Tag: cats

I think I can safely say, with complete honesty, in both heart and mind, that I am burned out.

Or as Engels current favourite T-Shirt says, Error 404, out of Meow-tivation…

Which actually ties into the only thing I’ve managed to work on and finish:

The pattern used for the hat is a free pattern – Two by Two by Anne Gagnon – which makes for a lovely, stretchy hat that can fit both a little head as well as a big head. Apart from Engel. I had to add extra stitches.

And once more, I find myself writing a blog post where I lament knitting a hat for his giant XXL motorcycle helmet sized head and how I won’t knit another again…until forget and knit him one regardless.

I added my generic fluffy ears on top and he finally has a masculine hat, with cat ears, that actually fits him just right…

And on that note, I bid you farewell until next week, when I will hopefully have my Meow-tivation back again…

Stay safe!

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 34 (1 since last post)
Wool bought – 23
Wool given to me – 16
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 851 (Net difference: +7 – still working on this!)

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Something co pletely different: A new hobby!

Yes, Lockdown, we are all shocked by this news!

Ok, its not a new hobby, but it is a new craft – a no sew braided rag rug! Both my terrors have had a growth streak and there’s a lot of clothes that are too good to throw, too faded to donate and too small to actually wear…

I was pondering what to do with these old clothes – there are so many options out there – when I saw a rag rug in the Slate Museum in Wales. And the thought stayed.

We’ve also been saying for quite some time that the living room needed a rug, to help take the chill off it in winter when we’re sat on the floor building Lego or some such.

And so, like a perfect storm, it all came together to make the very rug Lockdown is basking on in the photo above.

No knitting news, just chugging along on a few projects – much knitting, little progress!

In other news…not a lot. We have actually managed a quiet, uneventful week. No plagues, no injuries, no drama….though work has been incredibly hectic!

So on that note, I shall leave you and get on with enjoying a quiet evening…of cthulhu…let the madness begin!

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 33 (1 since last post)
Wool bought – 23
Wool given to me – 16
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 852 (Net difference: +8 – still need to work on this!)

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Its been an interesting week! Car had its MOT, parents night for the little terrors, gaming with some friends, meeting up with other friends for a mooch and to attend the local Pokémon Go event…

But lets backtrack a bit to explain this week’s knitting.

Parents evening. Both of mine received plenty of nice comments, and nothing really negative other than trying to get them to slow down and double check their work before handing it in. It’s a big ask for a 4 year old and an 8 year old!

One thing that became clear though was that in Inklings class they had been learning about chickens, and had been incubating eggs which had hatched…

And he’s obsessed with the fluffy things. Taking one look, I could have pocketed all four of them there and then and made a run for it.

I successfully passed my willpower roll, and jokingly mentioned it to Inkling. He searched all of my pockets, twice, just in case, and was somewhat sad that I hadn’t stolen a chick.

There was only one option.

Its based on the free pattern Spring Chick by Barbara Prime, except I made mine fluffy. Outbreak immediately claimed it as hers. Once rescued from the cat, the chick was put in my pocket for the next morning…

Inkling was super happy with his chick, and insisted he could take it to school to show it to the other chicks. In all the excitement, I realised Felix was feeling a little left out.

There was only one option. Again.

So here is chick number two. And Outbreak again. Who tried to claim this one also.

I am doing my best to ignore the urge to knit a third chick just for the cat!

Until next post, take care!

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 23 (2 this week)
Wool bought – 1
Wool given to me – 13
Wool gifted to others –0
Wool handspun – 1

Total – 829 (Net difference: -8)

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The very next knitting project…not quite the same ring as the actual song, but it’ll do.

Remember how just a few weeks (ok, start of January) I knit a lovely pair of cat mittens for Engel? Well, he decided they were too big.

Ok, they’re wool, I’ll felt them.

They barely shrunk in the washing machine.

Ok, must be treated wool, I’ll felt it by hand.

The black decided it was not colour resistant at the temperature needed to begin felting.

Hmm. New pair of mittens it was.

Please excuse the photograph, I had to pry these off Engel to get this quick snapshot!

And for those curious, the original cat mittens have found themselves a good home to a fellow cat loving friend with much,much larger hands than Engel. They fit their new owner like a glove. Pun intended.

In other knitting news, I received a knitting kit for a cuddly toy. More on that later, let’s just say though that there is an amusing story behind it. But it does mean my stash has grown by 7 balls of fluffy wool…I debated adding this to my total, but feel I should as I will want to count the used wool as it leaves my stash…

As such, my wool count looks like this now:

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 21 (1 this week)
Wool bought – 1
Wool given to me – 13 (7 in the knitting kit)
Wool gifted to others –0
Wool handspun – 1

Total – 831 (Net difference: -6)

Theres still more than twice out than what’s gone in, which I am going to take as a victory!

Theres isn’t much else to say for this week, some grand plans went awry, but we made the most of the weekend, and even begun sowing the first wave of seeds! I’m hoping for a good year of vegetables!

Till next week, stay safe!

