Crafting Morrighana

Buried Treasure

I don't spin.  I would like to learn, but we just don't have that kind of space in our little house (that and when it comes to my attention span, I'm a bit of a ferret in a gravitron at times..thank you Sluggy Freelance...).  Also, I think the concept of me creating more yarn to add to the stash might make Kev a little ill.  He already jokes with our friends that the yarn in our basement helps cut the heating costs of our house and that he recommends others become knitters if only for the insulation potential. (I assure you it's not large enough to be that effective, but I have to consider Kev's perspective when planning out my spare time activities...)

So while I did find a $160 barely used spinning wheel online the other day, I resisted.  As much as I would love to learn spinning, I am also  considering the cost of knitting and spinning together.  It seems a little much, especially when I enjoy giving knitted gifts so much (yes, the sock is done...I'll be casting on for the second today!  WOOT!)

Then today, while I was tidying up the laundry room I rediscovered something I think I blogged about quite a while back and now I need your help. (clicky clicky for bigger fibery goodness)

See this?  Yes...I can see your eyes flickering back and forth between the picture and the phrase "blogged about quite a while back"...if you don't remember this, it was a package of stuff that my mother had purchased years and years ago when she wanted to learn how to spin.  For whatever reason, she decided that spinning was not for her and tucked these items away in our family storage room.  Many moons later, after I had grown up and moved out, she and I were cleaning out the last of my personal possessions from their basement and she came across these items.  Knowing how enthusiastic I was about knitting, she offered them to me, I accepted, and then for whatever reason, they ended up in my storage area...not sure why, really.

You're questioning the gap in time, aren't you?  You are wondering how I could be sitting on this and not do anything with it.  I know, and I officially offer my apologies to the spinning world.  I'm just kind of stumped about what to do with it to be honest.  I have...questions.  Perhaps you have answers?

1.  First off, are these fleece thingies (term please?) useable?  Can I wash these and spin them and they will still be good?  They have aged some since my mother first purchased them...we're likely talking about 10 to 15 years of age, not a mere couple of months. 

2. Do moths like fiber when it's in this state?  I don't see anything when I look through it but what are some signs of moths that I can look out for?

3.  What ARE these?  Is there a site you can recommend that would help me identify what sort of fiber these are or can you tell me?  It looks like about four different types if you check out the photo...maybe three?  Who's the fiber identification expert?

4.  Okay, now let's play Name Those Tools...I know which one is the drop spindle, but are those paddle things used for carding?  Are they just called "spikey paddle thingies" or "carders" or...?

I don't know where to start, here.  Normally I consider myself a relatively resourceful person, (after all, most of what I learned about knitting I taught myself) but I'm really not sure where the best place to start is. 
I've also heard that drop spindles are really quite difficult to maneuver so if you know of any video tutorials (we learn visually and kinetically around here) they would be very much appreciated.

Interview Update:
For those interested, the interview went well yesterday.  Actually it was my best interview yet, which gives me confidence for the next one, should I get called. 
I have terrible, terrible post interview anxiety, though.  I get this with every interview I do.  Regardless of how well I do, regardless of how confident I feel when I answer the questions (and I felt quite confident yesterday), I always spend the rest of the day questioning absolutely everything I said and did in an interview.  Of course, it doesn't help that I won't find out if I got the position until next Friday.  That's a long time for me to force myself not to think about the interview itself...Oi...
The nice thing is that if I do get the position, I wouldn't have to start until January which means that I could have quite possibly the most entertaining, relaxing and (knit)productive Yule/Christmas holiday I've ever had.  Oh wouldn't that be nice...  I'm going to go dream about that a bit before I get back to the job hunt.

All good things,
Morrighana

Fessing Up

To (actually) do today:

1.  ACTUALLY bake sugar cookies to replace the ones eaten.  Didn't get to this yesterday and I'm really considering doing this tomorrow.  Knowing me and the baking process, I don't think today's interview will go over very well with flour in every crevasse of my face...I don't know how I do it, it's certainly not intentional.

