The Weaving Inn

The Random Number Generator ...

2009-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

... has spoken and the number it chose was 9! Also known as Alwen! Alwen, if you would be so kind as to email me your mailing address to Sakkasie@hotmail.com I will get your yarn into the mail post haste! Wasn't that an exciting contest? Well ... sort of.

Not nearly as exciting though as the Rattie Ratz Rescue adoption fair which was this past Saturday. And of course I came home with more ratties. But, these were ones that I had already reserved so it's not like it was a spontaneous rat purchase. Although I did change ratties once I had a look at them.

This is Celeste who was born Aug. 29th. I had originally planned to get a ratlet that looks a lot like Bella but the little rattie was very timid and I didn't know how well she'd fare with my crew. Celeste on the other is an in your face, cleaning your teeth, gobbling up anything in sight kind of girl. I'm quite smitten. The other new rattie is Dottie, who was formerly known on this blog as "Peep." She's another black hooded dumbo but she is very, very, very tiny. Being the runt of the litter and all. How small is she? She's able to bury under the cage bedding and become quite invisible. Pictures of the wee one once she's a bit braver.

Tomorrow - actual knitting content!

The Formerly Saturday Now Friday Contest

2009-10-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

I forgot to have a contest last Saturday. I suck. But it seems to me that not many people read blogs on the weekend. So this week we'll have a Friday contest. As in "today is the contest." There's no point in making you guess how many squares I've crocheted since the last contest because the answer is NONE. I think I may be temporarily "squared out." So if you'd like to win this lovely prize ...

... just leave a comment. Any comment will do. Except for "April, you have too many rats so stop adopting already." What? You can't figure out what the prize is from this obviously stolen picture? The prize is three balls of Jo Sharp Silk Road Tweed DK. Which is 85% wool, 10% silk and 5% cashmere. In the "Cocoa" colorway. A total of 441 yards (I used my calculator to figure that out). That should be enough to make a scarf or a little shawl or something. If you like brown tweed scarves.

Were we just talking about rats? I think we were. Now I know we've already seen a sort of picture of Sophie but we haven't seen any REAL pictures. And we haven't seen Bella yet. Therefore, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you "The Squirmlings"!

Here is a picture of Sophie eating some baby food. Organic chicken and pasta stars even. She likes to dig through it and pick out the carrots. I adore Sophie. No really, I ADORE HER. When she runs her little tail curls into a circle and she looks like a race car. She's very diligent about cleaning my ears every night and likes to play in my hair.

It's Bella Boo! My Olympic athlete rat. If Bella could enter the long jump, she would win gold every time. She's not a big squish like Sophie but still very lovable. They make a good pair, Bella is extremely smart, Sophie runs into walls.

And just a reminder, you have just 15 more days until the "April Has Lost Her Mind" contest comes to an end. All the details can be found here ... CONTEST!

Excuses, Excuses

2009-10-14T14:04:00.001-07:00

OK, so we'll just forget about me participating in Blogtober '09. I may still redeem myself by participating in National Novel Writing Month next month but don't hold your breath. Or you might be dead.

Rats. I have an apartment full of rats. Four today, with two more being added on Saturday. That makes six. I think. You wouldn't think that tiny little rodents could take up so much time. BUT THEY DO.

I'm still trying to convince Phil that people are OK and that if he comes out of his cage he won't be killed. He has a tendency to squeal like a pig when I pick him up. Most disconcerting. Sophie and Bella, The Rats On Crack, need constant supervision when they're in the bathroom (also known as The Rat Playroom). I generally sit on the floor under the towel rack. Which Bella quite likes because then she can run up my arm, jump on my head, climb up a towel and run along the towel rack. Except last night I found her swinging from the picture ABOVE the towel rack. Sophie likes to jump off the back of the toilet and into the garbage can. The other night she came out with a sanitary napkin stuck to her head. See what I mean? Constant supervision. Luckily Spike has graduated to having play time by himself so now he gets to hang out in the bathroom by himself from 11pm to 7am.

A very nice person at work gave me a crock pot that kinda looks like one above (I'm a little short on pictures today, sorry). I managed to make watery chili that was overcooked yesterday. My, my, don't I love dried out ground beef. How you can have dried out ground beef in watery tomato sauce is quite beyond me but that's how I roll with everything I've made in the crock pot. So I have come to this conclusion. Either a) there really is some magical incantation one must perform when using the crock pot or b) people who use crock pots have no sense of taste. I just don't know.