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I would love to promise that this is the last of the fox related things, but the urge to use this knitted fur technique to make more and more is incredibly powerful!

and without further ado, fox ears:

So very cute! Although the cats seem to think that they’re either a toy just for them, or a small furry animal just begging to be pounced on…

Here you can see Outbreak “helping” within three seconds of my placing the ears in the floor for a photograph. I suspect I will need to knit them something using the same knitted fur technique I have used for the ears…

Oh, normally at this point I would link a pattern but…there isn’t one. This is me just playing around…

In other wooly news, I finally spun and plyed the Shetland fleece I have been playing with for the last few weeks – it was a challenge for myself to spin as fine as possible, as consistently as possible. Having been 2 plyed it has come out at 150m of lace weight yarn. It’s a little thinner in places, but not thicker, so it’s definitely getting there!!

No idea what it will be. However, I have plans and ideas in the works that require me to spin yarn, so more shall be spun, but with intention.

…am I the only one that think that sounded unnecessarily aggressive? Spinning with intention?

Anyhoo, very busy week at work, no gaming but Inkling did get to go to a trampoline birthday party and as he is under five, I had to go with him and ‘supervise’. The sore muscles today were worth it. Felix didn’t miss out as she got to have an adventure with Engel on the motorbike.

After so much excitement, we finished the weekend with board games and cleaning up some Battletech miniatures that the terrors are looking forward to painting.

Until next week, take care!

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 20 (2 this week)
Wool bought – 1
Wool given to me – 6
Wool gifted to others –0
Wool handspun – 1

Total – 831 (Net difference: -12)

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It’s going to be a fairly quick post today as last week was…well, it was a week…not for me, personally, but I hadn’t realised how many of my friends trust me enough to relieve all their emotions onto…

So without further ado…

I finally knit Engel his mittens! He chose Missy C by JennyPenny from her book ‘Winter Knits from Scandinavia’ and not gonna lie, these are amazing! The whole book has gorgeous patterns and, sneak preview, I’ve got another of those patterns on the needles right now for me!

Of course, however, I couldn’t resist a few tweaks, and turned the mittens into convertible city mitts!

In other knitting news, the polar bear garrison has begun, photos as and when I have no other FO’s to share,but with a target of 80,it’s going to be my ‘out the house’ project for quite some time…

That’s all for this week, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 1
Wool bought – 1
Wool given to me – 0
Wool gifted to others –
Wool handspun – 0

Total – 843 (Net difference: 0)

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed I have bought a ball of wool despite saying two had to go out for every one in. Well…it was an emergency. I found myself having to wait for a few hours in a cafe with no knitting! And so, poor Engel was dragged around until a wool shop was located and I could buy some wool and needles…oops!

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Remember how two weeks ago I said:

Thats all for this week, hopefully I will either block one of my knits to show for next week, or finish a different project which has taught me the importance of paying attention and reading ahead in a pattern. Again. Twice. I mean, Inkling can totally do with 8 mittens, right?!

Well, I did block my jumper as you saw last week, and this week it’s time to come clean about the mittens.

Oh the mittens.

In short, Felix has been asking for a pair of city mitts’ like mine, but cats. She spotted the pattern Flippy Kitten Mittens by Marna Gilligan in the ‘Cats knits’ book I was recently gifted…except they were adult sized.

Inkling saw these and also demanded them.

So I had them ‘shop’ for wool in my yarn stash and pick the colours they wanted. I measured their hands and, after some debate, settled on doing Inklings first as he didn’t want the flip part that turned the wrist warmers into mittens.

Easy, right?

I cast on for the pattern, dropped needle size, tweaked the stitch count, worked some math and measured all the way and…voila! First pair done!

Except the pattern is written so you have two different coloured cats on each mitten, and each hand has a different coloured cat on top, so they’re not identical. Inkling pointed out he had requested ginger cats on the tops of both mittens.

Ok, easy enough, I just flip the colours of what I did before. Except I didn’t.

Inkling was even less amused.

And so, I knit two more pairs, painstakingly triple checking I had flipped the colours to give:

Four pairs of mittens so he has matching ginger or grey or mix matched pairs. And if he loses one, doesn’t matter, there’s seven more to go!

Life has a habit of, just when you think you can easily alter something and knock it out because you think you have enough skillpoints in your knitting skill…and you roll a critical fail instead and end up with eight mittens…

Oh, and for those curious, here Felix’s:

She wanted them to be different coloured cats, and she wanted the flip top too. See below for a view of the tops of the mittens when folded over.

In other news, it’s busy on the project front, more on that when each one is ready, and work wise it’s pretty manic, so I’ve been doing overtime. Managed another session of Cthulhtu on Friday and it’s getting tense, cannot wait till the next session to see how they’re going to get out of their current mess! And aside from a playdate with Felix’s friend today, that’s about it. Oh, and snow.

Storm Arwen has mostly avoided us, but today we’ve had a steady torrent of snow. It’s finally stopped now, but with freezing temperatures predicted tonight, I suspect a cold and frosty morning will be in order!

No wool count as no changes this week!

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Last week, after I hit post on my blog, the family set of to Norfolk for the week with a pair of our friends.

