Calm after the storm........

What a gorgeous day! After all the snow we've had in the past 2 days, it felt like spring today.
Lady dog and I took off for a walk this afternoon, just to enjoy the sun and to take some pictures. I'm telling you, small town living is the way to go.
I get to look at all this when we go for a walk.............

A couple of geese.......
We even have some talented artists in town. Smithville is famous for our Annual Poultry Fest every summer, so these neighbors decided to celebrate early. It's so cool.
Even Lady dog can't get enough snow. The more the better. I swear she's worse than a 5 yr old.
And during this wonderful snowstorm, "Boss Cat" decided to dye up some new yarns without me. Can you believe that? Reminder to all you parents........take away house key when child moves out!!!!!
These will be up in the shop sometime this week. So check back.

New colours...........

What can I say............I had to let Boss Cat mess around with the dye again.It's all up in the shop now. We now have a new fingering weight Slinky Cat.........50% SW merino/50% Silk. We also did some Fluffy Cat, Fat Cat DK, and my favorite....Alley Cat.

These 2 Fat Cats will not be going in the shop. They were specially ordered by "Miss P", for gramma to knit 2 hats.
She asked for "Stinky Pinky Black" for Robo Baby, and "Meany Greeny Black" for herself.
I'm still wondering about the meaning behind her colourways.

Takin' a break........

I had to take a break from the cable monster for just a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love cables, I am the"Cable Queen", but it just seemed like I was not making any progress.
My Lil' Boy Blue was calling me....it said I only have a few weeks left, so get a wiggle on. The body is almost done and I'll be on the sleeves shortly, but I had to post a progress pic, because I love our Fat Cat DK.
Once this is done I'll be working on writing up the pattern. I love top downs. I also have some more Fat Cat in the back room waiting to be skeined up and photographed, so it should be in the shop soon........we'll keep you posted.

Friday is Dye Day.............

Well, it was another Friday for dyeing up some yarn. Boss Cat came over and we spent the whole afternoon in the basement with the dyepots. We have a new base yarn of 50/50 Merino and Silk we're trying out, and I think I'm in love. Boss Cat may love her Fluffy Cat, but momma cat loves our new Slinky Cat fingering. We're also trying some superwash worsted, so we'll let you know how we like it.
We'll have an update as soon as they're dry and re-skeined, but I think it's going to be hard to put these ones in the shop.

This one is Fat Cat in Lil' Boy Blue. I dyed it for my own personal use. A young friend at work is having her first baby, and I wanted something special. So, I'm going to try and work on some baby stuff in between Julies pullover, because I only have about 8 weeks left.

Beck

Here's a photo (finally) of the project I'm working on for Julie. It feels like it has taken forever to get this far. The back is almost done. If your looking for some wonderful patterns for men you should definitely check this book out.
Queensland Collection by Jane Ellison

I know, I know...........

I'm supposed to be knitting, but after my blue mood a couple of weeks ago, I needed some pink.
Every time I think of pink, it reminds me of Steven Tyler and Aerosmith. You know the 9 Lives Tour (several years ago now).
Boss Cat got tickets to go, then unfortunately, her best friend decided to get married that day.
So guess who got to go!! 2nd row right at the edge of the stage.
So in honor of Steven Tyler, I give you.............Pink.And a few others, that decided to join in. They're all up in the shop now.Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the new project I'm working on for Julie.

Un-productive weekend........

It all started when my laptop went kaput.......so my computer guru took it off to repair.
Nope.......no go. So I got all pumped up to buy a new one, and he called and said it was fixed. I was in heaven. All it was was going to cost was a couple of bucks and a bottle of wine.I went to pick it up............and it was down again. So, you know what comes next, let's go shopping.
So I'm back up and running, with a shiny new laptop, and I came home to a lovely surprise.
My girls came to visit. And you know what that means........no knitting (for me), popcorn, movies, and a lot of silliness.
Now it's time to get down to business.

Blue Monday.............

I know it's Tuesday but I had these ready for Monday and I just got busy. So here they are several new colours and 2 different bases. Alley Cat and Fat Cat. They're up in the shop now.
ETA: Boy you guys are fast. Some have sold already

Mother--Daughter day...

Well another busy day off. Valerie and I took a short trip to Julie's today. She had the urge to spend some money and decided on yarn and needles. Then after a lovely lunch together we headed back home to get down to business.
First: Skeining up some more yarn to get ready for the dye pot.
Then it was time to help me get my pattern ready for the shop. I was playing around with the dyes some time ago and knit a hat up that I really loved and thought it was time to share, but I needed boss cat to help with all the technical stuff. So we spent the afternoon teaching this old dog some new tricks.
So here it is now available as a kit in the shop in 4 colourways. You can also purchase just the pattern on Ravelry.
(if you have no access to ravelry, email us at wanderingcatyarns(at)gmail(dot)com and we will get the pattern to you)

Girl Next Door:
4 shades of Fat Cat Chromacolour DK

A mothers love....

Sometimes being a mother is the hardest job of all. I think the hardest part is letting go and watching them be the person they are. Even when they're adults we still want to tell them what to do and give advice when it's not really needed.

