Who wants a cat?

Just kidding, we're keeping him. But Milo, he is truly a possessed semi-feral animal.

The pictures above show him in the morning. He comes in for breakfast after a night spent terrorizing the local small animals. He expects affection done just right; pet him the wrong way and he eats your arm.

Each day, I go upstairs to shower and make the bed, and within seconds, he races up there, alternately running around under the sheets and then hiding under the bed, the better to attack my ankles. After a few minutes of making the bed with one hand, and using my other as a defensive shield on my legs, I get cranky. I wait for Milo to attack my forearm and then I walk out into the hallway, shake my arm vigorously until he lets go and drops off, and then race back into the bedroom and lock the door.

My hands look like I get a daily manicure from Edward Scissorhands.

Anyway. Life is busy. There are some things to report, such as that my older stepson proposed to his girlfriend last Sunday. (He bought the ring in July, but has been waiting to ask her father for her hand. Let's just say they do things a bit more formally in Oklahoma than in Vermont!) Both of them are still in college, but again, in OK this does not seem wildly impulsive. In Vermont, I knew exactly one person who got engaged while still a student. He also just started a full-time firefighting/EMT position at the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, even though he has half a semester to finish out at OSU. Should be interesting. He's a hard worker, and at worst he'll have to take one more class next semester, on his dime. The wedding will be in Oklahoma next summer (!) but he wants to have a huge second reception back in Vermont. At our house.

Okie-doke...

Back in the relatively uneventful life of Jessie, there has been some knitting.

I made some Fleece Stuffed Mittens for my daughter from the Robin Hansen book, using unspun wool/angora rabbit for the thrums and two strands of my Long Trail sock yarn for the mitten. Delicious.

You see two mittens but I actually knit four in total because I had to rip each one out once. I'm so tired of thrums. And, it turns out, my 10yo LOVES them, except not to actually wear in public, let alone school, because they are very bulky. Nice. See if I ever knit her four mittens again.

I also knit something more enjoyable: Ishbel. (Note the yucky incandescent-light photos; short days have come to Vermont.)

Ah, you say, "But Jessie, you are not a knitter of lace. You have a pathological fear of yarn-overs."

No, I'm not. And yes, I do. But this was far too easy and fun to be lace. I don't know what it was but I loved it. Knit with my bamboo blend sock yarn in the "Martha's Gown" colorway.

I didn't get a good picture of it, and you'll notice that my points on the edges ended up fading away and even curling a little. I'm not sure if it was the fiber content or my blocking procedure. (Note: If the only rug in your home is on the floor next to your husband's side of the bed, make sure you don't leave any stray pins around. Men can be so whiny.)

I still haven't done anything but the sleeves on my handspun sweater. The yarn, in case it's been too long for anyone to remember, is this:

I think I want a pullover, but I can't decide on the yoke. Round yoke? Raglan? Turtleneck? Hoodie? I just don't know. But it's so cold in my office, I need to make up my mind soon. There's a Downy commercial on TV these days where a woman steps off the elevator at work wrapped in a down comforter. That's what it looks like at my office; two people actually bundle up in blankets at their desks.

However, I'm already planning Christmas knitting (not for the 10yo, oddly enough). The bright side of our personal economic crisis (which is, I'm happy to say, easing up a bit, 10 months or so after it started) is that we've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping, as odd as it sounds. Rather than have the big all-out shop-a-thon in December, we're picking up one or two things a week as the grocery money allows. It's not going to be a normal over-the-top Christmas (which I hate anyway; my husband's the crazy one), but I'm thinking we may be able to avoid the mall altogether this year. One can only hope.

Okay, as I am going on and on, let me say there's been a lot of this:

Pumpkin pie made with the only little pumpkins I managed to get out of our garden. I had to buy more this week and today I'll make a pie and put the rest of the filling in the freezer for this winter. So delicious. We're still rocking the freezer full of our own meat and frozen veggies and fruits. Nothing beats the flavor.

Also, I had a shop update last night, which many of you already know from A Piece of Vermont Yarn & Fiber's mailing list. If you want to receive extremely infrequent updates, sign up here.

