A'swatching we will go

Now that my daughter's Skull Illusion Scarf is finished, the swatching for Ilga Lega's Skin of the Sea vest began. I choose a different colorway from the example, which was a beautiful play of blues, and went with an equally gorgeous yarn in Amethyst Woolie Silk by Fleece Artist. This time, I really wanted to do it up right, and start with the swatch. Normally, I hate to swatch, hate it. I do understand the reasoning behind swatching for gauge, and it's completely valid, but I hate to waste the yarn and the time. Ah well, I swatched, and I'm pleased. Tomorrow when it's dry the measuring will take place, and I'll see how far off gauge I am.

Trust the Swatch. Believe the Swatch. The Swatch is good.

Yarn... see it, love it

Finally, a post that has actual yarn in it!!! I know you were all beginning to think that a horrible yarn incident had occurred in the house, but all is well.

First, my daughter's Skull Illusion Scarf. Since these were taken, I've knitted about another 12-13 inches of plain black/red garter stitch.

Next is the Smidge I made for one of the ladies at work. It's a seed stitch with buttons I made from purple polymer clay. They've been sewn on since then.

And here's a little teaser of the Smidge that is destined for my soul sister.

You can't see the illusion knitting in this picture, so it's safe to post. I don't want her knowing what the illusion is until she gets her pressie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you be blessed with family, friends, love, good health, and plenty in your life. I have been incredibly blessed with all these things, and am very thankful for them.

The "c" word

Got a phone call from the vet today -- Spooky's tests came back, and the cyst removed from her ear turned out to be a mast cell tumor, or cancer. The vet said that in cats, such cancers behave differently than they do in dogs. It's worse for dogs. Spooky's tumor did extend to one margin of the ear, though he took a large scoop of the tissue out. This means that the tumor does have a chance of coming back at a later date. When I take her in to have the stitches looked at tomorrow, I'll ask about radiation and the like. She's an old cat, though, and it might not be the best course of treatment for her. She's about 15 or so years old. She has a great appetite, and I don't think she's troubled by the cancer, she's more annoyed by the cone thingy around her neck, so I think she'll recover quite nicely. But I'm still afraid.

I hate this. We've lost three dogs to cancer. They all had nice long lives, but when they got sick, they went downhill fast and died. I don't want Spooky to have this. This cat is my furbaby, my best animal friend. I love her very much.

More Christmas completed!

I have two more Smidges finished, and the pics are languishing in my camera. Actually, one of them is really my design, might be the first project that I put together on my own. It's just a little thing, but I'm pretty pleased with it.

That being said, I can't show you it right now, for two reasons. One, as said, the pics are still in the camera. Two, the recipient has this blog address, and I'd hate to spoil her Christmas surprise by her seeing it here first. So you'll have to wait on this one until after we meet for lunch and she gets her pressie. But to expound a bit, it has an element of her faith knitted in, but not jump right out and smack you in the face with it; I used illusion knitting.

I'm a little stinker, ain't I? LOL

I've begun my son's GF's Smidge, and it's going to be gorgeous!

Milking this? Oh yes.

Spooky is not above milking her infirm state to the limits and beyond. Last night I took her collar off to clean up the ear, put the ointment on, and decided to let her have a few moments without it. I was worried that maybe it was causing irreparable mental harm. Peh-shaw.

With the collar, she walks like a drunk and makes her displeasure quite vocal. Without the collar, she tippy toes around like a proper cat, slinking in between furniture, while looking down her nose at me. When I replaced the collar, back she went to banging into the couch and walls. While I know wearing it isn't fun for her, I think she's trying to guilt me into taking if off early, for good. "See how pathetic I am? Don't you feel BADLY for making me wear this? Meow?"

Uh, no. Your human slave knows what's good for you, whether you like it or not. Ain't gonna happen, cat.

Deb does it again!

Deb, from Fearless Fibers, is an amazing person, she truly is. Her etsy store is chockablock full of gorgeous yarns and still she adds more to it. New to her inventory is 100% Alpaca in Laceweight, and at very generous yardages. This one is my favorite so far: Harmony. What a play of blues and hints of gray! Stunning.

Here's a little eye candy, it's an item on my wish list that Deb's hubby crafts: