the Akamai Knitter

My mind is a jumble of thoughts as I didn’t go to bed until 5am thanks to the chai I had last night. Thank goodness for Random Friday.

1. Thank you for the big welcome you gave to my new kitty and for all the great suggestions for a name. I think we’ve settled on a name, but I’m not sure if it will stick. If it stands the test of time (that is if it sticks for more then a day or two), then I’ll be sure to share it with everyone.
   The new addition is slowly settling in and there have been several sightings. In fact, while watching a sad basketball game (I just can’t win this week when it comes to sports), he decided to investigate the living room last night.
2. I finished a glove. Finally. It felt like this glove just did not want to get done. Now I just need one more to have the pair finished.
   
3. I took the glove with me to that last night’s Aloha Knitters meeting. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy my knit group. They’re a great bunch of ladies and I don’t know what I’d do without them. Who else would understand my obsession with Fair Isle gloves in Hawaii?
   Here’s Veronica hammin’ it up with the glove.
4. Thanks to the insomnia, I finished a sock (Ravelry link). This sock seems to have been on my needles forever. Mostly because I’ve only worked on it in the odd moments I’ve had when I’ve been out of the house and when taking the sweater became too bulky to take with me.
   
5. Finally, I leave you with a video I found on my friend Becky’s page. I apologize if you’ve already seen it, but I love it so much I thought I’d share it here too. ETA: You’ll have to click here to see it since I can’t seem to embed the damn thing. (Anyone have tips on how to do this with Word Press? I put the html in the html editor!)

That’s it for me for now! I hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend. Please drive safely. :)

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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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This weekend passed by in a blur as I’ve been getting ready for a big surprise. I’m not going to say what the big event is just in case I jinx it. For those of you who already know what it is or might be, please keep it to yourselves. Besides, everyone likes a surprise. Right? ;-)

I didn’t get much gift knitting done as I was too excited to sleep. Sleep deprivation and fair isle is just a recipe for disaster.

Instead, I worked on Something Tweedy and now I’m almost done with one sleeve. Here’s a picture of my progress. (I won’t mention the acrobatics involved in getting the pictures ready for today. I’m surprised I got any decent shots.)

This sweater is such a soothing knit. It was the perfect balm to the hectic pace of the past weekend and the sad football game I watched yesterday. (I still love ya Tony! DeMarcus you were spectacular!)

I’m still in love with the yarn and the pattern is deceptively clever in its simplicity. I’ve been trying it on as I go and I just love the way it fits so far. I have high hopes that this will turn out to be a favorite once it’s done.

One sweater that has become a favorite of mine is the Ariann. I finished this back in November for NaKniSweMo. I didn’t really give it much blog time once it was done due to a lack of photo opportunities. I still didn’t manage to get a really good shot of it, but here it is.

Pattern: Ariann

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease

Needles: Size 5US/3.75mm and 4US/3.5mm

Started: November 6, 2007

Finished: November 24, 2007

I had a couple of problems with this sweater. First I had to rip out 14″ and start all over again when I realized that my initial try would have resulted in a garment much too big for me.

Then there was a spot of trouble when I had to attach the sleeves to the body and I ended up breaking a pair of needles. To avert a repeat of this disaster, I put each section on a separate pair of needles resulting in a monster of a project in my hands. I managed to work through that and once the sleeves flattened out a bit I was able to get it all back on one pair of needles.

Despite all that, I really did enjoy knitting this sweater and I love it now it’s done. It’s roomy and comfy and soft and cozy. Who could ask for more? :)

Well I could ask that the white cat stay away from the black sweater. Hrm. Does Pressie look just a little bit disappointed?

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The very same day I was finished with the pink and black gloves (I really need a better name for them,) I cast on for a new pair of gloves. Of course they’re from Selbuvotter. I’m not sure who these gloves will end up going to, but I do have a quite a long list of family and friends that are in need of warm hands on the mainland.

What makes the current gloves different is that I decided to use three colors instead of the two used in the book. Why did I decide to do that? Well, it’s all Lisa’s fault.

She asked me if there were any patterns in the book that called for three colors. When I said no, she and I noticed that it would be fun (ha!) to add in a third color to the patterns. The idea wouldn’t leave me alone, so I decided to give it a try.

Once that decision was made, I consulted Shelly, my co-conspirator in all things bordering on the insane, on whether or not I had the technique right in my head. Turns out I did have it right, so it was time to knit akamai!

(Basically you just weave in the third color when ever you’re not using it. See this site for a good how-to. It might not work for Firefox users. Break out the evil IE.)

So I plunged right in with the two contrasting colors in my right hand or my non-dominant hand and the main color in my left hand or my dominant hand.

I cannot tell you how tedious it was to maneuver three different strands of yarn while trying to keep an even tension. Since I’m left-handed, my right-hand rarely gets a work-out, so I pretty much killed it while working on this glove.

There was much cursing involved, but I knit through the pain despite the warnings given dictated by common sense. All the while, I worried that this third color would look completely incongruous and that it would break up the symmetry of the pattern or some such notice. In other words, I was afraid that it would turn out ass ugly.

I’m still undecided as to how it looks, but I think that might be because of the pastel colors. I’m just not a fan of the pastel and it generally biases my opinion. So I’m withholding judgment until the fingers are done.

I’ve heard that Latvian knitters sometimes use four or five colors on one row? If that’s true, I would bow down to their supreme knitty talents and I would also like them to teach me how to do it without breaking my hand.

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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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