Farewell, my baby buns

This is absolutely heartbreaking for me to write, but last night I lost my little Joey buns.

He had been hiding a tumor on his stomach, a health problem that bunnies are unfortunately subject to. We hadn't caught it; he still binkied and grumped and explored and begged for treats and was much his usual self until this past weekend when he started going downhill. We took him into the emergency vet yesterday afternoon (nearly a 3 hr drive from the remote place we are stuck at now). I think it was worth the drive, because I could see the x-ray and see what was wrong and we were able to get some pain medicine in him, so his last few hours did not hurt.

I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to him at the vets', so we brought him home, and he passed away while we were driving back (like I said, nearly a 3 hour drive). He died in my arms, so I know he was warm and loved until the end, and I hope that he could tell that too. He gave me a few kisses on the car ride home, a rarity (he never was a kissy bunny) and though he was fading noticeably over the drives down and back, he didn't leave me until I could honestly tell him that he didn't need to be brave any more, that if he had to go, he could go. It was shortly after that that he left me. I am not one of those people who reads TONS of meaning into my pets' activities, but this is one of those cases where I do think that he was looking out for me.

Joey was one of those special pets that comes along. I had him for nearly 5 years (would have been 5 in July) so I think he was about 6, as I adopted him from someone else. He was the first pet in my life that was "mine" not "the family's". And he was definitely "Mama's buns." My husband was... well, tolerated but Joey never really warmed to Zach the way he did to me. But then, for nearly 2 1/2 years, it was just Joey and me. Joey was with me through a very trying time in my life - being alone in that place at that time, I needed him badly. While I was in South Carolina dealing with the wonderful coworkers and clients at Horrible Job, Joey was the one constant bright spot in my days. Zach was elsewhere in the country for different trainings, and Mom and Anne were still back in VA, but Joey was there for me. I could come home and have him to play with and share my salad fixins with, and relax a bit. I honestly still feel that if I hadn't had him then, I wouldn't have made it through that point in my life nearly as well as I did.

I took Joey into Town today to have him cremated. My mother-in-law has already said that we can spread his ashes at their garden back home (her "garden" is almost an acre - they live on a farm). It is on a hill, so my little climber will have a good view up on a hill and plenty of veggies surrounding him. I think it will be a good place for him. I talked to him the whole way into Town today, telling him all about the garden and how much he would like it there, and about the Rainbow Bridge and the other sweet pets we know who will be his welcoming committee there.

I think this is extra heartbreaking for me because Joey will be my first and last bunny. Zach is very allergic to hay, but knew that Joey was important enough to me to not fight having him when we moved in together. Zach only came into my life about 2 months before Joey did, but Joey was actually with me the whole time, while Zach was stationed about. Zach knew that Joey was important, and it is something I have appreciated a lot these last few years . Zach did like him though - he went and picked some flowers for Joey this morning, a hard thing to do in the desert, even in spring. Even though Joey was a Mama's Buns, Zach will miss him too. He was a very special bunny.

I'm sorry if this post is incoherent or rambling; I am still crying a lot as I write this up. People may not understand how much personality and love you can have from "just a bunny" but most of our friends have had a special pet, and can understand the loss. When Harvey (Anne's cat) died recently, she found a quote by Leo Dworken. "No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." That's such a good quote, and so true for many pets, not just cats.

Joey, you will always have a very special place in my heart. You will always be my baby bunny.

Joseph B. Buns. Mr. Inquisi-nose. My little grumpus. King of the Mountain. My sweet little absurdity.

My Joey.

G is for...

Gaia!

(Mine is the blue-green-purple one, of course!)

The first in a series of projects I'm doing which I consider my "Finally Joining the Crowd" series of projects that I'm working on this spring. The other two are Clapotis and the February Lady Sweater. If you're at all familiar with popular knitting projects, you'll recognize these are REALLY popular right now. Currently Clapotis and February Lady Sweater are both in the top 10 popular patterns on Ravelry, and have been for ages. And yes, they've been on my queue for ages too, but now that I have knitting time, I'm trying to catch up on the queue and see some of these projects that people are so excited about.

