the Akamai Knitter

It’s a dark and dreary day here in Hawaii. A perfect day for staying in and curling up with my knitting. Before I get to that I thought I’d share a Scheyer update.

It’s our second week with him and he’s actually let us pet him! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am. It took all I had not to squeal with excitement, which would have totally scared him off into hiding for another week. Let me tell you, this boy has quite the purr box.

Scheyer is very much the night owl. Luckily, I am too and I managed to get a better shot of him as he looked warily on.

In the midst of all this kitten love, there has been knitting. I managed to finish off the three-colored gloves and start another pair.

(Since it’s been such a cloudy day I had to use the OTT Lite for these craptacular pictures.)

Pattern: Annemor #8 from Selbuvotter by Terri Shea

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in Blush and Cream; Knitpicks Essential in Grass

Needles: Size 2US / 2.75mm

Started: 12/11/07

Finished: 12/26/07

While I really like the results of working with the three colors, I doubt I’ll be trying this again anytime soon. I had a hard time maneuvering the three different yarns with my two hands and it really disrupted my rhythm. This really frustrated me.

I think it also skewed my tension as these came out a lot smaller then my other gloves. I’m hoping that blocking will stretch them out a little. I’m going to have to wait for the atmosphere to dry up (it is very humid here, ick) before I block them though.

As soon as these were off the needles, I threw another pair on.

These are also from the book Selbuvotter. I actually finished the hand while at knit group last night, but when I came home I noticed I left out a crucial part of the design on one side. I just couldn’t live with that, so I ripped it all out.

It wasn’t even that painful since I’m having so much fun with them. Since I have to wait before I can put in an order more glove and mitten yarn, I see this as a chance to give to do more of what I love until more precious supplies arrive.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. The other half of my brain is wondering if I could possibly start the Wing O’ The Moth this weekend. That yarn I got for Christmas is really calling me.

I have a litany of justifications as to why it would be perfectly reasonable to cast on. Besides, how much harm could it be to have a weekend project for me? This is supposed to be my hobby after all, not a job.

I see yarn winding in my future.

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We’ve finally decided upon a name for our new addition. It might be considered an unusual name to anyone who doesn’t know me very well, so I’ll give you a little background.

I’m an avid sports fan. I follow college hoops, the NFL, and some baseball. Of those sports, college basketball has been the favorite throughout the years and my team has always been the Duke Blue Devils. I fell in love with the team when they played in one of the Rainbow Classic Tournaments back in the 80’s.

There have been many players that I’ve loved dearly, but what seems to fit our newest boy is the name Scheyer after the sophomore Jon Scheyer. Why Scheyer you ask?

Well, Jon is long and lean, like my Scheyer. Jon is unassuming in his demeanor, like my Scheyer. Jon is a lethal scorer and as far as I can tell, my Scheyer is a lethal hunter. (I won’t share what he hunted down last night.)

Most of all, the name Scheyer is a great pun for shyer. If my little Scheyer is anything, he’s shy. Even though he’s been coming out of his shell, he’s still quite bashful. (I realize that we’ve had him for less then a week and that I might be eating my words in the months to come, but I have a feeling he’ll always be a little meek, especially compared to Quincy.)

So far, little Scheyer has been coming out at night to investigate the living room. He’s also been following Quincy around like a devoted little brother. The pictures in this post were all taken around 2am so I had to use the dreaded flash. That’s why there aren’t many shots with his eyes open. :)

I was pleasantly surprised at how close he let me get to him. I suspect it was because my hands were full of camera, thus decreasing any chances of me grabbing him. He also felt safe enough around me to attack the toy canary in a display of his hunting prowess.

I went a little crazy with the camera last night, so for more pictures of Scheyer, take a look see here.

I doubt I’ll be posting again until Christmas is over and done with, so here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Take care and please drive responsibly! :)

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Today is the big unveiling of my surprise.

A new refrigerator!

Ha! Just kidding!

Even though I did work hard to get that thing installed (cleaning out the old one was hell), this is not the big surprise I had in mind. The big surprise actually comes in a rather small package.

Are you ready for it?

There he is!

That’s right I adopted another cat. He came with the name “Kaiser” but I don’t think I’ll be keeping it. I’m not sure what name he’ll be given as I haven’t had a chance to really see what he’s like yet.

I first met “Kaiser” on Saturday when I went to see what kind of cats Animal Care Foundation (a no-kill shelter) had. I was immediately besieged by a tiny little calico kitten. When I say besieged, I mean this little tyke would not leave me alone. I thought that was it, that was the cat for me.

Then I noticed a black cat peering at me from beneath one of the shelves they had set up for the cats lounging pleasure. I put my hand out for him to sniff, but he immediately shied away. Still, I was intrigued.

After another 10-15 minutes, the little black kitty ventured back out again and I gently gave him my hand again. This time he came out further to investigate and he seemed to find me up to par as he proceeded to alternately rub my fingers then wash them with his cute little pink tongue.

I tell you, it was love.

But what about the calico kitty? He was still clamoring for attention and he was so sweet! How could I choose between them?

That was when I noticed that “Kaiser” was missing one of his hind legs. Apparently, when he was an even tinier kitten (he’s about 6mos old right now) he got caught in a chicken snare near Kaiser High School, which is where he gets his name. By the time he was rescued, his leg was far too infected to save. But this little guy is tough. He gets around just fine with his remaining three legs.

