Craft of Bust!!! - 2/23

Well, I have definitely been a busy gal over the past day and night. Yesterday I finished spinning a bobbin of Chris's alpaca, Canty, fleece.

I was ready to ply and wouldn't you know it I had all bobbins on the Louet Victoria with singles of some sort or another on them. The first bobbin was about 1/2 full with a merino, silk, camel, firestar, glitz batt I am taking my time with. The second had just a smidgen of a 'fine wool and mohair blend' I purchased online because the colors were so lovely in the picture. I don't really care much for it as the wool is rather a little on the coarse side and in person it definitely does not look like the picture. The third bobbin is of course full of the alpaca single.

What to do, what to do? Should I start on my taking-my-time-in-between-other-projects bobbin or bite the bullet and finish spinning the 'not so fine wool and mohair blend'. In the spirit of my goals with the Craft or Bust project, to finish UFO's, I opted to finish spinning the stuff I don't really care for at all. The end result was 128 yards of Plain-Jane yarn with muted hints of color here and there that is not so soft even after washing.

I stood up for just a second to stretch my legs after plying when Little Kitty who is not quite so little any more decided to take a go at the wheel or at least pretend like he was spinning. Silly kitty, doesn't he know that spinning is just for Momma?

Fun Package

There was a knock on my door yesterday morning. Standing there was the Postman with a package for lil' ol' me! I racked my brain and couldn't remember for the life of me what I had ordered.

I was quick with the knife cutting the tape to see what was inside. Only to find there was a second box in the first. Once open I remembered:) It was my new SHEEPY MUG from The Mud Fairy. She does all kinds of fun and funky animals on mugs and I am so very happy to have one of her beautiful mugs!

Next item of business .... the cat nuttery that adds constant enjoyment and amusement to our lives.

Last night when I returned from Knit Night I came home to a box of Yummy, Yummy sushi from Osaka in Mill Pond Center. Bill sweetie that he is was kind enough to keep his wife in mind when I went to grab a bite yesterday evening:)

As we were eating, there came a little pawing at my leg. Wouldn't you know it. Little Stinker was right there expecting his fair share of fish! We have created a Little 'piggy' Kitty by giving him treats here and there.

'Hey, I want some too!'

'Um, Dad, Mom wont share!' (Note Miss Kitty being very patient in the back ground)

'Oh, OK, see, I can be a good Kitty too, Meow, Meow!'

WOW....

Can't believe I missed my blog Holiday Wishes! I wish you all good health and a great year!

Now on to the news.........

Several new little developments......... Trust me, there's a whole bunch more. This is just a little tidbit to tempt your taste buds:)

NUMBER ONE

I finally unpacked the Louet S17 kit wheel, proceeded to give the base and uprights a fine base coat of antique gold which doesn't show up very well on my puter, the bobbins were painted in metallic multi-colors and the wheel itself.....? Well, I just couldn't be happier with how it turned out! See, the side showing I painted with an adorable little sheepy that is based on the original pastel by artist Marianna McDonald.

It originally was a green base with the multi colored polka-dots I do so well.....lol I just didn't like how the dots looked after I was done with them and brain stormed for inspiration when I spied my little card that someone had give me with a picture of the original pastel. I simply could not resist how cute the little guy looked, so plowed ahead and painted my little furry friend.

This little guy is just too darn cute! He always seems so very happy for me to 'Sit and Spin'!

The back side is pink with gold polka-dots. Was a very hard decision which side I wanted facing me:)

Why just the other night, I was needing a break from regular spinning and well I did have an 8 ounce bag of Finn combed top, which I didn't particularly care for and don't want to pawn off on anyone else due to it's coarseness. I started to spin it bulky using a long draw and before I knew what had hit, I had the FULL 8 ounces spun and on the bobbin. The last ounce went on a little tight and awkward, but I managed to cram it right on there.

My eyes grew a little, well, OK, a lot big. Now, my little pea-brain is all a buzz with ideas of what I can do next with this fun little wheel! This particular wheel is not for sale, but Louet has plenty more in stock. Just give me a shout if you would like me to order one of these fun and INEXPENSIVE kits for you. Or, you can find them in the shop:) Lunabudknits

NUMBER TWO......

Right before the Holidays Nicholasville Knit Night had it's annual Christmas Party at Bella Notte in Lexington, KY and I scored big time. We do a little 'Dirty Santa' gift exchange where you can open a new present or you can steal one that was already open. I couldn't believe my luck when I drew the very LAST number, steal, or gift. The wrapping and tissue papers were flying. Gifts were stolen here there and every where.

Finally, my turn came and I had my eye on 3 gifts. I did a quick mental eni-meeni-mihni-moe to eliminate one gift and flipped a coin between the Ottlite and a hand turned bowl by the husband of one of the knitters. I figured there was not a more diplomatic way to steal a gift than to flip a coin. The tension was building up and heads won me the beautiful hand made bowl turned from a Black Walnut tree collected at the Kentucky River Palisades. I absolutely adore it!

