Tag: Portly Mice and Chubby Bunny

MacKenzie Speaks: A Mouse of My Own

Hi. I’m MacKenzie.

Cat with toy mouse.
Do you see what I have?

The week has been just awful. The Mother of Cats has been gone most of the week going on adventures in the new car WITHOUT ME and leaving me home alone. It snowed. It got horrible cold. I couldn’t find a mouse anywhere no matter how many times I went into the garage. Another cat in the family caught a mouse under his house and SENT THE PICTURE TO TAUNT ME!! I have been sad all day about it.

The Mother of Cats went to the pet store today to buy me a mouse (in a cage with a wheel it could run on… she said it would be fun to watch) and they refused to sell her one because it was TOO COLD!! It is so unfair I can hardly stand it. I want a mouse!!

Cat and toy mouse.
But when I woke up this evening my little mouse full of catnip had arrived.
Sleeping cat with toy mouse.
At last.

I’m such a good boy.

Can I have some cookies when I wake up?

>^..^<

Notes from the Mother of Cats:

  • It has been hard to find MacKenzie a new companion. I tried to find him a kitten, but it is the wrong time of the year and I’m kind of worried that he is too old (he is 15) to handle a spunky one. I looked into fish, but there really isn’t a good place in the house to put the tank where he can watch them. A caged bird isn’t a good option… he is too clever by half and the bird wouldn’t be safe. Eventually I’ll get him a (securely) caged hamster to watch.
  • The sweet little mouse is from the pattern Portly Mice & Chubby Bunny by MK Designs. It was a fast and simple knit with almost no finishing work; I think it took me an hour to make. I made it with some of the yarn that I’m knitting a sweater with right now, and it is stuffed with filling and catnip! My project notes are here
  • There really was a dead mouse picture that arrived in my phone for MacKenzie. A nephew cat named Panthro sent it.
  • The temperature outside is a balmy 11 degrees F, much better than the -14 that we started out with this morning. It has to get over 30 degrees before I can buy the hamster.

 

 

 

All the Christmas Knitworthies

I’m an addict. Seriously, I need to belong to a support group… oops… that’s literally what my Wednesday morning group meeting is, only those guys support me to buy more yarn, tools, patterns, cookies… Anyway, my name is Midnight Knitter, and I am addicted to knitting. The gateway drug was crochet, but once I got my hands on knitting needles I was gone. I was only eight years old, but the path of my life was already determined; yarn and I would be best buds forever. These days I spin it, dye it, weave it, but mostly I knit with yarn. A lot. A day without knitting is an ugly thing…

Here’s the central truth of my knitting; I will knit many, many sweaters, mitts, dishcloths, and other items of use, but I do hate to part with anything if it isn’t going to a good home. You know, the chunk of knitted love should go to someone who will appreciate it, use it, and maybe even love it a little too. In a word, a person who is knitworthy. Someone who will thank me for the gift. Someone who will give that knitted piece of me a good home. Someone who will take the time to thank me and let me know that they will use their hand knit.

I knitted a lot of Christmas gifts this year. Superwash merino, cashmere, silk and even yak slipped through my fingers, looped over the needles, and grew into fabric that I hoped would bring joy to the person I was creating it for. As Christmas approached the items were wrapped with care, stuffed into boxes, and mailed off to recipients. Little pieces of me, winging off to Christmas trees far away, waiting for Christmas morning to arrive.

Today the first happy picture arrived on my phone. Such a great picture! My whole day was made. Knitworthy!! I asked everyone else for a pic of their presents, and by this evening they had arrived. Look!!

Cousins in knitted goods.
My cousins in snowy southwest Colorado sent the first picture. I was so relieved and happy to see how nice the cowls and hat looked. The cowls are Clinkerbell Cowls by Casapinka, and the purple hat is a Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure. Project notes for the cowls are here and here, and if you really want to see some notes on the hat, they are here.
Sister ready for winter.
Then my sister in Oregon sent the happiest picture ever showing off her fingerless mitts and another Sockhead hat. This is her first winter in a colder climate, and those mitts (made of superwash merino, silk, and yak) are already getting a lot of use. The project notes for the mitts have the pattern included.
Daughter-in-law in her cowl.
This evening the picture of the brioche cowl that I made for my daughter-in-law arrived. Her cowl had already been worn for an outing this afternoon, and she told me it was really cushy and warm. The pattern is Purl Soho’s Gina’s Brioche Cowl. Here are my project notes.

Everything fits. Everyone was happy with their gifts, and I’m completely assured that they will put the knitted pieces of love to work. Yay. But wait, there is more. I knitted for the cats this year, too!

Cat and mouse.
My grandkitty Maya attacked her Portly Mouse as soon as I gave it to her. Must have been the catnip.
Cat and mouse.
My other grandkitty Daxter went to sleep with his.

My son reports that the cats have been flinging the mice around his apartment and that they are being well used. Excellent. Even the cats are knitworthy in this family.

See, we knitters (well, those of us who are addicts like myself…) are actually pretty simple. Send us a happy picture and a nice “thank you” and we have gotten our fix and will now produce knitted goods forever.

Because you are knitworthy!

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and that the winter will be kind to you.