Persistance.....

or stubborn.  I'm not sure what made me do it.   Have you ever had one of those projects, you love the pattern, you love the yarn, you love the process, but in the end you probably should have quit while you were ahead?
This was one of those projects.
I bought the yarn ages ago at the Needle Emporium.  It's the most luxurious skein of Red Label Silk Cashmere from Tanis Fiber Arts in the lovely colourway "Stormy.   I knew it was intended for something special.

Now the time comes and I need a hat.  What better yarn to have against my scalp, silk and cashmere.  It was meant to be.
I knew the hat I wanted.  BossCat had already made one and it was exactly what I wanted.  I had the yarn, the pattern, and the beads.
It started out fine, but I soon realized that knitting a single ply yarn with 2.25mm needles was going to be interesting.  I probably should have stopped there, but no,  I really liked the look and feel of the fabric, even though I had to pay attention not to split the yarn as I knitted.

So onward and upward, I persevered.  Then came the beads.  First mistake, single ply with small beads was not making me happy.  It was not easy pulling that yarn through that tiny little bead.   So, I ended up ripping back the beginning of the row and grabbed the larger beads and soon was back on track.

I finally finished it, even thought the beading was slower than I normally do, but in the end it was worth it.  I love it, and it will feel really nice sporting it in the weeks to come while the weather is still cool enough for a hat.
Pattern:  Karpalo-Cranberry

About time...........

Now that I'm going to be home for a bit, I finally had time to do some long overdo work on my Hoodie pattern.   Every time I knit this for someone, several others would ask for the pattern.   Of course it only came in one size, it was my go to baby sweater. 
So I finally sat down, put pen to paper and figured out a couple of more sizes, it's been a long time coming.

A Tisket, a Tasket 

It's a top down, knit in DK or Sport Weight, perfect for spring or fall. And right now it can be purchased along with the Shawl Collared Sweater on Ravelry for 50% off, no coupon needed, just check out and it's automatically deducted. 

Spring Fling....

I love this time of year.  Fresh bright colours that make that long cold winter a thing of the past. These are now available in the Wandering Cat Etsy Shop.
Gerbera, Delphinium, and Johnny Jump Up.

Finally, the first sign of spring.....and new beginnings.

and I have a couple of new colourways drying as I'm writing these. They're sure to put the "spring" back in your step.

Another KAL...

Thank you to all for a sucessful update.  I know all of you will enjoy your new stripes and skeins.  It looks like the ones I wanted to knit myself sold, so I'll be back to the dye pots soon.

Not one, but now I have successfully completed two KAL's.  This one is my favorite patterns which I have knit several times.
Monkeys by Cookie A, but the no purl version.  I chose a skein of  Barn Cat that got a second chance.
It was one of those skeins that was not so pretty and I knew it need to be over-dyed, and what I got was oh so sweet and chocolatey.
Before

After

and now I have these.

 I'll also be doing some more knit alongs starting in May.  I've been asked to join Alice Yu's Socktopus KAL group on ravelry.  I have had the book for a while now and there are several pair that need to be added to my sock drawer.
There will be prizes from Indy dyers to encourage us to keep on knitting and you may just see a skein or two of Wandering Cat Yarn being offered up.  Come on over and join us.

Spring....

Well another month has almost passed, and signs of spring are showing.  It was so lovely here yesterday I spent a couple of hours on the front deck closing toes on socks.
Big Red greeted me for breakfast and actually hung around for some photos.  Look at those buds. 

The term "I work for yarn" has been in my repertoire for a long time.  I cranked out these socks for a friend in exchange for more yarn.  These were cranked with the German Wollmeise yarn.  Everybody goes crazy over her saturated colours and great yardage.  I do have to say, I have a couple of pair for myself and there may be a few more in my future.

I have also cranked out a few pair for gifts.
Wandering Cat Yarns Barn Cat, I love the twist on this yarn and the 80/20 blend of merino/nylon is a great combination for socks.  This is Midnight Posey dyed by BossCat.  I'm not sure if she can dye this one again, it was supposed to be something else and didn't work, so I snagged it. I actually think the skeins we flub usually turn out to be my favorites.

