annarella | handmade : beaded stitch markers and original hand knits, london

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friday, 25 july 2008

The scene this morning

They're so peaceful now, even though my ears are still ringing from all the meowing that took place earlier. Hope the quiet lasts a few more hours just enough to make some more progress on Ariann. I know, you must have thought I'd given up knitting altogether. Wrong! I'm on my second sleeve, look:

Notes and more pics: here and here (if you're not on Ravelry). Like it?

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

thursday, 24 july 2008

Look! Look! Look!

They've made friends!!

Really, I needn't have worried, it was just me being super anxious and hyper protective of lil Lana who has shown to have the patience of a saint, sweet thing. Kitten has been tormenting her, trying to suck on... well, he thinks Lana's a she, but she ain't...!! I know he misses his mum, but that's no excuse, is it? I really don't know what I can do to make him stop, other than separate them when I catch them in the act.

And her tail, her tail has been taking such a battering but she only shooes (sp?) him away when she's had enough, and endures endless torturing...

I feel for her, but when he's not around she seems to be looking for him, and they look like they enjoy playing together, chasing each other around the flat (downstairs neighbur... I'm sorry!), so it can't be all bad.

Btw, haven't settled on a name yet. Go to the post below and let me know which one you like :)

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

wednesday, 23 july 2008

Let's vote then

Hey Peeps, help me decide what to name the little guy then (we're assuming he's a boy, so we'll go with that).

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

tuesday, 22 july 2008

I'm thinking: GIZMO*...

...what do you think I should name Kitten?

Other names in the running are: Sam (one of my fave names of all times. Also cos it's unisex - ya know... just in case we're wrong with this one too!), still Haley, Whiskey (cos of the colour, innit?). Ste wants to go with Farty... no prizes for guessing why... ;)

I think I should hold a poll on the blog, don't you? So you can vote, you see. Awright then, as soon as I have 5 spare minutes to search for a free poll thingamajig, I'll pop it here. Btw, suggestions are still welcome. And a big thanks for all of you who have already written in :)

* after him, of course!

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

friday, 18 july 2008

Ehm... I don't know how to put this...

So, why don't I just show you what I mean:

See more pictures on Flickr.

Yep, we actually went out and got another cat yesterday! No arguing he's adorable... but... I'm so not sure about it... Allow me to open up here: the idea was to get a companion for my sweet Lana as we got the feeling she was getting a little bored on her own, as of late. Not that I needed convincing (I mean, I would have homed a pair of kittens had I had a larger flat!), but it really sounded like a good plan.

Let me point out that, well, Lana is the sweetest lil thing I've ever seen, she's never really behaved cat-like, always very delicate, affectionate, but more in a dog-kind-of-way. We've always commented on how gentle she is and cuddly and just right down lovable.

So, we brought the new kitten home last night, prepared for a slow introduction, preferably spread over the course of a few days, with us trying to spend even more time with Lana, so not to make her feel isolated or put aside.

Well, Kitten (yep, capital K... not sure why I did that, but that's what I'm calling him at the mo. More on that later) made himself right at home, started climbing everywhere and I do mean everywhere. He seemed totally unfazed by the fact he was in a completely strange place. Seriously, he showed no fear whatsoever. Of anything.

Now, we had said we'd make no comparisons, after all they're two different cats, but I couldn't help but remember that lil Lana was scared out of her wits on her first night at home. She hid on top of the laundry basket, underneath a kitchen unit, and stayed there all night. Granted, she made up a few days later, but nothing like the behaviour Kitten has been showing in the last 12 hours.

They had a brief encounter last night and a couple again this morning, under strict observation, of course. And Lana hissed. Lana has only ever hissed once since I've had her, and it was when we first brought her home and she was terrified. She does not hiss. And she hissed at Kitten three times.

I know, I know, I've read all about being patient with the established cat, that I'm introducing a potential competitor in her territory, that she needs to adjust to this new fur ball and get used to him. Plus she's never been in contact with another cat before. I doubt whether she can even tell just what Kitten is. But... I really don't know...