NUMBER THREE......

Ace is back to sleeping in his wild and wacky nap positions:)

My Boyfriends Back!

Shay-Nah! Shay-Nay! My Boyfriends BACK!!!!

I don't know why I did it, or what gave me the urge to go stand out on the back deck tonight. But I am thanking God that I did! See I heard a meow coming from the field behind our house. Well, I started calling for Little Kitty and saying 'Meow, Meow' which is our kitty speak for 'Where you at?'

I thought he might be coming from between the two neighbor's houses so I grabbed a flash light lickety split and ran for the front door! But, once I was between the two houses the meow was fainter. So I ran back in the house and through the basement. Kicking at Bill to wake up as I went. In to the back yard I went and I realized he had made it into the neighbor's back yard!

We meowed at each other through the fence until we came to a spot large enough for him to squeeze through. At which point I snatched my Little Kitty up and ran for the back door! That was an hour ago and outside of taking a little break to eat, Little Kitty has not left my lap:)

Little Kitty in my lap!

Little Kitty eating a smidgen of food. Don't want to over do it as he wasn't chewing the kibble and I don't want to hurt his little belly. Right now, I can feel every little bone in his body:(

This pic was taken right before Little Kitty had his mishap with a stray dog that chased him to lord knows where on 11/30/09 (yes, I know the date my little bud disappeared). As you can see, he has quite a bit of catching up to do. But, I'm sure we will get him there and soon!

Little Kitty

It is with a very sad heart that we think our Little Kitty, Ace is dead..

Monday morning, he darted out the door when Bill opened it and would not come back in. Bill went to put on his shoes and heard a ruckus at the front door. When he got to the door, Little Kitty was no where to be seen and the mulch was dug up as if there had been a fight. The neighbor across the street saw what happened, she has been very ill for the past year, so needless to say, there is nothing she could have done. Apparently some jerk was to lazy to walk their dog decided it would be a good idea to just open the door to let it out. This dog while roaming the neighborhood happened upon my little kitty on the front porch, proceeded to chase him and we have not see Little Kitty since Monday morning. We have searched the neighborhood for our little furry buddy, but have come up empty handed. Last night we plastered the neighborhood stop signs with fliers, so we still have not given up hope.

I am heart broken and Bill is too. I spent most of Monday and part of yesterday crying over my Little Cuddle Bug Kitty. He would curl up in my lap and suck his toes while I typed away at the keyboard. Just Sunday night, he was begging for a smidgen of turkey salad which he got. He had a little bit of eggs and bacon for breakfast on Sunday and helped me put up the tree on Friday. We curled up on the couch and slept all night together in the basking glow of the trees lights.

This is a video I was lucky enough to capture of Little Kitty and Miss Kitty playing in the kitchen/ dining room and then careening through the living room. I'm sure they would have come around the corner playing like crazy except one of the kitties slid on the tile floor and must have whacked into the hall door.

A few pics of Ace, aka. Little Kitty, Little Stinker........

Little Kitty never could figure out that we could see him while he was 'hiding':)

Hanging out w/ Miss Kitty.

Sucking his back toes. He did this as he supervised me at the computer.

Waiting for me to sit down at the computer.

Begging for scraps.

Attacking Miss Kitty.

Hiding a week or so after we found him on the side of the road.

Helping me with the laundry.

Keeping an eye on the fish.

Funny story here. Little Kitty and Bill would play a game where Bill would push kitty around on the floor and kitty would slide across the floor. One day, he accidentally pushed kitty into the water dish. Little Kitty shook his head, looked at the water dish, dipped his paw in it and drank. Luckily, he kept it up long enough for me to grab the camera.

Waiting for Bill to come home.

Tugging on my zipper. No zippers or buttons were safe from Little Kitty. He once de-beaded a hand knit shawl I made. did not realize it until I picked up the shawl and beads scattered every where....lol Luckily the beads were simply tied on.

Saying here I am.... Pet me! Pet me!

He was well loved and greatly missed.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In EXACT order above...

'The Good' 'The Bad' 'The Ugly

And yes these are terrible pictures of a terrible deed. Master minded by 'The Bad' Little Kitty, Ace who is not quite so little any more. Nor was he quite so cute at the moment either!

See, it happened Friday while I was vacuuming the carpet in the dining room. Unbeknown to me, 'The Bad' Little Kitty who is not quite so little any more, Ace was hiding behind the striped curtain which is behind the three tiered stand you see in 'The Good' picture. I don't know how he managed to knock over the stand which resulted in 'The Ugly' but the rotten little stinker who has grown rather fat managed quite well in his hasty retreat from the room. This unfortunately resulted in breaking my 3 tiered stand.

