It's true... you can never go home again.

Especially when they appropriate your bedroom for other purposes.
My Dad - who I affectionately refer to as "Skip" - has been a busy boy, spending his holidays renovating my old room. There are new walls, ceilings, lighting, and a spanky new floor.

He repainted - partly because he had to rip out most of the drywall to get at a mold problem, but mostly because Mom never liked the the paint I chose when I lived there. It was a lovely, warm beigey-pink, called "doe skin", but mom just called it "that yucky band-aid colour you ruined your room with". The new colour is "Angel Whisper" - dad picked it out and it's a light purply pink.

Now despite the fact it means I can't go back to living rent free - I really can't complain. In a few weeks the room will be the new head quarters of Wandering Cat Yarns. Currently, we dye in Mom's laundry room, using the washer, dryer and freezer as work stations and then run up and down the stairs constantly to the kitchen - it will be nice to have everything in one place - and to not have to watch Mr. Tibbs use the facilities, as the laundry room is also the litter box room.

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I have no progress to show you on Helena because I got a little side tracked. After ranting on about Shawlettes, I've gone and cast on for one.

It wasn't my intention to do so - after the last dye session, I brought home 400 yards of Top Cat. It was in two skeins- the yarn that's left over from the cones. Mom dyed it up in "Mermaid's Treasure" for me and it was sitting on my coffee table, taunting me - I had to see how it would look knit up.

I planned to make a longer pair of Undines with it. So I cast on for them (even though I have THREE pairs of socks already in progress). But the gold was pooling all on one side, so I decided it would have to be shawlette or a scarf.

Since I don't really like knitting scarves (too long, too boring) I decided to cast on for Zetor instead, since it's very easy to customize the size. I figured I can wear it as a scarf like my Frost Leaves, or put it in the Christmas box and decide who to give it too later.

It's a great pattern with a good rhythm, and I haven't been able to put it down.It's reached the status of "knitting blob" and is too big to stretch out on the needles for a good picture, but I took a pic last night before it got too big, so you can see the pattern:

It's hard to say, how big it will end up. I'm not quite through 200 yards yet, and it's already 24 inches wide unstretched - and this puppy has a lot of stretch. Of course the last 200 yards will get used up quicker because the rows get longer, but it will be interesting to see how large it is when blocked.

Regardless of how this one turns out - I will be making a large Zetor - I love this pattern.

I'm not sure about the colour - it looks really pretty in the skein, but knit up I think the yellow is a little too strong. I'd prefer it with more pink and beige, and lighter yellow - which is how Mom has done the previous Mermaid's Treasure - but that's part of the beauty of hand painted yarns - every skein is unique!

I still plan to finish Helena up this week - mostly because I want to start on a pair of matching Baby Janes - they are just so adorable!

Your eyes will decieve you - don't trust them

This may look all sweet and innocent - like he just decided the skein of Fat Cat looked like a cozy place to take a nap. But don't be fooled - it's ploy. He's just trying to lull me into complacency.
He thinks that adorable pointed, furry little face, all snuggled up in my yarn will distract me from the fact that he's a notorious yarn thief. He thinks I'll forget about all the times I've come home to yarn tossed all over the place and tangled around every piece of furniture. He thinks I'll just go about my knitting, and the minute I let my guard down, he can run off with it.

But he was wrong this time... I waited him out - and he actually did fall asleep...... and I was able to extract the yarn before he woke up. I've won this battle, but the war is ongoing.

Open your home to Stray Cat

As usual Mom and I did a little dying on Friday. This time around we focused on Stray Cat:Clockwise from top: Stormy Seas, Mermaid's Delight, Apple Blossom, Peach Blossom and Mermaid's Treasure.

We introduced Stray Cat just a few months ago. It's a lovely sport weight 100 per cent Superwash Merino.

So what can you make with it? Hats, mitts, scarves, shawls.... the list is pretty much endless. Its washability makes it great for slightly heavier than traditional socks and of course, baby items. The merino gives it a softness that makes it great for any project you want to wear close to your skin. I have a tank-top in my queue and once I clear out a few wips, I'll be dying up some Stray Cat just for it.

