Hi there! I’m alive. Things are great. Kevin and I are super happy. His son still likes me. The cats are good. I’ve been knitting, but of course, not taking pictures. Ravelry has been sucking up tons of time. In any case, here’s a picture for you!

It’s Rocket in a Tree!

moar funny pictures

It’s not actually posted on the site, I just submitted it. If you click on the picture you can vote for it, but I don’t think it’ll do any good.

Oh, hi everyone! Um, its been forever. Anyone still reading?

I have this theory. I think when I’m unhappy and lonely, I write much more. I’ve been really really happy these past few months, and so, no urge to write. I haven’t been writing for Yelp, my LiveJournal, anywhere really.

But, this blog is sad and lonely, so post time!

First off, I did finish the Drunken Bees socks.

I love how they turned out - I used a french heel and toe.

Let’s see… what else is going on?

Woah! Who is that? It’s none other than Kevin’s (New Kevin, not Old Kevin, yes I somehow fell in love with someone with the same name as my ex. WTF?) and mine new kitten!

We decided that Hunter needed a playmate. Some folks down the street from him had kittens, and he was the last one. He has a harelip, and folks would come, look at him, and decide not to take him. Its not a big deal - he can eat and drink just fine. The vet says his palate fused, so while he’ll try to close it up a bit when we neuter him, its really just cosmetic at this point.

He’s totally,totally cute. He’s a huge bundle of energy - he and Hunter have been happily chasing each other around for the past day or so. Katie is like “EEEEEH”, but she’ll get over it.

His markings are totally awesome. He’s a squirly kitteh!

Kevin’s son is completely convinced that its HIS kitten. He played with him non stop for 3 hours. We haven’t named him yet, but they keep calling him Super Dude. I’m resisting it, but he is pretty awesome and bouncy.

Yes, its time for the WOW! Selection for September (and August cause we’re slow).

First up, August. I selected some lovely Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Crazy Color 6-ply / 6-fädig that I had bought at Little Knits when they put it on sale for like 10 cents a ball or something cruel like that. I was worried that with the low yardage and the sport weight yarn I’d be making anklets for everyone, so I used Kim Salazar’s Pine Tree Sock pattern, because it was toe up. As you can see, I had more than enough yardage to make a very nice pair of size six hobbit feet socks.

Hunter is not impressed with the regia. He didn’t try to eat it once! I was lazy and did an Estonian Cast off on the cuff, which is why they are so wavy. But they are good and stretchy, unlike my first “normal” cast off. (Yes, Barb, you were right. :)) I’m not sure its actually called Estonian Cast Off, but I learned it in a Nancy Bush class about Estonian Lace.

Now on to September! In August, a group of friends bought me this skein of totally awesome Socks that Rock Lightweight in the very very very very wanted Oregon Red Clover Honey colorway. Why?  Because I rock.  *preen*  Hee.

I cast on for Drunken Bees in September, which meant it was stashed for a few days, so it TOTALLY COUNTS as a WOW! selection.

Henri Emile Rat says it ought to be called Rat Colorway, cause it matches him. Here’s a close up of the sock.

I so love Socks that Rock.

Since I work downtown, I’m often responsible for shuttling knitting related objects between Naperville and Chicago residents.  As the people who rely on this service knows, its, well, slow.

Unfortunately, that has often led to very slooooow Wow! Shipments.

This post is both for Barb’s Simba and mine July Wow Shipments.

First, Simba.   Simba signed up for the club.  He had all this to pick from.

So, he looked and sniffed and wandered around…

And picked out a lovely skein of Lucy Neatby!

Simba is super excited!

Now, for me, I got a lovely skein of Socks that Rock Lightweight Calico!

Note:  This post was made under the influence of half a bottle of Lynfred Winery Cranberry Wine.

Guess what?  Hunter Cat is Super Famous Again!   He made it on to icanhascheezburger.com!

I didn’t write that caption - mine was not nearly as funny.  But when you upload an image to the lolcat builder, other folks can use them to make their own.   Laurel actually took that picture, and I know I’ve posted it to this blog before.

Knitting wise, I’ve been working on the “Flower Shawl” from Couture Knit Elegance 11 Knit that Monica lured me into buying.  It’s a Japanese knitting book.  I cropped out this picture based on the preview.

This super nice blogger posted a better picture of the book and pattern.  Japanese patterns are actually standardized by the Japanese government, so once you know the chart symbols, it ought to be fairly straight forward.    However, I was having a heck of a time figuring out the yardage required.   Luckily, the above link translated the critical bit, and I was able to figure out that it uses a little under a 1000 yards of a DK weight yarn.   I had some dark green Rowan Felted Tweed in my stash that is working perfectly for it.  Mine is more rustic, but I love how its looking.

However, apparently I’m too lazy to take a picture, so you all will have to wait.

Speaking of Japanese Knitting books, YesAsia.com has a ton of them, and they do free international shipping if you order over 25 dollars.   Best yet, their site is largely in english.  What I’ve been doing is finding a knitting book, and then clicking my way through the suggestions.  Many of them have pictures of the inside of the book you can preview as well, which helps.