Valerie of  Wandering Cat Studio and her Mom of KnitObsession, started to dye yarns a few months ago and opened an Etsy shop – Wandering Cat Yarns.  I read both their blogs and was excited for them about the shop – and then when I went to check it out – sigh…so nice.  I love their yarn and have bought a couple of skeins (and I’ve sent Larry a list of a couple of other skeins that would be nice for Christmas!).    

The other day I got an email from Valerie – she sent me her pattern for Berry Hill socks as a gift.  How nice is that?  I was really touched  – and happy since I knew I was starting a pair of socks this week.   So I found the yarn, started them up and….

These socks are flying!  This is a great pattern, and its one of those patterns that just seems to go fast.  I started these Friday morning, and I’m halfway down the foot – not bad for me since the last socks took me weeks and weeks to make.  I think I’ll have the pair down by next weekend.  The pattern is a cuff down – I haven’t done that in a while so it was sort of an adjustment (pick up the stitches?  what?) but I suppose its good to have balance – some toe up, some cuff down.  I actually think I could do these toe up, but wanted to knit them as written the first time.    The pattern is available on Ravelry - I know its going to be one of those that I make over and over.

I love the pointy cuff – so pretty!  The yarn is Claudia Hand Paint Fingering weight – I bought it a few years ago to make a chevron scarf, but frogged it when I just couldn’t stand the project anymore.  I think this is a better use of the yarn – very pretty socks! 

I have been using a small project bag for my commute knitting.  I love the bag – its so tiny and fits well into my briefcase.  The only problem is that its so tiny.  If I have a large ball of yarn, or am almost finished a sock, there isn’t a lot of room.  And I have to really angle and fight to get the needles in – which always results in stitches off the needles.  So I decided to look for something a little bigger.  I found it on Wednesday, and ordered it – and it was here by Friday – amazing! 

This is from Piddleloop - isn’t it nice?  Its a little larger than I expected, but I think it will still be fine for my briefcase.   Its 9″ long, 7″wide and is very roomy.  I used it yesterday, and had plenty of spare room after I put my sock in.  I think this could hold a large ball of yarn, a sock, or a scarf or cowl.  Its really nice, and I’m glad I decided to get a new one.  I have my eye on a couple of their other bags – very nice shop!

Life with Penny is starting to get a little less crazy – we are starting to train her and define some boundaries.  We really need to figure out a way to have her stop hassling the cats, but she’s learning that biting us is “no” and that going to the bathroom outside is “very good!”.  She is so much fun, and such a cutie.  And her ears are standing up now!

Don’t let that sweet face fool you!  What happened right after this was Larry put her down and she raced around like a maniac for 5 minutes, harrasing Ruby and the cats.  She’s learned to not harass Duncan – he is the alpha dog, and he has no problem telling her that.  He’s also the grumpy old dog that is still recovering from knee surgery so we don’t let her harass him often.

We went to Westfield (NJ) yesterday – I wanted to go to one of my favorite places yesterday – Trader Joe’s.  Have you ever been to one?  Such a great store – and we bought an amazing bottle of wine for $6!  After we filled our bags with some really good food and wine, we went over to Crumbs and got some cupcakes (so bad for me, but soooo good!).    I even popped into Knit-a-bit to see what it was like (I was there less than 5 minutes – its small, but they were really friendly).  I love Westfield.  Larry and I are starting to think about what we want to do once all the kids move out – this is a big house for two of us with a lot of upkeep.   We have been talking about moving closer to NY so my commute isn’t as long – and I think we are going to put Westfield on the list of places we are going to look a little closer at.  Its such a cute town, with a great downtown, beautiful houses, and it would cut my commute from 2.5 hours to 45 minutes.  We have a little while to wait on this – but always good to start thinking about things!

Its going to be a nice day here – warm and sunny.  We are planning on taking the dogs for a nice long walk so we can get some Penny energy out.  Then its just relaxing and knitting.    I’m halfway through a Christmas present, but it will be hard to put down the socks and work on that.  I love projects that I can’t put down, don’t you?

Have a great Sunday!

It has been a while, hasn’t it?  I don’t think I’ve ever taken such a long break from blogging before – and it wasn’t intentional.  I simply forgot what having a puppy was like.  If I sit down to do anything, she gets into trouble.  Or wants to be picked up.  Or eats a power cord.  Or chases a cat.  Or pees on the floor.   I really forgot what puppies do, and how destructive they can be (last night she found a handknit sock and was chewing on it – definitely bad dog!)  Its a big deal to us if we actually can follow what is going on with a TV show because we miss so much of it!  It is a very good thing she’s cute. 

It speaks to my lack of free time at night that this took me over a week to make, but I finally finished it this morning (and I’m ignoring Penny to post this – she’s terrorizing Ruby right now – sorry Ruby but sometimes you have to take the hit for the blog…)

OK, I just realized the above picture looks like she’s squatting – but she isn’t – she’s eating a treat.  Because the only way we could get her to stop trying to eat the sweater was to eat something else. 