Gaia isn't quite as common as the other two patterns yet, but it's a bit newer, too. We actually saw this one all over the place at Stitches, and that's what piqued our interest. It's designed to play with self-striping yarn (pattern calls for sock weight, but I did see one that worked with worsted - it's one of those nice flexible patterns). The pattern calls for Noro Kureyon Sock, but any self-striping yarn will work. Sarah and I are using Noro Silk Garden Sock (a little lighter, for us desert dwellers), and a lady in one of my Stitches classes had worked it in Mini Mochi, another gorgeously colored yarn. Those are the ones I've seen in person, but like I said, any self-striper will work. I'm working on US 5's and Sarah (who's a much looser knitter) is down a few sizes (I think on 3's). Being a shawl, though, gauge is less important - no fitting to worry about. Same reason I love scarves!

Seeing it on a bunch of people at Stitches, yet looking so different on each one because of the yarn, definitely got our attention. The eyelet rows are designed to come when the yarn starts changing color, so it leads to a really fun effect, and it makes it pretty mindless too. No counting rows or anything, just watch the yarn! I love how the front and back look a little different from the stockinette and reverse stockinette. The change in stitch is just enough to make different colors pop on each side. A reversible project, without being too mindless or two complicated. And for me, a non-sock knitter, it's a chance to use some of the fun self-striping sock yarns! Win!

So, since both of us were interested, we decided to work it as a KAL. Sarah's first KAL, actually. Even if it's only 2 people, we're still knitting the same project together at the same time, so still counts in my book! And we're hoping that if the other handful of folk in our knitting group see us having fun with a joint project, maybe we can talk them into doing one with us too. We're hoping something like Coco Vee for the next project. I was in Jane Slicer-Smith's Stitches Etc. class, and got to handle her Coco Vee sample, and it's a lot of fun! And miters, as complicated as they look, are really very simple. If you can do garter stitch and pick up stitches and decrease, you can do a mitered project, so we think it could be a good project for the less experienced folk in the group. Not too hard for them, but with impressive results. And if nothing else, it might be just us 2 again, but that's OK too :)

Oh, yeah, Gaia is a free Ravelry download, if you're interested.

Adventures in DIY Knitting Toys, Pt 1!

So, playing around online over the past few years, I have found several fun patterns and sets of instructions for making cute knitting accessories. Not knitted accessories, like hats and scarves, but knitting accessories, like needle cases, DPN holders, needles, etc. Now that I'm not working for a bit, I've actually got the time and energy to give some of these ideas a try! At this week's Knit Night, Sarah and I attempted the first of what (I hope!) will be a series of fun ways to make some cute knitting accessories without spending a fortune on them :)

We started with a relatively easy one, Double-Pointed Needle Holders. Not the cases, but the little holders that you use to cap the ends of DPNs holding a project. I found the original instructions here, at Sweet Little Domestic Life. We used these directions as our starting point, with some variation based on what worked best for our hands and our puppets. I have posted our own notes from our efforts. I claim no credit, since Robyn did a great job of writing up all her instructions - kudos and many thanks!

There are some more example pictures here. Really, you're only limited by what finger puppets or pencil toppers you can find!

Materials and Tools:

• 2 pencil toppers or finger puppets
  
• Approximately 1 ft elastic cord
  
• 1 small pointy needle
• 1 large tapestry needle
• 1 pair of pliers (optional)
• 1 crochet hook (optional)
• superglue or lighter (optional - for preferred method of securing knots)
  

We used bunnies and frog finger puppets, from Oriental Trading Company - nice and cheap and come in bulk, so we can mess up a few times and still have some successful holders at the end of the effort! We chose bunnies and frogs specifically, because of Joey (duh) and Gilly (a tadpole that Sarah is raising). And as we were laughing, if we have these frogs near our knitting, they may be guardian frogs, to protect against having to frog our knitting! Hehehe, dorky humor, I know :)

We experimented with 2 different weights of elastic cord. The chicks and bunnies were made in a little bit lighter plastic, so we used the lighter cord with them (1/32" cord - labeled as elastic beading cord). The frogs, in a heavier plastic, could use the heavier cord (1/16" cord). Each came in 5 yard sections. We found ours at Wal-Mart for under $1.25. Be sure to look in the Notions section, not just the Beading section as you're looking for cord. You want to make sure that whatever weight elastic cord you use, it won't pull too hard on the plastic. Some of the lighter plastic puppets can tear easily, once you cap your DPNs and put tension on the elastic.

