of the West, but I’m positively melting. I’d welcome a bucket of water over my head at the moment. The ceiling fan doesn’t seem to be cutting it this evening, and all the portable fans in the house are spoken for. My fingers are impersonating blowfish at the moment, so there’s been little crafting today save for two rows on a cat blanket.

I cast on for the blankie two nights ago, after watching Stevie cuddle up to a big ball of baby yarn. He, being a cat, of course likes yarn, but he seemed so enamoured with this particular ball that I decided I had to knit him something out of it. Cats don’t tend to like clothing and Stevie likes being covered when he sleeps, so a blankie it was. Knit from corner to corner in garter stitch, to make it a little squishier than stockinette.

It’s not even half done, and he’s claimed it already.

Note the paw on my Tinkerbell-pajama-clad knee. He’s not a demanding boy, but he finds ways to get himself noticed, some less subtle than others.

Oh, and obviously the blog is no longer pink. I had the urge to remodel, but I took the lazy way out by just making a new header and slapping on some new colours.

… there are a lot of photos in this entry.

My survival strategy for the weekend mostly involved escaping outside when the house became too crowded with relatives and/or loud. The deck’s railing is no more than five feet from a beautiful little tree-lined river, so it was a lovely sanctuary. It was wonderful to see my grandmother, although I could have done without the reunion/birthday party. I didn’t manage to make it to Kejimkujik National Park, just ten minutes down the road from the house, but I did manage to make it to two gorgeous yarn stores, a tea shop, and the Halifax Public Gardens on the way to the south shore.

The ducks in the Public Gardens were remarkably social. I imagine they’re quite used to people, but it still seems odd to be able to pet a duck on the head and not have it a) run; b) eat your face. I stayed away from the swans, though–they might be beautiful, but they’re evil, all of them.

Photo time. First, the animals!

Dachshund in a car.

Dachshund in a basketball jersey.

Dachshund making sure we don’t leave him behind in Nova Scotia.

Splat. Note the little hind legs out behind him.

A mallard duck in the Halifax Public Gardens. He didn’t mind the photo-stalking.

This little bird not only didn’t mind it, he showed off by stretching his wings out in the grass.

… Okay, so it’s a sculpture. But it’s a life-sized mastodon! How neat is that?

And now for the flowers!

An iris in the Public Gardens.

Many irises. In a pond, even.

Purple things!

White things!

Orange thing!

And a vase of wildflowers on my grandmother’s kitchen table.

Time for scenery!

A lake we drove by in Harmony.

Had I been able to get to the shore, I could have photographed the gorgeous yellow water lilies that were clustered with the lily pads.

… Did I accidentally walk into a Monet painting?

I took this from the chair I’d spent time curled up in, to show the view from the deck.

Leaning over the rail, this time, for a better photo.

A different part of the river, just upstream.

Fire. Pretty.

And finally, the yarn!

Clockwise from top left, there’s 2 balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Pale Green, 2 skeins of London-Wul handspun hand-dyed sock merino, 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in Lake Chelan Heather, 2 skeins of Manos del Uruguay handspun, a skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Nova Scotia (hee!), a skein of Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Dream in Seashell, and 2 skeins of Louet Gems Pearl in French Blue. I forgot to take a photo of the patterns, but I got two from Ilga Leja–Earth Maiden and Open Waters–plus the fabulous Lace Style.

I had the good fortune to visit both the lovely rustic London-Wul fibre studio and the modern The Loop yarn cafe, both of which I loved. I drove by Lucy Neatby’s store (Tradewind Knitwear) on the way back to New Brunswick, but it was closed for the Canada Day weekend as far as I could tell. Oooh, and I found a tea store across from the Public Gardens that sells only organic fair trade products, so some loose Earl Grey and dark hot chocolate came home with me.

Stevie made me promise I wouldn’t leave him alone for the weekend ever again.

I’m going to Nova Scotia for the weekend. I love the province, but I’m dreading the trip–it’s my grandmother’s 80th birthday and her sons are having a family gathering. I’ve met 95% of these particular relatives either a couple of times or never, and the panic disorder is going to have a field day at a gathering of people with whom I’m not familiar. I can’t explain anything to my parents, either, because they don’t get it; to them, these people are related to me therefore I should a) want to see them; b) be comfortable in their presence. I do want to see both of my grandmothers, neither of whom I’ve visited in over a decade, but still, given the choice, I’d stay home in a heartbeat. The rest is too much stress for me right now.

I’m panicking already (and my mom’s response to that was “You’re going to need to just get over it somehow”), so I need to shut up and move on to something else. Like flowers. I took some photos this afternoon while wandering around the garden: a daisy, a bleeding heart branch, some greenery, petunias, and an unidentified pink flower.

And an attention-seeking Samson, for good measure:

Our almost-18-year-old Cookie is, as far as we can figure, completely deaf now, which just adds to the other age-related problems he’s having. I know he’s nearing the end of his life, but I can’t bear to lose him–I wish I could tell if he was in pain, because it would make the decision that’s coming so much easier. He’s been such a good cat and he doesn’t deserve to suffer, but he still gets up in the morning and goes outside to do his morning patrol around the house, the same as he’s been doing all his life; it makes me wonder how much time he has left, and if having him put down would be depriving him of at least one more summer he could spend lying in the sun on the deck and doing what cats do best.

And when I start feeling guilty about one thing, then the rest is soon to follow… that I still owe money to a friend I haven’t seen in four years, that I wasted an entire basket of strawberries because I forgot about them and they went bad in the fridge, that I’m not done my education yet, that I spend too much on yarn, that I couldn’t get rid of the ich parasite in my aquarium and lost some of the fish to it, that my room is in dire need of cleaning, that I’d rather spend time alone than with certain people who make it known that they want to spend time with me, that I get annoyed when I find clumps of falling-out Cookie fur all over my bedsheets, that I’ve missed deadlines and let people down, that I can’t staple my mouth shut and learn to manage my weight like a normal person, and even that I feel guilty about everything. That’s right, I feel guilty about feeling guilty. Should’ve warned you all I was a screwball months ago, yeah?

I’m going to bed.

I’m feeling human again–thank you all for the well wishes.

I managed to get some knitting done over the weekend. A few inches past the point where the Rusted Root sleeves were separated from the body, I took the whole thing off the needles to try it on and… it’s too big! Blast. This is why I like to see finished measurements listed on garment patterns along with “to fit x bust size” details. So! Time to rip back and make a few alterations. While I was considering that, though, I also thought over the yarn I’d been using. I do like it, but a) it’s pure wool; b) although the ballband tension is 4.5 sts per inch, it seems quite loose even at the 5 sts per inch stated in the pattern, moreso now that I’ve seen it hanging on a person. Hmmph. I’m actually considering frogging it entirely and starting over with either Cotton Fleece (in Rue) or Shine (in Wisteria). I’m going to set it aside for the afternoon, at any rate.

Cannot decide what to work on now, though. Other than the sweater, I have a couple of socks on the needles, so I’d not feel guilty about casting on for a new project. And I do have several in the wings, plus I’ve been eyeing quite a few projects in my new Knitting Nature book.

Kitten photo time.

And now, I’m off to wade through the stash and see what inspires.