Pattern:  Penny from Knitty.com
Yarn:  Debbie Bliss Merino Aran, 85 yards
Started:  October 23, 2009
Finished:  October 31,2009

I know – Debbie Bliss Merino Aran.  For a dog.  It speaks to how spoiled this dog is going to be – I looked through my stash for the yarn.  I wanted it to be wool so it would keep her warm, and handle getting wet.  And the only yarn I had in a remotely good color was this.  I did have some Cascade 220 – but it was black or blue.  Definitely not a good color for a baby girl!    I briefly thought about going to buy something, but really wanted to use stash yarn.   

I bought this yarn on sale a while ago  – I have 850 yards – not enough to do much other than hats or scarves, so I think this was ultimately a good use.  I’m already planning on making her another one in a bigger size when she gets older  – this one only took one ball, so I have plenty to go.  I’m also going to make Ruby a sweater too – they would be really cute in matching sweaters.  I may also make a hat or cowl for me with the rest – I really enjoyed working with the yarn, and love the feel of it in the finished object (and no, it doesn’t say crazy dog owner to have us all be in matching stuff!)

The pattern is very straightforward – I have no excuse for taking so long to make it other than I had like 5 minutes a night to knit.  It is knit flat, and then seamed under the belly – I can’t say that I did a very good job at that, but I haven’t seamed anything in a long time.  I wasn’t pleased with it, but not enough to rip it out and do it again – but next time I’ll have to work a little harder to make it look nice all the way down the seam.  I don’t think Penny will notice, though!  I think I will also add a little more in length to the next one – I couldn’t wait for this one to be done so adding more would have been torture – but looking at it I think she could use about another inch. 

She really has been a handful – but such a joy as well.  Her ears started standing up this week – so cute!  She’s settled in well for the most part, but she doesn’t like the crate at night, so she sleeps with Larry and I.  And last night we had a big breakthrough – she allowed the cats to also sleep on the bed.  She also learned how to bark, and loves to bark at everyone.  Even me. 

How can I ever resist that face?

On the non-Penny side of my life – its been a long couple of weeks.   I’ll give highlights – Parenting has been a challenge lately, and a worry – and I don’t know that its going to stop anytime soon.  Work has been ridiculously busy, and there is an increased level of anxiety in the group – I guess it’s year end, and uncertainty about next year, but everyone is so dark  there (someone in the group calls it the three D’s – dread, depression and despair – does that tell you what its like?)  and it’s hard to work in a place where no one is happy and everyone is stressed out.   My family (siblings/mother) are completely crazy, and I’m to the point when I’ve officially checked out.    I’m done with it all – its amazing to me that no matter how old we are, people revert to the roles we had growing up, and still try to play to being the favorite.  Uck.   

Anyway, you didn’t come here to hear about my problems, so I’ll leave on a high note!  My LYS, Angelfire Studios (Rav group), got a shipment of Madeline Tosh sock yarn in last week.  I’m heading there today to check it out (I hope she has some left!).    I’ve heard such good things about this yarn, and I’m hoping to use it for a another Pretty Thing.    I think working on small projects is the best thing right now, and something that I can put down in an instant (when I have to rescue <<insert anything here>> from Penny).

I also haven’t been reading blogs so I’m very behind.  But I’m planning on a quiet afternoon at home tomorrow, and will get caught up – I miss seeing what everyone is up to!    We aren’t doing anything for Halloween .  We live in too remote of an area to get any trick or treaters, and no one is going to be home (we are going to my sister’s for dinner, and Cieara is going out with a friend, Dan is going out to an all day/night party).  So it doesn’t seem very Halloween-ish to me.  I miss the days of taking kids out, and watching their excitement about their costumes, and at getting all that candy.     I think its the hardest thing about kids getting to be adults – you miss all the fun kid holiday stuff. 

If you are celebrating Halloween, or helping your kids celebrate, have a great time – and of course, have a great weekend!

No knitting content today, and if you are tired of puppy posts, then you shouldn’t continue on.  But I had to do a post about Penny because I just had to share a little bit…

We picked her up yesterday on the way home from a family wedding in Indiana – she was really overwhelmed at first in the car, but finally settled down in Cieara’s fleece blanket and took a nice long nap.  We stopped a couple of times for her on the way, but she just plopped in the grass and didn’t know quite what to do.  When we got home she explored everything and everyone.   She’s been chasing Ruby (Cairn terrier) and even wanted in the pen with Duncan to sleep (Duncan is in a playpen recovering from surgery).  She got tangled in the fireplace tools and ended up with soot all over her leg.  This morning we bathed her and she looks a little bit better now (and smells much better!).