Bamboo Blend sock yarn, two skeins of each:

Late October:

Gingerbread:

Mountain Laurel:

Olive a Sudden:

Merino/Tussah silk 80/20 blend top. Remaining colorways are

Truth or Dare, 4 ounces:

 

Wildest Dreams, 8 ounces:

Okay, I think I've gone on long enough this morning. The house is a mess and the chickens want out of the coop.

Have a good weekend.

Comments

[Carrie]

Pretty stuff, the yarn and the knitting. I bet the daughter will love the thrums when it gets really really cold and all her friends are whining about their hands being frozen...

[Julie]

Love the handspun for your sweater. I vote for a hoodie, if there's enough yarn.

Nice job on Ishbel. Way to conquer that lace! I don't know what your blocking procedure was, but I usually soak the item for 20+ minutes in water w/no-rinse wool wash (Soak, Eucalan), spin the water out in the washer, then pin it out to dry.

I, too, would like to do away with the "normal, over-the-top Christmas". Sounds like you have a good plan for that. It just wears me out to think I have to out-do last year, at least within the immediate household.

[valerie]

Ah....so I'm not the very first one to blog about Christmas. Am afraid my take isn't as optimistic as yours!

Love the color for the handspun sweater. Surely you'll get an idea on Ravelry!

[donna lee]

I'm spinning for a sweater for my husband. Some alpaca that I bought at the NJ sheep breeders show. It's so easy to spin and I'm loving it. Next year, I'm buying some for a sweater for ME.

[trek]

Mmm...pie! Trying to remember the last time I had a slice of pie...

[Lindy]

i love Milo, he never gets any better!!
the christmas knitting is kicking in here, I've had a request for knitted tea cosy's from 3 friends, (yes, gay men tell you what they would like knitted for pressies, last year it was cabled scarves).

[gayle]

I'm still in love with the yarn for your handspun sweater.
I'm hoping to have time to play with pumpkins today. Mmmmm... pie...

[amysue]

Nice to hear about the engagement, mittens, Milo and more! My cautious lace "re-entry" project is Pretty Thing, a little lace cowl designed by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. If I manage to not mess it up then I'll knit a shawl.

No pumpkins here and except for the Juliets, the tomatos did badly. We did pick a lot of apples and rasberries which have been either frozen whole or made into a large batch of applesauce and frozen in smaller batches for baking. Once I feel I can cook for the family again (I'm sick) I'll make another apple pie before the season is over.

[Andrea]

Oooo! Pretty mittens!

[Shelagh]

Yup, pie pumpkins & butternut squash the only really prolific veggies this year. However, the ancient apple trees overdid it AGAIN. I am sneaking applesauce & pumpkin into everything I cook! We have acquired a Big (16lbs) Bully black cat, but he isn't photogenic like Milo.

[Jane]

Your Ishbel is lovely. I've made two, and despite savage blocking, both of them had edges that lost their points.

[JessaLu]

Congrats on soon gaining another daughter! :o)

Lovely knitting :o))

[Kristen]

Milo, what big feet you have!

[Sligo]

Hey Jessie, the lace looks awesome, and in such a pretty color! I think I have an idea about the curl. My guess is the bind-off is a bit tight, which is why it wouldn't stretch out into points. No blocking would solve that. A nice loose bind-off is really useful in lace.

[jessie]

Thanks for the advice. I did use the recommended slip stitch bind off (or whatever it's called), which is looser than a regular bind off. I guess I could have tried a larger needle.

Next time.

[april]

get a spraybottle to train the cat. He's still a teenager, but will be nicer in another year, I'll bet.
Spritz him down when he's not being sociable. And trim his nails! *guffaw* No, don't, but my goodness he's got big feet and such a nice table manner!

[jessie]

I would be afraid to squirt him with water. He might smother us with a pillow while we slept.

[Pom Pom]

You are so talented! I love the purple mittens!
The kitty has huge feet! Part rabbit?
You sound happy! Hooray!
Stay warm and share the pie! I want some!

[jessie]

The pie didn't last long...

[Abby]

I tagged you for an award. Hope you don't mind!

[Silverilix]

Love the Ishbel.... and now I reaaallly want to make a pumpkin pie!