Happy New Year

 I've been neglecting my blog. Not for lack of wanting to post something though. I just found myself surprisingly busy. Before I get into that, I want to wish you Happy New Year! I hope it's better than 2020, but so far it looks like it's working toward worse. 

One more thing I want to blog about is our new member of the family. My new grandkitty.

A few weeks ago a little black kitten was staring in our sliding glass door. It ran and hid when we opened the door.  After a few days we began to realize it was still hanging around. Eventually we figured out it was living under the house. My daughter Ruth set about the task of catching it. She put food in a little dish under there every day and after a few days or so was able to coax it close enough to grab it. I had her bring it in the house because it was cold and snowy out there.

The poor little thing is a boy and he was so hungry, cold, absolutely terrified, and had some very nasty wounds on it's belly. They looked like deep tooth marks. Perhaps some coyote tried to get him? Nothing looked infected, so we swabbed some Neosporin on it, fed it, and let it rest. We kept the doggy door closed so he couldn't get outside (not that he ever has tried). We took care of him while we searched to see if someone had lost him. Had no success with that. Then the Sunday after New Years I noticed his wounds were much larger and looking very nasty. We took him to the emergency vet for care. He was actually better than he looked. They cleaned him up and prescribed some meds for us to give him. 

He had no chip. I think he was dumped by someone. The vet said he's about 6 months old. Still haven't found anyone looking for their lost kitty, so we decided we'd keep him. Ruth named him Boba (as in Boba Fett) and he's hers. Thus, new grand kitty. He is very healthy now and quite a sweetie. The wounds are healing nicely. He has gotten over his fear and tears around the house like he's never been anywhere else. He's got tons of energy and has revitalized our other two cats, Merino and Cashmere. They're not just lying around depressed about winter anymore. They're playing with their toys and racing around the house just like Boba. Boba gets along with them fairly well. He loves Zoey too, so where ever he came from, he was around dogs. He's made himself completely at home.

If you remember, in the beginning of November I decided to knit a sweater for my husband for Christmas. It's probably been 30 years since I'd knit one for him. I saw that he could really use a cardigan in his life, so I got myself a pattern for a Cowichan and ordered the yarn. The yarn required was chunky. I misunderstood and ordered some Brava bulky from KnitPicks. I knit up a few different swatches, but was unable to get gauge. I wanted to use the yarn I'd bought so much I decided to get worsted weight yarn to add to it in similar colors. I wanted identical colors but KnitPicks didn't have them in Brava Worsted (they were out of stock), so I settled for near colors in Mighty Stitch.

For the next several weeks I knit on the sweater like crazy. Every time I thought about blogging, I would think "I need to get the sweater done by Christmas". Then I would sit down and knit. I knit so much my hands started to ache 24/7. I didn't get it done before Christmas, but I was close. I did the final stitch on New Years Day. 

Pattern: I'm The Dude Jacket by Bernat Design Studio

Yarn: Brava Bulky by KnitPicks
Content: 100% Acrylic, bulky weight
Colors: Solstice Heather, Umber Heather

Yarn: Mighty Stitch Bulky
Content: 80% Acrylic/20% Wool, bulky weight
Color: Cream

Yarn: Mighty Stitch Worsted
Content: 80% Acrylic/20% Wool sport weight
Color: Cream, Navy, and Bark

Needles: Circular size 11 and 13

Started: November 20, 2020
Finished: January1, 2021

Comments: This pattern is actually quite challenging. I had to alter it, too, because my husband wears Tall sizes and has long arms. It was scary because I forgot about that when I ordered the yarn and didn't get extra. I wasn't sure I'd have enough to complete the cardigan with added length, but, as it turned out, I did. The cardigan fits him very well and he loves it. He's worn it every day since I gave it to him. Hurray!

There are Thunderbirds on both sides of the front, as well as on both sleeves. I knit them in a combination of Intarsia and Fairisle. The geometric design is Fairisle.

Ordinarily a Cowichan has a zippered front, but I didn't want to deal with installing it, so I did button bands instead. The buttons are 1-1/8 inches and Navy blue with a light blue slash across one half. I found them on Joann's web site. They didn't arrive until after Christmas.

Here's the back. The Thunder bird is considerably larger than on the fronts and sleeves. 

It has more detail in it.

I am glad my husband loves it so much. It makes all the work worth while.

After I finished the Cowichan, I rested my hands a few days so the ache could go away, then I started two new projects. I've been promising Zoey a new sweater for months. I started one, in houndstooth check. LOL!

I've also started my 50th layette set for KnitWits. More about that later. Hopefully in a couple days.

Live long and prosper. \\//