Thanks

Thank you to all that sent us your good thoughts. We're working our way through the grieving process. 

One of the things that struck me is how much more colorful one little black and white kitty could make our world.

No one appreciated mom's knitting in all its stages like Jack. 

He loved that I would run string right in front of him then have the audacity to say the yarn was not for Jack to bite. He loved tucking himself into half finished sweaters or having shawls in progress draped over him. He loved having second socks being measured on first socks that were dropped on top of him. He loved Mom's warm lap being there for him at naptime. He loved cup cosies that could be used as cat hats. He loved batting at a spinning spindle.

Jack loved life and we were blessed to share it with him. One of these days I will tell you his story, but today I have some knitting that needs my attention. If I am lucky it will have a Jack hair or two on it.

My Sweet Boy

My Sweet Boy Jack is gone.

I took these pictures yesterday. And today we came home from church and found him...

I am going to miss him.

Proving My Knitting Cred

Am I the only one that sometimes thinks I need to prove my knitting cred? No it is not as harsh as it sounds. It is not like the yarn store stops you at the door and looks through your project pages before allowing you to enter. That's not what I mean. It is more like you know you're going to meet a new knitting friend and want to show off your best work. Or you're going to Rhinebeck and want to wear just the right shawl, socks, sweater, mitts, hat and cowl. What? Do you not encase yourself in knit wear when attending a knitting festival/retreat?

For me it was meeting a blog pal for the first time. I think my cred was lacking. I tend to travel light, but this trip was painfully light for me. I took one project and finished it on the plane, except for kitchnering and weaving in ends.

One project?! What was I thinking?

I was thinking that I better get Adriene's socks done before I actually meet her. That is right ya'll I got to spend some time with my CBF (Canadian Blog Friend)!

D had a conference in Vancouver BC and I flew out once it was done, to have a little vacation with him. D had always said if we were anywhere near Vancouver we should try to meet up. I do have one disclaimer, I did not take one picture while we all were out and about. Guess I am a live in the moment sort of person. Not to mention I am not part of the selfie generation, I don't even have a smartphone.

When we started planning the trip I asked Adriene if she wanted me to knit her a pair of socks since she is not a crazy sock knitter like I am. The answer was yes, of course, only a fool would turn down hand knit socks, and Adriene is no fool.

We agreed on a pattern and I went stash diving for a lovely Rhinebeck yarn that was sufficiently marinated in wool fumes, and not as much cat hair as you would think. The actual socks were to be a surprise.

I knit diligently and finished 1 1/2 socks then the Baa-ble hat came along and stole my attention. I realized the night before leaving that I had half of a sock to knit! I know I am a procrastinator but come on!

By some miracle my long leg flight did not have a person sitting next to me, so I pulled out Adriene's sock and started to knit away the hours. Sigh, my enjoyment did not last long. Some gent decided to move into our row and proceeded to think of us as his personal entertainment system.

First he started by asking if the socks were for him, I did my polite sarcastic laugh. It was not enough. He reached over and picked up the finished sock from off of my lap and said it would fit him. I think not mister!

Once I got up to use the restroom I was caught in his yammering web of words. He kept asking about socks and scarves and what not. Dude I am not a knitwear dispensing machine, well I sort of am but not for you!

Finally at the end when he said "So no scarf?" I told him the socks were the first thing I had knit for a special person that I had been corresponding with for over two years, I am a tough nut to crack. And really you have to appreciate the time and work that goes into them, you know have some knitter cred of your own.

I got to see first hand some of Adriene's work and it is just as beautiful in person. So yeah knitting cred, we have it, even though sometimes it feels like we need to prove it.

How difficult can it be?

You would think that knitting a colorwork hat would be the hardest part of knitting. It is switching colors and learning how to carry yarn properly. You would think that is tough. 

You would be wrong. The hardest part of knitting a great hat is taking a decent picture of it and yourself wearing it.

It least the good news it that it fits the best of any hat I've knit. Many people said the hat runs big. Old melon head over here thinks otherwise.

Here's to knitting sheep on your hats!

Baa along

So my Baa-ble hat...

It has sheep! I spent part of last week worrying that my sheep floats are too tight. See how the sheep are a bit wrinkly? When you knit color work one strand of yarn is carried behind the other floating along the back of the work, floats. Any floats longer than 4 or 5 stitches are tacked down behind the sheep. If your knitting is too bunched up the floats will be too short and cause the knitting to remain bunched up.

See how the sheep have a bumpy texture? I thought about ripping back and reworking it. Last night I showed it to D and he said the most perfect thing, I like the sheep, they're all puffy! 

You know what? I like how the sheep are puffy too. I'm keeping them.

I always intended to make this a practice hat, why not allow it to have some personality? Perfection is overrated anyways.