Of shoes and cats

April was a month for starting and finishing small projects. I participated in round 2 of a washcloth swap, and I received a lovely new blanket for Greaseball! It is even more special because this is topdoggie's first ever dishcloth! Isn't it beautiful?


I sent off a NunuYaya dishcloth designed by Amoral Fiber. It was a quick, easy knit that leaves you wanting to make more! I knit my washcloth on US size 8 needles with Sugar 'n Cream's Ombres & Prints in the colorway Swimming Pool.


My swapee, Myla, had her lovely cat Oscar model his new cape. He looks stunning, as always. His "I'm. So. Pissed. Off" look is a textbook example. Wee kittens everywhere should study his icy glare. He should be proud.

In April, I also finished up these Jaywalkers for moi. The yarn Depth Charge from Pigeonroof Studios, purchased at the Article Pract booth at Stitches West. Since Jaywalkers are notorious for being a tad too tight around the ankle, I modified the stitch pattern a bit to make Lace Jaywalkers. They slip on and off like buttuh!


Of course, new socks means new shoes. I found these clear Sketchers on sale! Plastic shoes usually means sweaty feet, but these shoes have plenty of vents. I do feel I need to put my hair in piggytails and do loop de loops on the playground bars, but I do love showing of my socks. No longer will my shoes cover up all my hard work! LOOK AT MY SOCKS! LOOK AT THEM! (Everyone feels that way after finishing a pair, right?)


Hm, I never noticed before that the pattern on top of Fifty-Fifty's head is very similar to our hardwood floors.


I also bought myself a throne, but that is for another post. Have a good week, y'all!

The Secret Love Child Returns

What do you get when you cross this dog with this dog?

Why, Secret Love Child Scarlett, of course!

SLCS spent her afternoon and evening trying to convince Papa Mingus to frolic with her. She turned on her puppy charm and told Mingus how much fun they could have if he would only return her play bow.


When her siren song fell on deaf ears, she had to resort to a more direct approach to convince him that he wanted nothing more than to chase her around the yard.

Still, Mingus did not take the bait. An even more direct approach was needed. His tail must be pulled. Now, that he noticed! Success!

The "pull my tail" trick got Mingus riled up, and many laps around the backyard followed. They even took some time to dance.

Mama Vespa patiently watched the whole thing take place, as evidenced by the bits of her in every picture.

Once Mingus grew tired of the chase game (it must be noted that Scarlett never tires of the chase game), all three dogs spent some quality time together watching squirrels. Mama Vespa usually doesn't condone squirrel watching because she thinks it will rot a puppy's brain, so this was a special moment indeed.

Meanwhile, in the house, Fifty-Fifty was feeling a bit... French.


Thankfully, she had an emergency beret handy for such an occasion.

Prolonged exposure to the beret does cause grumpiness and a craving for a stiff drink, so I had to pry it off of her head before it was too late.

I was too late.


In between designing new ways to furmiliate my cats, I have managed to knit a pair of socks. I call these my Chocolate Cherry Jaywalkers.

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Needle: US size 1
Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino, Colorway P621
Size: Small. 68 stitches for the foot and 76 stitches for the cuff.
Modifications: Plenty! Besides knitting these toe up, the biggest modification I made was to add an extra stitch to the zig zag after I turned the heel. This resulted in 8 more stitches on the cuff in comparison to the foot of the sock. The reason I had to do this was because the first time I knit this sock I couldn't get it over my ankle. I put more details on my Ravelry project page.

Rebirth of a Jaywalker

After I finished the first Jaywalker, I didn't like the feel of it. Meaning, it was a little tight around the ankles and the raised parts of the pattern irritated the bottom of my feet. I didn't have the heart to knit a second uncomfortable sock, so with liquid courage, I ripped the sock back to the toe and I started again. This time, I increased the toe to 92 stitches and I am only doing the Jaywalker pattern on the top of the sock.

To sooth my hurt knitting ego, I visited a new yarn store, k2together. k2together specializes in fair trade, green, and organic yarn. What a treat! I came away with some sumptuous yarn that I'll post when I cast on.

Not Done Jaywalking

I turned the heel on my toe-up Jaywalker a few nights ago - I ended up chickening out on doing a heel flap, so I did a trusty short row heel instead. Plus, I knitted the foot up to 1.5 inches from the heel, so I would have had to frog part of my sock to make a heel flap work. No thanks!

The next time I do this pattern, I'm going to knit the sole side in stockinette stitch because I don't like the way the ribs feel on the bottom of my feet.

I think this will be an anklet sock with a picot bind off.