She is such a cutie, and is such a lapdog when she finally stops playing.  We had a great first night we her – she went in the crate next to our bed, and passed out.  Larry took her out once in the night, but that was it.  I don’t expect that we’ll be that lucky any other night, but it was good to get at least one nights sleep!   We took her to the vet today, and she weighs 5.5 pounds and everything was ok. 

She is so much fun – and very smart.  She learned how to play fetch today (I’m thinking that teaching her this so early is going to mean that she will be an obsessive fetch dog just like Ruby, but its too late now!).    Its sort of like a baby – so cute and playful and cuddly that you want to wake them up from naps to play with you some more! 

She is going to be one spoiled dog – everyone is playing with her and petting her and I think she’s going to adjust just fine (of course, we are making sure everyone else is getting attention too!).  She’s a little young to housebreak (2 months) but we are starting to do what we can.  If anyone has suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

I got a lot of knitting done on the car ride – I finished a sock and started another.  It was so much continuous knitting time that I sort of got tired of knitting (I really got tired of being in the car!).   I’m working on the second sock now, but considering starting another small project.   The socks are sort of eternal (large feet!), and I think it would be nice to break them up with a hat or cowl.   Or a dog sweater (do you think the name is a sign?)

OK, off to play with Penny!  Have a great week!

Well, this really isn’t a good picture, and it doesn’t look like a pretty little thing…but its done and I wanted to get it posted.

  

 My normal model, Cieara, is being completely uncooperative.  I have no idea why she doesn’t want to model things for my blog at 5:00 a.m.  She’s up, right?  She was very grouchy at the suggestion, and suggested that I use a cat (I thought about it but this is cashmere lace – I don’t think that’s something that should be combined with cats).  So sorry for the bad picture, and hopefully I’ll be able to post something next time showing it in the daylight, and on a model.

OK, for specifics:

Pattern:  Pretty Thing
Yarn:  Jade Sapphire Silk/Cashmere 2-ply, colorway Blueberries and Plums
Started:  October 8, 2009
Finished:  October 13, 2009

This is a great pattern, and I really enjoyed it.  The pattern is interesting, but this is still great TV knitting.  I’ve already bought more yarn to make another as a gift this Christmas.  I like how its pretty close fitting – the other cowls I have are looser, and I think it will be nice to have something that fits a little more snuggly.    I love the yarn – I’m so glad that I have enough to make something else with it – I think I probably have about 350 yards left.   I also think I”ll be buying more of the yarn – it was so nice to knit with, and I love the finished product.

Larry just walked by with a suitcase – I think that’s my cue that its just about time to leave.  We are driving today to Indiana for my nephew’s wedding.  It should be a long day – and the forecast is calling for snow across the region.  Super.    I’ve brought two knitting projects with me (fair isle vest and socks), and I think I’m going to get a lot done! 

We pick up Penny on the way home on Sunday  – we are very excited and looking forward to the chaos a new puppy will bring to the house.   This is the last picture we got  – she is so cute!  We’ve been giving the other two dogs a lot of attention, but I think their world is going to change drastically – no more sleeping all the time!

 OK, I really should go – gotta pack the car and get the grouchy model moving.  Have a great weekend!

I’ve had this finished for over a week but I finally bought a button yesterday and sewed it on last night.  So this is officially done  – and Cieara was nice enough to model it for me while she ate her dinner.

Pattern:  Indian Summer
Yarn:  Black Woods Farm Alpaca Sport Weight
Started:  September 30, 2009
Finished:  October 2, 2009

I loved this pattern - very well written, interesting to make and I love the button.  This is a little big on Cieara, but fits me well.  I really enjoyed the pattern, and am already planning on making another one.

I used alpaca sportweight that I bought on vacation in Maine a couple of years ago – its very soft and was very much like handspun.  It was really nice to use stash yarn – I’m trying hard to do that, and love these small projects that help use one or two skeins of special yarn.    I think I was supposed to block the hat, but I don’t see the point – it never holds and I think it looks ok without blocking.

All in all, I am really pleased with the hat – cute pattern, great yarn – and a very fast knit.  And it couldn’t be better timing – we are heading to Indiana this weekend for a wedding and its supposed to be cold – so I’ll be bringing this along!

I love fall – this is my favorite time of year, and we had a great weekend.  We went apple picking  – I’ve never been and it was amazing!  If you haven’t gone, you should.  We bought so many apples we will have them for a while, but they are so good it was hard to resist.  We tried a lot of varieties, most new to us, and it is amazing how different apples can taste.    Larry made me an amazing cake – if you like chocolate cake, I recommend this recipe – it was gone by the next day.

And Cieara made something today…little mini cupcakes!  I can’t wait for dessert tonight (and I’m going to have to walk every day to work it all off!).

I’m just about done with the cowl – I was really busy this weekend, and had less time than planned for knitting.  But I’m just about done – and already bought the yarn to make another one as a gift.  Great pattern!

OK, off to knit – have a good week!