And Kitten has ADD. I mean, he must have. Taking the pictures above has taken me forever cos he would not stay still for one second, and all the pics came out blurry. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not about pictures-taking. It's about Kitten being perhaps a little toooooo much for poor Lana.

Anyway, it's probably early days. I hope to write again in a week's time (or even less) and tell you that I've found them sleeping on top of each other. But I wanted to record my feelings of today. If nothing else, just to tell myself off for how impatient I was being.

But let's talk a little more about Kitten. He's tiny. I thought he was slightly older than Lana was when I got her, but once I took him home last night, he sort of looked microscopic around the flat. And looking at his teeeeny nose and beautifully sad eyes, he really is tiny. I can fit his entire head in my hand. And I've got small hands! But he's huge on personality, that's for sure. And I also think he misses his mom a lot. From what I've been told he's weaned, and when I met him he was with his lil brothers and sisters, not a mum in sight. But during his short bursts of calm, he seems to seek warmth and softness and kneads with his paws. Gosh, I hope he's not missing her too much. I know he was unwanted, and if I hadn't taken him, somebody else would have. And he wouldn't have stayed with his siblings. Still, I can't help but ponder on my completely selfish act.

Doesn't he remind you of Haley Joel Osment, with his big sad blue eyes. Cos that's the first thing I thought when I saw him!! So maybe we'll call him Haley. Or Cole, like the kid in The Sixth Sense. No, but seriously, I'm really undecided on the name. I'm waiting for him to tell me what sort of name I should give him. But so far my ideas haven't met with approval. So, guys, that's where you come in. Any suggestions are welcome, just send me a Flicker mail or via Ravelry, or email me your ideas.

Cheers! (Gonna go check on them) xx

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

sunday, 13 july 2008

I really didn't think I was going to show up...

But, boy, am I glad I did in the end!

Due to a combination of factors (mostly laziness, procrastination, god awful weather, etc) Ste & I did no training whatsoever for this. In fact, despite our best intentions, after the initial two weeks during which we were full of ooomph and you could find us regularly jogging in our local park, we put this race to the back of our minds till this morning, when, once we realised that unlike the past few weeks, it was bright and sunny outside, we really had no more excuses behind which we could hide.

So, running shoes on, reluctantly we proceeded to nearby Blackheath for this year's Race for Life.

And it was sooooo cool! It really didn't matter that the most exercise we'd done over the past few months had been running for the bus, because the atmosphere alone was something worth showing up for! It was amazing! Everybody had a smile on their face, and the cheering and encouragement made up for our lack of training.

In the end we were exausted (yep, you athletic folks reading this: 5 miserable K are most likely less than you do in an day's training, but for two couch potatoes like us it was a BIG deal, so, be kind, understand, and no piss taking please :-) ) but so glad to have completed the course and if nothing else, that's given me yet another push to get off my butt and do some exercise. We'll see! ;)

More pics from the day are on Flickr if you want to have a look.

Comments
I've had to disable the comments yet again, due to the huge amount of spam I've received in the last few days, so if you want to shout, do so on Flickr, Ravelry or via email for the time being, till a more long term solutions is devised. Thanks for your patience :)

friday, 11 july 2008

She's done!

Update: I did it! Not entirely sure I did a flawless job with the sewing of the collar, but after taking it apart another couple of times after my last post, it's the best I've managed to come up with and I'm relatively satisfied with the outcome, so I'll leave it at that.

One note on the yarn: I've loved working with it, it's like threading butter through your fingers, absolutely wonderful... but... afraid there is a but... I think the cashmere component, however small, is going to make this vest pill and fluff after the first wears... In all honesty, I suspect that the shoving the wip in bags during train knitting hasn't helped, as I can already see a sort of a halo around the bottom. Hopefully it won't get any worse.