Right now there are two skeins of each colourway available and each skein has 274 yards of knitterly possibilities.

In addition to the Stray Cat, Mom was also playing with a new yarn:Introducing the newest member of the Wandering Cat litter - House Cat. Colours clockwise from top are: Bullrush, Grape Hyacinth, Neopolitan, Merlot, and Chocolate Covered Cherries.

House Cat is a great plain-jane fingering weight, 100% Merino - no silk, no cashmere, not even a splash of nylon - just pure unadulterated woolly goodness. It's great for knitters who don't like nylon in their socks, and it's also wonderful for shawls, scarves and baby items. There are 400 yards to a skein and the yarn has a nice twist giving it the right amount of sproing.

Mom has already claimed Merlot for her personal stash, but the rest are up in the shop and ready to make themselves comfortable in your stash!

Back at it

I couldn't stand it any more. I had to knit something.

My wrists are still a little sore, but I figured if I took frequent breaks, and knit something with larger needles, I might be able to get away with it.

So last night I cast on for Helena. My intention was to just knit the bodice today and then maybe try working on one of my socks in progress - but I couldn't seem to put it down:I only have two repeats left of the lace pattern then it's onto the sleeves. I've made a few modifications (of course) but I'll detail them when I post the finished project. I'm going to knit some Baby Janes to match, and if I have enough yarn left, a hat.

I'm using our Fat Cat yarn. You may remember I dyed this colour specifically for this project. It's a lovely soft semi-solid green with touches of blue, pink and purple throughout. I think it gives it a lovely mottled effect and I'd love to dye some more for a cardi for myself - a grown-up size Helena in fact!

This is a great pattern and it almost makes me want to have a baby of my own. (I said almost, don't get too excited, Mom - if I really get the urge I can still just dress up the cats). I'm hoping it will be treasured by the recipient and when baby is too big, it gets tucked away for another generation - it's just that nice.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

... and it goes like this....

Still no knitting... wrists are fine until I think about knitting - and then they ache. May be psychosomatic - will keep you updated.

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Citron has been frogged.

I have an issue with shawelettes. I don't really like them, they aren't big enough to be useful - I want a shawl I can wrap up in. Yes, you can wear them as a scarf - but I have lots of scarves (that said, once Frost Leaves was finished, it's the only "scarf" I wore all season). They can be used to dress up an evening outfit - but I never go anywhere that calls for and evening outfit - and if I did, I'd rather have a real shawl.

So anyway, my point is, I intended to make Citron into a real shawl. And while I was busy not knitting, I started to do the calculations that would allow me to make Citron bigger. When I realized to make it as big as I wanted I would probably have close to 1,000 stitches on the needle I frogged it. 1,000 stitches to a row is just too much for me.

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My Skinny Bugga arrived todayI am definitely pleased. You never know what you're going to get when you order from the Sanguine Gryphon - the colours can vary wildly. These are a nice subtle mix of brown, green and red.

I'm thinking of making the Shipwreck shawl out of these. (yes I am aware that the Shipwreck shawl likely has more than 1,000 stitches in one row, but it's a circular shawl... with a pattern... shut-up... that makes a difference in my little world.)

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Also arriving in the mail today:Six lovely, fit-for-a-princess Barbie dresses.

Why did I buy Barbie dresses you ask? Well, it all started when I designed a couple of knitted dresses a few months back. I wanted to release the pattern, so I got out my Barbies to model and discovered that in all the years of storing and moving my Barbies around, all my shoes had gone missing - well I had two pairs of heels but they clashed with the dresses; the yellow sneakers just wouldn't cut it; and the flippers... let's not go there.

So I went on Ebay to search for shoes. I found a place that offered these lovely dresses and they each came with two pairs of shoes! Now I don't know about you, but a dress and two free pairs of shoes.... I wish the local Reitmans had that deal! So, I snagged a couple of pairs for my models, and the rest of the shoes and the dresses are going in the Christmas box of some special little girls.

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I learned a new phrase in cat speak today:

Apparently an over-turned water bowl and two cats in the bathtub when you come home means: "You left us without enough water today!"

