Tag: Knitting

  • Outnumbered by Cats

    So what have I been up to?

    Short answer: cats, chaos, and coffee.

    Long answer… Zuri has her own emotional support bedroom now. Zazu has decided walking is optional. Zorro is out here auditioning for Most Dramatic Cat. And Zephyr? Zephyr is just trying to cat peacefully in the middle of all this nonsense.

    Meanwhile, I’m over here pretending to be a functioning adult.

    Somewhere in the middle of all that, I’ve been knitting, designing t-shirts, and absolutely not doing dishes. Priorities.

    Zazu

    Zazu kicked things off by deciding he didn’t feel good, which always scares me because he’s my OG. He went from being my loving little shadow to a sick little loaf, only moving if I carried him to food or water like the tiny king he is. He would only eat if I brought food to him, and drink if I held him over the sink and gave him bottled water, like the spoiled house panther that he is. At one point, I realized he wasn’t even getting up to use the litter box, so I was carrying him to the bathroom too.

    The good news is, today he finally moved from the one spot he’s been laying in for a week to the window perch… so we’re calling that a win.

    Zuri

    Zuri is… a whole different situation. She’s set up in her own room right now, which honestly feels like her emotional support bunker. It’s quieter, safer, and she does better in there… as long as I don’t push it.

    She’s never been a “people cat.” Whatever life she had before me left its mark, so we’ve learned to live at a distance. I let her exist in peace, and she lets me love her from afar. It works… until something like this happens.

    She ended up with the same eye infection Zazu had, but without all the sinus stuff. It got bad really fast, and of course I couldn’t catch her, so I had to call in backup. My son came over and got her in the carrier for me so I could take her to the vet. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot, which I’m really hoping does most of the work, because getting close enough to treat her eye at home just isn’t realistic.

    After everything she went through, she’s even more on edge than usual… and usual was already keeping her at arm’s length.

    The Drive From Hell

    I should also mention the drive to the vet, because that felt like a full stress test.

    I was already a mess worrying about her eye, and then I realized there was a cop behind me, which is also when I remembered my tags were expired. The current ones sitting in an envelope at home, obviously.

    And just to complete the picture, my neuralgia was flaring so bad I was driving with my left arm up over my head, holding onto the headrest behind me. So not only did I look guilty, I looked like I had an attitude about it.

    Zorro

    And then there’s Zorro… our resident bulldozer.

    He doesn’t walk into a room, he storms it. If there’s food, it’s his. If there’s a spot, it’s his. If another cat is peacefully existing somewhere, he takes that as a personal invitation to go bother them. He’s not mean in a mastermind way… he’s just pushy, chaotic, and running purely on impulse with no real plan.

    The problem is, he has the grace of a falling chair. Short, stubby legs, no sense of stealth, and absolutely zero finesse. So his attempts at intimidation usually look like a clumsy ambush followed by accidental chaos. He’ll charge in like a warrior and then immediately trip over himself, crash into something, or get distracted mid-bully mission. It’s like he never actually learned how to be a cat… he’s just improvising.

    And yet… he is ridiculously adorable. Like, offensively cute. Big eyes with zero thoughts behind them, a fluffy, goofy face, and if you pet him long enough, he starts drooling like a leaky faucet. So now you’ve got this chaotic little menace, bulldozing through the house, leaving emotional damage and a trail of spit behind him… and somehow you still want to scoop him up and kiss his little face.

    Zephyr

    And then there’s Zephyr… my sweet middle child, just here existing.

    While everything else in this house has gone completely off the rails, Zephyr is just… here. Watching it all with those big eyes like he knows something’s wrong, but also knows better than to get involved.

    He still gets his wild, full-speed, tear-through-the-house zoomies like nothing is wrong at all, and honestly, I love that for him. Somebody in this house should be having a good time.

    But mostly, he stays close. He’ll curl up in my lap or tuck himself under my chin like he belongs there, like he knows I’m stressed and he’s trying to help in the only way he knows how.

    And somehow… it works.

    As for me, I’ve been knitting on my daughter-in-law’s shawl whenever I get a chance, hoping I can finish it before winter lets up in North Dakota. I opened an Etsy shop, so I’ve been squeezing in t-shirt designs where I can, between everything else life keeps throwing at me.

    Mostly, I’m just managing the stress and the pain the best I can… and avoiding the dishes like an absolute professional.

    It’s not pretty, it’s not organized, but it’s my life right now.

  • What I’ve Been Working on Lately

    Let’s kick this off with something I actually finished—a hat for me! That’s right, not for my brother, not for my son, just me for once.

    I have no idea what yarns these are. I think I got them from KnitPicks years ago—maybe five or six? I don’t usually buy a lot of wool yarn since I live in Central Texas and honestly don’t need it most of the year. Most of my stash is acrylic, but this year it got cold early, and I wanted something warm.

