Monday, April 15, 2013


Well that week FLEW by! Always the worst part of taking a week off - the CATCHING UP you have to do when you get back to real life.  
SOMEONE had a 17th birthday the other day. (Hint: it wasn't me.)

Thanks so much for the kind comments about my poor boo-boo kitty. He perked up a bit mid-week and seems mostly back to normal now, or at least his 'normal'. As his brain started healing though the 'must eat everything sight' switch got turned off again and I'm now back to trying to coax him into eating all day. He really, really, really hates the kidney diet prescription food. Like, really hates it. What's the point of food to extend his life a little if he's going to starve to death in the meantime? I keep trying to stick with it (and have for over a year) but at this point I think we have to concede that we are both terrible at sticking to a diet. I can't blame him for being happy with bits of ham or cheese. Aren't we all?

Anyhoo, I'm trying to catch up on photos, photos, photos. I keep taking photos of things but then never posting them. Grrr. I actually did manage to finish a few things on break, that I was very glad to get finished and off to the great Finish Bin in the sky, I mean my closet.

 God I really don't like these socks. I started them in January and JUST finished them, so that right there tells you how disinterested I was in them. I took a skein of yarn I really didn't care for (too thin and splitty) and paired it with a slip stitch pattern that I also didn't care for (because it's a TERRIBLE CHOICE FOR A SPLITTY YARN) and GUESS WHAT? They were a miserable knit from start to finish and I will forever be shocked AND awed that I finished them. (In my defense though I picked that pattern because it helped alleviate the thinness of the yarn. It creates an almost woven fabric that adds bulk.)

 Also finished: the bonus charts from the L*K mystery sampler that I started last summer. Very much not miserable to finish and I'm glad I finally got to it because these are cute and I love Halloween stitchies. :)

 And a bunch of totally unphotogenic Scrap Yarn Blanket of Doom squares. I needed something mindless and quick to start/finish to clear my head of the oogie-boogies from the stupid socks. Blanket square I can finish in 90 minutes? YES PLEASE. I think I'm up to 8 new squares now to add to this never ending, not even CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED project because I'm still having fun doing up new ones. Once I get a bunch, like a dozen, I'll wash and block them so they look pretty and totally not like wadded up Kleenex. :)

To 'reward' myself for finishing a stitchy wip I did up a brand-spanky new-to-me small one. I randomly picked colors for this Val's Stuff freebie and think it came out pretty good. (Though I curse you Belfast green linen for always being IMPOSSIBLE to photograph nicely. What is it with this color??? So pretty in person SO HORRIBLE ON THE INTERNETS.) Could use some more contrast in the nose but I can live with it. Original pattern doesn't chart a flower or bunny tail but it's pretty easy to put them in. (Can't have a bunny without a TAIL?!?)

Now that that is done I reached into the nether regions of my wip stack (also known as my storage ottoman in the living room where things go to die a lonely death) and pulled out another wip to tackle. Oh, how optimistic I was when I happily stitched in the year 2012 on this!!! Twice. *face palm* Oh well. 2012, 2013. Isn't time just an illusion anyway? How can be sure that ANY sampler with a date stitched in is correct, right? So I'm keeping the 2012. And don't be thinking I'm almost done with this because there is whole other section of frames that go on the bottom of this. I originally abandoned this because - SURPRISE SURPRISE - I made a little boo-boo with the border and one of those borders is off a little. And ripping out black floss is miserable so I put it in time out. I think I'm mostly over it now though. Aside from talking about my failure on the internets, of course. lol

Whew. Now I'm all caught up I think, aside from adding these to my project pages. Yay!! :)

12 comments:

Vickie said...

Wonderful accomplishments!I hope you will at least wear the socks Melanie. They weren't fun to make, but now what?

Jackie's Stitches said...

I commend you for finishing the socks that you were so not enjoying. I could see finishing one sock, but two? You are amazing!

Catherine said...

Great post! Loved seeing all of your projects. Aaawwww....Happy Kitty Birthday!!

Annie said...

Mooshie looks so nice in the photo. I don't think I would care for his diet either. Yay for you and finishing the socks. How do the feel on your feet? Cute LK Halloween stitching and I love the bunny!

My camera doesnt discriminate ....all colors show up weird in it's hands!

Beth said...

Mooshie has lived to become an elder statesman and thus should be allowed 'off the diet' once in a while...how can you say no to such a cute face? Oh but your L*K halloween stitches are awesome - such neat colors of linen you used! My aunt is taking a class to learn to knit socks - I'm going to show her your blog for inspiration (and maybe I'll get a pair of socks out of it!). Good luck with your sampler - frogging black is the WORST!

valerie said...

Mooshie!! Happy Birthday!! You were really productive on your week off. Love the socks, blanket squares and the stitched bunny. The L*Ks look great stitched on the colored linen! Good luck with that frogging! I'm not sure which is worse. Black or red. I've been using scotch tape to get fuzzies off my Jane. Ugh! Hope you have a good week!

Margaret said...

Happy birthday to Mooshie! I'm glad he's feeling better. Too bad he doesn't like his food. :( All your finishes are wonderful -- you've been busy! Bummer about the socks. And the yarn. Ew. But those LK bonus charts are so neat!! Love everything!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Wow! Look at all of the wonderful things you've worked on! Congratulations on all the finishes even those awful socks!!

Carol said...

You sound like me, Melanie--I'm always taking tons of photos, but then forget to post them on my blog! Your knitting and stitching look wonderful--love the little bunny and I'm glad you gave the poor thing a tail to wiggle and a flower to smell :) Really like the LK charts too on the pretty fall shades of linen!

Glad to hear your kitty is doing better--happy 17th birthday to him! Wow--he is getting absolutely geriatric :) Hope he continues to do okay...

Julie said...

The socks look great from this side of the screen! Your bunny finish is a real cutie. Great fabric choices for the Halloween L*K's.
I'm now wondering what else might be in the ottoman languishing and awaiting their 'time out' period.

Honeybee said...

My kitty just went on a prescription diet, too (for a bladder stone) and was also prescribed a supplement. It's a joint health supplement, but she's on it because it has the added benefit of helping protect the lining of the bladder. Anyway, it's Cosequin for Cats and comes in capsule form that you sprinkle over the dry food. It's chicken & tuna flavored and my cat loves it. Perhaps it might coax your kitty to eat his food? Best of luck.

Anonymous said...

Poor little kitty ... I know just how he feels having to eat "the good stuff". I'd really rather survive on sticky buns and ice cream. :::sigh:::

Your stitching projects are BEAUTIFUL!