Directions:

Using the smaller needle, make one hole in each side of both of the toppers or puppets. We used a regular sewing needle for this. The elastic thread doesn't fit well in these needles, but the tapestry needles don't poke through the plastic well, so you will end up using both needles.

Thread the elastic cording through the large tapestry needle and pull it through the hole on one side of the topper. You might find it easier to pull the needle through with the pliers. (We never needed to use the pliers - I think it depends on how stiff your finger puppets are and how easily the needles slides through).

We pulled the thread all the way through both holes in the puppet. Pull through enough cord so that each side of the cord has enough to reach to the second puppet at the other end of the DPN. To determine the length of your cord, place one of your dpns in the toppers and pull the elastic cord until it is tight enough to hold your needles in place yet loose enough to get them in and out of the protectors with ease. Make a little mark on the cording on each side.

We then caught the middle portion of the thread (what's inside the puppet) with a crochet hook and pulled out a loop. The portion that you pull out should have enough so that you can comfortably knot the cord on the inside of the puppet. Better to pull out a bit too much and trim it down, than not leave yourself enough space on the cord.

Cut this part of the cord, leaving enough on each side to knot. Knot the cord on the inside of the topper as shown and trim the ends if needed.

Repeat on the other side of the topper with the other piece of elastic cording. One end of your holder is now secure.

Poke holes in your second topper, and thread ends of each elastic section through these holes. Place your knots in the cording on the marks you made earlier. Since you are dealing with elastic, this doesn't have to be perfect - that stretch is very forgiving!

Trim your ends and for added security you can use a lighter to melt your knots, or a drop of superglue to secure them. We used superglue, as we didn't have a lighter handy - works just as well :)

Grab your needles and try them out!!

Besides the frog used in all my example pictures above, I also made bunny and chick holders too. The bunnies were part of an Easter set of finger puppets (the reason they are bight pink) so they came with chicks in the bag too.

WIP Wednesday! And some FOs too :)

Since Stitches, I've been oh-so-gung-ho on my needles. So very motivated! Got my stash and queue organized too, so I'm all ready to get tons of projects done this year! It helped that Zach was traveling for work until just last week, so I have plenty of time to get my stash bins organized, and all my projects lined up for the next few months. Am very proud of myself! In all this work, I also have been knitting actively in my spare time, and have a bunch of projects to report on. First up, those currently actively on the needles:

Tropical Fish Shrug

These skeins of yarn have been lurking in my stash for about 2 years now, a door prize at the annual Pajama Party at Knit Wits back home. They are such fun colors, so that even though the colorway is SIGNIFICANTLY brighter than most things in my wardrobe, I had been keeping my eye out for a good simple shrug pattern that will work with the ribbon yarn. I decided on the Minimalist Ribbon Shrug from Interweave Knits (the Minimalist Ribbon Wrap is in the Staff Shrugs bundle of patterns). As usual, I'm right on gauge, so it's on US 10.5s and 11s in the Colinette Giotto. Since I only have 2 skeins of the Giotto, I'm not making the sleeves as long (only to the elbow) and took out a few stitches across the piece (45 stitches instead of 49) so that should be just enough for what I have :) Makes is a little trimmer too - with colors this bright, you don't need it quite so big and drapey. It'll be eye-catching enough!

The other alteration I'm making is to work the sleeves in the round, instead of making the whole piece flat and then seaming. We all know how much I hate seaming! Oh, and once I reached the back piece, I started alternating the two skeins, so that I wouldn't have any pooling on the back. I had worked it one skein at a time at first, but was getting very strong pooling on the second skein, so backed up to the end of the sleeve and redid the back alternating like I said. Looks MUCH more even now!

