Weekend ended

Well, there was no thunder-boomer as I hoped. Just a lot of wind - I don't even think it rained overnight.

But the day was another beautiful, sunny one - though not quite as warm. I went to tackle the garden. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will remember that in my front garden, someone one long ago planted wild roses - otherwise know as "very pretty weeds".
If I don't hack (and I mean hack - think Rambo in the jungle with a machete) them back every year, my house will start to look like something out of Sleeping Beauty.

This is what it looked like when I went out this morning:(Notice foreman Rocky in the window supervising). Normally it's worse than that. I usually don't get to it until the beginning of May - but as I said before, you don't pass up weather like this.

And after what seemed like no time at all, it now looks like this:
(You'll notice foreman Rocky got bored and went for a nap).I also found some other sign of spring in the garden:That blue thing at the bottom left is my thumb - yep that snail is tiny! And there were lots of them. I put this one back in the garden where he could grow - or get eaten by a bird - c'est la vie!

There was some knitting too. I finished up another row on the Crackghan? And can you believe it is already almost halfway done?Check that out......a whopping 27 inches long!

Or to measure it another way...... its Rocky-sized!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter - instead of chocolate, Dave gave me his cold! Joy!

Mid weekend update

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend- here's a quick post on what we've been up to.

* We've had some great weather (almost 30 degrees Celsius) but now it feels like there is a storm rolling in. I hope is a big thunder-boomer!

* Dave is horribly sick, but secretly I think he's enjoying it because I've been babying him all weekend. And mom made him homemade turkey soup (left over from our Easter dinner yesterday). Of course, he's driving me crazy because he's also cranky as all hell.

* I finished Helena and some matching booties, but pictures will have to wait until I find the perfect buttons. This one is far too nice to just throw on any old buttons.

* Other knitting has included socks, and a little bit on Zetor. Will probably do some more on Zetor after posting.

* If the weather holds tomorrow, I'm going to get out and clean out the front garden. It's earlier than I usually do it - but hey when you live in Canada, you don't waste weather like this!

* I have no pictures of anything interesting, but since I hate posts without pics - here's a word from our sponsor:
"Happy Easter - Can I got back to bed now?"

Tales from the Road

I don't know about you - but my family has a thing for finding things on the road and bringing them home.

I think I get it from my Dad. Hats, utensils, tools (road tools are his favourite), chickens - he's brought them all home.

Yes, I said chickens. When I was a little girl my Dad came home one day with a chicken he found running down the side of the road. She was a Plymouth Rock and looked something like this:
I came home to find her running around our back porch. Dad had named her "Soup." I still, to this day, don't know if he was intending on actually eating her - I wouldn't put it past him, he's just that kind of guy (and we've eaten road kill deer) - but I wasn't having it, she was my new pet.

He built me a chicken coop out of an old wooden truck cap, and not long after, got me and Soup a couple more chicken friends. A little while later, he built a real chicken coop and we added to the brood. We kept chickens for several years until we had to move to the city, and then the chickens went to live at my grandparents.

But the city didn't stop the road pets. Mom brought home a baby goose one day and she got named Maple. We kept her safe for a few days then released it at Princess Point where there are literally hundreds of geese. Little Maple quickly found a home amongst the swimming families and soon you couldn't tell her apart from the others.

Her cat Russell is also a road creature, and he's not the only road cat we've had. When I was about six my dad came home with a tiny little black and white kitty tucked into the pocket of his parka - I named her Babe. There was also Rowdy, who was found at a convenience store, and River, who was found on the banks of the Grand River when my parents were fishing. (I guess she doesn't qualify specifically as a road cat, but its close enough...)

I personally have found costume jewellry, the occasional bit of money (more than just lucky pennies), and tennis balls for the dog.

I even have road spoons in my drawer. I once found a steak knife on the road but I left it where it was. Knowing my old neighbourhood it might have been used in the commission of a crime. And I tend to stay away from road socks, because that's just gross.

But today on my lunchtime walk I found something different:
Meet Percy the Road Whale. He was lying all alone on the curb by work, so I picked him up and tucked him in my pocket. I'm going to clean him up and let him marinate in the cat nip container for a week or two. He's the perfect size for a toy for Rocky.

What have you brought home from the road lately?

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.