Another weekend zipped by like nobody’s business. At least the weather was nice but I was too tired and/or sick to enjoy it much.

But there was a nice surprise in the mail Friday — a care package from Lindsey-Brooke, and her kitty Lucky.

Lucky sent this for Izzy:

It’s a catnip mouse that mas a microchip in it. It emits gentle squeaks when moved.

Izzy didn’t quite know what to make of it:

She was very full of herself, though, because her cyber boyfriend sent her a gift!

Lindsey-Brooke sent this for me:

This is a CD of music to knit by performed by Jean Moss and the Purly Kings and is called More Yarn Will Do the Trick. Isn’t that great? It’s going to work with me today to listen to while I work.

Lindsey-Brooke also sent a surprise that I shall not reveal for a while . . . it’s to be used as a prize for a future Wendy’s Blog Contest.

So stay tuned!

And thanks L-B. Big cyber-kiss to you! Mmmmmmmmmwha!

Hank 8

Did a bit on Hank. In an effort to escape the never-ending television coverage of the war, we rented a DVD. What did we rent? The Gathering Storm. So much for escaping from war. It was a good knitting movie though, see?

It was a good movie all round, though I could have done without the Winston Churchill nude scene. Yikes!

And because I’m in a generous mode, here’s a photo of Odie’s Easter Sock in progress.

Have a good day everyone and stay safe.

Tough week. Apart from everything else that’s going on, we’re getting new information on evacuation in the event of attack and “shelter in place” information. I ought to bring a pile of wool and some needles to work in case this comes to pass. If I was stuck at the office for any length of time I’d have my sock-in-progress done in no time.

Wow! musta hit a nerve with yesterday’s “Knitting Leeches” topic, judging from all the comments. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Here’s a story about knitting ingratitude and cluelessness.

A few years ago I knit this for my brother, for him to use as an afghan, and gave it to him for Christmas. His wife took it away from him because she decided she was going to use it as a chair cover (I discovered later). She put it on an armchair and tucked it in tightly. Well, of course, the yarn broke in a few places after people sat on it and strained the fibers. So she stuffed it in a plastic bag, gave it to me and said “Fix this for me.”

Needless to say, it’s still in the plastic bag. Not fixed. And I learned a valuable lesson.

Hank

A bit more done . . .

SIP

And a new sock-in-progress. Check the sidebar for details.

New Blog!

My buddy Geane has a blog! Check it out! Be sure and read her “Never Asked Questions” and “Top Ten List.” She’s just started, but there’s already a great photo of one of her WIPs.

Have a good weekend, all. Assuming I don’t get blown to bits by terrorists before then, I’ll talk to you Monday.

Blog Etiquette

I mentioned this in my comments yesterday and I’ll say it here too. If any one of you would like to use the language on my blog etiquette page (and edit to suit you if you so desire) to post on your own blog, please feel free to do so. With my blessing.

By the way, it was not my intention to apologize for the position I’m taking on my blog. (Yeah, I know I said “sorry guys” when I asked you to not send me any more photos. I look upon that as more of a figure of speech than an apology. Heh.)

So fear not — I’m not feeling apologetic. But I do thank you for your support, which was evident in yesterday’s comments.

And for what it’s worth, the very few of you who know me in Real Life will be snickering at my description of myself as a non-confrontational pushover. That is true of my online persona only. In Real Life I am feared far and wide.

Izzy doesn’t care about any of this — she just wants to watch tv.

Disco Socks

Finished the first disco sock and started the second disco sock — lookie here.

Notice anything? Yup, the striping pattern is different. Isn’t that funny? I’ve heard other people mention having this happen with self-striping sock yarn, but it’s a first for me. Kinda noticable, ain’t it?.

Hank

Hank is progressing. Here’s a photo with almost half of a pattern repeat done.

And here’s a close-up, showing the autumn substitute at the top of the photo.

Knit Leeches

I got email the other day from a fellow knitter (Hi Mary!) who brought up an interesting topic, and one that is close to our hearts. What do you say to people who ask you to knit something for you? Not family or close friends — casual friends or acquaintances who think because you knit, you are dying to drop everything and make something for them. Either free or for an insultingly low fee.

Yeah. What’s with that?

I bet that’s happened to most of us. I know it has to me. I used to feel bad about saying no to them (although I always did manage to say no) but these days I have absolutely no problem refusing these requests.

I say: “I don’t knit for money” if someone offers to pay me to knit something. If someone wants me to do it free I say “I only knit out of love.” If pressed, I say “It’s not open for discussion.”

How do you all deal with this issue?

That reminds me of something that happened recently. I was knitting a sock on the train, as per usual, when one of my fellow commuters struck up a conversation about my sock-in-progress. She was admiring it and said “and I bet you save lots of money knitting your own socks, don’t you?” You should have seen the look on her face when I told her that each pair of socks that I make costs between $12 – $18 for the yarn.

Non-knitters just don’t get it (I say in a superior tone of voice).

Okay, sorry guys. No more guest kitties. I am now officially inundated with unsolicited emails with image files attached (some of them huge) of people’s pets. I know — it’s my own fault because I posted one photo at someone’s request. Now it’s out of control — I got over 50 photos emailed to me today. Know how long that takes to download, even on a highspeed connection?

Time is my most sought-after commodity right now, and I don’t have enough for everything everyone wants me to do. So I shall do what I want to do. Selfish? Maybe. But my blog is not a democracy.

Which brings me to another issue. Please note the addition of the “Blog Etiquette” button, which will take you to a Blog Etiquette page. This is something that’s been preying on my mind for a while. I hesitated for a long time before bring this up because I am basically a non-confrontational pushover.

Hopefully this will not offend you. It is not directed at the majority of you. Hopefully you’ll continue to read and comment on my blog. But if it does and you don’t, so be it. Your decision.

We will return to the regularly scheduled knitting blog tomorrow.

Another glorious week is rolling along.

Wait. Did that sound sarcastic?

In case you didn’t notice, I removed the tag-board. It causes problems when my page is viewed in some older browsers, I checked my stats and a number of people do view my site using older browsers, so out it goes.

You can still leave feedback by using the comments (link beneath each day’s entry).

Let us take time out then to enjoy today’s . . .

Guest Kitties!

Meet Morgan

and Bridget.

These beauties are 15 1/2 years old and belong to Caroline F. Don’t tell Izzy, but I think they’re gorgeous!

Izzy sez “eh.” I think she misses being the center of attention.

Hank 8

It’s progressing. I was pleased to discover that the colors in “real life” are richer and more intense than the photos in the book showed them. It is great fun to knit. I love all the scrolly bits! As a pattern repeat is 64 rows, it’ll be a while before I have one repeat done. I didn’t do a whole lot last night because of really really tired eyes. I’m spending inordinate amounts of time staring at a computer monitor at work these days and when I get home my eyes are burning.

Disco Sock Update

Nearing completion on the first one:

The Manly Art of Knitting

And lastly, this is for Jerry, from When Knitting Was a Manly Art. I swiped this photo from an ebay auction description a few years ago when I saw this book being offered for sale. I would have bought it but the bidding went way high and made it prohibitively expensive. I understand it’s full of useful projects for your average cowboy — like a knitted horse blanket for his trusty steed.