This is what finally decided me though. The little calico kitty is outgoing and playful. He’ll have no problem finding a good home. Whereas “Kaiser” is very shy and I think that most people might shy away from taking home a three-legged cat.

It’s going to take a lot of patience to get him to trust us, but I’m sure it will all be worth it in the end.

(Most of the pictures I took of him are of him immediately exiting the carrier. I had to resort to the flash since it was dark once we finally brought him, hence the horrid shot of his poor face. I’m hoping that once he gets adjusted I’ll be able to get better photos.)

Once he said hello to Quincy and took stock of where he was, he proceed to take off to the first available hiding spot. Which was my dirty, dusty closet.

I’ve only seen him twice since we brought him home Monday evening, but that’s okay. I’m going to give him all the time he needs. It’s not going to be easy. Patience isn’t actually one of my strong points and I have to continually resist the urge to check to make sure he’s still breathing.

As for the other cats, they seem to have accepted him into the fold remarkably well. Quincy sniffed noses with him and Pressie doesn’t even seem to care that he’s around. I’ve given them lots of extra love to make sure they know they’re still valued members of the family.

All in all, things are going quite smoothly. :)

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The gloves are finished, but at the rate I’m knitting there’s no way I’ll get my Christmas knitting done in time. I’m trying to be okay with that, since none of the recipients are expecting a present from me anyway.

Pattern: Anemor #15(Ravelry link) from Selbuvotter

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in Black and Petal

Needles: Size 2US/2.75mm (circulars and double points)

Started: December 3, 2007

Finished: December 11, 2007

Despite the fact that one pinky is longer then the other, I think these turned out fairly well for my first pair of gloves. I could fix the pinky issue, but I’m rather reluctant about taking a scissors to something I worked so hard on. So I’m holding off on the pinky fix for now.

I don’t think I’d recommend Selbuvotter to a novice Fair Isle knitter. I found that the number of stitches in the chart for the fingers didn’t match with the number of stitches given in the written directions. So there was a liberal amount of fudging involved.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! I found the challenge to be a great deal of fun. I think that Terri Shea is planning on correcting these discrepancies in her next printing. Who knows, maybe it’s my inability to properly read directions that’s at fault here. :)

Despite my “whining”, I’m still completely and utterly in love with this book. I have numerous patterns marked for my to do list and I’ve already started my second pair of gloves.

Despite my disappointment with how the pictures came out (it’s a grey day here), I want to share another gratuitous shot of the back of the hand.

In other news, can you believe my veterinarian sent me some flowers in sympathy for Onyx’s passing? They’re just beautiful and I was so touched. Touched and amazed at their kindness. Aren’t they lovely?

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First off, I wanted to thank you all for the wonderful comments and emails of condolences regarding Onyx’s passing. You have all helped make this difficult time for me so much easier. I can’t say that I’m back to 100% but I am feeling a little better and I have been able to do a little bit of knitting.

Not much progress has been made on my Seaweed Lace Socks (Ravelry Link). I only managed to get past the heel. It hasn’t been much of a priority since this pair is for me and I’ve got to get some other things done first.

I did manage to finish up the Anemoi Mittens to the point of where all that’s left is the thumbs. It’s a good thing too as I’d hate for my friend Dani to leave the islands without these because it’ll be quite an adjustment for her. She’ll be going from temperatures of 80F to 50F. Brr. (Yes, I’m a total wimp.)

There is one project that I’ve been working on for myself and that’s the Something Tweedy. It’s a completely mindless knit, which makes it something akin to comfort food. I find it perfect for those times when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by my feelings of grief over the loss of Onyx. Though I have to admit that it’s also great football knitting too. (Go Warriors!)

Right now it’s at the point where it actually looks like a sweater, instead of a brown blob of ew. I was a very good girl and took the sweater off the needles to try it on and it fits! There’s nothing like having the confidence in knowing a garment fits to make the knitting all the sweeter.

Another great comfort has been my other two cats. Pressie and Quincy have been wonderfully affectionate since Onyx has been gone. I don’t talk much about Pressie here on the blog because she’s always been more my mother’s cat, but lately she’s been sticking to me like velcro whenever my mother’s out of the house.

We adopted her back in 2001 (at least I think that’s the year) and she was already an adult at that time. She had been a feral cat when she had been rescued. At the time she was rescued she was also pregnant with two kittens. By the time we came into the picture, Pressie’s kittens had already been adopted out.

Pressie didn’t have such good luck. I think it was mostly because of her appearance. She had to have her ears cropped because of some cancerous growths. She also has some really horrible eye allergies which makes it seem like she’s crying blood. So she sometimes looks a little like a demon cat. In fact she’s been known to strike fear in the hearts of men.

(I kid you not. Once, she really scared one of the strong hurly burly workmen we had working on the house. He was afraid she might attack him and she only weighs maybe 7lbs and he was at least 180lbs of pure muscle.)

Regardless of her appearance to others, she is one of the sweetest cats I have ever had the privilege of being with and I thought she deserved some time on the blog.

Thanks for reading, I didn’t know I had such a ramble in me! Have a great week/day/evening! :-)

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