2.  ACTUALLY finish the first sock of Father-in-law's-socks-that-never-end.  See, this is what happens with me and knitting this close to a deadline.  These socks are starting to live up to their name.  Although I did go out with a couple knitterly friends last night for a stitch topped off with coffee and gelato (scrum!).   You would think that I would have gotten more done on the socks...or maybe you know how a stitch really goes and know that more talking gets done than knitting. ;P

3.  DE-STRESS.  After spending much time telling the kitchen wall about myself yesterday, about where I plan to be in 5 years, why I'm the best candidate for the job, my biggest achievement in my last position, my strengths, my weaknesses...Oi...I need a time OUT!!  Aside from the fact that the kitchen wall might offer me a job soon just to shut me up, I understand why businesses are switching more and more to using the behavioural style interview questions since it really does give a better picture of you as an applicant, but man, they can be tricky answers to formulate.

4.  Show off what distracted me yesterday from knitting the sock.  This is terrible.  One of my sketchbooks was sitting on the table and I just happened to pick it up to look through some of my really old sketches. 
It's fun doing that.  It's like looking back at your first pair of knitted socks from a comfortable, more experienced point of view and nodding at yourself and saying "Ahh...that was back when I was learning to use DPN's and was knitting so tightly that I never did get those socks off the needles... I miss those needles..." or looking back at a year book at your grade 9 class photo and saying "See,  I'm glad I eventually figured out that hair like that is illegal in most fashion circles. *snicker* (I was a total dork in grade 9)

So here is what I ended up doing with the last couple hours of my day.  I came across a tiny sketch of a cat in the corner of one of the pages of my sketchbook and it turned into this.  It's not a masterpiece, but I think it turned out kind of cute...which version do you like better? (Click on them to embiggen!)

 

Wish me luck on today's interview!!  I'll let you know how it went in tomorrow's post.
All good things,
Morrighana

Knitting in Public Banned in Canada!

Yeah, now do you see?!?!  HEART ATTACK!!! 
Now I'm sorry for the panic that may have caused, but please tell me... as your eyes innocently scanned down the list of post titles in your blog feed this morning and you came to the one above did it make your heart drop into your stomach?  Did you get a painful knot in your throat?  Feel the hot sting of tears in the corner of your eye?  Did you spill your coffee as your mousing hand spasmed across the desk in alarm?!  Did your lips part to release a tiny, shrill scream that escaped just loud enough to cause the people around you, anyone within a 10 foot radius really, to turn their head in alarm?

Yeah...so do you see??  So, if it's not right that I should put a phrase like that in your face first thing on a Monday morning... if it shouldn't even be allowed in your opinion, then how can the evil holiday clock-watchers get away with it every year??  I ask you...
I'm sure you came across a similar scenario yourself while you were out holiday shopping this weekend and believe me you have my sympathy.  Did you see the signs, too?  Luckily the one I saw was taped to the exit door as I was leaving the mall, so I could sit in the warmth of our car to put my head between my legs until the wooziness passed.  The letter sized sheet of deceptively cheery green paper blared it's message out at me like Megaphone Barbie screaming:  ONLY18 DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

...bastards!!  Dudes, that's just a little over two weeks!

And I ask...why do they do this?  Actually I know why, but how do they get away with it?  Do they not understand that I have selected a sock pattern for my father-in-law that actually seems to make the sock shorter the longer you knit it?  Do they not understand that tinsel is shiny and therefore VERY distracting?!  Finally... do they, the evil-retail-holiday-sign-makers, not understand how many knitters are knitting socks as gifts this time of year, and that it is likely for their health and safety that they NOT anger a group of people of that magnitude that are all armed with a minimum of 4 DPNS?  Not a smart move you sign making, holiday killing, time erasers!!  DPNS = Ouch...a lot of ouch... 8 pointy ends of ouch...multiplied by however many knitters you've managed to anger...

