Monday, November 18, 2013

Kitty Weaving

Oh Linus!
Linus has a string he loves to weave in and out of the dining room chairs.  I am a novice videographer so my video of him creating his masterpiece is crude but I think you'll get the gist.  Also my technical skills to transfer the video are rudimentary.  I will seek assistance from a skilled techy type person for the next video.  (Dave, where are you?  Help.)

Linus loves his string and what he creates with it.

 I came home from work the other night to find my vase sitting on the kitchen counter with a note "Guess who did this?"  There can be only one culprit.  I'm surprised he hasn't broken something sooner than this.

Gluing the pieces together.

It will now have rustic charm.


Speaking of kitty weaving, I've completed my first knitting project.  It was a summer cotton vest.  It only took me, let see from February to September, about nine months.  Just in time for cooler weather.   At this rate I'll be completing projects just in time for the next season to begin.

The Front

The B76yack.

Not to be daunted, however, because I've already got my next project underway.  I'm knitting a cap out of home spun 100% alpaca yarn from Spinners End Farm.  I love working with this yarn.  It has a silky smoothness that feels organic and real. The thick and thin spin of the yarn from the hand spinning gives it a rustic charm.  The yarn was woven by Sherry from Spinners End Farm (also the human keeper of Linus prior to his adoption by us).  Thank you Sherry for both.  Honestly, I'm not kidding.  We love our Linus!

I've never cabled before, so this is a new skill to add to my slow growing knitting repertoire.  It is fascinating to watch the "cable" being twisted as I utilize the cable needle.  Knitting is just chock full of creative, innovative stitches and manipulation of the stitches that create artistic patterns. It feels like magic.  Why did I wait so long to learn this craft?


I love the slight color variations and small slubs and little "guard"? hairs from this lovely alpaca yarn.
 I've also decided to start another project.  Like I'm so speedy that I'll finish the first before spring.  Ah, but I couldn't resist the yarn and pattern.  It was also suggested by Lori of Skeins On Main, where I take my knitting lessons, that it isn't a bad idea to work on two projects.  In case you inadvertently hit the wall on one project, you can work on the second project while waiting for your class and Lori to rescue your mess.  I have just a teensy bit of first hand experience with this.


Look at the colors in this yarn.
 I'm knitting a scarf created by Sue Hendricks, of Skeins On Main, and it is a curvy, wavy, delight.  The yarn I'm using is Lang Jawoll Magic, a blend of wool and nylon.

The latest update on the farm includes a call from our banker today.  Looks like everything is a go!  The appraisal was just above our buying price and the underwriters were happy with comparables in the area.  We locked in our rate at 4.125%.  We have 23 days to close.  Evart here we come!

D :)



Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sad Kitty Monster



Today Linus lost his manhood.  :(  He survived the ordeal and seems to be recovering just fine at home, though his pupils remain dilated and he is somewhat subdued.  I'm confidant he will be back to his usual basket of tricks tomorrow.  The staff at the vet's were quite taken with him and I wasn't sure they were going to give him back to me.


A sad Linus (notice the tongue).

A sleepy Linus

Look at the size of those paws!  He weighed 7.1 pounds today at about 5 1/2 months.


Awww...
Farm Purchase Update:
No news is good news regarding the farm purchase, right?  The appraisal was done last Wednesday and the paperwork is at the bank.  We should have news about the appraisal later this week.  The appraisal is my only concern.  I keep telling myself I'm not going to worry unless it doesn't appriase at the purchase price.  Time enough to worry then.  I'll keep you posted.


D :)