6.04.2006

secondhand stash, critter-beds, & b-days



My mom went to a neighbor's garage sale and came back with a huge bag of goodies for me. I may have said already that pastels are not my favorite, but I'm not complaining about this score: six skeins of Dreambaby DK 104 (pale yellow) and eight of Dreambaby Kokonut 504 (kind of a soft confetti on white).

Also shown is my first attempt at lace with the Branching Out scarf. Not sure lace is my thing (at least for now), but I did want to try it. On the third repeat I missed a row, hence the weirdness of the leaves below the needle. Think I'm done with lace for now. It requires too much concentration for me (i.e. close attention to every other row), unlike cable, which only demands it every, say, 6 or 8 rows.

Anyway, for $10 my mom not only got all that yarn, but also some nice notions, like 29-inch size 15 bamboo circulars and the fanciest crochet hook I've ever seen. Cool! After giving up on the lace for the moment (not crazy about pastel yellow anyway), I decided to make a critter blanket for Rebekah's charity pet drive. Wanted to post a picture of blankie-in-progress, but in flew interference in small feline form:
For the critter blanket, I used a strand of the Dreambaby Kokonut held together with a strand of some old off-white Red Heart yarn my mom had lying around. It's knitting up quick and easy on 10 1/2 needles in mindless garter stitch while I watch late-nite tv. But as you can see, I have to wait until the kitten shuts down to knit. She can be momentarily distracted by other toys, but nothing is as much fun as wiggly yarn or flashy needles, especially these metal-tipped ones. Speaking of which, does anyone know where you can find such needles these days? This pair dates from my first knitting project (and until very recently, my last knitting project) some 20 years ago, but I love them. They're Phildars. Can anyone tell me if they'd be like these?
I'm trying to learn to knit with minimal movement, but Isis is not easily fooled. And here I am, thinking of getting another kitten. (Four will make me officially "crazy cat lady," won't it?) I'll never get anything done. Oh, but look! How adorable! Demon-spawn turns into good-kitty. Oh, and today (June 4) is my birthday. Hooray! We had some friends over last night with a chocolate cake my spouse decorated with a big ball of yarn on it. *giggle* (No, silly, not real yarn -- the frosting from my name turned into a ball of icing yarn. Yummy!) My mom brought over a beautiful bouquet of irises from her garden. It's all good. Really good!

5 comments:

sienna said...

Happy Birthday! Your first lace attempt looks lovely. Don't give up so easily...maybe a shorter lace pattern would work better for you. I just finished the Hedera lace socks from Knitty and with only four rows to keep track of it wasn't so bad; I had it memorized halfway through the second sock! And don't shy away from socks...just follow a pattern and you'll be fine!

Melanie

RheLynn said...

Wow Happy birthday! My DH is on Tuesday and I'm on the solstice - so we are all Geminis ;o)

Isis is taking lessons from Chris' cat Chaos, hmm? The one with the needle in her mouth made me crack up ;o) She is beautiful - glad she is better!

Those irises are gorgeous! Glad to see you in on the critter drive too! I have to get another pack together when things calm down here. You're much faster than me on branching out! ;o)

Anonymous said...

I find my cats are much less attracted to my knitting movements when I'm using circular needles. I hadn't realized the difference until the other day when I needed to use my Brittany black walnut needles. I would have SWORN that my 4-year-old siamese wouldn't pounce on my every movement, until I realized she is used to circulars! VBG!

Anonymous said...

Wow your mom made a great score, that Dreambaby can be expensive stuff, well at least 3-5 bucks a ball.

Your kitten is adorable, I think you need another one. But then I'm currently begging my husband for anotehr dog.

MsFortuknit said...

These photos are great also! As for joining do it to it! Bauhaus is so great! Have you been able to catch them on any of their last tours? Its crazy becuse I was stuck between So many great bands bauhaus and Joy Division being two of them! hahahah....Thanks for your kind words on my little man he is a handsome devil! Your little ones seem a bit out going also and Morgan LeFay, ....Im so adding you to my page later!