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go pull the cat out of the Christmas tree, and then get back to my breakfast of coffee and sugar cookies (no doubt the source of this bout of "morning crazy") so I can further my quest to complete this holiday gift knitting before December 24th...

By the way...as of today there are only 17 days left...*twitch twitch*

All good things,
Morrighana

Two of the Best Reasons to Knit

And here they are:

Meet baby Grace and proud big  sister Tulia.  My two beautiful nieces photographed here, by my talented sister who not only creates the most beautiful babies in the world (sorry, but I AM biased!) but also takes the most beautiful photos as well.

Now how could I not knit for these two sweet little innocent munchkins?  Although from what my sister tells me, it's not always that way...I'm not sure I believe her...do you? 
Don't worry, I'm not kidding myself.  That Tulia gets the most brilliant spark of mischief in her wide little eyes sometimes.

Still, when I think of the next project to cast on for these days, these two beautiful girls are the first to come to mind.  I have got so many ideas of how to cover these kids in wool that I can't decide where to start.
I think it would be best for all of us though, if I  just continue with the holiday knitting, which at this point feels like I'm swimming through mud...

Case in point, the scarf I am knitting for my mother.  I think I am *almost* a third of the way through it finally, after three days of knitting (technically 3 hours).  And while it's not *too* bad for progress, when an ad came up on the television this week screaming "3 WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!" I very nearly had a heart attack.  Should they even be allowed to DO that??!?!
I'm worried because I'm looking at my queue and wondering how much I should pay Ms. Mcphee's personal scheduler to make one up for me. 

I think I need to take a speed knitting class because I have no idea how all you knitters out there knit so quickly.  While I am enjoying knitting the scarf, and it's not that it's difficult to knit, I just don't knit very quickly. :(  I've tried swapping hands so that my left hand holds the yarn instead of "throwing" the yarn with my right, but my tension is terrible that way.

Ack...I'm a dead woman...

All good things,
Morrighana

p.s  For those of you interested in Canadian politics, please note that while I am quickly discovering my "political junkie side" this year, I'm suffering a bit of what Kev and I like to call "rage fatigue" over the current Canadian "situation".  Please understand that while I care very deeply about what happens to our government here in Canada, I just can't bring myself to let my opinions or frustrations about this spill over onto the blog.  I have too many opinions and you would likely never hear about knitting again unless it was me knitting a sock to stuff in Harper's mouth...erm...oops.  Sorry. :P

More Holiday Knits

Oh I am SO ready for a good old fashioned Christmas this year.  It's snowing outside right now, big fat flakes, too.  It's got me looking forward to the lights, the tree, the gift wrap (because I do a kick-ass job of wrapping gifts if I do say so myself), the carols, the fireplace...oh I could go on...(oh yeah, let's not forget the baking!  NOM NOM NOM!)

I started my collection of favourite holiday DVD's this year (yeah, oh so traditional...I know, I know) with one that surprised the heck out of me.  Home Alone...do you believe it?  Maybe you do...  While Macaulay Calkin isn't exactly Oscar territory, the movie always seems to tug a few sentimental tears out of me right at the moment that Catherine O'Hara is standing at the door smiling like a fool while her son wishes for his family to come back.  It's the same tug I get when Ralph finally get's his "Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time", or when Frank Cross (Bill Murray) bursts onto the set of Scrooged like a deranged fool and has his "I get it!" tantrum. 
Misty-eyed and filled with that magical holiday sentimentality...yup, that''s what this DVD collection is all about.  They are the ones that I can curl up on the couch with while the fat flakes are falling, with a cat on the back of the couch snoring in my ear, and my husband and I drinking hot chocolate while I knit special gifts for our families.  This time of year, I think someone can afford me that luxury until Christmas and Yule come.  I want to experience the sparkle of this holiday season (ooOOOooo...Shiny!).
Tonight, while watching Shrek's Christmas (hey, it was on tv, so I watched it... sue me. :P ) I continued my work on another of the holiday knits that I'm currently on about.  This one is a pair of socks for my father-in-law.  I know I mentioned that I was knitting socks for him, but I thought I would show off that I was ACTUALLY knitting them for him.  ;P

