Sad News

Inspite of all our and the vet's care and attention, Callisto didn't make it.

He rallied a few times, but after another stay in hospital and the insertion of a feeding tube, he just continued to decline.

So, Monday morning I made what I think was the right decision for him and had him put down.

RIP big guy.

Liza

Negative Ease

In knitting, the right amount of negative ease can be a good thing. Certain sweaters rely on negative ease for proper fitting, for example:


(Yosemite from Knitty Spring '08~this one has 7 inches of negative ease).

Socks are another area where negative ease can be a good thing (better to fit into your shoes, m'dear).

However, negative ease in one's life? Not so good. When you feel the squeeze in your time, energy (mental or physical) or finances, it can be worrisome. And when you feel that squeeze in all areas? Well, something has to give. And in my case it was knitting & computer time, so I guess it's okay that I haven't had time to blog, 'cause there wasn't much knitting to talk about.

Things are starting to ease up though, the parental units are moved, I'm working less, and the cat (Callisto~the big guy) is doing better. Which is a relief. And in a fit of wild exuberance over said relief, I may have done something, umm, foolish? Undoable (for me anyway)? Bit off more than I can chew?

So what is this that I have committed to? Nothing less than starting *and* finishing the Lotus Blossom Tank:

(Interweave Knits Summer 2006)

during the Olympics. Cast on date: August 8~finishing date: August 18. Okay, skip foolish etc. The correct term I believe is, insane. Going to try though.




Liza {who's very used to the precarious position she can find herself in as she jumps into a project with both feet, while flying by the seat of her pants}

Once More Into the Breach

Or at least the living room. Seems the house shaking project is underway once more. It's slow going, but I can now see the trunk (which serves as a coffee table) for the first time in months. There's still a bit more to move and at some point I'll probably re-organize the stuff that I've moved down stairs, but for now it's fine.


There is one slight (okay, fairly large) hitch in this whole program. The Ikea in Calgary is out of these:
And that's the main storage piece for the new studio area. Which means I won't be able to finish organizing that area any time soon~arrrrggghhh!

Oh well, moving on. On to knitting that is. Haven't been knitting quite as much as I usually do, this summer seems unusually busy, what with (gasp) working and Mom and Dad moving and then just the usual extra work in the yard. However, a Doctor Who marathon last weekend with the members of the Dork Squad (some of whom actually post over there) gave me the opportunity to work on Thermal.

This one might be done for Fall/Winter 2010. Yeah, dense stitch patterns over 268 stitches on 2.5 mm needles in fingering weight yarn. do not make for a quick knits. I do like it though. And I think I'll end up getting a lot of use out of it.

Liza {who's just discovering what unused muscles were called into play today during the house shaking process~owwwwwie!}

Hit and Run Posting

Oh my, how has this much time passed? Oh yeah, it's that thing called work. Something I'm not exactly used to you know. And it's really interfering in my social/knitting life. Since, I'm somewhat pressed for time, this is going to be another drive-by update.

2) Offspring # 2’s Blue Sky Alpacas’ Hooded Pullover in Dyed Cotton (the one that was supposed to be for Christmas). Sleeves done, just needs sewing up and hood.

3) Jumbo cat blanket (aka an afghan for the living room, but I might as well be honest about it’s eventual fate). Another ball of yarn finished, but now it's stalled as the rest of the yarn is buried under a bunch of stuff left over from the house shaking project (something else that's been stalled).

4) KP&S’s Weekend Neck Down Jacket in Blue Sky Alpacas’ bulky. First sleeve is finished, but I'm not that happy with the look of the cuff, so I may take that out .

5) All the little kid items (charity knitting) that have been languishing about. I’m counting this as one item even though there are, oh, 2 vests, 3 cardi’s, 2 pullovers and a baby sweater in the bunch . Mostly because they all just need a little bit of finishing work. Nada.

6) At least 2 pairs of socks of the ½ dozen or so on the needles. Done.

7) The Blue Sky Alpacas’ Eyelet Cardigan in Dyed Cotton (it just needs finishing work). Nothing, still.

