When it rains... it pours...

I haven't really mentioned it, but the last few weeks have been a wee bit stressful around Chez Wandering Cat.

A couple weeks back, I was leaving the mall, and Stella didn't want to start. I got her towed home, Dave determined the starter was pooched, got a rebuilt one, and a day or two later, set to work on replacing it. That starter didn't work right, so he exchanged it... but had the same problem. After discussing it, we decided to order one directly from the Chrysler dealership.

Of course, the day it came in (this past Saturday), the water pump went on Dave's car. So while he was fixing his car, I went on a long walk to the dealership and back with a 15 lb starter... in the rain.

Sadly, that starter didn't work either. We finally gave up and decided to let the professionals figure it out. I booked her an appointment with the mechanic at the dealership for Tuesday.

Monday night, I got a text from Dave... his alternator went and he was stuck on the side of one of the most dangerous highways in Southern Ontario. A tow truck was coming, so he just had to sit tight.

With no working car myself, I could do nothing but sit and wait for another text or call that the car was towed and he was safe. Thank Maude for knitting....

While I waited,  I finished the foot on the first Jaywalker sock. It was the perfect thing to sooth my nerves until I heard from him again.

Now all is well with his car (for now) and we await news on Stella. Hopefully that's the last of the automotive mishaps for a while... that or the second Jaywalker is going to knit in record time!

FO: Bosnian Booties and a hat for Corvin

As I showed you yesterday, I started on a hat to go with the Corvin cardigan. The temps have dropped substantially, so it didn't seem right that the November baby didn't have something to keep his head warm too.

Nothing fancy  - just a little twist in every other rib around the brim, and plain stocknit for the rest. It knit up in an evening.  I'll include it in the pattern for the cardigan when it's released.

Once complete, there was still plenty of yarn left, so I went in search of a cute bootie pattern

These are the Bosnian Booties - they remind me of little moccasins. They knit up super quick - just a few hours - and were the perfect thing to round out the set.

Now I've just to get it all wrapped up. Dave's students bring the little Corvin along for their lesson. He chills in his carrier while Mom and Dad practice the strumming.

Finding order in chaos

While I'm on vacation this week, there's not much plan to kick back and rest. I've got lots to do around the house - in a way, I guess I'm "nesting" - trying to get the house in order before winter sets in. One of the main things I need to do is finally organize the studio, once and for all. It's not just so I can get in there and finish my coworker's baby quilt, but also because there are still unpacked boxes in therefrom when we moved in almost four years ago.

And of course, it's become a bit of a dumping ground, because it's one of those rooms where I can just toss things in and close the door. As a result.....

Yikes! Now it's not a job that I can tackle in one day (well I could, but my ADD makes it difficult). So I'm breaking it down into smaller jobs and spreading it out over the week. By the time I get back to work on the 28th, I'm hoping it will be an oasis of organization.

While these two slumbered away the afternoon...

I started on the Aegean task yesterday.  I tackled the easiest (and most fun) - re-organizing the yarn. There's some sign of moth activity, so as I reorganized, everything got sprayed with lavender oil, and bagged up.

Now everything is nice, tidy, and protected from those little winged eaters. Of course, playing in all that yummy yarn made me want to spend the rest of the afternoon casting on all the things!!!!

Instead, I settled for a hat to go with Corvin and use up some of the leftover yarn

But more on that later...

FO & Yarn Review: Knit Night Hat and Gloves in Noro Kureyon

At the end of October, I was contacted by a representative from Yarn Canada (an online supplier located in Vancouver, BC). They were offering up three balls of Noro Kureyon in exchange for a yarn review here on the blog.

Free yarn? Why not! So I picked out a colour and sat back to wait. 

The yarn arrived on Thursday, and you know I just had to cast on that night. I didn't have a lot of experience with Noro... I've only knit with it once before, and that was with Silk Garden. On first inspection, the Noro seemed very rough - especially after all the fine yarns I'm use to handling.

