Back

Posting has been on my mind but not at my fingertips. DD is now settled in school. The major bumps she has endured as a result of having a new family, new home, new school, new expectations, new rules, new routine and new friends have finally pretty much simmered down for the short term, but it was a spirited coupla weeks, let me tell you.

DH has been at a convention for the last two weeks, and is due back tomorrow. Besides navigating the waters described above, there was actually a little more to do than usual around here (chores and such). Only a little, though. Hrrrmmmmph!

The new kitten, Oliver, above, gave all the humans in the family a bout of ringworm, missed at the vet where DH took him before he brought him home. (This maneuver was an attempt to avoid such pitfalls, a fact I explained to the vet last week.) We are all now virtually spot-free, including Oliver. I am glad to know that ringworm is not really a worm. But still, doesn't it make you itch just to read this?

Oliver also had a respiratory infection. I have never known a cat to struggle to avoid medications like he can. The little sucker does not run away - given a fleeting chance, he scrambles up to my shoulders and sits at the back of my neck. I look like I'm playing "Twister" to unattach him. The antibiotic was about an eighth the size of a tic-tac. I would open his mouth, drop the pill back by his tonsils, hold his mouth closed, and stroke his throat. He would glare, and then calm down and relax. I let him go and - Pi-TOO-ey! He would spit the little speck out, and I would have to hunt for some glasses to retrieve it. And try, try again...

Okay, enough about the cat, already. I am glad to get back to knitting, though it's mostly in snatches in the middle of the night when I'm up worrying about the kid...

I have an almost FO - a sideways sweater, which is knitted, washed, and blocked, even - here it is, resting on the sweater mesh - I just can't find the dang buttons to sew on it. They're nice ones, too - glass with ribbons of color in them. I hope they turn up before winter sets in. You might be able to see in the picture that the shawl collar is rolling a bit, and I was about to rip it back and substitute a little ribbing when - hold the phone - I like it this way! There are those who might sniff at the color pooling, but I like it, too (though it looks nicer in person). I thought about knitting to avoid it, but decided to just let the yarn do it's thing. After all the recent regimented lace knitting that required so much concentration, it was a refreshing, do-it-in-your-sleep knit. This is a knockabout sweater, and I am tickled the way it came out.

I also started a shrug for DD, which is progressing right along. Here's the lace ribbing that starts the 3/4 sleeve:

The yarn and pattern are both from Lisa Souza (see links). The pattern is called "Lacey Shrug", designed by Brenda Patipa. The yarn is "Fatima", color "Oil Slick". The picture does not do it justice. How Lisa actually captured that rainbow you see in motor oil is magic, and that's exactly what it looks like!