    I didn’t follow a pattern for this one. I cast on 104 stitches (I have a 24-inch head, in case you’re wondering). This is sock yarn, so holding two strands together, US 5 ChiaoGoo Red Lace needles were perfect. I used the magic loop method and worked one-by-one rib until I had about 9 inches of fabric, then started decreasing for the crown. Nothing fancy—just decreased until I got bored, then sewed it up. I love the look of one-by-one rib—it’s my favorite for hats. It’s stretchy, it fits great, and it just always looks good.

    Here’s a second hat I finished This was for my soon-to-be daughter-in-law. This yarn is Caron Latte Cakes – Lovely Layers (in one of the purple shades), and it was so soft I had to switch to my KnitPicks rainbow wood needles to keep it from sliding around. I cast on 60 stitches (her head measured 22 inches) using size 8 circular needles and just worked one-by-one rib all the way to the top. Same basic pattern as mine, just fluffier and a bit smaller. Super cozy!

    On the Needles 🧶

    Here’s a pair of socks I’m currently working on, again, using some wool yarn I got from KnitPicks years ago. At one point I bought a bunch of wool yarn because I had never knit with it before, and I wanted to know what it was like. So I have a bunch of small 50-gram balls that I got from KnitPicks somewhere in my stash.

    These socks are for my son who recently moved to North Dakota and is currently freezing his poor Texas-born tootsies off. I was aiming to have them finished by Christmas, but let’s be honest—that deadline has sailed. They’ll be done when they’re done, and his toes will just have to wait.

    This is just a hat I’m working on using some acrylic yarn I’ve had forever. I think it’s Lion Brand, but I have no clue what the colorway is. It’s super squishy and soft, and I’ve tried using it for a bunch of different projects—shawls, gloves, hats—you name it. Nothing ever felt right.

    Last week I tried making a plain stockinette hat that would roll at the brim, but it looked awful. It didn’t sit right or move right or something. Now I’m trying again with a 2×1 rib… and honestly? I still don’t think I’m going to like it. I just cannot find the right project for this yarn.

    I’m keeping it in one of the first project bags I ever made. And that little flower stitch marker? I made it too! I love those beads and haven’t been able to find more like them. I got them in a random stash from a thrift store.

    This is the Half + Half Triangle Wrap from Purl Soho. I started it a long time ago—probably a couple of years back. I finished the first triangle, started the second, and realized something was terribly wrong. So I actually went back and read the pattern… turns out, I didn’t finish the first triangle properly.

    I tried to fix it by taking out just a few rows, but with the wrap-and-turns, I couldn’t figure it out. I’m not skilled enough for that yet, so I frogged the whole thing and started over. I’m almost done with the first triangle again now.

    The yarn is Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek DK from Hobby Lobby. It’s a heathered gray and, sadly, no longer shows up in the app. This is hands-down my favorite yarn ever—soft, lovely to work with, and perfect for hats or wraps like this. It might not be a true DK weight, maybe more of a light DK, but it’s dreamy.

    I keep this project close by all year round. It’s the one I reach for when I’m watching TV, bored, or just not feeling anything else. I can pick it up, knit a row or two, and put it back down.

    The stitch marker I’m using is one I made using a little polymer clay butterfly bead that I got from Amazon. I love the clasp style because it’s round and fits over larger needles easily.

    The project bag is also made by me using scrap fabric that I’ve had forever. It’s roomy, squishy, and perfect for this big wrap in progress.

  • My knitting story

    Knitting is my happy place. Seriously — hand me some yarn and needles, and I’m good for hours. I mostly knit hats for my brother (he swears he loves them… probably has 100 by now) and occasionally for my youngest son (who also “loves” them). I’m great at starting projects, not so much at finishing them — except for a pair of socks I made for my dad, which he allegedly loves. Dad, if you’re reading this, I love you to pieces… but you’re never getting another pair. I hated every single minute of making them. Never again. Right now, besides working on Find Your Fade by Andrea Mowry, I’m knitting the Half + Half Triangle Wrap by Purl Soho, and loving it. Of course, in true hot mess fashion, I got all the way to the end of the first triangle, started the second, realized I hadn’t read the finishing instructions for the first one, and had to frog the whole thing. There was no way I was picking up those stitches with the wrap & turns. So here I am, halfway through triangle one… again.

  • Wondrous Dishcloth on My Needles

    So, lately, when I sit down for a few minutes—watching TV, taking a break—I’ve been working on this. The  Wondrous Dishcloth by Sew Sweet Violet.

    I really am not a fan of knitting with cotton yarn. But I love these dishcloths so much! They’re a little fiddly, but totally worth it.

    It took me a couple of wonky looking dishcloths to finally get it right.

    What are y’all’s favorite dishcloth patterns?