Klutz

It's a good thing my kitty sitting adventure is coming to an end. I'm getting a bit stir crazy. I'm at the point now where I could do myself some serious bodily harm. One of the things I've been doing for exercise when I get up at 5 am to feed the yowling kitties is walk knit around the house while I listen to the news.

That was all well and good until I sat down yesterday morning to try to figure out if these sock tops were the same size. I couldn't figure it out so I jumped up to get my tape measure forgetting that the yarn was still in my apron pocket.

 Of course I tripped over the hanging strand but the worse part is that it pulled the knitting down and somehow in my fall it got tangled around my foot so that one of the needles actually went THROUGH my Crocs and put a hole in it and the top of my foot. Ouch.

It's not a big hole in either the Croc or my foot but still, it was scary. My little accident also pulled out the needles so I had also had a yarn mess to fix.

The kitties took all the early morning commotion in stride. I think I should be heading home tomorrow. I think.

Daughter's having such a good time she's threatening never to come home.

Who can blame her. Maine is such a beautiful place.

Greetings From Maine

 There is not much happening here so I thought I'd share the photos Daughter has been sending me from Maine. Here's her yurt.

 They are staying at a wellness campground. No TV. No WIFI. Just yoga, massages and the great outdoors.

Yum. Daughter is in seafood heaven.

 I have pictures of her climbing on those rocks with my mom and dad when she was six.

 Her Mister has found something to keep him busy.

I've been getting up at 5 with her crazy kitties so I was surprised to hear my phone buzz this morning. She was up with the dawn too. Look at that coat. Brrr.....she says it's COLD up there. It's been hot as heck here.

I know Daughter's anxious to get home to her little one. She made me promise I wouldn't let her grow up too much while she was away but I dunno...she seems to be getting bigger every day.

Day 7

I'll start with my kitty pix today to show you what I've been up against.

Yesterday kitty and I spent the day cleaning which meant picking up the piles of toys she has scattered all over the house. Daughter has a fancy Dyson so it was actually fun to give the place a good cleaning. I had to watch a video to figure out how to use the thing.

Besides all the knitting and needlework I brought to keep me busy I also picked up this.....

.....here. We have one of those little free libraries outside the local produce store. I can never finish a book before the library wants it back so this is a nice alternative. I'll have to bring them some books when I get home.

 I also brought Paloma. She's been in time out since the departure of my dear birdie. She used to sit and sing along and it was too sad to think about plunking away without her. I'm pretty rusty but it's been a nice diversion here in kittyland.

In the evenings I'm still painting away in my book using a page for all the different watercolor sets I brought along. I also discovered that there are videos of people painting in these books which is nice to keep me company in my solitude.

As for all those fancy meals I was going to be fixing myself-here you have it. It's all ramen all the time unless it's a grilled cheese. The single life hasn't been as much fun as I thought it would be.

The kitties are eating better than I am. I raided Daughter's freezer for anything to make a kitty stew with and I hit the jackpot. Shrimp, scallops and tilapia. When grandma is in charge I make sure everyone has a full tummy.

Big Needle Wednesday

I've got a FO in this pile. The first red/gray Hawthorne is done.

I've also got a worry. The stripy man socks are at the toe and I've only got this much yarn left. I hate to play yarn chicken but that's what I'm going to have to do. Ugh.

I've finished a pattern repeat on both the shawl and the scarf. The wispy green scarf is on borrowed time. As soon as I get the fall bug it's getting packed up. I've got some other fall projects in time out that will take its place.

Here is today's kitten photo. She's playing Miss Snooperviser while I work on my stitching projects by the window. She's getting more and more comfortable with me since she discovered I'm her food source. She can beg and whine with the best of them now. They do grow up fast.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 I've got the two sheep done on the September block.

 One thing I noticed before I got started was that the next four blocks have nothing in them. It seems like last fall's stitching time was hard to come by. I'm going to have to work pretty hard to keep on my schedule of having it done by January 1st.

 I brought along my crewel work but this is as far as I'm going. I really need my floor stand. It's a pain trying to juggle the frame when you need two hands for the stitches.

That nasty block is done and I've got another one in progress for Dear Jane.

Everyone always wonders where the papers go when you finish a block. You gently peel back the seams and then just pull them out. I haven't pulled out any of mine because I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the blocks.

At night I plop on the couch with my audio book and get a few rings quilted. I must be getting near the end of them. At least I hope so. I'm almost afraid to look.

It's hard to believe I'm already on day 5 of my sitting adventure. Here's today's kitty pix. She's turned into a regular monster. She gets up with the sun and tears the place up and then crashes for the rest of the afternoon, thank goodness. If not I wouldn't be getting anything done.

Late to the Game

 Back at home I covered a bunch of Dear Jane pieces so that I could sew them together on my kitty sitting adventure.

 I've been working on Dear Jane for ages but never really liked how it was turning out. It seems I just didn't know what I was doing. Daddio and I were old school paper piecers but it's come a long way since then. Thanks to You Tube and lots of time alone I think I've finally got it figured out. See that tape? That's a big deal. Who knew?

 What I hated about my piecing is the stitching. No matter how hard you tugged it always looked terrible especially on curved pieces like these. Putting right sides together and whip stitching them just didn't do a neat job. Now you tape the pieces together on the front first. It's like putting together a puzzle.

 Then you use the flat back stitch method to get nice seams that don't look like something you'd see on Frankenstein. It makes the job so much easier and faster. Wow....now I want to start the whole thing all over-but I won't. I never intended this to be an actual quilt just a learning experience so I'll just keep going and see what I end up with.

Here's your daily kitten photo. She looks so much like the Dear Departed Kitty here that it's almost spooky.

Lots of Kitties

 Before I left home on Friday I had a few minutes to spend with Rainbow Kitty.

He/she has a tail now and a new orange stripe under its chin.

 I also took out the star I had begun with. It was ugly and I hated the wool I used for it.

It left a bit of a mess. I hope it sorts itself out.

 Now for the real kitties. Emi is not hiding anymore. She's out and about tearing the place up as a kitten should.

 Senior kitty is her usual grumpy self.

Daughter's two sister kitties are big now but really still kittens themselves. It makes for a much livelier day. So far it's been all play all day around here. I hope they wear themselves out soon. I need a nap.