Saying good bye ...

Summer of 2010 is going to be a really tough season. We will be saying good-bye to two of our three kitties. Henry has developed renal failure; Mimi has some sort of respiratory thing going. We don't know what the respiratory thing is, but we do know that we can't treat her. Mimi is her own worst enemy.

This is a snap of Henry and Mimi. Henry is the guy on the left, and Mimi on the right. They've pretty much been inseparable in the time that I've known them.




We had to say good-bye to Mimi today. Over the weekend, her breathing became so laboured it was painful to watch and to hear. There was really nothing we could do for her; so in the end, we did what we could. And that was to ease her off into the next world.

Doug had a colonoscopy scheduled this morning, but I called the vet's office when they opened. They said 3:15, and we were there. The staff and vets at Port Perry Animal Hospital are great. The whole episode was handled with the utmost of caring and concern for all involved.

Mimi is buried in a sun beam, overlooking the lake. We'll be getting a statue to mark her spot.

So now Henry will get our attention and love. Summer is the best time to be a kitty; there's plenty of sunshine and chipmunks to hunt. I hope that Mimi is off somewhere running free and breathing easily; and that she knows we loved her.

Should I, or shouldn't I?

I've started knitting Sylvi using Araucania Nature Wool
and I'm generally happy with how it's turning out. Sure, the sleeves are boring to knit; sure the fronts are also boring. But the back! How I'm going to love the back. I suspect the designer was greatly influenced by Elsebeth Lavold. There are just too many similarities between Sylvi and Elsebeth's designs. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. After all, just LOOK at this seam:

This is a detail from Inggun. If you look at the pictures of Sylvi, THAT is the look the designer is aiming for. She tells you to always slip the first stitch of the row, and then mattress stitch the seams so that the selvage lies to the front, giving you a similar appearance. Go ahead and take another look; I'll wait.

So I knit up the sleeves, and the left front. Then I seamed them together because it seemed like a sensible thing to do. Uses less stitch holders that way, as well as getting some of that pesky seaming out of the way.
Not exactly the look I was aiming for. Either I've done it wrong, or I've gotten way too proficient at mattress stitch. In any event, it isn't giving me quite the look that the designer wants. And I must admit that I LIKE the effect she was aiming for.

Because "De Nile" ain't just a river in Egypt, I continued on my merry way. Knit the right sleeve (actually I knit both sleeves first, and then the left front), and started the right front. All the while, I'm pondering the seam detail, and the lack of it on my Sylvi. And then I thought to myself -- I could just modify the design and create that edge myself -- just follow Elsebeth's side edge directions. Piece of cake.

Except ... I've knit a fair piece already. I'm halfway thru my third ball of wool in fact. But the seam design -- it's really a design feature. Will Sylvi be as nice without it? Here's what I've got so far:

What does anyone think? Am I being too picky by even thinking of starting over?

Surprise!

I'm still breathing!

It's been busy, and I will explain this a bit more over the next couple of posts. Without going 7 weeks in between. I promise!

Other folks have been busy knitting at my shop. We recently held a class on the construction of the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. We suggested to our students that they might want to start with a baby jacket in order to understand the construction. Barb, however, has that little streak of masochist in her that says she must do things the hard way -- every time! So she decided to knit the adult version.

She used 7 skeins of Nashua Hand Knits Creative Focus Linen to make this beauty. It's a medium, with additional length in the sleeves. She thought that perhaps it was a bit large, until we persuaded her to try it on. She was quite pleased with how this turned out.
So was Sebrena! (Ahem -- ladies, the mud wrestling room is out back. Winner gets to keep the sweater!)

And I finished a pair of socks. Everyone loved 'em!