This pair is our Twisted Top Cat, it has the same twist as the Barn Cat, but it's a blend of 80/10/10  merino/cashmere/nylon.  Just a little bit of luxury on your feet. This is Bleeding Hearts, my concoction.  It reminded me of my lovely plant out in the garden, which I'm anxiously waiting to see again this summer.

Today will be a day of winding up yarn to dye of for stripes, and re-skeining some that will be in the shop very soon. 

You could hear a pin drop..........

It's been so quiet here since the girls went home.  I think Lady realized they were going and she would get her window seat back.

We had a fabulous week but it went too fast and we didn't finish all our projects.  We'll have to finish them next time.
I did manage to crank out a couple of pairs of socks the next day without distraction. Everything is back to normal.
One pair for BossCat in Alley Cat BFL  Fairy Garden

And one pair for me in Regia Blitz  Terra.

I'll have some to post very soon,  they're caked and ready to crank.

Crankin' good time........

The yarns were dyed and dried and ready to crank.

We managed to get all our cranking done on Friday.

 The Rowanator's scarf for Momma's birthday

Some beautiful hand/arm warmers made by Miss "P"

and 2 pairs of birthday socks for momma.

The little vixens even took the rest of their yarns home for momma to knit them some socks too.

I really didn't have the heart to keep them for myself, but I wanted too.

Are we there yet?

Well, the week is almost over and I'm exhausted already.
The yarn was dyed and dried.

We hope to be cranking some socks tomorrow for Mommy's birthday.
We started our Maggie Rabbits and hope to be stuffing them tomorrow.

Today was Disney on Ice, I told the girls we were going shopping, you should have seen their faces when we walked into the Colliseum for the show.

They are both down for the count, and I should be in bed too, we have a busy day tomorrow finishing up all our projects before they go home Saturday.
This week has gone too fast.

I did it.........

I think this may be my first KAL I've actually finished.  On our drive north to pick the the girls I finished my second Business Casual sock.  I can definitely recommend this pattern, it was a great knit and it kept my interest to actually finish both in a reasonable amount of time.

Day one with the girls went smoothly, but I'm totally exhausted.  I don't remember being this tired when I was tending my own children.  Age really does make a difference.
We were up first thing this morning, dropped off orders to be mailed  at the Post Office, picked up a few groceries (we had no sugar cereals in the house), a little shopping at the Giant Tiger for some new rubber boots,

   then back home to start dyeing some yarns.

Too much fun, but I'm exhausted.  

March Madness...........

Silly me,  I booked the week off work and 2 special ladies are coming to spend some time with Gramma.

We have lots of plans, with lots to do.  I hope to post some pictures of all our activities.
And in honor of March Break............Wandering Cat Yarns is having a March Madness sale starting tomorrow Saturday March 9th.  Everything in the shop will be discounted by 20% with the code MADNESS20 at checkout.
This will be on going all week while the kids are here and we'll also be adding a few more items off and on.

I can do it............

I think I'm actually going to finish this Business Casual KAL.  I have one sock done and I'm on the heel flap of the second one.

I love everything about this pattern.  It's well written and it holds my interest for the most part.  It's easy to memorize and all I want to do lately is knit.
Well, I may have got distracted a little bit.
Stargazer Socks

I'm always feeling the urge to use my sock machines, and with my every growing stash there is never a shortage of inspiration or choice of yarns.

In fact a short jaunt to The Needle Emporium  last week resulted in a couple of skeins of Lorna's Laces following me home.

The colour is Christmas in Downton, inspired by the show Downton Abbey.  These colours are so me. I just got the first 2 seasons, so I really need to sit and knit and watch this show, I keep hearing rave reviews.

Then a few weeks ago BossCat was dyeing yarn, and this one may have found it's way into my private stash.
It's my favorite base.....Alley Cat.  How could I resist?

 She said if I don't knit it up within the month she's taking it back.  Any patterns suggestions?