I wish I had gotten a picture - the cats giving me the stink-eye from the tub was pretty hilarious.
The expression looked something like this:I do feel bad about not checking the dish before I left for work this morning. In future I pledge to be a better cat mommy.

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Tomorrow is Friday, and Friday usually means dye-day. What colour combos would you like to see in the shop?

Cats and Carpal Tunnel

I hate to admit it, but sometimes that boy of mine is right. (Though I'm not going to tell him)

As I may have mentioned before, when Dave is here overnight, the cats get put in the basement when we go to bed (it's not that bad, they have their own futon down there loaded with blankies). He's a light sleeper, and unlike me, can't tune out their nocturnal antics.

Though honestly, when he's not here, there are no nocturnal antics. Rocky curls up on my hip, Tux passes out on my feet, and Peno sleeps in her special bed under the window.

Well usually there's no antics...

... until this morning.
For whatever reason, my two lovely boys were determined that five hours sleep was more than enough for me this morning.

It all started at 5:30 a.m. with Tux, when I awoke to the sound of someone trying to throw up on my head. I rolled over, bleary-eyed, to stare into the face of a cat who's about to bring up who knows what all over my pillow - not pretty.

I hastily grabbed him and put him on the floor. The floor is hardwood, and much easier to clean puke from than my bed (or my hair). And guess what..? All heaving stopped! Cold. No puke, no hairball, nothing... I think it was a ploy...

... because then Rocky decide I'd had enough sleep. He jumped on the dresser, my head, annoyed Peno, howled, played with his noisiest toys... anything he could think of to keep me awake. And it was much crueler than just making noise... the little brat would wake me up, I'd yell at him, he'd stop and wait just long enough for me to drift back to sleep before he'd do something new to wake me up again.

At 7 a.m. I finally kicked him out of the bedroom and shut the door - so he just sat at it and howled for another hour until I finally got up.

I'm not sure if Dave's coming tonight - but even if he's not it might still be basement time for the kitties.

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No knitting content for today - or who knows how long. I managed to complete another section on Citron yesterday, but I had to put it down early because my wrists and thumbs began to ache something fierce.

When you work on a computer all day and then knit all night, it's only a matter of time before Carpal Tunnel kicks in. If I rest it for a few days, I should be okay - but that means I have to find something other to do than knitting - I'm starting with laundry. It's not nearly as much fun as knitting, but it needs to be done.

Beware...

.... the Tosh Ness Monster:Yup... I whipped up another one. This one was knit with the Tosh Merino left over from my Tea Leaves Cardigan (colour is Kale) and some Bernat Satin in Stardust.
I gotta say I am loving this colour combo. I plan to use the rest of the Tosh for my own Nessie (this one is going in the Christmas Box) and I am going to do a light blue belly - I hope it looks as nice as this one.Now two Nessies don't quite make a fleetSo there will be more in the future. But for the next week at least, I'm going to work on "grown-up" projects... maybe even finish Citron since I haven't touched it since Wednesday.
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Some new yarn in the shop if you're interested - Aurora and two new spring colours!

Found at last!

I got some exciting news on Thursday...

Mom found my Hansi Singh book! Apparently I mixed it up with a couple of stitch dictionaries I had returned to her - it was sitting at her house the whole time.

I went up on Friday to do a little dying (Aurora and Breath of Spring will be available again shortly) and brought it home with me. I celebrated by immediately casting on for another Loch Ness Monster. I finished it up today: I did this one with some of the leftover yarn that Jeanne sent me for the crackghan. It's a lovely single ply merino and so, so soft. And I love the mottled colours - just what I imagine a really Nessie would look like. I used Bernat Satin for the belly, which has a lovely sheen.Dave suggested I use the safety eyes I had in the craft stash. I thought they were a little big at first, but decided they are actually quite adorable, and give it a cartoony look.And since this was made with worsted weight it's much bigger than the Wee Nessie I made for Dave:I LOVE this pattern. If you have the hours to devote it can conceivably be knit in a day. I plan to make many more, one for every kidlet on my Christmas list.... and one for myself. In fact, I cast on for another one tonight, using my left over Tosh Merino.

I'll knit a whole fleet of Nessies... next stop... world domination..... mwahaha!