9) My version of Mr. Greenjeans in Dream in Color’s Cocoakiss. Body finished, cast off first sleeve last night.

10) KP&S’s Neckdown Wrap Cardigan in Malabrigo. First sleeve finished.

11) Blue Sky Alpacas’ Scoop Neck Vest in Classic Elite’s Renaissance. Zero progress.

12) Fleece Artist’s Lady of the Lake in Curlylocks and Fleece Artist Aran Yarn. Needles still missing/unknown. When I stop with this work thing, maybe I'll have time to find them.

And just to prove I haven't really mended my ADD/procrastinator ways, look at what I cast on for the other day.

Liza {who notes that of course the perfect thing to cast on for summer knitting is a long-sleeved wool shirt}

Random Wednesday

In fine knit blogger tradition (one started by, I believe, mamacate) I declare today a random day.

To start, the bad:

1. I'm sick. Offspring #2 shared the cold/flu thing (need to talk to that child about what/when one should share and when not to) and an elephant has taken up residence in my chest. A small elephant to be sure, but an elephant none the less.
2. Gas is up to $1.15 per litre
3. I missed Knit Nite at M1 last night, I missed my quilt group meeting this morning and it now looks like this concert is a no go for me as well.
4. I have a criminally short attention span.

The good:

1. Between avoiding too much driving around ($1.15/L!) and being sick, I've had lots of knitting time.
2. Mr. Greenjeans and the jumbo cat blanket have both grown a few inches. There may have been a few other things jumping on to my needles as well (see #4 above). For example, this pretty little thing might, just might, be several inches into the rib.


The pattern calls for Blue Sky Alpaca's Sportweight held double, but as usual, I'm changing things up a bit and am using these two together:



This is their Alpaca Silk in Wisteria (#114)

And this is the Suri Merino in Dusk (#418)

I'm loving the fabric these two are turning into. It's looking kinda tweedy and it's soooooo soft!

Also landing on my needles (I was just sitting there, I swear, and the yarn just jumped on) is Roam from Knitty:

I've had this yarn in my stash for a bit and I guess it got lonely or tired of being ignored or something. Oh, and of course, I did change things a bit. The yarn shown is lovely, but the colourway was not for me. So instead I'm using this one:

Hand Maiden's Great Big Sea in the colour Nova Scotia. Just a note, on my skeins, the light green is more of a yellow green. Again, loving the fabric it's making up into. However, the seed stitch pattern is (for me anyway) slooooowwww.

3. The chicken noodle soup I made yesterday is very good and well timed!

Totally Random:

1. Eugene Levy's son Daniel (in spite of the eyebrows) is a hottie. Who'da guessed that?
2. Signs of spring are here. It's shedding season and absolutely everything I own is coated in a fuzzy/furry grey layer.
3. A new study showed that over 90% of the food marketed towards kids is crap. No really? And someone paid for that study? I think any parent could have told you that.



Liza {who wishes she could find someone to give her money to find out the obvious}

It's Heather Day

Yep, it's that time of year again, time to celebrate the natal day of my partner in crime. As of today she's ........ years old (come on now, did ya really think I was gonna say the *actual* number? )

I remember being, well, less than thrilled with the idea of a new sibling, but over the years, those feelings have certainly changed. It's great to have someone who will help you move furniture, chose a special outfit, go to exercise classes with you (or not) and enable your shoe and purse habits, not to mention the yarn habit. It's even good to have someone who can say to you "Were you drinking when you bought that?" (and no, I wasn't, it's just my inability to just say no to a sale). So, all in all, this whole baby sister thing has worked out pretty well, I think. Thanks for being you kid. Happy Birthday and many, many, many returns of the day.

Liza {who thinks the baby brother or puppy would have been a really bad idea}

Cheer-up Post

Since my last couple of posts have been of a fairly cranky nature, I feel I need to post something a little more, well, light-hearted. So, here we go, LOLCats and Monty Python references, how can that not make you smile?

Liza {who adds, this post brought to you by I Can Has Cheezburger. Making regular people wet themselves and the grammar police cringe since January 11, 2007 }