Willowpede Gets Lost!

Willow got lost tonight!

We were ready to leave work tonight around 8:30 pm, and Willowpede was nowhere to be found. We called her, by every nickname and with every cue... but no cat. We feared she might have gotten outside. There are other cats at the office who live outside (including our girls' mother) but our kittens have been 'house cats', all their lives.

I even tried calling her for 'Dinner', which is usually met with heels-over-head scampering and a slide into 'home base' at the food bowl. But still, no Willowpede.

10-15 minutes went by, with both of us coming up empty-handed. Salamander was in the truck, confused by it all.

J and I went back in the office, because as far as we knew, she should still be in there. I tried calling her again 'Willow-Willo-Will--ow!' I heard a 'thump' on the second story. I was up there just a few minutes ago... I call again on the stairs, again, a 'thump'. It is coming from overhead - inside the ceiling.

I call again, and suddenly, over the noise of J moving a ladder downstairs -- I hear another 'THUMP'.. and I see the reflection of a kitten in one of the windows. She was blithely sitting in front of the window, looking 'up', at the part of the ceiling she finally found her way out of.. I think. I didn't actually see her get down, so I might never know where she got herself stuck.

And, she must have been stuck somewhere, or asleep, or ignoring us... She hadn't meowed back to any of our calls. However, she came right to me when I said 'Willow! There you are!'.. tail up, bird-chirping and downright happy to see me (Greta Garbo cat, remember).

In the truck, she curled up in my lap, licked my hand and went to sleep. She got a little jumpy at sudden movements (like when she has been scared). A little more evidence to me that she had been trapped somewhere for a while when she was 'lost'. She stayed in my lap during the entire ride home, and is STILL in my lap as I write my entry tonight!

Notes for later : Sheep

Great picture of Jacob Sheep

Discussion about fencing in goats with electric fence
Maryland Small Ruminants Page : Fencing
Types of Fencing Materials

Terminology of fleece terms (1)
Terminology (2)
Terminology (3)

Run-by posting... pattern for catnip mice

HOW TO LINKS

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1. If you are looking for how to make a catnip mouse, go to pattern.
2. If you want to make an I-Cord, go to this KnittingHelp movie.

Movies tonight : Word Wars : A documentary about Scrabble... I'm not sure why we are watching this... J said a friend of his reccommended it. We also watched the 1985 version of Wierd Science.

Trying that sweater cast-on again. Dishcloths for Mom 2/4. Also, trying to switch the kittens over to adult food - they are 6 months now. Currently, they stand in front of a full bowl (after a week and half of half kitten food/half adult-food) and meow 'I'm hungry' at me. **shakes head** Its hard to listen to!

**sweater update** : Cast on, did the bottom ribbing.. switched to the larger size needles. Went a few rows, then held it up to J's measurements... I think I'm going to have to go at this geometrically. Maybe I was never meant to read a pattern after all.

OK : This was added later (on 11/07/2005) :

Knit Mice for Cats!
How-to, from someone who made it up as she went along.

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Size 3 DPNS, quantity - 4
Cast on 20 stitches of a yarn your kitten seems to love already.
Knit back and forth with 2 dpns, until length is just about square.

Transfer three just-knitted stitches to another dpn, knit across until you
reach the end of the row, Knit three stitches back onto a third dpn, then knit back and forth in the middle section for 2 rows (with the 2nd and 4th dpns). Three knitted stitches will be 'hanging' on dpns on either side of this middle section.

Steadily begin to decrease at the end of each row so that the middle section becomes triangular - stop decreasing at 2 or 3 stitches.

Knit back and forth for two rows. Then, steadily increase at the beginning of the next few rows so that the middle section matches what it did before.

Knit the stitches from the dpns back on in way that makes sense (this is hard for me to explain). Decrease from the outside edges after you have all of the stitches back in one row. Decrease to three stitches. Make I-Cord down about 3-5 inches. Video on I-Cord linked from KnittingHelp.com

Cast off your I-Cord. You have a very odd looking shape of yarn now.
Turn the shape inside out, and sew the 'nose' closed at the edges. Draw a piece of yarn from the base of the jaw to the back of the 'ears'(the 3 stitch parts you had done turned out to be the ears). Sew the back of the neck and the back of the mousie closed. Stuff with polyfill or fleece. Stick some catnip inside the fleece if you wish. Sew the mousie closed and toss through the air at cat.

My kittens liked a long string looped around the mousie's neck - by which I made him seem alive scampering across the floor. When one kitten picked up the mouse and ran through the house, the other one chased the string.

