Knitting? And Cats? In the Same Book!?!?!? Yes Please.

For the past two weeks, my parents have been in Florida for their very much deserved, annual 'kick back and do nothing but read the paper, go on walks and knit socks' trip. While they were away, I had the absolute pleasure of looking after their little monster, Harvey.

(Remember him???) 

He's bad, but the kind of bad that is absolutely impossible to stay mad at. (What beast of a person is really able to stay mad at a CAT for crying out loud!?!?!?)

Le sigh... (I'm such a sucker for a cat face)

As a 'Thank You!' for taking care of their four legged friend, look at what my Dad picked up for me. (Dad? You were cruising the knitting book section of Barnes and Noble?!?!?!)

Knit Your Own Cat by Sally Muir and Joanna Osbourne

If I didn't know my Dad so well... I might actually think that he wanted the cat back.

 

Knowing that having a cat in the first place wasn't exactly his idea, I suspect that he is actually hoping that I will whip up a cat for my mom in the hopes she won't notice that Harvey has come back to her much smaller, and much less... animated. 

Well... whomever gets the real-deal in the end, the one left alone will surely need this little well behaved guy to keep them company. (Is talking to a real cat really any less crazy than talking to a knitted cat?)

This should do the trick while the other one is mourning the loss of this fuzzy belly.

Maow, maow.

In Which I Make Myself A Valentine

My boyfriend once told me that he will never get tired of hand knit socks... (I bet he won't!) and should I ever be at a loss for what to get him for any gift-giving occassion, I can always make him a fresh new pair.

It is actually a really handy thing to have a boyfriend that appreciates them (and even opts to wear them with his Birkenstocks in February). When I noticed that the dude has been purging his house like crazy lately, heaven knows that he doesn't need another gadget for the kitchen, button up shirt or can of shaving cream from yours truly.

Hand knit socks however???

Affirmative.

Then along came... Valentine's Day.

I had these socks on the needles still and I knew that they would be just the ticket, but only if I ripped back the toe (and then some).

So, I did just that.

As I was grafting the toes closed on his socks however, I became a little jealous that he would soon have a fresh new pair of socks to warm his feet up for this last leg of winter.

I dug through my massive pile of 'almost finished' projects and came across some wildly shaded pink socks that I had cast on while visiting my baby sister in London last November.

And what I ended up with was a lovely set of 'his and her' socks.

On him.

Yarn- One skein of Moutain Colors 'Crazyfoot' in colourway Osprey
Needles- 2.5 mm double points
Pattern- It's in my head... but I cast on 72 stitches and did a 'Knit 3, Purl 1' rib, alternating with a plain knit round (this looks good... and makes ribbing just a little more tolerable and less tedious).
 

On her.

Yarn- Socks That Rock Mediumweight in colourway `Femmebot` (my travel companion from the Sock Summit pretty much forced me to buy this... poor me!)
Needles- 3mm
Pattern- The Intrepid Traveller by Gail Marracci (a pattern from the March 2011 installment of the STR club)

Nothing begs the question 'Will you be my Valentine?'...

Like ten (or twenty!) warms toes.

Uh... or roses.

Roses can say that too.

Where Are My Other 98 Hands When I Need Them?

As I was bustling around the shop today and putting all of the lovely new Spring yarns out on the shelf (and desperately trying to decide what to cast on first), I was struck by this box that we have used since day one for displays.

How is it that I am just digesting what it says now, nine whole years after we opened our doors?

While an 'Auto Knitter' is tempting in moments like these...

I think I'd still rather have a hundred hands.

Maybe then I'd actually finish the odd project now and again.

Crocheting In The Kitchen

Valentine's Day is absolutely my favorite holiday of all time- I'd give up Christmas for Valentines. (Er... ok. Maybe not. But I'd certainly give up New Years.) Any excuse to combine red and pink and eat sweets until your teeth ring, I'm there.

This past Friday after work, I decided that I had better start preparing for my favorite day of the year and throw some heart shaped cookies in the oven.

As is often the case when I start to bake, I had all of the ingredients in the bowl, ready to mix until I realized that I was missing just one stupid ingredient. Not wanting to waste what was already all mixed up, I threw on my boots and schlepped out the door to my closest grocery store.

As I was shuffling through the aisles in my Friday night haze, (Friday nights just aren't what they used to be, especally when you work on Saturday), I stopped dead in my snowy tracks.

There was a giant piece of crochet... in the dairy section.

I felt as though my working life was blurring with my uh, Friday-night-grocery-shopping-life and I had to blink once, twice, thrice... before I realized it wasnt a mirage.

I have heard of (and even seen, thanks to some customers) these crocheted milk bag sleeping mats, but never had I seen one in the grocery store. Turns out that my local Sobey's collects milk bags for those willing to crochet them up to make mats to send to Haiti. If you're interested in donating milk bags, or crocheting mats, let me know! I know of a Sobey's location that can help you out...

What a treat it was to see my two worlds collide.

And speaking of treats...

Happy Valentine's Eve!