Hi. I’m Hannah.
This has been kind of a busy week already. The Mother of Cats cleaned out her yarn stash (I helped, like… a lot!!) and then she cleaned out her quilting projects and put most of them into a big box that she mailed off to a cousin. Bye quilts. She has been doing a lot of cleaning and stuff, which is kind of fun for Mateo and me. We love the chaos!! We love all of the yarn moving around. We love our new cat beds!!!
My favorite bed is the one that looks like a giant TUNA CAN!!! Can you believe it? I can snooze in a cozy little tuna can bed that even has a cover on it while I dream of tuna. How cool it that? Mateo kind of tries to sneak into my bed when I’m not looking, and he even messes with me sometimes while I’m asleep, so the Mother of Cats bought him a second bed that looks like a bowl of ramen. Does he sleep in his bed? Yes!!! Yes, he does. We are two happy cats at the moment since it is cold and windy outside, and we have to stay in because the wind is kind of scary and we don’t like the sounds that it makes. Besides, all of the bunnies are hiding too, so it is kind of boring…
The Mother of Cats also got some knitting done. Here is her first sock!
Doesn’t that sock look warm? The Mother of Cats is slowly knitting away on the second sock and hopes to have the pair done before the end of the week. She is kind of anxious to have it done because she is all motivated to make more socks after cleaning up her yarn stash because… she found some mini skein yarn sets for fun socks!
She says that she is going to make doodle socks. What? Seriously, do socks sound fun to you? She should knit me some doodle mice to play with. Maybe a little doodle sweater to put on MATEO because he will hate it and that will be seriously funny. He deserves to have that happen to him because last night the Mother of Cats glanced over at him just in time to see him ripping the comb off the head of MY CHICKEN that she gave me to groom. What is up with that little idiot cat?!!! He had pulled lots of yarn pieces out and was clearly trying to rip the chicken open. What is wrong with him… does he think that he can actually eat the chicken? Sigh. The Mother of Cats took it away last night and put it on a high shelf where he can’t get it.
This is Hannah, signing off.
>^..^<
Notes from the Mother of Cats:
- The socks are Scrunch Socks.
- I have three mini-skein sock kits from Moonglow to knit. Yay. Lots of doodling ahead! I’m chomping at the bit to start designing some socks, and I can see some posts ahead.
- The cat beds are from Amazon. Here is the link.
- I have also been working with the indoor garden and there is another post in there, too. What will I be writing about? Well… pruning geraniums, battling aphids, and an unhappy lavender plant. That’s just the upstairs plants! Who knew indoor gardening was so much work?
- Because I have been down with tendon issues I have been clearing some books from my reading list. Oh. Another post.
- Are you sensing a theme here? I also am waiting for the results of my heart monitor test and MY KNEES ARE KILLING ME. You already know about the bad boy wrists. I have a scleroderma post slowly brewing too. It is hard for me to type because… bad boy wrists… but I’m getting there. Hopefully there will be some more writing in the near future.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
I’m amazed and impressed, Hannah, that both you AND the hairy monster actually like your beds and sleep in them. My Boodie would never in a squillion years actually utilize anything I bought him. The MoC must be one happy MoC !!! But the hairy monster is being pretty difficult, eh wot ? – I thought he was pretty off the wall when he was grooming your ESC; but not he’s actually doing her some serious damage !
I believe I have seen that gorgeous yarn before, Marilyn, have I not ? Making socks out of it is understandable but a bit of a waste. 😀
Sorry about the wrists – especially because if you get to not being able to knit again we will all tremble. [grin]
It’s pretty awful about those aphids. How are you trying to eliminate the little beasts ?
Hannah: to be truthful, I usually refuse to use any bed that was actually bought for me, but I do like these little guys. They are almost as good as a cardboard box full of crackly papers.
Oh, beautiful socks are never a waste of time and yarn because they make me feel happy! There should be enough for a pair of socks and matching arm warmers…
I am still getting the wrists under control. Today the air pressure was high, and I felt great. Yay! I was able to go out on errands, cooked a nice dinner, and even knitted a little before I crashed this evening. If I don’t overdo things I should continue to improve.
Yeah, I had to google to figure out where the aphids came from; I can say that I have made significant gains in the aphid war. There is a post coming…
Then I am much, much more impressed than I was !! – aphids and the getting rid of ’em are a gen-yoo-wine pain in the neck. I await further noos !!!!
Hannah, you two felines have the most adorable beds I’ve ever seen! But I already have two different cat beds and Rowdy doesn’t like either one. He prefers my bed at night, and my thigh during the day. And Mateo, don’t go tearing up someone else’s ESC. Shame on you.
MoC, I’ve no idea how aphids can show up on an indoor plant, but as I’ve noted in the past, I manage to kill most every indoor plant I acquire.
Wishing you good reports from all your doctors, tests, etc. Stay warm!
I have bought so many cat beds that were beyond cute and the cats always turn their noses up at them. Hannah really loves the cardboard boxes with crackly paper in them. She really, really loves the paper!! Mateo likes to sleep on my bed. Somehow these two new beds are working for them.
Those roses were outside all summer and I never noticed an aphid on them, but evidently some snuck into the house with the plants when I brought them in this fall. Fine, aphids. This is war! Expect a post on my adventures bringing in plants for the winter.
I finished the cardiac monitor test last weekend and mailed back the test equipment on Monday. Still waiting or results…
Fingers crossed!