Blogtober Day 7

2009-10-07T21:25:00.001-07:00

The ratties are livin' large at Chez Insanity.

This Rat Thing?

2009-10-06T21:51:00.001-07:00

Totally out of control. Beyond out of control. I have become, in a little less than two months, the crazy rat lady. I see the words, "Free With Cage" and I lose all control.

Maybe I'm becoming a rat hoarder. This particular cage, which I got today, happened to come with two female dumbo babies. Well four months old or so. Still pretty tiny.

This is half of Sophie. Sophie is on crack. The only time she stops moving is to sleep. In the car on the way home tonight she went back and forth, back and forth across the top of her cage. UPSIDE DOWN. Her counterpart, Bella, is much more sedate. Or perhaps sharing a cage with Sophie wears her out.

So for those of you keeping count, that makes four. We'll talk about the babies coming next week when they arrive.

Six. That's not too many. Is it? Is it??

And The Winner Is ...

2009-10-05T21:38:00.001-07:00

... my wonderful friend, Knitcoach, with her guess of 25 squares. Which is very nice for me because it gives me an excuse to see her! Yes, blog fans, a RL friend has won the contest and no, it wasn't rigged. Come back again this Saturday for Contest #2 Within A Contest!

Great Googly Moogly, it's not a dishcloth and it's not a square. It's a ... sock! Oddly enough, I have grown a little bored with knitting things that become squares. I started on this sock about a month ago, maybe more? It is a frightfully boring pattern of ol' K2 P2 for the leg and stockinette for the foot but it's very squishy and soft since it's worsted weight wool. Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Worsted to be precise. I think the colorway is "Apple Hill" although pink, blue and purple aren't colors one usually associates with apples. Anyway for some reason I had it in my head that I had not only finished the first sock but was onto the foot on the second one. No such luck. When I pulled it out of the bag today it turned out I'd only done 12 rows of the leg. Poop.

To Crock Or Not?

2009-10-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Day four of Blogtober and already I am reduced to posting pictures of food. This was tonight's dinner and probably Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's as well. Good ol' beef stew, one of my very favorite things in the entire world. And dead easy. Stew beef, an onion, baby carrots, a few peas and some potatoes. Oh, and a little of that Bouquet sauce for color. Plus water. That's it.

I'm sure it sounds like the blandest thing in the world but for some reason it comes out quite flavorful. Especially when you cook it for four hours. Which brings me to the question of the day.

Is it truly possible to cook a nice meal in a crock pot? My answer, based on past experience, is NO. I have thrown away at least three crock pots after being faced with the most disgusting meals ever created. And yet, on Ravelry, there is a group devoted to crock pots who post these marvelous sounding meals. From their crock pot. I have been reading the forum for the last week trying to discover what the secret is. Some super secret ingredient or magical incantation to be murmured repeatedly as the meal is cooking. Please don't tell me to brown the meat first, I've tried that. Or not to have too much liquid. I did that. And still, ick. What is the TRICK?

Finally, don't forget to enter your guess as to how many squares I managed to produce in the last week. Contest closes tomorrow night at 6pm PST!

Saturday Squares

2009-10-03T20:50:00.001-07:00

Well I said we were gonna have a contest and yes indeedy we are. This contest will happen each Saturday for the month of October which nicely takes care of 5 posts for Blogtober. I am a sly one.

Here's the deal. I have set a remarkably unrealistic goal for myself regarding square production for this month. I am trying to do a *cough*entire afghan*cough*. As in ... 120 squares. Not including seaming. I'm not THAT insane. But you know what they say, fail to plan, plan to fail. Each week I will post a picture of the total number of squares I've crocheted TO DATE and it will be up to you to guess how many there are. This is a week's worth of squares. How many are there?

This is this week's prize. 600 meters (so about 660 yards) of Fleece Artist "Suri Blue." Which is 50% Suri Alpaca and 50% Blue Face Leicester. My camera fails to capture the gorgeousness of this lace weight yarn. Think more of a hunter green, the actual colorway is called "Hemlock." So details, details, details. The contest closes at 6pm PST on Monday, October 5th. Post your guess in the comments. Contest is open to the entire world. If more than one person guesses the correct number, the random number generator will pick the winner.

