Armwarmers - Just In Time For Summer

I had a request from C. for some crochet arm warmers awhile ago (March). Crochet is not my favorite thing to do, but I agreed. Of course I managed to put it off with excuses such as, "I need to finish this other project", and "I've misplaced the yarn."

None of the excuses were lies. But I saw C. the other day and was so embarrassed that I hadn't worked on the arm warmers at all that I barely even said hi. Needless to say, I guilted myself into making the arm warmers. Just in time for summer.

Three Week Old Kittens

The kittens are so cute they make my brain hurt.

They are so playful. I tickled one of the kitten's tummies and she wiggled around.

This one is Baloo. It is a bit chubbier than the other kittens. All the kittens have blue eyes.

Sher Khan climbed up my tummy and eventually made it to my shoulder. She mewed into my ear. So cute. If kittens stayed kittens forever, I'd want one.

In other news, Scooter has a new favorite spot on the couch. He loves the couch arm. I get bonus points when I put a pillow there for him.

Andrea's Shawl

It is official. I have completed Andrea's Shawl. The pattern is by Kirsten Kapur and can be seen here. For all the things that could have gone wrong (I used thicker yarn than the pattern called for, I didn't swatch, I didn't know how much yarn I'd need), this shawl came out pretty well. The yarn is a mixture of Noro Retro and Wisdom Yarns Poems. I've raveled the project.

My coworker, the very lovely Marcail, modeled for me. I told her the pictures were very Wuthering Heights.

Today some ducks came by the house. I went out to feed them bread. Justin went in to grab the camera. As he came out, Scooter managed to scoot through the door. He ran after the ducks and scared them off. (Chasing ducks is a new bad habit of his) Luckily he came back after we called him. I was worried he would run into the street.

He seemed rather smug after the ducks flew away. Needless to say, there are no pictures of me feeding the ducks.

Who, me?

Hung Out To Dry

Today I finally got around to setting the twist on a bunch of my hand spun yarn. There are eight skeins being hung out to dry. While I was at it, I blocked a shawl that was recently finished. I'll leave you all in suspense over which one it might be. The Icarus Shawl or Andrea's Shawl.

The other day I was the recipient of a lovely gift. A cute purse I'd been eyeing. Who couldn't love a saddle purse.

And inside was the blue yarn. Mmmm.... yarn. The next day the green yarn showed up on my doorstep. Although, I was expecting that one. The blue yarn is a Mulberry Silk by Silk and Shine. The colorway is Glacier. The green yarn is 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere by Stitch Jones. The colorway is Hemlock. Now to choose patterns to go with the yarn.

All the lovely gifts made the memory of being sick last weekend fade a bit quicker. All was not lost. I had a chance to sit down and read. I've been devouring the Anne of Green Gables Series. I'm already on book three.

I did put them aside yesterday though. I made a trip to the thrift store and found this book.

It was a bit chilly out, so while I read the spy book, Scooter opted to sleep under his blanket in his bed. Justin was affected by Scooter's bambi eyes kind enough to bring out the bed.

Happy Birthday Mum!

I know that this gift is no secret since you picked out the pattern and argued with me about picked out the yarn. But since I can't be present when you open your present, Happy Birthday. Love Me and Scooter. (Scooter added some hair on your present. He said it would add to the love)

Note: The pattern is the Inside-Out Scarf and the yarn was Limerick by Wisdom Yarns. One ball in 31804 and 31805.

Fiber Gifts and Ladybug Food

I have gotten much better at using a spinning wheel. Another thank-you to Kate. I spun up Koi, which was last seen in this post.

I have come into lots of fiber recently. A very lovely lady, Gayle S., who picked up her fiber order from the Mill on Friday gifted me some roving after I mentioned that I was pretty new to spinning. She let me pick out the color. I chose Springtime. It looked like an oil slick to me. It looks grey, but it has subtle shades of pink, yellow, and green in it. I spun it all the same day she gave it to me.

On Thursday I asked Jane about what happens to the big bags of waste fiber we have. The fiber is still in good condidtion, but it is too short to use in the machines. She said I could, "Help myself." I didn't need to be told twice. We had three big bags of fiber. I spent two hours (during which the roving frame was working fine) sorting through the bags to pick out the nicest fiber. I plan on sorting it by how soft it is, then spinning the colors up randomly.

My Lemon Verbena has come back for a second year in a row. I am always convinced that the dead-looking stick is never coming back, but it seems to like living. I spotted some aphids on it, so Justin helped me find a ladybug. Note that in the picture, the ladybug is shoving an aphid into its mouth. Go ladybug!

Scooter has been parked on the couch with me over the weekend. I caught some sort of cold. Who catches a cold in May? As long as I have my his favorite orange blanket nearby, he stays. Unless, of course, if there is something more interesting going on in the house. Then he jumps on my tummy and runs off barking. What a devoted little guy.

The Day The Ceiling Fell Down

I just thought I'd share a little something that comes with living in a house that is nearly 100 years old. The ceiling fell down.

I came out of the bathroom to find Scooter investigating some dry wall that was on the floor. I am so happy he didn't get hit by the ceiling. I called the landlord and it was fixed within a week.