It's a Sweater!

I'm back. I finally have a new camera, so I feel like I can really blog. I didn't realize I was so photo dependent!

Lately I've been working on a new sweater. Of course we all know how important it will be for me to have a new wool and alpaca sweater in July, which is probably when it will get done. However, that's irrelevant. The sweater needed knitting immediately. What can I say? You can't reason with knitting.

I have both the back and front done. One sleeve is also done, and the other is getting close. Here's what I have so far:

This is the front of the sweater. What you can't tell from this picture, is that the length from the armhole to the shoulder seems waaaayyy too long. Not sure what I'm going to do about that.

Here's the neckline. This is what drew me to the pattern in the first place.

And here's the sleeve. I had to shorten it some. I sure hope I did that right.

Now to finish up the other sleeve and face the terrifying makeing up. I hope it all works, because you never know when you'll need a heavy sweater in July!

PS I didn't bother to show the back, because it's boring.

Cats 101

Our Scottish Folds and I had quite an experience. Back in September, I got a phone call from someone from Animal Planet. They were doing a series called Cats 101, and they had heard that my Folds teach my class. What started as a few shots and an interview ended up as three really cool people coming to school at about 11:00 am, staying there until 6:00 pm, then coming to our house until the cats decided it was bedtime at about 9:15. The result was a really cool segment on the show which first aired in December, and continues to pop up when I least expect it.

Here are some scenes from Cats 101:

The Guys playing on the stairs. They sure thought that camera man was nuts to watch them for so long!

Mikey was described has having round cheeks. I guess that goes along with his nickname "Squirrel".
Yes, Duncan does need a bib when he eats. He's rather sloppy!

DK was the purr boy. The funny thing is that he was the worst behaved on that day, but they made him look like the perfect cat. He always comes out smelling like a rose!

Cats 101 was fun, but I'm glad it's over. The cats are back to their regular jobs teaching second graders. They like that, because their pictures do all the work. Hmm, too bad that doesn't work for humans!

Providence Wintertime Farmers' Market

Here in RI, the Farmers' Market moves inside for the winter. The winter location is about two minutes from our house, but until this weekend, I'd never been there. I meant to go, I wanted to go, I intended to go, but it never happened. Yesterday was finally the day. Of course there wasn't much produce in March, but there sure were lots of other cool things.

I picked up some of the best feta cheese on earth from:

http://www.richeeses.com/.

The mozzarella and ricotta I got from them was awesome too.

Then there was the bread from:

http://www.farmfresh.org/food/member.php?fn=22.

Oh man! We got sourdough raisin and walnut and Italian bread. Yum!

There was even some yarn there, although I was a good girl and didn't buy any. Now if it had been alpaca, I might not have resisted. Thankfully, the alpaca people weren't there. I guess that's a good reason to go back! Or maybe it's a good reason not to go back. Gotta think about that!

http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=29

$23.70 Room Re-do

(Before I start, please forgive the quality of the pics in this post. Our digital camera is beyond repair, so I took them with my ancient cell phone.)

Our spare bedroom, also doubles as my craft area and yarn stash storage. It's kind of "my territory", and Don has the entire basement workshop for his. I was sick and tired of the room looking so yucky, so I decided to re-do it. Only problem: money! There was no way I could justify spending a whole bunch of money at list point in our budgetary lives, so I set a limit of $30. I only ended spending $23.70! Here's what I did:

1. Declutter! Mostly old books and dusty cat show ribbons. Cost: $0

2. Wash hardwood floor. Cost: $0 (I used white vinegar from my shelf.)

3. Buy 2 on sale pillow forms from Joanns. Cost: $6.59

4. Tea dye quilt with tea already on hand. Cost: $0

5. Buy two- 1/2 yard cuts and one 1 yard cut of Thimbleberry's fabrics from RYCO to match the throw rug in the room. Cost: 14.96

6. Buy 1 yd ribbon from Lorraine Mill. Cost: $1.34

7. Recover lamp shade.

8. Cut apart an old throw pillow to get the "guts".

9. Make three new throw pillows.

10. Hem curtains to bottom of the window.

11. Make trim from leftover fabric and sew to bottom of valance.

Here are a couple of truely horrible pictures of the result!

Anybody know a good place to get a camera cheap?

It's me, Wally!

Hi, everyone, it's me! Wally! Mommy asked me to guest post here, and I think it's a great idea. As boss of this household, I can let you know all the good and bad things about my life with Mommy and Daddy. Here we go!



Good Stuff:



-I have three really cool little brothers, who know that I'm in charge. They're snuggly too.



-I get treats every night.

-Mommy pets me on demand. Daddy does too, if he's not busy will DK.

-We have zillions of cat beds.



Bad Stuff:



-My parents abandon me most days to go to work. Very sad.

-The vets. Yes, there are two of them, The Man With the Needles and The Lady Who Steals Teeth. I don't like them at all.

-The human's bed. It's too small. I need more space.


My life here can be pretty rough at times, but I love my Mommy, so I'm staying.

Thank You, Duncan!

I owe our youngest cat a big thank you. Duncan has Irritable Bowl Disease aka IBD. IBD is a treatable problem, and Duncan's had been controled with prescription food. He eats Royal Canin Green Pea and Lamb food. The only problem is that the dry variety is absolutely disgusting, so he's forced to eat canned. He's never been a canned kind of guy, even when he still lived with the breeders, so he really doesn't understand how it's done. Literally. The little guy smooshes the food into his plate, then can't get it off. We have to "fluff" his food several times to get him through a plate. Hence, my thank you. Since this is a prescription food, and should not be eaten by the other cats, Duncan eats upstairs in the spare bedroom. It got to be a bother to run up and down the stairs for fluffing duty, so I started staying up with him. Between fluffs, I started to quilt. Now I have a wallhanging done and a table runner at the quilting stage. (I'd post pictures, but the camera is broken!) I'd almost forgotten how much I love to quilt. Thanks, Dunc!