Signs of Spring

.... the sun is shining, it's warm...

...the crocuses are popping up beneath my wild roses and mass of newspapers that blew in the garden over the winter...
The windows are open and the cats are stretching their little noses to catch a breeze...... it must be spring!

I too was feeling a little bit of spring fever today. But unlike the cats, sniffing at the window just doesn't cut it for me.

Instead, after work, I rolled down all the car windows, cranked the stereo and took the long way home, enjoying the sunshine.

And I made a little stop at one of my favourite stores - Lens Mills. For those who don't know, Lens Mills is kind of like a surplus store - they buy up old stock from other companies and sell it off. But, they also have a great selection of yarn, fabrics and other crafty stuff. The one in Port Dover is the best, and I've heard the one in Brantford is great, but the one in Stoney Creek suits me just fine - and it's closer to home.

While there, I picked up two skein of Patons Stretch Sock:
Since we started dying yarn, I said I wasn't going to buy any more yarn for socks. But I've been wanting to test the Stretch for a while... and the colour just spoke to me.

I also came across some lovely flannel remnants:
I had planned to make a blanket for one of the impending arrivals, but the price was so good and the fabric so cute, I just couldn't leave the store without it. There is about two yards of each. Sewing a blanket will be much quicker than knitting one anyway.

Of course the cats had to thoroughly expect it as soon as I brought it out:I hope the baby likes cat hair! :)

My final purchase was a new wicker basket. I need it for the crackghan supply, which has kinda outgrown its old basket: Every time I turned around balls of yarn were spilling all over the place, which just entices Rocky to run off with them!

I've been looking around at some - but the prices on wicker baskets these days just seems exorbitant! None of the thrift stores or flea markets we've visited have had any baskets big enough. But Lens had just the thing and it was only $6!:I still had to keep the cage (which was leftover from Christmas bubble bath) but that's okay, it's perfect for the smaller balls that get lost easy.

I haven't touched Citron for the last two days. Instead I've been knitting socks. I'll probably pick Citron up again on the weekend. I really want to finish it because watching Smoking Hot Needles knit up her Fluffy Cat into a beautiful shawl is making me want to crack open a skein and start Bitter Root!

A new level of decadance

I love bubble baths. I have ever since I was little. I don't shower (unless I'm in a hurry). I take long luxurious bubble baths. Every.Single.Night.

I have a feeling I'm single-handedly supporting the bubble bath industry. I love nothing more than soaking in a tub of near scalding water, with a mountain of bubbles, and a good book to read.

When I was a teenager, we only had one bathroom, and my baths were forever interrupted by knocks on the door - even if I asked everyone in the house if they need to pee first. My Dad was the worse culprit.

When we moved, I got my own bathroom and I know Dad was hoping it would keep me from Bogarting his bathroom. But my bathroom didn't have a tub, just a shower stall... so I still ended up hogging the tub. But at least there was a second toilet in the house.

When I moved out on my own, both Dad and I were relieved. I so looked forward to being able to soak and read till my heart's content without interruptions.

Well there was the cats.. Rocky thinks he needs to supervise (in case of drowning, you know) and makes himself comfortable on the side of the tub, occasionally dipping his tail in. I think Tux enjoys the sauna like conditions of the bathroom as he usually sprawls on the bathmat, and Peno keeps watch at the door (perhaps so I'm not interrupted?). But despite their company, I was free to indulge in my watery relaxation.

Until Dave moved in. Now I get "Are you gonna float around in there all night?" And yes, once again, there is only one bathroom in the house. I'd make him pee in the bushes, but I think the neighbours would complain.

But Dave is gone this week so I've been reveling in my ability to bath with abandon. And I've discovered a way to increase my level of bathing decadence... a book AND a bowl of ice cream - pecan caramel ice cream to be exact. Dave thought the reading-in-the-tub thing was bad. Just wait until he gets home and sees this!

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I finished the third section of Citron and as predicted it took much longer. Almost twice as long in fact. The next two sections are going to be even worse! No pictures because the progress isn't that thrilling

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Remember that fish I told you about? That one I named Fred? I found a picture of him (and me!)Yes... I am the fishing queen. (Actually I'm not ... I usually only catch useless fish like sunfish, sheepshead and catfish. Fred is the exception to the rule)

I just couldn't make up my mind...