There was swimming, Lego, beaches, crabbing, fossil hunting, aquariums, archery, exploring and generally a good time was had by all. Though my friends have been broken. They don’t have children and I don’t think they were fully prepared for the constant go-go-go that comes with my little Terrors!

They’re both recovering after some pretty long sleeps, and cat cuddles, and more sleep, and are keen to do it again…after they’ve recovered some more!

Amongst all the busy busy go-go-go, myself and one of my friends went to a spinning class at the Spinning Barn, where it was just us and the instructor. I came out of it knowing the names of what it is I’ve been doing, as well as number of tips and tricks on how to refine it and get the end product I want.

My friend however, who has only played on my wheel once previously, came on in huge leaps and bounds and is now itching to get a wheel herself.

Would definitely recommend!!!

We got back yesterday, and today was the Manchester Halloweekend where we have torn around town, enjoying all the spooky delights on offer! We all dressed up and gave a fair few people some frights too, all in good fun if course!!!

And on that spooky note:

The Spookie Ookie Cat trio!!!! The patterns are: Itchy Witchy Hat Cat, Ghostie Cat and once again, Jack-o-Cat all by Anna Hrachovec (creator of Mochimochiland).

Till next week, stay safe and enjoy the last of this spooky day! (We’re about to go deliver some more frights trick or treating)

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 144 (2 this week!!)
Wool bought – 50 (Just 1 ball!)
Wool given to me – 47
Wool gifted to others – 4
Wool handspun – 13 (2 Spun at the Spinning lesson)

Total – 851 (Net total of 31 down!)

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Drumroll please! I would like to introduce Inklings amazing idea:

A pumpkin cat basket so Dashie can be just like the little Jack-o-cat I knitted last week!

When he told me his idea I was floored at how simple yet incredibly adorable it was. I did have to buy a wicker basket and some wool (those 14 balls last week) but it came together super quick and yeah, with Dashie in it, it’s just too cute!

There’s also a few contests I was planning on entering and this photo is definitely going to be the entry!

Hmm…does that mean I have to share any prizes I get with Inkling? And credit the 4yo with the amazing idea…?

In other news, Lockdown. (This post is all about the cats this week) He had his vet appointment on Monday and the vet was genuinely shocked at how well his tail had healed, and how well he was responding to treatment and had shown no signs of grooming it etc. (We did not to get a soft cone for him which he hated, but at least he could get into his little hidey holes and move around much more freely!)

The verdict? Despite the fact the vet was positive the tail would have to come off, he gets to keep it! Hooray! Though he has used at least one of his nine lives over this whole ordeal.

Thats all for this week, it’s a super short post I know (but a cute one) and it’s earlier than normal but that’s because of chaos that is about to ensue. More on that next week. If I survive…

Till then, stay safe and marvel at just how photogenic Dashie can be when your waving treats off camera…

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 142 (11 this week!!)
Wool bought – 49
Wool given to me – 47
Wool gifted to others – 4
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 852 (Net total of 32 down!)

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What can I say? It’s coming up to my favourite holiday and I am definitely getting in the spooky mood!

Heres one of my projects currently on the needles (I know I don’t generally share WIPs but I’m quite proud of how this MKAL has gone!)

The pattern is 100% That Witch by Brittany Westmorland – it’s a MKAL that’s currently running on Ravelry and I’m actually running two weeks behind as my needles were in another project. I’ve also deviated from the pattern in a few places (I can’t help it!) but I’m really enjoying how it’s come out so far!

Now, here’s one of my latest super cute and completed spooky knits:

Isnt this pumpkin kitty adorable?! The pattern is Jack-o-Cat by Anna Hrachovec (Mochimochiland) and is part of her Spooky Ookie Cats set – look out for more coming in the future!

Now, Mochimochiland is running a competition based on spooky photos involving her designs, and Inkling has come up with a rather amazing idea when I was taking the above photo. I’ve collected all the things I need, including 14 new balls of wool, and it’s a race against time to see if I can make his idea happen to submit it for the contest!

If not, still expect cute photos at some point in the future!

Speaking of future, I am still waiting on the go ahead for two finished knitting projects and one sewing project to share with you all…sigh…soon I hope, soon!

In other news it’s been a bit of a week. The lurgy has hit the house making small chores seem like mountains to climb, and on top of that, Lockdown came rushing in Wednesday night dripping blood everywhere. Turns out something bit his tail and it’s tooth punctured clean through it.

Emergency day off work Thursday and off to the vets for first appointment of the day – antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatory meds, cone of shame and house arrest have been prescribed for my ginger trouble maker, and fingers crossed when he goes to the vets tomorrow (Monday) they will decide the wound has healed enough with no permanent nerve damage and he won’t have to get it amputated…

Not sure who would be more upset about that, myself, the kids, or him. I suspect myself mainly.

Other than some gardening and Felix going to her first sleepover (they grow so fast!) not much else has happened really. On that note, I’m going to get back to knitting Inklings amazing idea and keep an eye on Lockdown who is having a little break from his cone so he can groom himself…I don’t trust him at all however…

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 131 (1 this week!!)
Wool bought – 49
Wool given to me – 47
Wool gifted to others – 4
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 863 (Net total of 21 down! Curses! I will claw that number back!!!)

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