And the cats .. they just keep on coming. Why feed four cats when you can feed five? There is a certain irony here in that I'm taking a picture of cats in my apartment and neither belongs to me.

Apri And Phil

2009-10-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ratoncito has now been renamed "Phil."

Tonight he and Spike had mashed potatoes and pork chops for dinner

It's Friday and my brain is fried.

Tomorrow, a proper post with pictures, more than 5 seconds of thought, and a mini contest. A contest within a contest so to speak.

If anyone needs me, I'll be on the couch with a cup of tea, some spice cookies and the latest issue of People.

It's only day 2 of Blogtober and I'm tired already.

Happy October!

2009-10-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

And Happy Blogtober! Look! I'm right on schedule! Although I must confess, I was a bit unsure how this whole Blogtober thing was going to pan out since I entered my stupid name incorrectly when signing up yesterday. For the month of October, please be sure to refer to me as Apri. No L. Thank you.

In rattie news, I was supposed to pick up Ratoncito this evening but alas, I have not heard from his current owner so I don't really know what's happening. Sometimes craigslist people can be a bit flakey. Like the fellow who yesterday advertised "Rat Cages $10 - $20" and then told me he had one cage left for $80.00. Apparently the numerical system has been reorganized and no one told me. If I'm going to shell out $80.00 for a cage it'll be a new one, not a used one thank you very much.

UPDATE: Ratoncito is IN THE HOUSE. Poor Ratoncito, the lady who had him obviously wasn't very familiar with the care and keeping of rats. I mean, she provided for his basic needs but little Ratoncito was in his cage with just some bedding, his food dishes and his water bottle. No toys, no chewy things, and most importantly, no hidey hole. In all honesty, it just about broke my heart. And he's old. Probably close to two years. I tried to give him a little piece of bread tonight and he had no idea what it was. But eventually he took it very gently and nibbled away at it. He's a heartbreaker, he is. He also has an eye infection that I'm a bit worried about so it's off to the vet tomorrow. When will I learn? WHEN?

Oh You Poor Things

2009-09-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Blogtoberfest begins in just two days and I'm gettin' on the bus! Which, considering that this blog went dark from like March until August, is quite the claim to be making. But I'm looking at it as a warm-up for November, which is when National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins. It's not that I don't like to blog, because I do. It's that I *forget*. I was all ready last night with a more or less fully formed post in my head and then I sat down and started watching "Deadliest Catch" and Phil was in the ER with a blood clot in his lung and Keith had to hire a new greenhorn because he fired that stupid Moi and then Andy and Johnathan promoted their brother Neal to a full time job as engineer so he didn't have to work on deck any more because Neal's not getting any younger and Johnathan got whacked in the head with a picking hook and ... then it was time for bed. And thank God there's only one more season of Deadliest Catch out on DVD or nothing would get done.

So basically I need to SCHEDULE a blog writing time and stick to it. Not to mention posting a bunch of signs around my apartment saying, "Don't Forget To Blog!". And I'll need to start carrying my camera with me wherever I go because you can only steal pictures off the Innernets so many times before people get wise to you. Also, I should probably adopt 2 or 3 more rats so I can post about them as well. Because everyone loves animal pictures and speaking of which ...

I'm in negotiations with someone from Craigslist to adopt a rat SIMILAR to this one (I stole this picture off the Innernets). His name is Ratoncito which leads me to believe he is a Hispanic rat. Anyway, Ratoncito has sort of been passed around his entire life as a class pet and the school teacher who currently has him really doesn't have time for him. Plus her dog thinks Ratoncito is a play toy. Not to mention poor Ratoncito has been on Craigslist for forever and I really need to stop reading the Adoptable Pets forum. Also, I'm very concerned about Spike's mental health because ratties really do need friends and even though Spike has rat aggression issues it's only when he has to share a cage. And Ratoncito comes with his own cage. Free! So yeah, I think I just justified getting another rat, don't you?

Oh crap, maybe I should have saved that last little bit for October. Dang.