The stand was broken in two 'Ugly' places. The picture above shows the place where the spot weld on the metal did not hold due not only to being knocked over, but also from being knocked over on to the kitchen table and then hitting the floor. I'm hoping in the future to have this little spot re-welded.

At the time, I was not aware that this join had never actually been connected to the stand! And there was good reason for this. Because who ever had initially welded the plate to the stand was not the best welder on the planet. This left a rather large bead where the plate met the post. To top it off, the plate was not attached at the proper position on the post. So in came my trusty little dremel tool and the cutter head and grinder head. I cut off the back of the plated with the cutter and then used the grinder to smooth it out to properly fit into place. The grinder head also came in very handy to get rid of the bead from the bad welding job.

Here is 'The Ugly' completely fixed into 'The Good'. Sorry for the dust. I had no idea the dremel left that much of a mess.

And of course who can stay completely mad at 'The Bad' little kitty when his fat furry little butt sleeps in the funniest of positions!

My Little helper and other recent pet pictures!

I realized today that I have not posted any updated pics of my roadside kitten, Ace. If you remember way back in Sept. Bill and I found Ace and his brother on the side of the road. Ace weighed about 6-7 ounces and was a lethargic little fluff ball. Here are a few of the back posts: 1st week, introducting, and Funny Ace Pics. Anyhow I haven't posted any recent pictures of Ace. Go check out the '1st week' and 'funny ace pics' after you see the recent pics. My oh my how my little guy has grown! Oh and he's far from being lethargic. Now, he's a little ball of energy!

Ace 2/14/09

As you can see all fiber is kept safe and sound from the little wild man otherwise, he likes to take a nap in it!

Piper right after the ice storm.

Miss Kitty, she is not too keen on the camera or Ace.

Not a good pic, but Piper running in the snow.

Ace and Miss Kitty.  Doesn't Miss Kitty look so enthusiastic!

Freaky Kitty

Ace has done this for some time, I just did not want to post about it with out proof....lol

These are pictures of Ace doing the dirty deed. Ok, so it's really not dirty, but it sure is odd. Guess we can chalk this up to how we found the little guy and his bro on the side of the road.  You know, that little lost kitty syndrome that we are attributing to his being dumped at too young an age in the middle of no where............


Ace Sucking his toe...


Proof that, YES, he does suck his toe.

Oh, he also had his first sip of beer tonight and erm...... Well, he doesn't really like it at all....hahahaha See, it goes like this. I was watching 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. Next thing I know, I look up and there he is licking the rim of my brewskie! He stepped back, shook his head, went in for a second round, shook his head, and tried it a third time and took leave of my lap....lol Silly kitty! Beer if for Big Kiddies!

More Ace

Once upon a time, I would buy stuffed squeeky animals for Miss Piper to play with. I would buy one after another hoping beyond hope that she would take an interest in playing with her toys. Needless to say, Miss Piper is not a wild thing, but Ace sure is! Here he has the big long legged pink horsey toy. Yes, i know it does not look like a horse, but trust me laying out with out being tangled it does...lol Ace will carry his 'Horsey' all over the house and play hard with it. We found a laser light for him to chase around the house and eventually, I will get around to getting a picture of some of Ace's laser light acrobatics....lol

Before you go, make sure to sign up for the Name this Colorway Contest. It will be open through the end of this month, just in time for Christmas shopping!

ACE Pics

Yes, we love our little kitty;) Bill has finally started to enjoy having Ace around. It took a little warming up on his part, but he is having tons of fun watching and playing with Ace...lol.. It really is quite funny to watch Bill chase Ace around...hehehe Sorry no pics of that, but I took quite a few this morning!

Kangaroo Kitty

Yoga Kitty

Tail Catcher Kitty.

I see something Kitty.

Sleepy Kitty.

INTRODUCING

The new member of the house of hair.......

You knew this little man as Thing Two.

One of the kittens we found dumped by the side of the road.

We found homes for both of the kittens, but I had begged mean ol' Mr Bill to keep Thing Two. He grumbled but put his foot down....

No. No. No.

Later that evening Bill told me he almost gave in and said OK. I guess Mr Bill is not that bad after all. Although he did go with out that night if you know what I mean...lol

I did tell the Lady I gave him to that if he did not work out, I wanted him back.

Luck would have it that my little guy did not work out with her. Took me no time at all to run home get my kitty carrier and go pick him up. I debated when I got him home whether to find a new home for him or not, but really, I couldn't let my snuggle bug go again. So while Mr Bill was away with work last week, I found a name for my little man. I knew it had to be something a little bit more manly, because lets face it I just can't see Mr Bill wanting to call a male cat snuggle puss or fluffy butt....lol Plus, we do already have a Miss Piper, Miss Kitty and Miss Applebutter.

I would like you all to meet ACE, the wild thing who is the master of the flying leap and funny faces!!!