Aside from the one skein pooling, there really haven't been any other complaints with the Giotto. It's got a great shine to it, and drapes wonderfully. The colorway I'm using is Jewel, but it looks more summery and tropical-fishy than jewels to me. I guess I think of jewel tones more in the garnet and hunter and navy and dark sapphire color range, not the bright tropicals. Still, the name aside, the colorway is a great summer piece. I have a few tank tops that will look good with it, and this will be a nice throw-on piece when summer evening parties start cooling off as the sun sets :)

Sugar Leaves Scarf

My impulse yarn from Green Planet! Don't regret it a jot! This stuff is so silky and drapes so beautifully... I will love this scarf when it's done! The yarn is in soft to dark roses and soft to dark greys. I can't tell you which picture below is closest to the actual colorway, (the pinks look better in the first, the greys in the second). There are no dye-lots for this yarn, so I'm working from two skeins and alternating rows. The pattern I'm using is the Streaming Leaves Scarf from Fiber Trends, though my lefty pattern reading has flipped the chart. Nothing really noticeable, unless you've seen the original pattern and notice that my leaves are cascading in the opposite direction :)

The view above is just after finishing the first lace chart. The pattern calls for you to repeat it 5 times, I believe, but I like my scarves a bit longer, so will play it as I go and end when I'm ready :) Either way, I think I will have enough yarn to make a little hat to match! Cute springtime-y set for when I have to dress up and still be outdoors. Spring weddings and the like.

The yarn is Araucania Ruca, and I'm working the pattern on US 6. The yarn itself tends to untwist a little, so it's kinda like knitting with several strands of embroidery floss. Still, you get used to it and just watching a little more closely to make sure you're not splitting yarn as you go. I've heard a similar description for Lion Brand Microspun, which holds up well once it IS knit up, and the sample in the shop was in great condition, so I'm hoping my scarf will hold up well too, since I'm sure it'll get a lot of wear too!

Gaia

Our KAL, mine and Sarah's. More coming up in a few days, since that will be my G ABC-along post :)

Mitered Hat

This is a free pattern from Sandi Rossman from her class at Stitches on using self-striping yarns. Band of miters around the head, then pick up for a small band and pick up for the crown, nice and simple. I was practicing the miters in class, and decided to go ahead and make the hat. Really, because I can :) I'm using Bernat Baby Jacquards on US 7. This is really just a portable project and will end up gifted or as a charity project or something. That's the sort of thing that happens when you're using a baby yarn and don't have any babies of your own. The garter stitch is very stretchy, so it might be a toddler hat, really...

And now, on to the recently finished:

Mom's Sweater

Version 2.0! This is the reworking of the sweater I made for Mom a few years ago. I know I mentioned it before, how I was redoing a beloved sweater for her. Well, I'd finished the knitting before Stitches, and have just now finished the weaving in ends and gotten it mailed off to Mom. I only have a picture of me wearing the sweater, but I made Mom promise to send me one of her when she gets it (Please remember, Mom!) It's a little long on me, but Mom's a little taller and likes her sweaters longer anyway.

I used the same pattern I did before, EZ's Percentage Sweater, nice and easy and in the round. It's what Mom asked for - nothing too fancy, basically a sweatshirt but nicer. I went down a needle size this time, using a 7 not an 8, but that should help it hold up to the amount of wear she puts it through, as well as bringing in the size a bit. And I didn't decrease the extra 10% at the cuffs and hem, because no one in our family likes that extra clinginess - the ribbing adds enough. I was very proud, though, looking at how some of my techniques had improved. The increases on the undersides of the arms, for example, were nice and ordered, and the collar was more even as well. Oh, that was another change too - I made it more of a mock collar this time, compared to the last version.

Travelling Woman

Here's for the gushing section of the post. I wanted a cute little shawl to make, using about 2 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease that I had stored up. I chose Travelling Woman by Liz Abinante (the pattern is free at that link on Ravelry). This shawl is designed for 1 skein of fingering weight, but I used just over 2 skeins of the worsted weight instead, to get a little heavier shawl. Also, that's what I had :) I liked that it's a semi-circular shawl, not a straight triangle. I will have several triangles in my wardrobe by the time I'm caught up on my queue, but I like having the softer curve as a variation. Second, I love lace, and this is a nice simple lace pattern. Finally, the name - I am a traveling woman, too, after all! (The name of the shawl came from a British song, though, so that's why it's got 2 l's)

Part of what I liked about this pattern is that it is REALLY easy to customize the size. She gives 3 variations on resizing it in her directions. I chose to make it a little bigger by adding one more lace repeat at the bottom. In addition to making the shawl a little bigger (a bigger stockinette section and wider by one lace repeat), adding just one lace repeat instead of 2 shifts the eyelets on the back. In the original pattern, the center increase eyelets line up with the double decreases when you start the lace border. In mine, using an even number of repeats instead on an odd, the eyelets branch into the eyelets of the lace pattern. Subtle difference, I know, but it appeals to my sense of symmetry :) You can see what I'm talking about in the picture below (don't mind the color - the flash kinda washed it all out).