Manly

2009-09-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the start of my next round of 100 squares for PRR. I had decided that I was going to go with a "manly" theme. With manly colors. Like rust and green and brown. However, there are a few words not commonly associated with crochet - manly, sturdy, compact, rugged, unlacey (that might not be a real word), tough. Which made finding an appropriate square somewhat difficult.

I scoured the Internet. I bought "99 Squares to Crochet." I looked in vain for my "200 Blocks To Crochet" (if anyone knows where that has gone let me know.) I have crocheted. A lot. In fact, other than a 3 hour stint at work yesterday and a bit of a "Deadliest Catch" fest, that's all I've done. As we can clearly see from the evidence presented above.

To make matters worse, I am not the world's greatest crocheter. My gauge is always off. I find the instructions a bit "confusing" at times. Also, if I might make a suggestion to the nice people at Leisure Arts, it would be very helpful to have a finished size for one or two of the "99 Squares To Crochet." I mean, I can usually ballpark the finished size based on the number of rounds but still. If it's not too much trouble.

So after all the hunting and crocheting and hunting and crocheting, I ended up with this. Which is my version of square #67 from "99 Squares To Crochet". We'll call it square #67A. And if I can convince myself that I've reworked it enough that it's no longer square #67 I'll post the instructions. But I need to think about that a bit more. Cuz it's not nice to steal.

And finally, I've added an addendum to the APRIL HAS LOST HER MIND contest relating to raffle tickets awarded to squares. As follows:

6" crocheted squares = 1 raffle ticket
6" knitted squares = 2 raffle tickets
12" crocheted squares = 4 raffle tickets
12" knitted squares = 8 raffle tickets (wow, that's a lot).

Also, this contest is open to all residents of the planet Earth. No entries from Mars please, shipping chocolate to Mars would be astronomical. Ha! Get it? "Astronomical". OK, back to the crocheting.

Another AHLHM Contest

2009-09-25T08:53:00.001-07:00

Summer is slowly winding down here in the Bay Area and one of my very favorite months, October, is on the horizon. I like October. A lot. Many of my favorite people are born in October. Three of those people are even born on the same day. Crazy, I know. And speaking of crazy ...

Today I crocheted my 100th square for the Pine Ridge Reservation. OK, so it took me 10 months to achieve that goal but it's done. Well not really done, because now I'm going to start on another 100. And it would be nice to have some company. If only for a month. So, in honor of my 100th square it's time to throw the doors open and announce yet another "APRIL HAS LOST HER MIND CONTEST".

"April, tell the people what they can win!!!"

Blog fans, you can win YARN! CHOCOLATE! Isn't that exciting? Of course it is!

"April, how much yarn, how much chocolate?!?"

Two people will each win a $50.00 gift certificate to Knit Picks AND a one pound box of chocolates from See's Candy!

"April, that's fabulous, how can they win that?!?"

Well, duh. By making squares for the Pine Ridge Reservation!

OK, enough talking to myself in my own blog. Here's the rulez. For every square you crochet or knit between now (Sept. 25th) and the end of October you will receive one raffle ticket to be entered into the APRIL HAS LOST HER MIND CONTEST. Now, before the knitters start jabbbing me with their US 8's and complaining that it's faster to crochet than to knit, just hold yer needles. One raffle ticket for a crocheted square, TWO raffle tickets for a knitted square. This will all be done on the honor system so please don't make me lose what little faith I have left in the human race and pad your square numbers. If you need more info feel free to check out our group on Ravelry by clicking on this little linky - Afghan Squares For Pine Ridge Reservation. Let the square dance begin!

9/27/09 - Edited To Add The Following:

6" crocheted squares = 1 raffle ticket
6" knitted squares = 2 raffle tickets
12" crocheted squares = 4 raffle tickets
12" knitted squares = 8 raffle tickets (wow, that's a lot).

Also, this contest is open to all residents of the planet Earth. No entries from Mars please, shipping chocolate to Mars would be astronomical. Ha! Get it? "Astronomical".

I Just Couldn't

2009-09-24T13:33:00.001-07:00

And neither could you. How could anyone resist a face like this?

This little rattum will be mine on October 17th when she's old enough to leave her Mommy. I'm getting her from Rattie Ratz Rescue which is where we also got Mouzz. Her name right now is BA413. I'm hoping to come up with something a little more charming than that in the next three weeks.

I'm beginning to think that rats are a lot like yarn, you can never have enough. And somehow that statement makes perfect sense to me.

Moving Up

2009-09-20T22:30:00.001-07:00

As a few long time readers of this silly blog know, I am the Queen Of The Flat Tire. No vehicle is immune to my power. Every single car I've owned has been plagued by this nuisance. And, as a testament to my ever growing power, this year brought a few added bonuses.

In March, while borrowing a friend's van, I ended up with a flat tire. We're not talking a little lost air. We're talking rim on the ground, completely flat.

But I believe I may have reached the pinnacle of my flat tire awesomeness on Friday night. No longer content with merely a lowly flat I have moved on to ...

... a complete and utter explosion. How's this for raising the flat tire bar, eh? Aren't you impressed? Aren't you doubly impressed that I'm even here to write about it? Did I mention this happened on the freeway? In rush hour traffic? Yeah, either go big or go home, that's my motto. I don't think this one is repairable.

How did this happen? Well let me tell you. Just because a tire looks brand new tread wise, if the tires have been sitting on the car while it's been parked for SIX YEARS they have been exposed to the elements. Contracting in the winter, expanding in the summer, you get the idea. And they deteriorate. As we can clearly see above.

So tomorrow, providing my car is still on the freeway where I left it (did I mention my cell phone was dead and I had to walk to the next off ramp?), I will be purchasing four new tires. Any bets on how long before I get my next flat?

I Got Nuthin'

2009-09-14T20:33:00.001-07:00

I'm working on a pair of socks for the Pine Ridge Reservation but since I don't even have one finished, basically I got nuthin'. And we all know what happens when a knit blogger has nuthin' ... ANIMAL PICTURES!!!

This is not my cat. Yes, that's my fridge. But that's not my cat.

The latest in fur covered bookends, available now at Chez Insanity. Buy one, get one free!

Spike, chillin' in his Rattie Tube Of Comfort, down at the Carrot Bar.

I Am Teh Bored

2009-09-09T09:56:00.001-07:00

Yet another dishcloth. At least the flowers match the cloth. I am so bored with knitting and crocheting I can't even begin to tell you. I keep thinking I want to knit a one skein lace shawl but do I? I've got at least three or four patterns and this morning I found another one on Ravelry. And heaven knows I have enough sock yarn at home for any one of them. But nothing is sparking the ol' fire.

Maybe I'll do some cross stitch. Maybe I need a new yarn store. Maybe I need to move back to Canada where they have knitting conducive weather. I simply don't know. Anyone have any suggestions?

Spike!

2009-09-08T10:01:00.001-07:00

A big congratulations to TREK for selecting the most appropriate name for my little rat. Trek, please pick a colorway from BMFA so I can order you some new sock yarn!

I have found an alternative use for my many dishcloths.

If we look to the right of this picture we see a beautiful fleece hammock with catchy racing stripes. Perfect for a little rattie to curl up in. Unless your rattie goes by the name of Spike. Then he will totally ignore the lovely hammock and choose to sleep on your crocheted dishcloths (see left side of photo). In fact, he will go so far as to pull down one of the dishcloths from an upper level so he can use it as a pillow.

Many hours were spent this long weekend with me locked in the bathroom trying to convince Spike that I wasn't going to kill him. He's a very cautious lad which is understandable given that my apartment probably smells rather strongly of cat. Andy's initial fascination with our new room mate has lessened and I'm not sure that DeeDee realizes there's a rat in the house. I also think that Andy is a bit intimidated by Spike's size. Or at least, I hope so.

By yesterday, Spike would sit in my lap and eat carrot strips and let me pet him while he was munching away. He's a funny little guy, a lot more curious than Mouzz was and he absolutely hates Yogis which are kind of the universal rat treat. I put them in his cage and he throws them out. He definitely has a mind of his own. I wonder if he'd like a friend ...

Don't Rush Me!

2009-09-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received my AARP card in the mail. The AARP card is for people 50 and over. I am NOT 50. I will not be 50 for another six months. 180 days. What's the rush? I have no desire to be 50. I can't even imagine myself as being 50. For Petey sakes I haven't even started SAVING for retirement. I thought that's what the lottery was for! It's bad enough that I've already started uttering, "Kids these days!", now they want to give me a card that actually proclaims I'm old? Who's idea was this? Bah humbug and get the hell off my lawn.