Dudes, these socks are taking a while to knit.  They looked so simple at first.  Then I bought two skeins of Blue Moon's STR lightweight in the Shadow colourway from the Raven series and felt my heart flutter a bit (that's one skein per sock, people). 
Then I cast on, knit the cuff (although I changed it to my new favourite [k1tbl, p1]), and began the 3x1 ribbing.  And I continued the 3x1 ribbing...and continued...and continued. 
Dudes, these socks do not end.  I'm going to be knitting these until next Christmas!! (actually, I think I can say that honestly...)
I will say, they look rather handsome and sensible (much like my father-in-law would like them to look) and I do like the pattern, but if I'm not blogging again by Christmas, send some sugar cookies in after me.  I might need the energy boost.

All good things,
Morrighana

A Thank You and the KW Knitters Fair

First off, I wanted to say thank you very much to all of you that left such supportive and inspiring comments for me in yesterday's post.  It feels so good to hear your words of advice and encouragement.  I really appreciate that you took the time to comment and let me know you were out there listening.  It gave me the courage I needed to really hunker down with my resume and be able to look at the skills I DO have instead of the skills I don't as well as look to the future instead of being stuck in the present.
 There's a big difference in perspective there, and you guys help me shift to the positives in my life which is difficult to do during a situation like this.  Thank you all so very much for listening.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on the job hunt as it happens!
So the knitters fair...ohhhh that yearly trek to Bingemans conference hall...*le sigh*.  I couldn't wait because I missed my chance to go to the fair last year and things have changed drastically in my knowledge and skills over the past two years.

I was thinking the other day about when it was that I truly felt most inspired to knit.  Want to know a secret?  It was a song that inspired me to really learn about knitting.  I was an eager naive thing who stumbled upon the Yarn Harlot  and the world of knit bloggers, reestablished my love of all things Knitty and had been dabbling with my acrylic yarn and straight needles for a little while when I decided I wanted to venture out into the streets of Toronto to actually feel for myself what a nice soft wool felt like.  I wanted to actually experience for myself what all these brands felt like in my own hands instead of just ogling them on their websites.
I discovered the Knit Cafe's website one day, and as the site loaded for the first time in my web browser its music began to play.  Feist began bopping out of my speakers with her song "Mushaboom" and I was instantly inspired to explore the website and the store.   While I don't normally like websites that play music, the song struck a chord deep within my knitter's soul and I realized that I just HAD to know more about fiber.  It brought to mind cool crisp autumn air, colourful leaves and big chunky warm woolen sweaters. 
That was the moment...my fingers hovering over the mouse buttons wishing that what lay beneath them was piles of smooshy Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride instead of the cold, smooth mouse buttons.  That was it....that was the moment...right...there...I still love that song and play it often while I knit.

So this year I loaded Feist into my little pink iPod, hailed a cab and headed out to the Knitter's Fair feeling that same feeling I had felt looking at the website for the Knit Cafe.  And I gotta tell you, this year was special.

This year, spread out over two gigantic rooms were 70 vendors all there to cater to us knitters.  I've read on Ravelry that people as far away as Texas came to find the deals!!

Mmmm...oh,sorry, I just had a moment there **sheepish grin**.  I'm going to get seriously lost in the ecstasy of the moment if I don't hurry up and tell you about the loot I acquired.