If the kitties don’t like the sounds that wind makes, they’d hate it on the Cali, Oregon, and Washington coasts today and tomorrow. At the moment, the nearby cyclone in the Pacific has a central pressure of 27.8 inHg, and the wind is whipping the coastal communities with gusts up to more than 80 mph. That’s noisy! We’re crossing our fingers that the inland valleys don’t have wind over 50 mph. So far, it’s not gone over 40mph. Let’s hope that prevailing pressure systems around Colorado keep wind and rain bands from this cyclone from invading your spaces.
What a lovely scrunch sock. Such happy colors! And the kitty beds – so cozy looking.
If you put up a little Christmas tree this year, why not hang it upside down or right-side up from a ceiling light or ceiling fan pull chain (with the fan off, that is). You can decorate it to your heart’s content without curious kitties batting it. That is, unless they figure out how to launch themselves off a bookcase or some other tall furniture.
I hope you manage to make a spray of vinegar and other nasty stuff to remove the aphids from the roses without damaging the blooms…something that the kitties won’t find appetizing.
I’m rooting for your wrist health and all the rest.
The kitties are not happy with wind when they are outside. I think that it is really confusing for a basically indoor cat to have all of that movement going on at once, not to mention the swirling leaves trapped in the catio with them, they sort of freak out.
The aphid wars are well underway, and the plants seem to be thriving… update soon.
Glad the cat beds have worked out so well. That’s too bad that Mateo attacked the chicken. I too have doing colorwork socks as a goal for 2025. I have a doodle pack on my Christmas list so hoping Santa comes through. If not I’ll take matters into my own hands. Love your colorful scrunch socks. Good luck with the aphids!!
I was shocked by how determined Mateo was in trying to rip off the comb. Once I took a good look at the chicken I found the rest of the damage. Mateo is why it is hard to have nice things…
The scrunch socks are inspiring some matching scrunch wrist warmers. I wear a lot of black and grey, and the yarn is just perfect with some of my sweaters (and all of my comfy pants!!).
Hannah’s report shows how busy you have been, Marilyn – despite your tendon issues. A good rose picture.
🙂
What fun new beds. I’m a bit horrified about the attack on the E.S.Chicken…sounds terrible, hopefully some surgery can be performed. Sounds like there’s a lot of future posts to look forward to.
It was a pretty determined attack! I think that I can pull some of the loops that are hanging out back into the chicken with a crochet hook and she is safely put away from the Mateo monster now.
That’s a beautiful first sock. Do you mean first sock ever, or just first of the pair? No matter, it’s very pretty and looks like it fits well, too.
If you’re going to doodle stranded colorwork on your sock, know that colorwork can make a sock tighter! If you’re knitting cuff-down, make sure you can get the leg over your heel, before going on your merry way down the foot. You may want a bigger needle or more stitches. Voice of experience here!
Sorry about Mateo and the ESC. Naughty boy.
Oh, I have lots and lots of socks, and I do know about the problem with stranded knitting in socks. (Yep. Learned the hard way… I even knitted a pair once that fit just perfect until I washed them…) I have been really going back and forth with the decision-making over the socks. The charts are set up for 12 or 24 stitch repeats, and my favorite sock fit is 64 stitches on size 2.25 mm needles. I love the 24 stitch repeats, so it is going to be 60 or 72 stitches for the socks. I can do 60 if I go up a needle size and use heavier weight sock yarn, but I think that I’m going to try for 72 stitches on the 2.25 needle. I have some nice stranded knit socks in the sock bin, and I thought that I should take them out and look to see how many stitches were in them. The problem is my foot is little with a high arch that makes the “sock over the heel” problem especially challenging, and I don’t like loose fitting socks. This is why knitting never gets boring!
Hannah: Mateo is very naughty!!
Oh, good, you’ve got it all covered on the colorwork then! I’m a relatively new follower, and I was concerned that you were going to jump into too much excitement all at once. The teacher in me…
I once had a pair of non-superwash stranded colorwork socks. They got tighter with each washing, and eventually they failed at the top of the meeting of ankle and heel flap, ripping out completely.
Oh, I forgot to say: The rose is beautiful!
I was a teacher too (well, a high school biology teacher) so I know the urge to speak out all too well. I’m pretty active in that mode in my scleroderma support groups online. I also have to watch my mouth in public because I am used to telling young adults to straighten up and act right!
I am really careful with the stranded knitting. I have a pair of beloved boot socks that were knit with homespun (and dyed with indigo and Brazilwood) that I just loved and still wear to this day in my boots. Those puppies didn’t tighten up… they kind of felted! As it turns out, that is how you can have your favorite socks for your hiking boots for a couple of decades. I also had doubled the yarn in the heel which turned into indestructible padding for my heel.
I think that the length of the strand is a factor, so I’m going to use patterns with very short strands. Do you think that ladderback jacquard is helpful?
I sprayed that rose with neem oil as part of Operation Aphid and the bloom is still looking great.
The sock looks great, and I love the new cat beds! I hope the chicken surgery is successful, even if it has to get put away now so Mateo can’t get to it.
Doodle socks look fun! Though if I make anything similar, I think it would have to be just a colorwork cuff or leg with a single color foot. I have a hard time getting colorwork socks to be as fitted on the foot as I like (without getting too tight).
Stranded knitting is really tricky when it comes to socks. I have found that the knitting can be too tight too. I’m still debating on my stitch count and needle size, but first I have to get the pattern and colors worked out. It’s an adventure!!
I hope you figure out something that works for you!
Your new socks are beautiful! So sorry to hear about Hannah’s chicken, hope she can get it back at some point 🙂 Doodle socks will be a lot of fun, and you found some great yarn to make them with!
The yarn is my favorite for socks… it is a smooth 4 ply superwash merino wool and nylon blend that I’m hoping will also love being stranded knitting.