As soon as it's dried, I'll get Ste, the receipient, to model it and post some "in action" pictures - stand by! Luv xxx

And just cos she's so sweet, and has finally settled down after having wanted to play most of the day, here's my lil Lana:

Getting frustrated!

Arghhhhhh! The vest (which I'm going to dub "the vest from hell" in a second) is done... BUT... how the hell am I supposed to sew down the front collar? No matter what I do, it pulls the fabric up. I forget how many time I've unstitched it so far... :(

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

saturday, 05 july 2008

In which she steeketh

So, I machine stitched, took a deep breath, got my small sharp scissors out, and cut. This yarn is heavenly. So buttery! A pleasure to handle. And I went and cut it! And it was fine! No stitches have unravelled so far. That can only be a good sign. Ms Jang further instructs that drinks be consumed at this stage. Having followed her directions religiously thus far, I shall oblige ;)

And now some progress shots.

This is what the vest looked like pre steeking (ignore the blue yarn, that's just holding some stitches). See how weirdly it's shaped? I couldn't have pictured what it would look like, so I just went along, folllowed the instructions, only half-understanding how it would all end up.

Here I had strengthened the steeks with the sewing machine and was cutting the front opening. Looking good, and yet scary! Although I have to admit this is the cleanest steek out of all the ones I cut. I started with the back of the neck (I figured if anything went wrong that that was the closest to the end of the vest, and I could have easily knitted it again), and that came out... not quite so neat. I had planned on practicing on a swatch first, but I got so impatient yesterday that thought: oh, sod it! All in all, though, it could have been worse ;)

And then I machine stitched some more. And cut some more. And exulted some more. Till I could put the scissors away, and there she was. Ta-da!

Now I've got the ribbing round the arm holes and neck, weaving in and sewing the steeks down. But that's for another post. Today I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. Have a fab weekend xxx

PS: Thanks for the good wishes, I'm feeling muuuuch better today - Bobby, your comment cracked me up!!

friday, 04 july 2008

I've got the day off

And I'm ecstatic. Or at least I was.

I had the day all planned out. Waking up bright and early as usual (I'm known to being surgically attached to my bed when I'm not forced to get up, so my announcement that I wouldn't lie in on my day off was met with great amusement. Much to my annoyance, but I was adamant to show them!), going swimming, running a few errands, coming back home and devote the rest of my day to knitting!

Instead I go and get my period!

I appreciate this falls in the waaaaay too much information category, but I'm soooo annoyed with the sh*t timing, I don't actually care who reads this! I woke up in so much pain this morning, you wouldn't believe it. Then of course I went straight back to laying down as I was in total agony, not getting up till half past ten. And I still had errands to run. (Boys reading this, if there are any: no, I'm not being a complete drama queen, after you've gone through this tourture for a third of your life, then come and see me. Not a second before.)

So, no swimming, and I can't articulate how much that pains me, as I adore swimming and I never ever get to do it. Blah.

But knitting is still on the cards. I've officially finished knitting the Deep V Argyle Vest (with no argyle):

Now I just have to cut the steeks (yeeeks!) and it's done. Not something I understand is recommended when you're PMT, but this is what awaits me today.

This knit so far has been incredibly interesting. I've loved the whole concept of knitting the vest all in one piece (including neck & arms openings), without having to worry about working the shoulders with two balls at the same time, or making sure the decreases matched if I knit one shoulder at a time. Pure genius if you ask me.

And as I wear cardis more than sweaters, I already envisaged lots of projects knitted this way.

Now, comes crunch time I guess, for I'll need to put scissors to my knitting and... {gasps!} cut away...!! As I didn't use the recommended yarn, or follow Eunny's suggestions for picking a substitute, I'll have to machine stitch the steeks before I can cut, as the stitches are rather slippery, and the crochet method she explains won't work. Right. I'll go and get my sewing machine out. And put my knitting under it. There's a first for everything. Wish me luck!