Caught in the Act

For some time now I've been noticing that, for no apparent reason, one certain corner of the dining room tablecloth has been mussed up. Here's why:


"Oh oh...here she comes. Act natural."

Apparently, it all begins here in the chair by the window:



Stand up, and then it's just a short leap across to the table. Thinking about what would happen to those spindly little legs of his if he missed makes me a bit lightheaded. Luckily, he doesn't miss.


So, now that I know how, I have to wonder, "Why? Why does a chihuahua want to be on a dining room table?"


Some things are maybe not meant to be known.

In knitting news, here's my Buttercup still in progress.




I should be done by now, and I would be, if I hadn't had to rip the front lace section out THREE TIMES.

(I want to make clear that this is not the pattern's fault - it is entirely my fault for not paying attention. It is partly Frisky's fault for leaping around onto furniture in a dangerous and distracting way. It is partly my family's fault for expecting me to produce meals and know things and answer complicated questions like, "I left my ipod on your desk and now it's gone and where did you put it?" at times when I am trying to knit. But it is definitely not Heidi the designer's fault.)

But, no matter now, it's almost done. Really a cute pattern. Easy, too, if you can avoid being distracted by flying chihuahuas...

Spring Cleaning

The only downside of Mother's Day this year was that I didn't get to spend it with my mom as she was out of town on Nana duty. However, this did give me some time to whip up an extra Mother's Day gift:



It's the Sundance bag from the Classic Elite Web-Letter. A great, quick pattern, details rav'ed here.

Now that the semester is over I've finally had a little time to get myself organized. (Actually, by "myself" I really mean "my knitting stuff." Organizing myself - now there's a project, heh heh.)

Although I've never been keen on adding my stash into Ravelry - I wasn't sure it would be worth the time and effort - I finally spent a little time doing it this weekend. I have to admit that when queueing projects it is a huge help to see what I already have available. It also made me very aware that I do not need any more yarn.

I also finished adding my needles into the needle database. I do not need any more needles. Then I went through a bunch of half-heartedly-begun projects, frogged them, and put the yarn back into the yarn bins, the circs back into the circs bag, and organized all the other needles. It feels great to be organized!

This should last about a week...so let's have a look at it before the system falls apart again, shall we?

The "Upstairs Stash" (let's not even speak of the "Downstairs Stash")


Straight needles, crochet hooks, and dpns:


Wood needles


At least I can walk through my office without tripping. And now I'm off to cast on for something new. Hope you are enjoying your own rites of spring!

Mother's Day

I don't know about you, but my idea of the perfect Mother's Day involves knitting, not having to cook, yarn, being outside, spending quality time with my family, and knitting. I was able to squeeze all of that in yesterday, because, after breakfast in bed, the menfolk chez Yawnover indulged me with a jaunt up to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival.

Obligatory animal pics. Aren't these two just beautiful together?


omg - babies!


I was impressed at how well the local kids handled the alpacas, some of whom were not being very accomodating (this guy wasn't too difficult, though.)


While we all enjoy the sheepdog trials and alpaca demonstrations, my guys share a curiously strong aversion to anything that looks like a yarn vendor. (I can't imagine why...) Luckily, they have developed a appreciation for other aspects of the Sheep and Wool phenomenon: Buffalo burgers, fried dough, and apple crisp. Together, these create a powerful distraction that allows me time to cruise multiple shopping venues without interruption.

Since I had just spent some serious time on Saturday re-organizing my yarn and needle stash and planning new projects, I found I wasn't actually too tempted to buy. The was one deal, though, that I simply could not pass up - a bin of laceweight marked $2 per ounce. I have never purchased laceweight yarn and after the yarn-ventory started thinking I really should venture into this territory. The colors in the bin were a bit wild, but I noticed a copper that I really liked:


When the owner whispered in my ear that he would take two bucks for the whole skein, how could I refuse?

Back at home, Frisky, who was sad that non-working dogs are not allowed at the festival, enjoyed some quality time out in the sun:


He also approved of my bargain.

"Plenty of money left over to buy more turkey jerky."

BTW, that is dh sacked out on the lawn behind Frisky, too full to move :) A good time was had by all.