I watched my child muck around in the dye, make a mess, and think to myself (and voice it out loud), "What the hell are you doing"?
She gives me that look of -- mind your own business and let me do what I want.
But, I really had my eyes opened this morning while I was re-skeining our yarns that we dyed the other day and getting them ready to photograph. They are really nice!!!
Job well done, my dear. And even though I may still try and tell you what to do, I do admire your creativity and passion for colour.
Some of these are up in the shop now, and the rest will be up when we get them named.

Julie's back......

so I can show you the finished Cape Coat. A very easy knit with chunky yarn, I should have had it done sooner but you know............life gets in the way.
So now I have 2 projects on the go....a pullover for Mr D and new sweater for Julie from Jane Ellison. I take some progress pictures this weekend, Mr Weatherman said it's warming up enough to take some shots outside.

Don't tell Valerie, but I snuck downstairs and dyed up a couple of skeins of Alley Cat this afternoon too.

Boss Cat...........

has got the itch to dye up some more yarn this weekend, so........................I went behind her back and lowered the prices on the stock in the shop to make room.
Shhhhhhhhhh...don't tell her.

Happy Belated Birthday, Mom.............

I finally finished my mom's cowl....last weekend. Only a couple of weeks late.
I had the silly notion that if I started it the day before her birthday, I could have it finished the next day to give to her. It was only a skein of fingering weight, and besides I was on holidays, I didn't have to go to work, I could sit and knit all day.
Who was I kidding?
I think I'm like a lot of knitters, I can picture the finished product and instantly think that time stands still and poof.............it's done. Well, it is a wonderful pattern, and I could have had it done a lot quicker if I had less interuptions, like Christmas.
Pattern: Willow Cowl by Amelia Lyon
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Sockenwolle, 150g--574yd colour Pfauenauge
Needles: 3.75mm
This is a free pattern on Ravelry and I can't say enough about it. It's well written and a wonderful design. I love the way it sits on the neck. I did 5 lace repeats and used just over 400yds of fingering weight yarn. A perfect one skein project.

Fresh start............

Happy New Year to everyone.
I know I haven't posted much lately but I had a lot on my plate. Between working and skeining and dying and setting up shop and knitting for Julie, there's not a lot of time to blog. Or maybe I've just gotten slack about it.
So in light of this here is my plan for the New Year.............
I hate to make resolutions for the New Year because I never follow through. I'm just the kind of girl that does things on a whim, as soon as I set goals or restrictions I fail.
So this will be a new year of doing things when I want and how I want, with no pressure, no KAL's, no group projects, no timetables. Just me free as a bird. I feel better already!!!!

I have finished Julies Cape Coat and will take pictures and post them later. And my first project for the new year will be a pullover for Mr D. He's only been waiting for about 4 years and after the present he gave me for Christmas I'd better hop to it.So now I'm of to skein up some more yarn for the dye pot. Can't wait to see what we come up with next.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE......................

Still going..............

I'm still working on Julie's cape, I'd really like to have it done this week. I think I'm almost there.
In the meantime I'll give you a sneak peak of our new yarn "Stray Cat". This is a sport weight yarn with a lovely twist, and they should be going up on our site after the holidays (or sooner) so keep checking back.

Happy Birthday guys............

Happy Birthday to my own Bonnie and Clyde. You guys are making your momma feel old.
Original photo is still hanging on my wall.

New Colours...............

Another full week.........I'm not liking my job much this time of year. Too much mail, too many parcels, and too cold. Brrrrrrrr....but I still give service with a smile.

On another note.....2 days left for the Boss Cat's Birthday Blowout, and I just added 6 new skeins of Top Cat MCN to the line up. Link on the side bar.
We just got in a new shipment of Fluffy Cat and Fat Cat so Valerie and I will be collaborating this weekend. I guess I have to let her play a little too.

Dirty Thirty.....already.

Where has the time gone? These last 30 years have just flown by. My favorite daughter is turning 30.
So Valerie has decided to give presents instead of receiving. Look what she's doing.

**CONTEST**CONTEST**CONTEST**

In honour of Valerie's upcoming 30th birthday, we are celebrating with BOSS CAT'S BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT! A contest from December 1st - December 12th (Valerie's birthday!)

Rules
1)Contest starts at midnight, December 1st and ends at 11:59 p.m. December 12th (Eastern Standard Time)
2)Each item purchased within in that time period earns you one entry - so the more you buy the more chances you have to win!
3)There are three prizes packages - one for each decade Valerie has been around.
4)Each prize package will contain one (1) skein of yarn, one (1) set of stitch markers, and one (1) pattern for an original Wandering Cat Studio design (not yet published)
5) Enter as often as you like - Happy Knitting!

Here's a preview of some new colourways, come on over and check them out.

She made me do it.....

I wanted to keep these all to myself but that darling daughter of mine said I had to play nice and share.
So here you have it 6 new Top Cat MCN's. They'll be in the shop shortly.
Blackwatch, Sunflower, Wild Blue Yonder, Spring Meadow, Forest Floor, and Mermaid's Treasure.
I'm going to go pout now.