From Michelle's booth for The Sweet Sheep, I picked up two skeins of sock yarn from Zen Strings in their Serendipity Fingering yarn.  I've always wanted to check this stuff out but I used to hesitate to buy new sock yarn without first touching it.  I'm wary of scrachy sock yarns on my feet, but this stuff...I gotta get me more of this stuff.  The colour ways of these skeins are Chocolat Cherise and Sadona.  Gorgeous!
I also picked up a bottle of her Sweetness Soak detergent for blocking my knitting.  Kev will vouch for me when I say that I cannot stop myself from unscrewing the cap and taking the occasional sniff or 4 of this stuff.  It's got such a fabulous scent that isn't overpowering or offensive, rather gentle and slightly sweet.  I cannot wait to block my knits in this!

Next, I picked up three skeins of Koigu KPM in a natural colourway.  Koigu needs no explanation or introduction at this point  since it is instantly lovable.  These will be for my first colourwork mittens.  Likely Anemoi...

Next stop was a set of Addi Lace point Turbos so I can begin knitting Irtfa'a soon.  Seriously excited to start this project!

Finally...oh guys.  Hold on a sec...I'm having another moment here...be right back....

Okay, I'm back now...wow...this stuff is...well it's like buttah!!  I decided rather than picking up a sweater's worth of yarn this year as per my initial plan, that I would treat myself to a fiber I had never had a chance to knit with before.  Cashmere. *shiver*

This laceweight cashmere yarn comes from Roving Winds Farm and oh my gods... you have to feel it.  The whole time I was talking to the woman in this booth, I realized I could not stop petting the shawl that was folded up on the table.  I had to control my desire to wrap it around myself, it was so gorgeous.

Okay, I have to compose myself before I go back to work so I'm going to end it here, but there you have it.  There was so much more to see at the fair.  Vendors included The Purple Purl, Shall We Knit?,  the Needle Emporium, tons of independent farms that sold some of the best yarn I have ever seen and touched.  There were TONS of books, needles, spinning wheels, yarns, notions, accessories...it was incredible. 
It was also the first year that I've made it to the fair where I could even begin to appreciate the uniqueness and the value of each item to the craft of knitting, spinning or crochet.  I actually knew what was going on around me.  It was a good feeling :).

All good things,
Morrighana

Rough Week

Well, all blogging desire came to a halt last week.  There has been knitting, but it's been of the stress relief kind...which I guess is still knitting... :P

I lost my job this past week.  I won't give a lot of specific details since I believe that blogging about work isn't the smartest thing to do, especially when you work for a large corporation.  I don't think it's conducive to gainful employment since the current trend of employers is to Google the name of potential employees and look into whether they are a suitable contender for their companies.

I will say though, that I lost my job this week due to a mass lay off of employees resulting in the loss of many, many jobs.  This, as you would likely and very correctly surmise, included my position.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I've been through a whole range of emotions this week, none of which have left me feeling like blogging.  I hope you can forgive the lack of blog fodder around here, but that's pretty much why you haven't heard from me much lately.

During the past year, we were acquired twice by two different companies.  At this point, the emotional impact of these lay offs has been lessened with each acquisition, but the fact remains that as of November of this year I am out of a job.

I'm scared to be launched back into the job hunt but hopeful at the same time.  I was at a point where I was already considering changing either my career path, or moving to a different company anyways so I guess this is all happening at a good time, but I admit that the prospect of financial instability is pretty daunting no matter how short a time I could be unemployed.

From the knitting perspective, because that's how we look at things on this blog, things will be alright.  I've been on a self imposed yarn-diet for quite some time now and have been planning projects based on what I have in the stash.  Lucky for me, my Bank of Yarn has some good stuff to be withdrawn from and I've found a lot of projects to keep me busy.  The yarn diet and now the loss of employment has breathed new life into yarns that I once bought and hadn't touched for a long time and I'm excited to be working with them finally.

Having said that, I did make a couple of purchases for myself on Saturday at the KW Knitter's Fair as a sort of "one last treat" until the job thing works itself out.  How could I resist?  I missed it last year and it only happens one day out of each year!  Besides, two rooms full of yarn (70 vendors to be exact)??  Yeah, I knew you'd agree with me. *evil grin*

I'll post up some pictures of my new loot tomorrow for you and fill you in on the events of the fair and later this week I'll post up some progress with what's currently on the needles.

