the Akamai Knitter

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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Onyx came into my life way back in 1988, which was the year that I really got into Tracy Chapman and her song “Fast Car”. We got her along with Phoenix at the Hawaiian Humane Society and they were my very first cats.

The Human Society had three rooms. There was a room for the adult cats, a room for the adolescent cats, and a room for the kittens. We first went into the adolescent room and that was where Phoenix plopped himself on my lap. He seemed to say, “Okay. I’m ready to go.” So I took that to heart and took him home.

Before I went home though, I decided I really wanted a black cat. Now please understand that I had never really owned pets before and I was completely inexperienced in the choosing of them. So all I did was walk into the kitten room and scoop up a black kitten and walk right back out. I didn’t even check to see if the kitten was male or female. All I can say to that is I was only 16 years old and not a very smart one at that!

That’s the story of how Onyx came into my life.

It’s a miracle that she became the perfect companion for me, but she did. She never complained if I stayed out all night. She never criticized my taste in music or in men. (Well, maybe in the men.) She was always there for me to cuddle or to cry on when life got a little hard. All she ever asked was to be near me.

Yesterday, Onyx passed away in my arms at the vet’s office. It was very peaceful and very quick. I’m comforted in the fact that she did not suffer any indignities or pain, but the fact remains that there is a hole in my heart and in my life that may never truly be filled again with her gone.

I go through phases where it doesn’t seem like she’s gone quite yet. That maybe she’s just in another room. Then there are moments when it hits me like a brick wall and the grief is overwhelming. She’s been a part of my life for so long, (nearly half my life) that I can’t hardly imagine life without her.

It helps to think of her finally reunited with Phoenix and to think that the two of them are waiting for me there at Rainbow Bridge. Until then though, I will sorely miss her and I know that nothing and no one will ever replace her in my heart.

Rest in peace, baby.

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This weekend went by in a blink of an eye. On Saturday I went shopping at the Waikele Outlet Stores and bought myself a new handbag at Nine West. You know how some women are with shoes? That’s how I am with bags. That’s right, I’m a Bag Ho. The nifty silver buttons on this one is what finally sealed the deal.

I also bought a shirt at Bass, but really it’s just clothes. The highlight of the shopping trip was The Bag. It’s roomy enough to fit in my daily purse needs, like my wallet, and I can stuff a couple of knitting projects in there too.

After traipsing about in the exhausting heat of the day, we headed off for an early dinner at Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Company in Pearl City. This was a belated birthday celebration for my mother since they closed their Honolulu location and it takes about 45 minutes to get to this one. Her birthday was on August 24th, so this was quite a late celebration.

With all the driving around we did, I managed to squeeze in some knitting. (Yes! This is a knitting blog!) I took along my Retro Rib Socks. Even though I had finished the first sock during last week’s Aloha Knitters meeting, I managed to make some progress on the second sock.

As for the rest of the weekend I watched two football games (we won!), a fantastic movie, along with a not so fantastic movie. During all this I managed to start a new project. (Yes! A new project!) I’m almost finished with it and I should have some pictures to show you on or around Wednesday. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek.

Finally, I want to thank you all for the wonderful well wishes for Onyx. She’s been doing really well since I last wrote. On Saturday she actually went after a gecko. Luckily for the gecko it was on the other side of the window.

Here she is resting up after the frenzied activity with Quincy keeping an eye on her.

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I thought I’d drag the Flower Basket Shawl out to show you all how I’m doing with it. It’s slow going because I’m only working on it in spare moments here and there. But I’m making some steady progress.

I’m trying really hard to have faith in the magic of blocking at this point. In its current state it looks hideous. Here it is, in all it’s blobby glory.

This is how much yarn I have left in the first ball.

And this is the second skein that has yet to be wound into a center pull ball. I really hate winding yarn. So I’ve been putting it off until the last possible moment.

I’ve memorized the pattern so I’ve been able to take this project with me when I’m out and about. In fact, I’ve even been seen at my weekly knitting group working on it.

It’s an incredibly relaxing project. I’ve been going to it whenever I’ve felt overly stressed by such things like the possible estrangement of a longtime friend or the illness of my beloved elderly cat, Onyx.

She’s holding steady now, but she did give me quite a scare last month. I won’t go into the gory details, but suffice to say that she has the inevitable health issues of a 19-year-old feline. I know she’s had a wonderful 19 years with me and hopefully she’ll have awhile longer, but that really doesn’t make any of this easier.

Like that commercial says, life comes at you fast. So it’s nice to have a comforting project like the Flower Basket Shawl to turn to.

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