But it wasn't so much rough... as rustic. It's a single ply, spun a little thick and thin, but unlike other similar weight single ply yarns I've used (like Mochi Plus), it was more compacted - almost felted. That will help it against pilling (a major downside of single ply yarns.)

Because of it's texture, I was curious how itchy it would be. So I stuck a ball down my shirt to find out. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad.

Now it was time to get knitting. The pattern I chose to showcase the yarn was Knit Night Hat...

... and Knit Night Gloves...

(Details of my minor mods are on my Rav page) The rough, uneven texture and graduated striping of the yarn was nicely showcased in both the simple slip-stitch patter at the bands, and the plain stockknit throughout.

The Noro wasn't bad to knit with - it didn't have the bounce of a highly spun merino, but other than a tendency to be a little sticky on my wooden needles, it wasn't hard on the hands.

While my experience with Noro wasn't vast, I've heard other knitters, and the two biggest complaints I've heard is knots and veggie matter. Only one of my three balls had knots (there were two), and while there was some veggie matter, it was easy enough to pick out as I came across it. My biggest complaint was how the yarn compared to the colour card I chose it from.
This is the swatch on the website for Colour 170 I chose...

Now, I expect some difference in shades (computer monitors all display colours differently), but as you can see....

The yarn is predominately teal and burgundy. The hat used a ball and a half, and went through the colour sequence almost twice. There's no purple, very little yellow and no orange - which changes the look considerably.

But aside from that. It was a quite enjoyable yarn to work with. It's perfect for hats and mitts. This set is quite toasty.  I know lots of people  have made afghans from Noro, and I can see the appeal - it would make one snuggly warm blanket. The striping nature of the yarn keeps even the simplest knit interesting, because you want to knit "just one more stripe" and watch the colour emerge.

Noro comes in a wide range of colourways, (it was hard to choose when the offer came up) so really, the project opportunties are almost endless. I imagine the Kureyon would felt well too!

While I haven't ordered from Yarn Canada yet, I plan to. It's nice to have a supplier that offers yarn in Canadian dollars (and with free shipping over $35).  I'd like to thank them for the yarn, and the opportunity to provide this review to you!

This set is going into the Christmas box, but I like that hat so much, I think I'm going to have to make another one!

WTF? It is November, right?

Yesterday I stepped outside to fill the bird feeder, and couldn't believe my eyes.... well skin really.... it wasn't cold.

In fact, it was down right warm! I checked the thermometre... 19 C (about 66 F for my American friends). This time last year, we had snow. So far, I haven't seen a flake this year.... and it feels like summer. Did Ontario suddenly shift south, and we just didn't notice?

The signs of frost are evident in the greenery, but with balmy days, there's still quite a bit hanging in there. Blue Girl, the most delicate of my roses is still pushing up buds

Popcorn Drift, which lives directly below Blue Girl, seems to prefer the cooler weather. She's been non-stop blooms since late September

I'm not normally a fan of shrub roses, but I do love my little Popcorn.

Like Popcorn, the Blanket Flower doesn't seem to quit.

Neither do the raspberries. They are smaller, and fewer... but they are still there!

The idea of raspberries in late November still boggles my mind. But there they are!


And speaking of surprising...

The Pincushion flower stopped blooming ages ago. Or so I thought!

And the Snapdragons...

I think they may have more blooms on them now than they did all summer!!!

I'm finally on vacation, so I can finish getting the yard ready for the winter. If it ever comes....

Friday felines

My two little feline peas in their pod

They are so well matched, that if I get another cat*, I think I have to get a solid black one, or a calico... just to keep the colour coordination!


* I am keen on the idea.... Dave, not so much. But give me time... I will convince him.

Cheeky squirrel

Mr. Squirrely McSquirrelpants has been back almost every day.

And he's no longer content to eat the seed that the birds toss out.

Rupert and I spent a good half hour admiring his acrobatics

He may look plump, but he's pretty darn agile.

I'm not surprised really, I've seen these little guys scale the bricks on our house with ease.

Though yesterday's antics were pretty darn impressive

And he did show us that he is in no uncertain terms....

... a "Mr." Squirrel.