Until then,  keep your fingers crossed for me in the coming months as my current job winds down and the job hunt ramps up.  I'll let you know as soon as things are looking up again.  Until then, bear with me if I seem a bit cranky. :P
All good things,
Morrighana

Knit Therapy

The Sock: (gleefully) KNIT, KNIT KNIT KNIT!!
Me: *grumble* Keep going, would you?  Don't you ever want to be finished?
The Sock: ...knit?
Me: *rolls eyes* Nothing's wrong, keep knitting...
The Sock:  Purl...*undoes stitch*...knit knit knit?
Me:  Look, it was a bad day and I DON'T want to talk about it...weren't you about to knit-stitch or something?  What's with the purling today? *grumbles*
The Sock: *drops stitch*
Me: *SIGH* Okay, fine!  Have it your way... *picks up stitch and continues a little more gently* Better?
The Sock: *gently* Knit-knit...knit...knit?
Me: No, it isn't you.
TS: *knits to end of row, questioningly*
Me:  Yes, if you have to know, I did have a crappy day...*sarcastically* how observant of you!
TS: *threatens to drop another stitch*
Me:  Look... *sighs*  I'm sorry.  It's not you, I'm just mad.
TS: *finishes row and rounds to the next dpn slowly and carefully*
Me:  Yeah and a little sad I guess...but mostly mad.
TS:  *skips through a few more stitches in an encouragingly rhythmic manner*
Me:  Work, I guess.  A few frustrations there...wondering if I'm in the right place these days.
TS: *a few more slow deliberate stitches*
Me: No, I do like my job...I just started the day wrong, I guess.
TS: *rounds to the next dpn quietly*
Me:  Well...I was feeling fuzzy because of yesterday's migraine, and my day got off totally on the wrong foot...I think I was pretty snarky with Kev too...so I felt guilty about that.
TS:  *knits a slow full row*
Me:  Yeah, I apologized.  He doesn't deserve that first thing in the morning.
TS: *picks up a bit of speed*
Me:  I don't know...maybe it was just an off day.  I've had a lot on my mind lately...
TS: *knits in silence for a few rows*
Me:  Well, I just seem to keep screwing things up lately!  It's like nothing's going right for me around here!  The bank cashed our rent cheque twice...that was a lovely mess to sort out...not!! *rolls eyes, nearly dropping a stitch*
TS: *hestitates, barely managing to prevent the stitch from falling off the needle*
Me: Oops...sorry about that. *gives an apologetic half smile and shrugs*...there's been a bunch of other stuff too.  My self esteem seems to be taking a big hit for the past week or so for some reason...probably hormone related *smirks*.  I managed to tick off a couple friends, set the alarm off twice at work in the past week, the house won't stay clean no matter what I do, I've been forgetting things, making mistakes at work, losing my patience with people...I didn't feel much like going to dance class tonight, either...I did go, though.
TS: *straightens out the previous stitches on the row and continues*
Me:  No...it didn't go any better.  I wish I'd stayed home with Kev.
TS:  *pauses before knitting several slow deliberate stitches*
Me:  I just couldn't get it, you know?  I was a total clod and it seemed like things that normally aren't that hard were just impossible tonight!  I just...couldn't...get it.  I nearly broke down and cried in the middle of class...I'm such a dork...I looked like a monkey in clogs on some of those newer moves she taught us...*sighs*
TS: *finishes row, picking up speed*
Me:  I know,  I know...it's just one class...
TS:  *pointedly keeps a steady pace*
Me: Yes, I promise I'll go back next week.  It's only the second week of the new session...I guess things will get better.  It was just so frustrating, you know?  And those extra pounds from Christmas don't look so hot when you shimmy, either...*snickers*
TS: *rounds two dpns a little faster*
Me:  Hey, you're working up pretty nicely, you know.
TS: *whips through a few rows proudly*
Me:  It's true...I like the way the colour is pooling right here *holds the sock up for a better look*
TS: *blushes a number of very modest pink stitches before resuming the next row*
Me:  In fact, I'd say that you are probably the most satisfying part of my day today.  Look, we're almost done. *smiles*
TS: *knits quietly...looking pleased with itself*
Me:  Think you're almost ready for a mate?
TS: *the needles move faster, almost encouragingly*
Me:  Ha ha!  Okay, okay...I'm moving!  Have a little patience, we'll get there.
TS:  *slows slightly but keeps stitching deliberately*
Me: Sock?
TS: *pauses*
Me: Thanks for listening...it feels good to knit out my frustrations...
TS: *pulls the yarn tight around the previous dpn before knitting knowingly on to the next row*