Let us all hasten the arrival of fall by looking at what is clearly a piece of fall clothing. The infamous Noro Striped Scarf. I actually finished this in April but since I seemed to be observing blog silence since March I don't think I ever posted it. Boring pattern, lovely result. This is one squishy scarf. Of course I will never wear it since California doesn't really lend itself to the wearing of scarves. Maybe I'll give it away. Anyone need a scarf?

The Naming Contest

2009-09-01T14:13:00.001-07:00

First things first. Poor Mouzz passed away Saturday. We're not sure what happened. Most likely it was a tumour. My friend had noticed that Mouzz's gait seemed a bit off on Friday and when Mouzz got up Saturday afternoon he looked as though he'd scratched his eye on something. By 5:00 he'd passed away. Needless to say, we are both devastated since Mouzz was only a year and a half. We take comfort in the thought that Mouzz is probably living on a mountain of Yogis right now and taking long, uninterrupted naps. R.I.P. Mouzz.

Continuing with the rat theme ... The absolute irony (divine intervention?) of this whole situation is that, as Mouzz was crossing the bridge, I was at the Humane Society adopting ANOTHER rat. A call had gone out earlier in the week to all rat people in the Bay Area that the local Humane Society was holding 3 momma rats and their 25 babies. (I really need to get off certain mailing lists.) So Saturday afternoon, there I was, filling out forms to adopt "Miranda." Miranda is 6 weeks old and looks more like a mouse than a rat. I have no pictures of her *yet* because of course, she distrusts all humans. Trust me that she's beautiful and precious and oh soooo tiny.

And finally ...

Here is the reason I need to stay off craigslist. This is No Name. Or JD as his former owners called him. I do not like the name JD; I'm not a big fan of the "initial names." No Name is 10 months old and is an Agouti Black Banded INTACT (seriously intact) male. He came from the same people we got Sadie and Tater from. There is one huge difference though. No Name is MINE. He has serious rat aggression issues and needs to be kept on his own. Yet, he loves people. He's the exact opposite of me. I hate all people (well most) and love rats.

Andy is pretty much beside himself right now which is why No Name is living in the bathtub (in a cage of course) with the sliding doors firmly shut. No Name is allowed out of the bathtub only when Mom is home. I did talk to the breeder about this situation and she was fine with it, No Name spends most of his time sleeping and he comes out to play when Andy is out killing leaves. DeeDee is oblivious. Or else she just doesn't care. ANYWAY. I'm having a contest. To find a new name for No Name. Names we have considered and discarded: Badger, Simon, Sig, Wizard, Lars, Thor, Petey, Butters, Panda, Bear, Seal. No Name is a big boy. He loves corn chips and banana chips. Won't you help think of a name for him? This contest will run until Friday morning and the suggester of the winning name will win a skein of Socks That Rock, lightweight. And maybe something else. Perhaps something in the form of a sturdy, brown tabby ...

Blog Filler

2009-08-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

You know what the best thing about crocheted dishcloths is? They make excellent blog filler. Sure they clean dishes too, but when you come home from work, realize you have absolutely nothing to blog about, all you need to do is pick up a hook and a ball of cotton and 90 minutes later, BLOG MATERIAL. OK, so it may not be the most fascinating blog material in the world but hey, it's an F.O. and it's made of some type of fibre. And, in this particular case, I used TWO colors. Just to up the excitement level. The level of hysteria would likely have gone through the roof if I'd managed to take a picture that was actually in focus. Does anybody else think "Easter Egg Camouflage" when they look at this dishcloth?

Not only do crocheted dishcloths make great blog filler, there are a million different patterns for them!

Just imagine, 99 patterns in one book along with a million different edgings. OK, a million might be a bit of a stretch. More like ... six. But anyway, the possibilities are endless. I bet I could make a different dishcloth every day for over a year! I'd never have to think of anything remotely original to say again. Just post a dishcloth a day. Easy peasey blog writing. Isn't that a great ... Hey ... Hey? Where'd everyone go?

Behold ...

2009-08-23T21:09:00.001-07:00

... The Yarn Of Ugliness.