Better knit mice toys?
links : Matthews-Bozak catnip mouse toy
Some links at About.com
Wendy Knits mouse toy
Wendy Knits mouse-a-long pattern

Green Ribbed HAT

It's a HAT! (it was a disaster, last time). I'm glad I decided to try again!
How-to (notes)

80 stitch cast-on on a size 6, 16inch circular needle, with green Simply Soft yarn. k1p1 ribbing, then change to k2p2 2x4 basketweave for three pattern rows, then k2p2 until the hat reached 8.5 inches, then begin to decrease on 4 dpns every third stitch, until there were 15-20 stitches, then decrease every other stitch until there were ten stitches, then weave-off as for sock toes.

J stole it when I asked him how it looked! I have to make him one now, but just a little longer (he has a slightly longer forehead than I do). It is a close-fitting toque with a 1 inch rolled brim (k1p1 brim). It is super-warm... if this was made out of wool I'd be roasting.

It will go on a test-bike to the post office tomorrow morning! I won a 1940s sweater pattern book on Ebay... have to get a m/o for it.

**Update** : Wore it to the post office (on a wet head, blocked? :o) The only comment I got was from an older lady, to her husband. 'It isn't time for a hat yet, is it?' Well... this IS the South... I guess they think a yarn hat has to be worn when it is 'cold'... which is about 45° :o} Anyway, I'll need to take a pic when I find the camera *see below*

I bought more film for the camera we have that actually has a FOCUS. We were using a garage-sale find camera that required a 2-3 foot shooting distance for any picture it took... Now, however, I have to find the camera of which I speak... last seen in a black backpack that no longer inhabits the floor of my truck. I know I brought it in the house somewhere. Somewhere, is the problem...


:o)! Martians Kidnap Santa Claus (pic)...
Netflix tonight: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - MST3K - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.. (really, that IS the title) ;o) It was hilarious! (Another review) WAV File from badmovies.org : 'Mrs. Santa Claus has positively identified the kidnappers as Martians'

The kittens learned today what static electricity is. Willow was freaked out so much she jumped away any time either of us reached out towards her. Poor girl, I think she got it on the nose. Sally didn't mind as much, just looked annoyed. Not much to be helped -- they are fuzzy and the air is dry now!

What I need to start Spinning Wool

The thing I need most is patience - that has been building, especially these past few years after college ;o)

On to the physical things/equipment :

1. A drop spindle or spinning wheel.
--What am I doing about it : I have a bid on a spindle kit on ebay.

2. A pair of hand carders for wool.
--What am I doing about it : I've been scouting prices, watching items.. I've set my mind that after I get the spindle, the carders will be the next month or so.
Update : I've posted a 'want' ad for used carders on FiberFling - with a ceiling price. Maybe someone else has a pair lying about, willing to be sold.

3. Sew a nylon bag for washing fleece.
--What am I doing about it : This is a cinch once 1 & 2 are complete.

4. Get a wool fleece to try my preparation.
--What will I do about it : If my spinning on the spindle is turning out good, then the next logical step will be to cruise more fleece auctions on Ebay, and/or, look to the Fiberfling group for a fleece. I would really like a Jacob fleece, but the skirting and separation will be more important at this stage.

------Use my nylon bag in the washing machine to wash the fleece per the instructions on Joy of Handspinning

------Do some hand separation and drying etc...

------Use the wool carders to prepare the roving from the washed fleece.

------Try a natural dyeing method?

------Spin some of the roving on my spindle.

Other things to think about - My cats are going to go nuts over a spindle ;o)

in other news : 2nd mousie for kittens, done. They love it. They 'lost' the other one - I can't find it anywhere. They may have hid it to 'eat' later.

ktbl must be wrong. It didn't work at all. I ended up with two rows of garter stitch instead of two rows of ktbl,p1 raised ribbing. If I think logically about it — maybe I need to try Knittinghelp.com's version of purl through the back -- because if I ended up with garter stitch... *insert brain logic here*, and I do most of their stitches 'backward'... *insert more logic here*

Practice a sweater?

I'm going to try some of my lonely stash yarn to practice a pattern from the 1981 magazine.

'Men's Boatneck Sweater'...worsted weight yarn, men's 40 inch chest, cast on 86 onto size 3 needles, raised rib as *ktbl,p1* for 3.5 inches etc.etc...

I'm learning ktbl, <--Knittinghelp.com video. I still don't know if I'm doing it right. When I do my regular purl, and what the video shows, it looks like a line of regular purls! I'll wait until I get another row up, but I might have to switch to regular k1p1...

I know this won't be a real sweater, and I'll have to unravel it later... but I really don't want to buy yarn then ruin it, or leave such an investment lay for a year because I can't figure something out. I did get J to consider some colors in Wool of the Andes from Knitpicks. He picked out Chestnut. Then I told him it would take 14 skeins of it to make a sweater his size... and he said he could wait 'till later...

in other news...
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dishcloths for mom, 1 done out of 4
slipper socks for me 50%,
ribbed hat 25%,
2nd knit mousie for kittens 50%

I've got too many needles in the yarn...