(*Note*  Don't worry, I'm not going crazy.  I don't actually talk to my knitting, but after the day I had today I thought it might be uplifting to give you something a little different tonight.  I normally save my griping and bad moods for outside the blog, but today...I just had to vent...I omitted some of the details of my day for privacy reasons and because I don't like to talk about work too much in such a public forum, but this is the gist of why I am venting tonight.  I'm know there are worse things to have to deal with than these, but did you ever just have one of those days??)
Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoyed the deviation from the usual blogging style. 
*sigh*  Tomorrow will be better...until then...I'm going to do some more knitting and then hit the sack.
All good things,
Morrighana

A Note to Pooka DeClaw...Demon Esquire

To my charming little feline, Pooka DeClaw;

I am writing this letter as a way to open a dialogue with you on what I am feeling right now.  After a wonderful weekend with my family, having spent some glorious time by my parent's pool catching up with everyone and celebrating Father's Day as we normally do this time of year, I arrived home, and watched with a little pang of neglect as you raced past me and tore off into the forest.  That is where you are as I sit here in the kitchen trying to untangle my feelings at this moment.  Frankly, this whole situation has me in knots.  I am exercising great restraint not to follow you and I am allowing you some apparently much needed time to cool off before we have our "family talk".

Given that this was the first weekend that we've gone away and haven't taken you with us, there will be some allowances for your needs and the emotions you are dealing with right now.  I can appreciate that you were annoyed, angry even, at the injustice of being left in the house with the rabbits and not allowed to prowl outside in the forest for the two days that your father and I were away.

In fact, as I sit here at the kitchen table in front of my ball winder, I am pausing in my rather arduous task to very carefully consider our decision to leave you to fend for yourself for two nights that you were perhaps a little frightened.  While you lay on our bed at night and the house made odd noises at an hour when no one save yourself was awake, who knows what was going through your head?  Perhaps you thought you'd been abandoned or forgotten?  I will say however, that there are other ways to deal with this fear or anger at your father and I, instead of what you seemed to feel was either a productive use of your time alone or your idea of a good way to "get even with the 'rents".

I can also appreciate that while you did eat all of the treats left lovingly by myself in many strategic places of the house, that this may have not been enough to satiate your need to run with wild abandon through the forest or to patrol the local chipmunk population as you do so well lately.  Perhaps you were offended by the large bowl of food we put out in the kitchen for you (you've always been picky about portion sizes at mealtime) or that your large bowl of crystal clear water was not refreshed each day that we were gone.

I however, have something to say about your actions this weekend in the hopes that we can come to some sort of agreement in the future which will ensure that the next time we leave you in charge of your siblings (Akira and Indigo) and our humble abode, that there will be a degree of trust that is acknowledged and respected...as well as a code of conduct that WILL be followed while we leave you with the responsibility that comes with your seniority.

The only clue that this was a vengeful act directed at myself, was the object that you seem to have strategically plucked from the otherwise orderly bin in our bedroom.  I do accept full responsibility that I could have put this bin in a location unreachable by yourself, but when I saw the remaining contents of said yarn bin were unharmed, I was left with the cold feeling that this was an act of feline revenge using something very precious to me.