One other variation for this shawl is at the blocking stage. You can either block the piece in a soft curve, or with little peaks at the lace mesh. You can see examples of those in her original sample. Since I was working with an acrylic-wool blend, blocking was a little more challenging. "Vigorous blocking," as they say. I didn't worry about the peaks :) Using a wool-acrylic blend on the regular size US 8 needles meant that it was a little stiff when it came off the needles, but once it was blocked, the yarn softened up nicely and the drape kicked in.

Overall, I love love love this pattern! It's cute, the perfect size for me, and was FAST! The whole thing from cast on to off the blocking boards was under 2 weeks, and that included reworking a bit at the beginning. Cold meds plus counting stitches do NOT mix, just so you know! Anyway, I'd definitely do it again. The project was just over 2 skeins of Wool-Ease, the little bit more came from a hat I'd frogged in the same yarn. I think if I hadn't made it bigger, then 2 skeins might have been enough.

Oh, and as an added bit of trivia, I got to meet Liz (the designer) at Stitches! She's the lady behind Femme Fatale Fibers, and I recognized a Travelling Woman as one of the samples in her stall. One of those innocent conversation starters, "Oh, is that a Travelling Woman? I'm thinking of casting on for that when I get back home." "Yes it is. Actually, I designed it." So, thank you again, Liz, for a great pattern!

How about yours?

Honestly, though, I don't know if Scruffers if bright enough to plot. I think it's more likely that we'll be taken out by the 20-lb doofus as he charges at our ankles in an attempt to beat us to the closet where we keep his kibble. I don't know why he doesn't learn that tripping us up doesn't get his food to him any faster. I'm just glad we don't live in a 2-story house right now, where he would charge past us on the staircase.

Then again, he might decide that we've had him on his diet too long and seek his revenge. Sorry, Scruffers, we know you're big, but 17 pounds is where you should be and we're gonna keep you there, not at 20! Portion control!

If you have concerns about your own furbeast, there is also a handy list of signs to consider too, before you take the quiz. :)

Review: The Singing Detective

More miniseries from Netflix! Yes, this is how my queue reaches such proportions - good recommendations, and added movies which are really multi-disc seasons of things instead. Anyway, this week: The Singing Detective.

Plot: The miniseries is a blend of fiction, flashback and present day, seen through the mind of detective writer Philip Marlow (Michael Gambon). Marlow is hospitalized with psoriatic arthropathy, which affects his skin and joints, making movement so painful that he is confined to a hospital bed. In order to keep his sanity, Marlow writes inside his mind, blurring one of his early works with childhood memories. The novel he has written himself into as the lead is "The Singing Detective," a surreal fantasy of spies and criminals, complete with musical score. Marlow's mental wanderings help him survive his time in hospital, and eventually move towards recovery.

This is an interesting one. Honestly, after the first disc, I wasn't sure how they would end it. It was such a dark beginning. Because he's dealing with a skin disorder, not just the joint pain, etc, he is very depressed and bitter. It's actually a point that the psychiatrist in the film makes, how skin patients often have more depression, since it is such a huge part of how we and others see ourselves. In terms of the movie, it means he is a rather unlikeable lead character, but at the same time rather funny. He's the bitter no-longer-gives-a-damn sort of character that says what everyone else wants to.

The acting was wonderful. Just a great cast. Gambon is a very solid lead, bitter and acerbic as modern Marlow, then smooth and cynical as the 1940s character. He makes an unlikeable character (as written) almost sympathetic. And seeing Marlow improve mentally and physically is definitely a journey.