... so I cast on for both a pair of socks AND Citron.

I'm not going to show you the socks because I think I'm going to frog them and try a different pattern, but Citron is coming along nicely:I've got the first two sections done, and If I do a section a night I could have it done by the weekend. That said, each section takes a little longer to do, so it might not happen. And... I have two skeins of Skinny Bugga (which I am alternating because one has no gold at all) so I'm planing on adding a few sections. So the chances of me finishing it up by the weekend have just fallen dramatically.

The Skinny Bugga is lovely to work with and Mom just ordered three more skeins in Oak Timberworm for me. So much for not adding to the stash....

Rain, cold and some slush just to make it interesting

As Dave so eloquently put it... Mother Nature's a B@#$*!

After a week of lovely sun and spring like weather, Mother Nature turned the furnace off and turned on the hose. It's been a chilly weekend. Not a good clean winter cold - but the damp, shivering cold that seeps right into your bones and makes you glad you knit socks!

So after spending Saturday with my bestest friend and her absolutely adorable family (including a husband who can cook.... Michael, can you give Dave a few lessons?), and after whipping up some potatoes for to the Shepherd's Pie, I sent Dave off to the cottage, snuggled up with the cats and finished off my heart socks:The pattern is Piece of My Heart and the yarn is our Top Cat in "Candy Girl".
This was a nice little pattern, easy to follow and pretty quick to knit, but if I were to do it again I'd go down to a 2.0 mm needle, as my knitting is a bit loose, and as a result so are the socks.

I'd also pay attention to modifications I made on the first sock but neglected on the second:I don't know how well you can see it in the picture, but the top (and first) sock has 1-1 rib, the other has 2-2. I realized just before I started turning the heel. but thought "What's knit is knit" and just kept going. No biggie really.

The only other mod I made was on the last two back hearts at the heel and the last two front hearts at the toe. I modified the pattern so it ended in a point, and didn't start another heart.

Now what to cast on for next....?

I really want to try out my Wood Nymph so that would mean another pair of socks, but I'm starting to fall behind my schedule for 10 Shawl in 2010, so maybe Citron... but then I've bought a pattern for the cutest little pin cushion .... and of course today is the day I'm short an hour! Damn!

Yay a Winner!!!!

First - apologies for not posting about this yesterday - but life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes.

And now without further ado....

Through the magic of the random number generator.....

The winner of the Happy Hundred Sales Contest is......

JEANNE!!!!!!

We had an astounding 89 entries into the contest. Thank you so much to everyone who entered. And look for more contests in the future!

Cooking, yarning.. you know how it is...

Remember how I said I was looking forward to having Fridays off because I would have a whole free day....?

It hasn't happened yet - oh I've had every Friday off. But none of it's been free. Today I went up to mom and re-skeined all that pretty yarn we dyed the other day. Normally mom does that.. I just go there, make a mess with the dyes and bugger off.

But she hasn't been doing much knitting lately, so I thought if I took care of the skeining she'd have time to knit. (well she would if she'd stay off the Ravelry forums.) It took most of the afternoon.

While I was up there, I caked up of my own yarn - My Walking on the Wild Tide from Jeanne. I found a second skein on a ravelry destash and plan to make Multnomah with it. I was going use my Skinny Bugga in Rainbow Scarab for Multnomah, but now I think I'm going to use it for Citron... so I caked it up too. Look for the cast on of one of those soon.

I had also dyed some Alley Cat for myself:
Colour is Wood Nymph. It's actually Wood Nymph Lite as I used the leftover dye from the original Wood Nymph, which looks like this
Much richer and deeper. There will be some available in Slinky Cat Fingering soon.

I also scammed four balls of ZarinaThey were left over from a beautiful lacy sweater mom made me for Christmas a couple of years ago:
and I made pouty faces at her and I got to take the leftovers home. I'm thinking the Zarina will be paired up with another yarn and turned into a lacy shawl with ruffles!

