A Tough Week

This past week was decidedly tough. I stayed home from work on Tuesday because I had a mega-headache from crying and eyelids that resembled a lizard's. I was definitely not fit to be seen in public. Fortunately, the grief eases each day, although there are times when I start crying for no reason. Tom is also having a very difficult time. Jez would greet him at the door every night after work and they'd go get the mail together and then he'd feed her. If we went out on Friday nights, she'd be sitting in the front window when we'd get home. The house is very empty and still without our furry little friend.

Thank you for all of your kind words and support. Tom and I are very touched by the concern that everyone has shown us. We are truly fortunate to know such caring people.

One Skein
Despite the sadness of the week, there were a couple of bright spots. My One Skein Secret Pal finally revealed herself on Tuesday (and that was truly a welcome surprise and helped to brighten my day). She is none other than Heather Brack and her final package was chock full of goodies! See?



There was not one, but three skeins of yarn--Lamb's Pride in a really interesting shade of green, a skein of wonderfully pink Capelli from Mango Moon, and a skein of yarn made from corn. It's wonderfully soft and the perfect shade of blue. There was a pattern for felted mandeville vine and flowers from Noni as well as a large and small flower, already knitted and ready for felting. I think they might be a nice embellishment for the bag that Heather knit from alpaca and felted:



I don't know if the yarn is a boucle or not, but the fabric is slightly nubby and the wool swirls around, almost like a not-so-curly mouton. Heather said that a matching hobo bag is going to be in Vogue Knitting on the Go. And last, but not least, there was a bag of Gingerbons tucked inside the felted bag. They're really good. Very, very gingery and not too sweet.

Heather said that her book, Felt Frenzy, is going to be published in the Spring by Interweave Knits. I'm duly impressed and might, just might, have to get the book. Perhaps it's what's needed to get me on the felting bandwagon.

Thanks, Heather! You definitely brightened up my Tuesday!

I did manage to mail the final package to my secret pal. She should be picking it up from the post office today. Here's what I sent her:



Other than the Milanese Lace Scarf and the New Zealand sheep (it has a realistic "baaaaa!"), everything else is local, in keeping with One Local Summer. I sent some Virginia peanuts and some dark chocolate with cranberries. Okay, so chocolate and cranberries aren't locally grown, but it was made locally. Here's a large picture of the scarf:



Other than spotting a mistake while I was blocking it and the fact that the edges still curl in ever so slightly, I'm pleased with how the scarf turned out. This was my first experience taking a yarn and finding a stitch pattern to show it off. I've got the bug now. My next attempt will be to design a pair of socks to complement the beautiful sock yarn that Heather spun for me.


Knitting Progress
There has been knitting. I've completed the cuff of the Leaves of Grass sock and am ready to start the heel. I also had a breakthrough for fixing mistakes. I noticed that I purled when I should have knit, so instead of tinking back six rows, I isolated the offending stitch, then dropped it down to the mistake and fixed it. Woo hoo! It still looks a little wonky, but it doesn't look like a mistake anymore.

I've completed about five inches (out of 11) on the Too-Many-Choices Top. I still like working with the Twize. It's a pretty brainless knit right now (slip stitch and garter stitch), but even so, every now and then I can't seem to count to four and have to tink a bit.

There is one UFO on my sidebar that I feel terrible about, the Felted Kitty Pi Bed. I started it a long time ago for Jezebel and set it aside. Now it's too late. And all those catnip mice I was going to knit? Too late. So, if you are planning to knit your kitty something, don't put it off!