Thinking of the cast, there were several faces that were so out of context for me... well, I missed them. Just the nagging "I know them from somewhere" feeling that I couldn't place. Anne, you'll be ashamed of me as I rattle off here all the faces I couldn't place:

• Mrs. Marlow (Philip's mother) is played by Alison Steadman, Mrs. Bennet from the BBC P&P version.
• Nurse Mills is Joanne Whalley, Sorsha in Willow, which I've seen a dozen times easily, though here she's got her natural brunette coloring.
• The schoolteacher is played by Janet Henfrey, who plays Mrs. Bale in As Time Goes By (can't BELIEVE I missed that one!).
• Young Philip is played by Lyndon Davies, who plays Perkins in the Sharpe's series. At least this one I think I've an excuse for, as he's 10 years younger here than in Sharpe's.

The writing itself is well done, but weird. Like any good trip through someone's subconscious, the plot flows from childhood memories to his 1940s detective fantasy to his present hospital ward and back with little announcement. It makes for surreal moments at times, like when he hallucinates in the hospital ward and the doctors break out into song. But, if you're looking at someone's mind and flow of thought, that's really how it works, isn't it?

Oh, and as a random side note on my crazy thought process... I chattered about Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr just recently. Another detective movie that RDJ has made was the movie version of The Singing Detective (2003). No, that wasn't planned. :) RDJ played the lead in the movie version, who for some reason was renamed Dan Dark for the movie instead of Philip Marlow. Don't know why they did that, since there are several references to Philip being named after such a famous character. After watching the miniseries, I'm intrigued by the movie, because it seems that they really needed all the time a miniseries offered to explore all the ins and outs of Marlow's mental wanderings. Seems that a 2 hour movie would rush things a bit. Makes me wonder how they handled it all in the shorter format. Oh, and Binney is played by Jeremy Northam in the movie, so that makes it interesting too :) Guess I'll have to add that one to the queue now too!

Overall: 3.5 of 5. Beautifully acted and written, and I'm glad I watched it once. It's just not the sort of movie I'd pick up and watch again and again. One of those classics to see once and appreciate, not one to watch over and over. But then, surreal sorts of books and movies were never really my cup of tea.

F is for...

Fair Isle!

This is my first Fair Isle sample ever! Very exciting. This particular sample is from my Stitches Etc. class with Jane Slicer-Smith. We had an intarsia chart to do, and since I got through it rather quickly, she told me to go ahead and start on the little Fair Isle chart she'd provided. I actually did it twice, changing which of the three colors I was using as A, B, and C, just to see the different results I could get. :) I'd never really worked with either Fair Isle or intarsia much. Being a mostly self-taught knitter, I picked up cables and lace more easily (both just stitches out of place - so simple in my mind - always have been good with spacial-orientation type things). All the tricks with the color work about weaving in the ends and tension and balancing colors in both hands... well, it was hard to get a grip on all by myself. So, when our Etc. class had a morning spent on colorwork, I was very excited!

And I liked Fair Isle much more than I thought! All those ends are still very fiddly and obnoxious, and I don't think it'll replace cables or lace as my preferred technique, but it does open up some fun patterns. I think it'll be a while before I try a full garment in it though. Spending all that time knitting, and then having to steek still scares me. The Steeking class at Stitches did help with the understanding of it all, but that doesn't make me any less nervous about cutting into my knitting!

I have to say, I did like Fair Isle better than intarsia. I don't like the big blocks of color that are so common in intarsia, is the problem, I think. I do like the self-striping intarsia patterns though. There are some very cute ones playing with the self-striping yarns worked in narrow intarsia stripes. (Like this or this). But the big swirls of color blocks... well, I guess it's just not really something I'd wear, so why spend my time knitting it, right?

So, was thinking that to practice the Fair Isle in the meantime, that I could find some cute felted Fair Isle bags first! Like this one or this. Noni is good for some examples too. Practice the technique, work on getting my tension even, and then felt it all down so you can't see any of the mistakes! (Looking at the picture above, although the sample isn't blocked, you can DEFINITELY tell my tensioning needs practice!) Kind of the same way Fuzzy Feet is great sock practice. :) And there are some great Fair Isle hats, too, for smaller garments as practice. My favorite is the Fake Isle hat (this is one variation). It's still Fair Isle, but only 2 colorways. It looks more complex than it is, since one of the two is a self-striping yarn. When I get comfortable with that, one of my books has a Fair Isle capelet pattern that would be great garment practice for me. It's not felted, so you can actually see the tension, but no steeking, just knit in the round. It's way down on the queue, though, since I'm not quite ready to try it! Besides, other patterns have been waiting longer :)