Then I came home and started cooking. It's March Break and Dave is off, so he's heading to the cottage for a week of solo guitar. So, to make sure he's well fed for the week (if I leave him alone he'll just eat peanut butter and bread) I made of five individual trays of Shepherds Pie:
Well it's almost Shepherd's Pie. I discovered I didn't have enough potatoes for the topping. Well I did, but they are those little mini potatoes you just cut in have and cook with the skins on...so tiny I wasn't about to spend hours peeling them. I know, I could have left the skins on and mashed them, it's healthy.. but its just weird to me. I'm not opposed to eating potato skins... but not in my mashed potatoes. I'll get more potatoes tomorrow and finish them up before he leaves on Sunday.

In addition to the Shepherd's Pie I also whipped up six Stuffed Peppers (One of Dave's favourites)These three are for his dinner tonight, and there are three more in the freezer for March Break.

I had a little helper while cooking:
She wasn't so much helping as rolling on the floor, hoping for scraps... but does she really think that showing me that fat belly is going to make me indulge her?

Anyway, I'd love to stop and relax, but all that cooking created mountain of dishes (funny how that happens). I really have to invest in a dishwasher one of these days

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Don't forget the Contest closes at midnight! If you haven't entered, don't miss your chance!

We didn't call it Wandering Cat Yarn for no reason....

... cause it's been wandering all over my house.

As you know, the little brat...... has a habit of stealing and tangling yarn. Since we started dying yarn, he's shown a strong preference towards our brand, even going so far to steal it right under my nose. Lately, I've been keeping it tucked where he can't get it.

So he decide to retaliate.

You'll remember the little green baby sweater I finished a few weeks ago. It's knit in our soon-to-be-released Big Cat (Worsted Superwash Merino). Every day this week, I've come home to find it in the living room.

Each day, I was sure I tucked it away in a box of other knit presents in the studio. Yet the next day I'd come home and it's back in the living room. Now, work has been pretty hectic, and I've been forgetting things and misplacing things left and right... so I pretty much assumed I was going crazy.

Until tonight... when the little striped turd went streaking by with the sweater in his mouth.

What.A.Brat!

I can retaliate too... there'll be no more sunning himself in the morning sun in the studio. The door is getting closed...

... and maybe...

...just maybe....

...if he's cute enough...

...I'll make him a blanket out of the second skein.

What's in a name? Part Two!

While we're on the topic of names, I'd like to talk a little more about pet names. Okay, mostly I want to show you the beautiful pictures of my cats I took the other day, and this way I won't look like that crazy cat lady...

Anyway, I know that many of you are like me. Your pets have "real names" but you rarely ever use them. They get called by their "nick names".

My cats have "show names" (even though they are far from show cats... and even if they were Tux is so fat, I'd have to register him as two cats!), "real names" and a whole slew of slowly evolving "nick names". It's a wonder they don't have multiple personality disorders.

So let's begin shall we?
SHOW NAME: Sir Tuxedo Thunderpaws
REAL NAME: Tux (this was the name the rescue gave him - I lengthened it to something more noble for his show name)
NICK NAMES: Bigbear, Bearcat, Bear,Tuxican, Chubby, Bubba, Bubbaloo, Bubsy, Chubalub, Chupachups, and lately Big Poppa. Dave refers to him as Fatty, Fattius Maxipuss, Faticus, Darth Fatter, Bobafat, Jabba the Fat (and he says he's not a Star Wars fan) and a slew of unbloggable names.SHOW NAME: Princess Jalapeno Shybaby
REAL NAME: Peno - pronounced Peen-yo (Jalapeno was the name the rescue gave her - I lengthened it for her show name and shortened it for her real name). When my niece was very young, she had trouble saying Jalapeno, it came out more like "How-ya-pee-in-yo" - Hilarious!
NICK NAMES: Bunnycat, Bunnybabes, Bunny, BunBun, Funnybun, Babesie, Beebee, Girly, Girlygirl, Sugarcat, Sugar and Princess. Dave doesn't have any nick names for Peno. I'm not sure why, but it's probably because she's not a trouble maker like the other two.
SHOW NAME: Rockster Weewiggles
REAL NAME: Rocky. He got this name because he has a very loud, gravelly purr - and I was watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the time. His show name evolved several weeks after.
NICK NAMES: Beanercat, Beaner, Beanbean, Beanie, Beaniepops, BooBoo, and Boo. Dave's names for Rocky are completely unbloggable, in fact the nicest one is "hey you, a$$hole in the cat suit!" Despite this, Rocky adores Dave. Dave adores him too, he just tries to hide it.

