Okay, I will say more

You will see them this close once a day. Even though they are in constant competition for my attention and affection, there is this one moment every afternoon, usually when I'm not around that the older one on the left, Brahms, will groom the younger one, Suki.

It often ends in a tussle, I suppose to set the boundries right again, but for that 3 minutes or so, there is connection. It amazes me, this ritual of caretaking, nearly in spite of themselves.

I see my Brahms aging and it makes me panic to think of it. She's 17. You'd never know it, but lately she just sits and looks at me. I don't know quite what she's thinking. Okay, I know, she's a cat. Why the heck should I know what she's thinking? But, generally I do. And, she a little more sensitive to the cool temps this winter.

They've taken to putting their paws on my left leg when I'm spinning and it's so sweet it makes me wanna cry.

Kittens in the Sun

Need I say more?

My Day Was Made

Sharon of Chickenlips gave me this "You Make My Day" award. Here are the official instructions:
"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

Well, aside from Sharon's smile, her blog makes my day, but she's already been honored by someone else, so here is my list of 10 blogs and the bloggers who write them, in no particular order. This is a nice way to pass along the love.

Oh, are they all knitting? Gee, how'd that happen??

Dharma--- http://dharmarants.blogspot.com/

Wendy--http://www.lanasdelibelula.com/blog/

Larissa--http://larissmix.typepad.com/stitch_marker/

Gary--http://blackthornecraft.vox.com/

Diane--http://dfnojunk.typepad.com/tailfeathers/

Anne--http://knitspot.com/

Nanette--http://knittingincolor.blogspot.com/

Dava--http://www.pea.typepad.com/

Patty--http://fiberlyone.blogspot.com/

Deb--http://www.independentstitch.typepad.com/

Two Cultures, One Sweater

I think this sweater is influenced by Norwegian and a bit of Arctic lace design. It's been calling out to me for a while from my A Gathering of Lace book. As always, I buy yarn and then later, sometimes much later I figure out what will give it life. For a change, I made the perfect choice of sweater AND yarn. The yarn I'm using here is Jaeger Luxury Tweed.

The pattern name is Ljace Kofte. The designer, Joan Shrouder told me yesterday that the name is actually wrong:

"I misspelled "Ljace" - there shouldn't be a "j" in there. I was mimicking the Norwegian word "ljus", thinking it meant the lice patts, but later learned that ljus means "light", not lice. So officially it should be just "lace", I guess."

No harm, no foul. I'm loving working on this! Thanks Joan.

The Start of a Nordic Sweater

This one will be at the bottom of my sweater because it measures something like 10 inches and would be too big for the chest.
This one below is a band that I'll use on the sleeve and perhaps on the shoulder.

Here are my swatches for the sweater, using various yarns from my stash. Based on the amount I have of the really deep green background, I may need to replace it with a different green. Other than that, it looks like I'm good to go for the KAL.

My Boy is Back!

Yes, baby love of my life, Ben is back from his vacation is Guatamala. He was gone FOREVER and look, a little grown-up baby!

(That blurred image in the foreground is Brahms, looking evil right there, but actually learning to be quite sweet with my man.)

Okay, so his hat is a little big, but I was planning for the future when I knit this bit of whimsy.

Oh, he parents are back too. Cool.

And then there are the gifts from knitters!

These are beaded wristlets that Paula made for us (we're waiting on the other half of the pairs!)

This is a felted potholder that Nana made for Elizabeth:

These are little bags holding tea that Nana made for me and Paula:

And Another

Well, this gift had a bit more strife connected to it but I am damn proud of how it turned out. I actually put a label in it and it's been a year since I've done that with anything!

The first go-round the gauge was off hopelessly and I had to start over with different yarn and a new attitude. I knitted it in white wool/alpaca and black merino. On the lower edge I ran a strand of elastic on the inside, invisibly to hold it firmly on the wearer. On other examples of this I had seen knit, it seemed to flair slightly at the bottom.

The pattern is We Call Them Pirates.