This is what happens when you're shopping for yarn because you're convinced that you have no yarn. Despite what five Rubbermaid containers may be otherwise telling you. I think it looks reasonably attractive in the ball but knit up? I swear, Kibbles 'N Bits. Even in plain ol' stockinette ... dog chow. So, if you're in the market for 188 yards of a DK weight, 70% wool, 30% alpaca blend just leave a comment. You could easily make a hat out of this. And maybe you know of a stitch pattern that will magically transform this yarn into something beauteous. It's possible.

Just as it's possible to stuff four cats into the world's smallest apartment. From left to right, Andy, Thomas lying in the doorway, DeeDee trying to figure out how to get past Thomas and Oreo, finishing her breakfast. As with the yarn pictured above, I'm not quite sure how this happened either.

The Rat Pack

2009-08-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I went to the yarn store today.

I bought yarn.

It's hideous.

I'll be giving it away tomorrow on the blog. If you're in the market for 188 yards of a DK weight alpaca / wool blend tune in tomorrow and it may be yours. Or tune in simply for the sake of viewing some really ugly yarn.

So since I have no knitting content, we'll go with rat content.

It's Mouzz! We've had Mouzz now for almost 8 months and a more loved rat you'd be hard pressed to find. He's mellow, he's loving, he adores Yogies, basically he's the greatest rat in the world. But one thing was missing for poor Mouzz. No girlfriends!

That has now been recitified.

Allow me to introduce Sadie, who's eyes really are that buggy. She's a PUREBRED. Yes, indeed. Miss Sadie is a Russian Blue Burmese. Her previous owner was going off to college and rooming with people who had many kitties. So she returned Sadie to the "rattery" where she originally came from and I adopted her. We don't know what Sadie's original name was but I think it kind of suits her. And along with Sadie ...

... came her cage mate, Tater. They've been together since they were both a month old so they're very bonded. Again, we didn't know what Tater's original name was but Tater is another purebred, a Black Irish, hence the name. Of the two, Sadie is the outgoing and confident one. Tater seems to have some "issues" and is quite nervous. Hopefully she'll come around. But both are definitely a lot more active than Mouzz, The Couch Rat.

But I still have no yarn.

Honestly

2009-08-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

It is 12:30 on a Friday night and as God is my witness, I have no yarn. Not a single solitary skein. No wool. No cotton. Not even any dreaded ickrylic. There is absolutely no yarn in this apartment or in any of my five Rubbermaid containers. I don't know where it's all gone.

Nothing

Zip

Nada

Not one ball of yarn that I actually want to knit with.

Crap.

Nay, I Say

2009-08-17T22:45:00.001-07:00

As I was sitting on the couch last night, contemplating the fact that I had just incorrectly knit 6 rows containing 258 stitches each, I had an epiphany. It became very clear that my subconscious mind was foiling each knitting attempt because deep down, I DID NOT WANT TO KNIT THE COCKAROACHA SWEATER.

I know, I know, you are all amazed by this revelation but I fear it is true. I have absolutely no desire to spend say ... 30 hours knitting a sweater for someone who on my likability scale of 1 to 10 is maybe a 6 1/2. I don't. I do not. I am disinclined. Just because I have a tendency to make things then give them away does not mean that I want to knit for someone I've only known for 8 months. I mean really, we're talking about my sorta supervisor who's phone calls I ignore on a regular basis. He'll call me. I'll ignore the phone. He'll walk down to my office and say, "Hey, I just called you, where were you?" I'll say, "Sitting here." He'll say, "Why didn't you answer the phone." I'll say, "Because it was you." If I can't be bothered to talk to him, why would I knit a sweater for him? So screw it and let's move along!

Here we have the start of a sweater for ME. This is Mr. GreenJeans, which everyone in the world has knit, except for me. I'm not bothering to put in the Ravelry link because, like I just said, everyone else has already knit it. And as we can plainly see, I'm knitting it in Naturally Nazareth, which is a 100% DOMESTIC wool. None of those fancy French sheep for me, oh no. We're talking 100% made in America sheep from Philadelphia. Yeah ... Philadelphia sheep. Apparently this particular sweater looks good even on women who's idea of dieting means pie WITHOUT ice cream. Or those of us who are convinced that butter is a protein since it's in the same family as milk and cheese. We'll see how it goes, at least each stitch that I knit isn't preceded by major profanity.

And finally ... today's homage to the 80's ...

Ice, Ice, Andy!