I was unpacking the laundry when your father fearfully called to me from upstairs.  At that point the only words ringing clear rattled an insane fear to my core and fury in my heart.   "Sweet Georgia", "Speed Demon".... and "Saffron"...the rest was a blur as I raced to the room your father was standing in until I saw this:

...everything became crystal clear to me at once.  At first, the optimist in me entertained the idea that this was your failed attempt to help me with my Summer of Socks KAL. 

However,  when I saw that you had left a calling card of sorts insinuating me as the "Demon" in this scenario,   there was no mistaking your intentions or the reason you left the house with such haste.  I am using this time alone to focus on salvaging the object that represents our bond of trust and to contemplate my own responsibility in this matter.

Two very tangled hours, 8 tooth-severed ends and 4 tied knots later...my jaw is slowly unclenching, my pulse has slowed to an almost normal rate, and I am ready to begin negotiations.  I am interested in your thoughts on how we can make any of your future solitary weekends at home more comfortable and stimulating.   Perhaps we need to come to some agreement and understanding about the differences between my stash and your stash.

So when you have finished expending the pent up energy and anger at your father and I in the woods,  I will be on the couch finishing my Snowdrop Shawl and will be ready to listen to any ideas you have on how to avoid this sort of heart crushing Cat-astrophe in the future.

I remain your ever loving and slightly more patient than I was two hours ago mother,
Morrighana

My Inbox is Sick

Okay, what gives?  I work in technical support for a living, I should be able to figure this out.  I'm not sure I mentioned this yet, but recently I replaced my trusty old desktop computer with a brand spankin' new laptop.  It's all neat-o and I drool over it nightly while I catch up on the blogs in my blogroll and check my email, but I'm starting to get frustrated with the email part of the evening.

It appears that when I imported the email from my old computer that the new email coming in is disappearing somewhere into the far corners of the Dell-o-sphere.  While my Mac loving husband would blame the evil that is Microsoft (it's a wonder we get along when our computing desires are so very different), I'm sure there is a more specific reason for the loss of email.

I must apologize to all of you that have left comments on my posts lately.  The emails that get sent to me from Typepad every time you guys leave a comment are somehow disappearing and I only recently came to this awful realization.  I've been trying to figure it out, but I do apologize if you haven't gotten a response yet.  I promise I will respond to you all as I go through the posts this week.
I may have made the mistake of downloading new emails before transferring the old ones over, but I'm still not sure how to resolve this.  It's actually quite embarrassing for me since this is what I do for a living... Don't worry though, I'm on it like a knitter at a yarn sale!!

In other news, I took some wonderful advice with regards to knitting my first sweater...  A couple people suggested that my first steps into the world of knitting sweaters should be a baby sweater.  Smaller scale, less heartbreak the first time.  I fully plan on exploring the suggestions that you guys gave me about making alterations to patterns.  I'm really looking forward to learning how to alter patterns on my own!  Thank you so much for your help and advice!

I did some quick Googling tonight and came across a little sweater called Daisy over at Knitty.  It's a really simple little number that knits up very easily from what I can see.  Of course the beauty of this pattern is that for the first time EVER I actually had all the yarn I needed sitting in my stash!  WOOT!  I picked up some Butterfly Mercerized Cotton for 50% off a while ago at my LYS just because I liked the colour.  Looks like the stars must have been aligned that day, because it's the exact yarn that the pattern calls for!  I swear this sort of thing never happens to me, but I'm glad the knitting gods decided to shine on me today.  I've already cast on (see above pic of the pink stuff on my new lappy) and I can't wait to see how I do with my first baby cardigan!  Wish me luck!

Oh!  And the Astro socks are still in progress.  I haven't gotten around to fixing that toe yet, but I will likely get that done later this week.  Here's a WIP pic for you in the meantime:

All good things,

Morrighana