In progress

In progress, rainbow gradient socks. Yarn from Unbelievawool.

I won an award at work, and got myself a new camera with it (Canon EOS 4000D). Some test shots of the beautiful but deadly Eddie:

FO: Candy hearts lace socks and a mobile phone case

(apologies for the wobbly/blurry photo!)


Looks dorky off but fits the 'phone perfectly. 44 stitches and 60 rows of true 2x2 rib, this was my second attempt. It's hard to get cases for my mobile because (a) it's old and (b) it's a little bigger than an i-phone (Nexus 4).

My cat is a box nerd - every empty box that appears in the house, he thinks is for him. This one is especially funny, as he hides behind the flap, explodes in a hurry and the sound of the cardboard frightens him so he runs away upstairs. Totally hilarious!



Just look at that wild expression! Our cat is bonkers...


Watched "London has fallen" - dreadful film, and made me think of "Doom" (the arcade game) a lot. Still, it was lighthearted relief.

Current mood: amused

Using up oddments...

I have a great deal of trouble throwing away yarn, even if there's such a small amount it's hardly worth it. This weekend, I hit on the idea of making swatches for a local yarnbombing.



I also made these gloves - the white ones will go in the bin as I got the proportions mixed up. The Drops Delight got chucked - the gloves with rib were almost too tight to put on, and it doesn't bear up to grafting alas.



Trying to be organised, I laid out all the blanket squares:



And this immediately happened:





At least the cat appreciates my knitting and knows real wool when he sees it.

Cuteness overload

Or perhaps cuteness overlord as a new nickname? He wasn't cute this morning - even after I emptied the litter tray I could still smell he'd been there.

I love the crazy expression, he was actually just having a stretch in this shot.



Stretched out on the bed. Note the black spot on his tummy, which is heart-shaped - this is what gets me scratched, fairly regularly.

Continuum

"It's hard being this cute all the time, ya know!" Eddie the cat. Destroyer of toy mice. Also known as Eddie poofoot stinkybum noneck stripeytail. Although, the farting seems to have calmed down quite a bit now he's not bolting his food anymore.

The heart blanket is 55% done, or about 24 squares out of 42. Somewhat hampered if this guy is anywhere in the vicinity, as the moving knitting needles invite play.

Slow progress...

The back stretching (IDD) finally seems to be working. Less pain when sleeping on my right side, and less immediate pain when I get out of the car. Might have to extend to a few more treatments, though.

I've signed myself up for a two-day weaving class in May, which means I really ought to get my derriere in gear and get the tablemats off the loom, because I need to warp up ahead of the class. Already purchased the yarn, just need to get weaving and free up the loom. But after a stretching treatment, all I'm good for is laying down on the sofa and crocheting. Can't even go to the gym afterwards. On the positive side, my kneeling chair for work finally showed up yesterday, so I have taken my chair back home, which will mean more progress in the craft room from now on.

Eddie the new cat is gradually settling in, although he's still pretty skittish. He's training us to keep the kitchen clean - he licks anything with food on that's left unattended. Going to be hard to retrain him he doesn't have to steal anymore. Hard to resist this guy when he's being affectionate, though:

FO: Socks and cat

Finished the crochet blanket. Debating whether to make it bigger, it's kind of square according to the pattern. Which needed FOUR not THREE balls of the silver. Enough of the colours to make a decent second blanket, so may leave it as is.



Three pairs of socks made at Nottingham:







Need to take better shots than that for the Etsy shop :)

And this little guy has moved in with us:



He's 10 months old, bitey, affectionate and has quite an appetite. Hoping he'll calm down once he gets access to the great outdoors. We called him Eddie - don't you think he looks like an Eddie?

Current mood: scared of the new kittycat - no, not really!

FO: pink gloves

These have actually been hanging around for quite a while, I finally added a crochet border to them Wednesday night.



They were the first attempt, so the thumb is a little tight.

Got a lead on a new cat, hoping to arrange to meet him next week.

In memoriam

In memoriam

Heartbroken

Thomas went in for a thyroidectomy, which he survived - but then got a blood clot to his brain and lungs, and went downhill rapidly. We let him go around 5pm yesterday. 

Sleep softly Thomas. You've left a massive hole in our hearts.

In memoriam

The Handweaver's Studio

I spotted The Handweaver's Studio & Gallery online some time ago and have been meaning to visit ever since. Alas, my last two trips to London were for eye surgery in the West End, so frivolous activities were at a minimum. Anyway, I have visited and they have a lovely selection of threads, including a fancy white one with neon pink blobs called "Exploded Barbie" and some jelly yarn that glows in the dark! Plus lots of lovely books on weaving. I was sorely tempted to buy something, but consoled myself with putting a deposit on a weaving course in March when I'll have more time to peruse the shop (it was right before lunchtime, and my stomach was calling!). We were down in London to see "Rock of Ages" and ended up getting a LOT of unexpected exercise when we discovered our hotel was on the Northern line near Angel, and that line was suspended for maintenance all weekend.

So I'll let the pictures do the talking:











Yes, that is the Cog in the bottom LH corner. His ear is famous at last!

"Rock of Ages" was ok but the diction was a little fast at times, and they made rather a lot of jokes about Germans, which felt a bit awkward as we were sitting next to two German chaps. The plot wasn't exactly great but it was good fun.

Got back to Rugby around 3pm and got cracking on some xmas machine knitting, inspired by something I spotted in Debenhams.

Also, because it's funny - Thomas the cat tries to hide in the bedroom at night so that he doesn't get separated from us (we shut him out of the bedroom because he doesn't settle and wakes me up). He managed to get into this bottom shelf, but clearly did not fit.



He also likes to hide inside towels draped over the radiator, and seems quite put out when he's discovered. He does have several cat beds but prefers the office chairs or the floor.

Thomas - an update

Well, we had a very scary week, although to be fair, he was most sick on Monday and Tuesday. The vet called on Friday with the blood test results - Thomas has poor liver function and his blood cell counts were all off (which might be because of his liver, or because he is dehydrated). Saturday he went in for a 48 hour steroid injection, to see if his appetite would pick up. Luckily, it has - he's been licking at special pate ever since, and when we came home last night everything he'd been given (including biscuits) had disappeared. I am so relieved! He's got to go back on Monday - he was going to get x-rayed and possibly opened up otherwise - but as his appetite is now back, he'll just get a few weeks course of steroids. We did get him a syringe, but he hates people poking in his mouth, so hoping we don't have to use it. The easiest way to get food into him when he's sick is apply it to his legs, alas, which is very messy and upsetting for him. He is a fastidious cat, and very proud of his white forelegs.ca

Doing a happy dance here. He's 11 and has a lot more life to live, I hope!

Thanks for the lovely comments, it's appreciated. These little critters break your heart sometimes, and drive you up the wall at others, but you wouldn't be without them.