Buttonholes on the left

I made most of this yesterday while snowed in watching Jennifer Aniston movies on Lifetime. I sewed the pieces together this morning.
I had a gift card from my LYS, so went shopping for yarn to make a sweater for a little boy who is almost 1.
<---I couldn't resist these little sheep buttons with dangly feet!
I am always searching the internet for free patterns and I wanted something that didn't have to be pulled over the head, as we all know how babies feel about that.
I got this one from the Lion Brand Yarn website, where there are plenty of free patterns available. What caught my eye on this one was that the model wearing it was a boy, and sure enough, after checking out the directions, the buttonholes were appropriately on the left.
Now, some knitters write things such as "It doesn't really matter to a baby." while others staunchly proclaim "Of course it matters -- boys' buttonholes are on the left, girls' are always on the right!" In any case, I went right along with this pattern without the extra bother of reversing the directions for the buttons and buttonholes.
The pattern featured organic cotton yarn, but I used Red Heart multi colored yarn called "Seagrass". It's a blend of blues, greens, and a neutral, which is what led me over to the button aisle where I found the neutral little sheep.
I like multicolored or varigated yarn for several reasons, as it can blend with many other clothes; but also I find that it can be "forgiving" when you are sewing the pieces together and small flaws are less noticeable.
In any case, I did modify the pattern slightly. I used US size 8 needles, rather than 9, and changed the yarn. I was careful to go by the gauge, which is the most important thing. The gauge here was 17 sts + 24 rows = 4 in.
This pattern is knit from the bottom up to the armholes, where you split up the stitches to finish the back, separate from the two front pieces. Later you just sew the shoulders.
I liked the idea that by casting on 102 stitches (for 18 month size), that covered the width of the back of the sweater and both front pieces. You separate and place the back and the fronts on holders as you are finishing up the last few inches on each. Then I made both sleeves at once on one needle, with separate skeins of yarn, which ensures that an equal amount of rows are used on both sleeves. (You know how yarn can stretch when measuring) The only sewing, besides a few inches across the shoulders, was to stitch up the underarm of the sleeves, then attach them to the shoulder and body of the sweater. I will post a pic after my little guy tries it on. Right now, we are separated by a snowstorm. :-)


Here we are with the update

A new year for my feral kitties

I already had the dog igloo as a shelter for some of my stray cats who visit me, but it needed some fresh hay this season.
We also purchased a small dog tent, which doesn't show up well in these photos; but it's spectacular!
It's an actual midget tent with a mesh floor and a zippered mesh door in it. It also has legs that keep it up off the ground a few inches. The igloo is placed on an old plastic outdoor table top, also off the ground a bit. Luckily we had some small, smooth boards in the garage, and I laid them down across the mesh flooring of the tent, as though I were laying laminate flooring. A perfect fit! I then loaded the tent up with hay as I did with the igloo hut; because hay allows animals to "nest" and retain their body heat.
I bought a new tarp and secured it to block out as much wetness and icy air as possible.

We set up the new shelter area the other day when it was clear and the next day it began snowing. When I cleared a path from my door to the shelter, I found that it was already occupied!
Smart cats.

Merry Christmas 2009

Last night just before 9 p.m. my husband and I decided to go to the "green" which is the downtown area, all decorated for Christmas.
<--Yes, that's the moon shown next to the tree.








We are officially known as "The Christmas City", and have been for decades.I brought my camera to capture some memories of this year's display. Every year it's decorated in a different manner.

Cold feet

I worry about our feral cats' little feet in this sub-freezing and snowy weather. I decided to put down a bathroom rug where I feed them so they can get a little break from the snowy surfaces where they walk.
My husband used the snow blower the other day to clear the driveway; but he also made a few paths where they can come to our door from the back yard.
Poor Lucky.
He's been the recipient of our food for the past 5 years, but he's still afraid of humans. He can't be petted. The most we can do is keep him going with nutrition. All of the strays who visit us were friends with Angel, our black and white kitty who recently passed away.

They DO remember!

Every so often we hear a story about a pet who is reuinited with a family or they travel to get to a location and we are always amazed. How much do our pets remember? I think just about everything.
Redd, my daughter's cat, lived at my house for a few months TEN YEARS ago. Yes, that's right. Ten years ago. He was one of 4 at that time who lived here. The others have since passed on, and because of my recent loss of two of those in the past few weeks, I wondered if Redd would be willing to come over and spend some time with me.
<--Here he is loving my feet.
I put him in the cat carrier and drove to my house and sure enough when we opened the cage in the living room, be began snooping around and purring immediately. He gave the house the once-over. Yes, flooring is now different and the furniture has changed. But he KNEW the layout, checking the rooms and looking out the windows and the sliding glass door. He purred for hours and hours. He relaxed with me while I watched TV and when I went to bed, he came in and plopped his chubby body right next to my head and purred loudly in my ear. That's exactly what I needed to hear because my heart was broken.
He is a good boy, and really made himself at home for his visit with me. I think he might have been looking for the girls that he knew years ago, as he sniffed areas on rugs where they have been. Even though I have vacuumed, he was drawn to the areas where they had been resting in the past few weeks. He carefully sniffed the doorways where they would rub their smiles and he just knew.

<---sleeping on my lap....
He was very happy to visit with me overnight; but I lost quite a bit of sleep because he wanted me to stay up with him! That's OK I will catch up on my sleep tonight.

RIP dear Angel and dear Tabby

I lost my two beloved cats in the past 5 weeks. One was a sudden loss, and the other one went to the Rainbow Bridge today, after 5 months of illness. You can see in the photo on the right that Tabby was withdrawn into her pain and valiantly trying to stay with me.
This is the first time in years that a pet hasn't greeted me when I came in the door, and I will miss their unconditional love and their absolute need to be near me.

Winter is coming!

It seems that since this blog actually has to do with crafting....I am always working on something; but I sometimes to forget to post what's on my needles. Recently I made a throw to be used in the living room, near the fire, for my son and daughter-in-law. That was a combination of greens, which compliment their living room.
Now, I recently made a throw for my daughter and son-in-law's family room, and I used a blend of neutrals that went with their carpeting and their furniture. I didn't get a pic of the finished product, but here it is in progress.
I decided to just use my various neutrals (using two strands together) and knit across with large needles and only 15 stitches. I figured that these strips could be sewn together later, making a larger throw than can be created on just two needles, that are only so wide.
I used a couple of different textures, too, which I thought would be nice for a change. However, after completing each "strip" I had to lay them out on the floor to measure them up...one against the other.
Sure enough, when it came time to sew the pieces together, I had to undo a couple of the strips and remove several rows in order to keep the strip within the same measurements as the others, simply because they s-t-r-e-t-c-h out because of the patterns that I used. Eventually, I laid them out and decided which pieces I wanted next to the other color and stitch and when I got them all together, I crochet a few rows around the perimeter of the whole thing, which keeps the stretching away and finishes the edges. I put it over a recliner chair at my daughter's house, and the next day I was babysitting. The baby (10 months old) was in my arms and I was rocking him. He discovered the new blanket and grabbed it to himself, rubbing his face into it.
I think that's the "seal of approval"!