6.25.2006

Knitting ADD


Okay, this is bad. Two projects coming off the same skein. Unfinished critter blanket creeping out of one end, a b/w striped mouse begun at the other. Well, the second end of the skein was flapping around there loose like I should do something with it.
To compensate for the inability to complete anything, I made a mouse for my parents' cat, Rambo. He lives with them next door. We needed a barn cat, and my mom picked him out of the "free kitten" box at a yard sale last year. He was then about six months old, and the skinniest, friendliest little guy you could hope to meet. Rambo (thus named by my mother to ensure his deadly mouse-slaughtering skills) commenced to endear himself to my mom and dad--following them from house to barn to shed to barn to house doggedly, purring and weaving around their legs, hopping into any available lap, and generally being as adorable as a kitten could possibly be. (Incidentally, he was also a good mouser.)

Of course, it was only a matter of months until the nights turned chilly and everyone began to feel a bit sorry for the poor little cat out in the cold at night. And then he became an indoor-outdoor fellow. I must say, cats really are master manipulators, because it was not long until Rambo had wrangled himself an invitation to accompany my parents to South Carolina for the winter--where, I might add, he was strictly an indoor guy. So now, back in Michigan, he no longer goes outside at all, and his only kills are mice such as these. What a life. And what suckers we all are for those feline wiles.

Speaking of which, here are the girls being cute. Who can resist?

Mmmmmm...stretch...

Aaahhh...much better.


And now for something completely different...

Flowers I picked last evening: wild sweet peas with lavender, poppies, little hollyhocks and coral bells from my mom's garden.
I wish I could dye something this color. Like my hair.

8 comments:

Severina said...

Damn, even I haven't thought of knitting from both ends of a skein. Now I'll have twice as many projects started and abandoned as before. Thanks! ;)

You're also tempting me with kittens, chickens, and gardens. I don't miss living in the country except when I want to see stuff growing. I get all nostalgic for fresh veggies & flowers.

Then I remember following behind a tractor, in the sun, with a 10 gallon bucket full of potatoes and I get over it real fast.

Maybe I can convince the landlord that an alpaca is just an exotic dog...

Carrie K said...

That's a perfect use for that the other end that insists on hanging out and tangling up on everything. Plus, critter blanket & matching mouse.

Clever tactical skills Rambo used! The girls are very cute. How could they not be?

Dye your hair which of those colors? All of 'em?

Obsidian Kitten said...

well, once i bleached it, got tired of the dark roots, and dyed it purple. so maybe all or them--some sort of poppy pink-lavender-purple colorway all over my head, heehee!

but no, that'd be too much work for me now. one box of haircolor is pretty much all i can handle, methinks.

Chris said...

Rambo is a smart, smart kitty - with a cute new mouse!

Your kittens are SOOOOO cute. I just want to rub that white tummy spot. Chaos is SUPPOSED to have a white tummy spot like his mom, but he doesn't have any guard hairs there, except a few wisps of white.

RheLynn said...

Gorgeous flowers! The girls are so cute they need a warning label :o) Really - great pictures they look like they are dancing upside down!!

Rambo really had quite the plan going on -- show them his mousing skills in the barn so he gets a cushy house to guard and protect! A good resumouse ?

Anonymous said...

kitties, kitties and more kitties! i wish i had more room in the house for 2 more! good job with all of the catnip mice you've made... starting to inspire me to make some too (but they'd have to be smaller, since my cats never seemed to take to big mouse toys).

Obsidian Kitten said...

oh, and kitties loooove to help make the mice, too...

Isis keeps trying to eat the yarn, arrrghh. And the roving. And the knitting needles. What's wrong with cat toys, I'd like to know?

Obsidian Kitten said...

i actually made this catnip mouse pattern larger (cast on 18 instead of 15 sts) b/c I thought 15 was a little small for my monster cats.

the 15-stitch size is really cute (maybe 1 1/2 in? you can see how long it'll be on yr needles) and these take maybe an hour or so to knit and finish. great way to use up some leftover bits of yarn, too.