Fur, baby!

I love fur... like really, really love it! I won't get into the ethical side of it, but I will say - faux fur has come such a long way... and fashion has really taken notice the last few seasons. And despite our little heatwave this week, winter is on its way and I just want to wrap myself in fluffy, scrumptious fur!

In fact I have been... at least when the cat will share....

I found this fabulous fur throw in the home section of my grocery store a few weeks ago... and Tux and I have been fighting over it ever since.

I was in need of a new pair of sturdy winter boots, and I found these at one of my favourite clearance sites

The tops can be worn up or folded down... of course I'm wearing them down to show off that fantastic fur lining (which is all the way through the boot!)

And In other fabulous furry footwear...

I'd been pining for these fur-lined Croc clogs for a few months now... and then a fur weeks ago,  I got an email... all Crocs on sale - half price! You didn't need to tell me twice! They arrived this week and while I don't even remotely need new shoes, I'm so glad I bought these.. sooooo comfortable!

Oh... and I have these boots I bought way back in the summer (I'm always thinking ahead..)

 .. and these ones too

(Just in case you were wondering, neither of those really count as "winter" boots like the first pair does... they aren't great for the snow... they are more like "cold weather boots")

I'm still waiting for this little fur-bearing  beauty to arrive...

.. its coming from one of those dicey sites in China, so the jury is out on whether it will match up on sizing... but it was ridiculously inexpensive, and If I don't like it, I have a few small people on my Christmas list who would love it.

And even though I have all these wonderful fur things, I keep thinking of other ways to incorporate fur into my wardrobe... I do need a new winter coat... I wonder if I can find one like Claire's on Outlander...

... probably not... oh well... a girl can dream...

Friday felines

"And you wonder why I barf on your stuff..."

Little finish, little start

I managed to finish up one project, albiet not one of the big ones.

Aneesha's Christmas sock are done! I wanted to ensure they'd be mismatched, so I started the second sock from the opposite end of the ball.. so the colour pattern on that one is backwards. I'm quite pleased with the result.

And while I should be working on one of the bigger projects now...

I just want to work on little ones. In this case.. ankle socks for Dave's Mom for Christmas. The yarn is some left over Collinette Jitterbug I stole off Mom years ago. I have two of those little cakes, and it should be just enough to squeak out some ankle socks for Dave's Mom (who's feet are even smaller than mine!)

I've got a couple other small things on my Christmas list, so I'm thinking I'll get them out of the way.. then I can focus on the bigger ones... yeah.. that might work....

Living in the jungle

Well, we haven't gotten a full frost yet, but it's been steadily cold enough that I brought all the remaining movable plants indoor. (though this week shot back up to summer temps). Dave keeps muttering about living in a jungle, but I quite like it. And besides, there's no guarantee it will last all winter.. we all know I could kill everything by then.

The Nasturtiums seem to be enjoying it

Just look at this pretty bloom

I do hope this one lasts for a while longer at least.

Over in the little faerie garden, the wooly thyme is doing something interesting

The ends of all the vines are throwing up these new tender sprouts... I guess it's happy.

The Kalanchoe isn't quite as happy as it was outside

The flowers are no longer the vibrant pink they were, but it's still blooming so I guess that's ok.

The mini rose has had a much tougher time

It came in the form of spider mites. I think I got rid of them, but by the time I was done, much of the plant was dead and brown. I cut it all back, and I'm hoping these few green stalks will flourish again.

Much to the cats' delight, the cat nip was brought in as well

Like the rose, it's seen better days (thanks to all the neighbourhood felines who came by for a nibble), but there's a fair bit of new growth in there too

Here's hoping it's going to be a very green winter.

Creeping green

Still can't seem to find my knitting groove... so I did the inevitable. I cast on for another project.

This is the almost completed yoke of a heavily modified version of Baby Ruched. I'm pretty much copying the modifications of Raveler Wychfingers. It's going to be a first birthday present for my coworker's little one. She's a California baby, so I wanted something light and fun and modern. I think this fits the bill.

I dove deep into the stash and came up with a skein of Sanguine Gryphon Eidos for it. I have no idea what the colourway is (it came from a kit that Mom got in a swap years ago, and there was no label), but it's a lovely deep green with lighter touches of yellow. That deep green has one downside though...

If I work with it too long, I start looking like I'm turning into the wicked witch of the west.  Sadly, I've had this problem with other Gryphon yarns too.  Not the end of the world, but this one is going to need a good long rinse before I send it off. No one wants a green baby!

The end of this mermaid's tale...

The Undine KAL has come to a close and yesterday, we announced grand prize winner of the Undine KAL is Dee of Tangled Up in Sticks and String!!!!

Dee won a beautiful skein of Barn Cat (self-striping) in “Mermaid Party) along with a matching mini-skein for heels and toes, a Mermaid-themed Kitten Kaboodle project bag...

...and matching mermaid stitch markers...

Since we had so many great entries, we also added two runner-up prizes, consisting of $20-off at the shop. The winners of those prizes are elns and jatshaw!

And, as a thank-you to everyone who entered , I’m offeredup one free Wandering Cat pattern from now until November 15…and I'm extending that offer to my blog readers as well....  just use the code Undinethankyou at checkout.

Thanks again everyone!!!!

No saints here...

My camera was being fussy in the dark last night, so I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted...but it was a great Hallowe'en night with my bestie Samantha and her family...

Black kitties were snuggled for luck...

...and to protect me from the demons and spirits masquerading as candy-fuelled children...

... once safely home, the loot was inspected...

...and re-inspected...

... and thoroughly enjoyed...

Hope all your little monsters had a good one too!