Happy Cat

Loki has a box AND paper to sit on, AND a sunbeam. He has achieved cat nirvana.



If only that silly human wouldn't insist on taking pictures.

I Just Realized...

When I move, I will have no cat-free space for blocking, unless the item in question is small enough to fit in the bathroom. (And really, that will only be... socks and hats. Assuming I advance to these shapes in my new school-only life. Scarves will be too big!)

The shawl (it needs a name, I think) is 2 towels long. That's some seriously large cat-free space. As you may have noticed, I barely had room for it in my current apartment.

Maybe if I'm nice to my Bucket, he'll let me block things at his house. Hmm...

Web Cam Contortion

So I still don't have a working camera, but let's see if we can get around this somehow. Note that using a built-in webcam makes it REALLY hard to control angles. Apparently, it wants to capture my face and that's it. There's all kinds of laptop contortion going on over here.

This is my HP Slytherin scarf:



What you can't see from the picture is that it's only about 6" shorter than I am. And I still have 3 and 1/2 stripes to go! Yes, I missed the movie deadline. And with everything that's going on, I'm liable to miss the last book too... but I'll see what I can do. However, I feel pretty good about things when I look back to when I first started it. There's a lot of scarf here!

The purple & brown shawl, on the other hand, is currently all laid out on my bedroom floor, where it will dry for the next 2 days and then be completely wearable for the Saturday wedding. (Please ignore the mess.)



I decided pushing for the wedding was more important than the movie. I think most folks would agree with me there. I have no idea how long it is at this point - I'll have to measure once it's dry.

But there. I feel better having SOME evidence of my progress.

Nakedness Averted

My shawl is almost done. Once again, under the wire - note that last time I tried to finish this shawl on a deadline... well, obviously I missed it, since I'm finishing it up now. But this time, all is knitted, ends are woven in, and I have only the blocking to do before I can wear it on Saturday.

Okay, I wouldn't really have been naked without it, but at an outdoor wedding in SF, I would have been cold. Even, or maybe especially, in July.

It's about, oh 20" wide and 4' long? Just at a guess? It could be longer, and I do in fact have one more skein of this lovely purple-and-brown boucle yarn... but I'm out of time. I've been telling myself that I can always un-knot the end and add more later. Meanwhile, it's long enough to be wearable, so I'm going with that.

I still have stupid camera problems, so I haven't been able to take a photograph. And the name of the yarn is escaping me at the moment, so I can't even show you that. It's something I got 6 months or so ago on clearance at Knitting Arts (which is about to become my VERY local yarn store, since it will be all of 4-5 blocks away from my new abode). Yay for yarn sales! One of my biggest budget concerns for my year of unemployment is that I'm going to live walking distance from a yarn store. Danger! Danger!

More Knitting Linkage

The Glittorati have been rockin' my world with the good knitting linkage in the past few days.

Random Stripe Generator - words do not describe the awesome. I am feeling compelled to start knitting stripey things.

Knitted Cup Holder Pattern - so cute! And even I could manage it. What a glorious end for yarn stash scraps this could be.

Feeling Strongly About Office Supplies

The new building over here is quite nice. High ceilings, spiffy new ergonomic chairs, lots of natural light. Not enough to make me feel sorry to be leaving, of course, but it's certainly a nice place to spend my last few weeks. The windows are especially nice for making me feel like I'm not entirely losing the long summer days.

I sit near a bank of supply cabinets - always good to be close to a source of Post Its, I have to admit. I was walking by on my way to get some water from the kitchen, and was noticing how they'd all been labeled with their contents. Binders, notepads, pens, etc.

The second cabinet from the end is marked:
Compressed Air
Rulers

Which of course I read as "compressed air rules!".

And hey, as someone with 2 cats and plenty of computer equipment, I'm not going to argue with that sentiment.

Inspiration... Knitting Style

I've spent most of the day reading SpinDyeKnit on and off.

Not only do I now want to buy her book (and for someone who doesn't knit anything even remotely as complicated as lace, that doesn't make much sense), but I feel better about the world at large.