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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Hats and Cats

Whew!  January has gone by in a flash.  It was a crazy month.  Mom and dad need more of my attention but seem to back at baseline now.  My sister, the Sky Goddess, made a couple of trips home and that really perks them up as she has much energy to shop daily, and cook up some really special treats.  Like the steamed clams.  I wish we could get the live black mussels here, but they are only available frozen and a strange texture.  So, manila clams it is...wine, scallions, garlic and a bit of butter, yum!  She always picks up the family favorites...oxtail soup, haupia, Liliha bakery treats, and this time of year, jai.

On top of that, my garage became a snack for some nasty ground termites so I had to have the ground treated.  The house, being much older then the garage is surrounded by those chemicals that have been banned, so I think they don't like it much.  In addition, I had signed up for a PV system last year, but due to the end of the year rush I had to wait for this year.  So I decided to have the house tented as well.  All that bagging and cleaning is not fun at all, but it did encourage me to throw away a lot of outdated stuff.

The PV system took 3 instead of 2 days to install.  The first gang got rained out the second day and the next crew had a whole different idea of out to get the wiring from the electric box to the panels.  The attic is old and unfinished, and proved quite a challenge.  They did a terrific job and I can't wait to see my electric bill!  I was warned though, that this is the cloudy time of year so not to be disappointed.





I tried some colorwork out for Valentine's Day using the hand dyed maui yarn.  It's a sock weight so I held it double to go with my hand spun.  The roving was hand dyed by Christina Potter on Etsy.  
I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.  The pattern is mine is except for the top which I found on Ravelry, Gramma K's Fair Isle Tam, by Kathleen Taylor.
 


I signed up to take a Lauhala hat weaving class.  It is every Saturday for 5 hours and I will need every bit!  We started with "pico" or top of the hat.  The project is now on a hat block and I hope to reach the start of the brim soon.

I finished Lady Edith.
Pattern: 
The pattern was a RAK from FranceA on Ravelry in memory of Karrie Steinmetz who passed away unexpectedly.  
Yarn:  Handmaiden, Mini Maiden.  A real pleasure to work with. 
Downtown Abbey has been a great series this year, again!  So much drama, and great characters.  Lady Edith herself, can be quite a b*tch.
I named the strange cat Jayne Cobb, the Cunning Cat.
Pattern: The Parlor Cat, by Sara Elizabeth Kellner from Rabbit Hole Knits
Yarn.  Mostly handspun, Candy Corn hand dyed by the Moonlight Baker.
The face is always a challenge.  I tried out the crochet cat eyes from Heart in Flight, using sock yarn.  They are a little bulge y.  I may redo them one of these days. My son says, "That is a very odd cat."

Owen the Owl.
Pattern Big Snowy Owl, by Purl Soho from Purl Bee
Yarn:  My own handspun
This was in my queue for quite a while.  He is much smaller then the pattern due to the smaller needles and yarn gauge.

Thing Hat
Pattern:  Scott Pilgrim Hat (The Original Costume Pattern), by Lulu Bee, from lugirl Ravelry downloads
Yarn:  some very scrumptious Ravelry Red Malabrigo Rios and white Cascade 220 Superwash.
I hope the red does not bleed!

I took my car in for a bargain service, noise and recall and boy what a surprise.  I also found out my care was way overdue for a new timing belt!  I don't know much about timing belts, but after consulting various people, I need a new one!  Dragon Year is not so good for this metal rabbit, but things will look up in the summer.  I'll try to keep a low profile until then. I waxed and oiled Serenity, my Majacraft Rose, and will try to finished up the odds and ends I have before diving in to the new stuff.


I got a great surprise package from the Knitted Brow!   This really made my day.  That is some lovely Jacob in shades of brown to play with as well as some very special gifts for Totoro!  I can't decide how to spin it...try my supported spindel?  On the wheel?  Do I separate the colors?  Fun, fun, fun!

Don't forget the drawing April 1 for knitting related giveaway.  Just leave a comment on January's post. 

Have a great February!