(Wow, so much for not looking like a crazy cat lady... that concept just went right out the window...)

Even other animals I know are not immune to having their name changed by me.
For mom's cats it's:
Russell - Russy, Ruffle and Ruffy. Ruffle came about because of my niece - she used to call him "wuffle".
Deuce - Doodles or Doodlecat. I used to call him DooDoo, but my niece gave me crap and said it wasn't nice then she told on me to my mom!
Mr. Tibbs - Mr. Tibbs is that Emporer Tiberius Felinicus I mentioned. Mostly I call him Nibbs, Nibbles, Nibbler or Nibsy.
Lady - Goggy, Stinky, and Stinkydinkydog (Edit: Mom pointed out in the comments that Lady has a show name too - it's "SassyLassyPainInTheAssy" and no, she's not really a show dog but that would be a wicked name if she was!)
My best friend's old dog Cybil was known to me as Snybil. And my grandma's Elvis is Smellvis.

Really though, you can't blame me. I blame my Dad (actually I blame him for a lot of the things that make me so weird). He rarely calls me Valerie. When I was a baby it was Chooch, then it was Pumpkin, but for most of my life... he's called me Poopface.

What nicknames have you given your pets/children?

What's in a name?

An impromptu dye session this afternoon and some recent comments sparked the topic for today's post.

I will admit, one of my favourite parts of dying yarn is naming the colourways.

I've always liked naming things. As a child I named a lot of our pets (no one else in the family would name a cat Kobiashi Thunderdaemon Satancat, Emperor Tiberius Felinicus or Rockster Weewiggles - though my niece did want to name her baby sister Sally Swimpants, so someone in the family understands my madness.)

Occasionally I'd get vetoed. For some reason no one liked the name Charles so...... he got named Russell.

When I go fishing with Dad, I have a tendency to name the fish we catch (but he says it's not right to name dinner) - the biggest fish I've ever caught is a 24-inch pike named Fred.

The very first angel fish Dave bought me were called Spot and Fluffy, and then he got me some gouramis named Jake and Elwood. When Spot and Fluffy died (probably of embarrassment) I got Othello and Desdemona.

My car is named Betty, and I talk to her like she's a real person (lately it's been "C'mon baby, you're a good girl, don't stall on me now)... but I digress.... we were talking about yarn names.

I think the yarn name is just as important as the colour itself. As Zoom mentioned in a previous comment, she is often influenced by the colour's name. I'll admit, often I am too. I have nail polish that I bought only because it was called "Baby" and all I could think was "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!" and I had to have it.

Some dyers limit themselves to a theme - Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga line is all bugs, Numma Numma is all food. Our yarn names are all over the place - I don't believe in limitations. People who know us well should be able to tell which one of us named it. Mom has a tendency to name colours after flowers or songs...
...such as Blue Jean Baby or...
...Sunflower

I have a bit of a penchant for the fantastic, so my names tend toward the mythical...
...such as Mermaid's Treasure. (Incidentally it seems I have a bit of a mermaid problem.. there has been Mermaid's Treasure, Mermaid's Tale, Mermaid's Lagoon and Mermaid's Fancy.... and Mermaid's Delight is drying right now.)

I'm not sure how it works for Mom, but sometimes I get a name before I even start dying, and decide to make something that works with it......that's how Aurora came to be.

Most of the time, something comes out of the dye pot and I name it instantly... the names just come to me, I can't explain how or why.

When mom's dying without me, I name things when I come to inspect (though sometimes she already has them named)......the minute I saw this one, I knew it had to be Pickle.

But sometimes... just as with Russell.... I still get vetoed......I wanted to call this one Troll Bogeys... we compromised with Grendel. (And it's still one of my favourites!)