the Akamai Knitter

Look who came home with me this weekend!

Even though my favorite character is Dean, I named this little guy Sammy after Sam from the show Supernatural. Since Sam is the younger brother in the show and because little Sammy will be the youngest in my bunch, I figured it would be appropriate.

Sammy is approximately 6 months old and we adopted him from the Animal Care Foundation, which is the same shelter we adopted Quincy and Scheyer from.

I really had intended to adopt a little girl kitten, but once I had this one in my lap it was all over. Sammy has to be the most affectionate cat I’ve had to date. He loves to sleep on my lap, on my chest, on my shoulder, on my… you get the idea.

So far he’s been getting along fairly well with the other two boys. I’ve been crossing my fingers and hoping that this will hold out. All of my boys are still young so they should have an easy time adjusting to the new status quo.

Sammy’s also been pretty good with the fiber to date. There were a few problems knitting while he was in my lap, but I think that’s to be expected. For the most part he’s left the yarn alone.

The best thing is that he hasn’t shown much interest in my spinning wheel or in my spinning fiber. I’m a little nervous about plying with him around. All those strands of yarn dangling from the floor to the spinning wheel might prove to be too much for a kitten to resist. I’ll have to put him to the test soon as I’ve got two sets of singles eagerly waiting to be plied.

I’m a little nervous though, I haven’t been very successful in swaying him from his intended course of destruction. It’s really hard disciplining such an adorable ball of fuzz.

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you’ve had a great weekend. Next time there’ll be actual fiber content. I promise!

It seems like this week has dragged itself at a snail’s pace to reach Friday. Once again, I hoped I’d have gotten a lot more done then I did. Still, I don’t think I did too badly.

For one thing, I finally got the Carnival Tweed Socks done.

Pattern: Twisted Tweed Socks by Schrodinger

Yarn: Trekking XXL Color No. 105

Needles: Size US1 / 2.25mm

Started: July 11, 2008

Finished: September 12, 2008

I was going to give these to a friend, but there’s too little give to these socks that I think I might need to hold on to them and wait to make a pair that’s a little more perfect.  I used less stitches then what the pattern called for, but I think it’s just the nature of the slip stitch pattern that gives it such an unforgiving fabric.

This is not meant to be a harsh criticism by any means.  I think this is a wonderful pattern and I love the socks. I think the stitch pattern works really well with the yarn, but I have some problems getting them over my heel and I’d rather not give my friend socks with any issues. Plus, this might be cause by the fact that I decided to use a heel flap instead of a short row heel.

I cannot get over how long it took me to finish these socks. The knitting has truly taken a backseat when it comes to my time.  It’s been all about the beading and the spinning this past summer.

This week was no exception. I got to play with some copper findings and some gorgeous semi-precious stones. (I’ll probably throw these up on the shop sometime this weekend.)

One last thing, I can’t resist sharing this picture of Quincy. He’s been invading my favorite knitting/spinning chair every chance he gets of late and I’ve been having a hard time kicking him off.  Can you see why?

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

P.S. My server has been under severe DDOS attacks, so I apologize for the sketchy connectivity. Blame it on the script kiddies.  Kudos to Jon for his persistent attempts and success at helping me keep this site up and running!

First off, I want to thank all of you lovely people for being so supportive. You all are the bestest. Knitters truly rock.

I think the reason I’ve been so lethargic and whiny is because I was catching a cold. This past week has been spent getting over it and what fun it’s been! /sarcasm

Actually, I shouldn’t complain too much. Others have had it much worse off then I have and this virus has given me the opportunity to be kind to myself. Instead of spending hours at the spinning wheel and with the beads, I’ve been chilling with the needles. I managed to get the first Mingus sock done while watching season 1 of Supernatural.

I also managed to get some work done on the second sock.

I can’t remember the last time I was truly in love with a knitting project like I am with this one. I want to work on it day and night, but I promised a friend I’d make her some felted clogs.

I would have started the clogs a couple of weeks ago, except the yarn needed to be wound. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate winding yarn?

None of the furniture I have out accommodates my swift and ball winder so I have to lug out a folding table for the express purpose of winding yarn. It’s like having to take out the ironing board. No fun.

I also can’t find the joy in cranking the ball winder. Some people find it meditative, I just find it boring as all get out. Bleh.

The purpose of all this whinging is to convey the triumph I felt when I finally got all my crap out and wound the yarn for the clogs. I gave myself a huge pat on the back and started them last night.

Robin's Clogs

The size 13US needles tend to kill my hands if I work on them for very long, which is fine with me. That just means I get to switch off to another project, like my socks. I can live with that.

Another reason I took a break from the spinning is that my knee is bothering me again. It’s just being a cranky old bitch so a day of rest was in order. I’m having a hard time staying away from the wheel though.

I’m on the last bobbin of another 3ply spun from some merino by Hungry For Handspun. Here’s the first two bobbins.

Summer Meadows

Hopefully my knee will be better behaved today now that it’s had a day of rest and I’ll be able to finish the third bobbin today. I might even be able to use my nifty new chain nose pliers that I bought last week. The possibilities excite me.

It’s Friday everyone! Have a good one!

Last week I had the house to myself and I had all these plans to get a bunch of work done. I was going to do a massive housecleaning. I was going to spin up a storm, bead like a madwoman, and do a massive shop update. (I was also going to go back to blogging regularly, see how well that worked for me?)

Instead, I was overcome with a case of lethargy and ennui.

To be fair, I did get a few things done. I managed to finish up this skein of yarn.

And I did manage to throw up some new stitch markers on the shop. I really like these charms. How could I not? Tiny spinning wheels!

*clickety*

As the long weekend approached, I revised my plans and decided that over the weekend I would clean like a madwoman, bead up a storm, and spin like a dervish.

Instead I got together with a few friends for some knitting time at Starbucks and dim sum for lunch.

I had a fantastic time and I figured that was only one day out of the whole weekend, right? I could still go home and get things done. Right?

No. Not even close.

Once I got home, I found myself knitting away on a long forgotten sock project.*

(click for Ravelry project page)

I couldn’t even continue on with my current sock project which is nearly done. Seriously, look how close to done I am.

(click for Ravelry project page)

I’m so over these socks. I cannot believe how sick I’ve gotten of them. It’s a good thing these are gift socks. Once they’re done they’ll forever be out of my life.  It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the yarn or the pattern, I just want them done and gone. (Of course I’m washing these before I pass them on.)

So basically, I’ve been a slacker. I suppose I have good reason to be, what with Pressie passing on, but I’ve always set high standards for myself. I don’t know how to stop beating myself up for not living up to my own expectations. I will say I’ve gotten better at the self-flagellation. Still, it’s a hard habit to break.

I’m trying to turn a new leaf. I’m trying to set realistic goals for myself. I gotta say it’s a daily battle with myself. Why is it I can tolerate so much in others yet so little in myself?

Hrm. Who knew this post was going to get so introspective.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Thanks for reading!

*I apologize for the ugly toe photos. I hope you all aren’t scarred for life. I really need to get me some sock blockers.