Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

This, my friends, is the front and back of the Cat's Meow Sweater that I have been working on. As most of you know, I have an orange tiger cat named Reno that I just adore. I call him my second child :-) About 2 years ago a catalog came in the mail that had some yarn and knitting patterns in it along with some cross stitch stuff. At that time I had not started knitting yet. This sweater was on the cover and my quest to learn to knit began. My mother taught me to knit as a child but I never made anyting, always said I could not knit. So I started with a few scarves, moved on to sweaters and promplty lost this pattern! I searched high and low for it, googled it from time to time but could not find it. Then one day someone over on Knitter's Review posted a question about the cat's meow yarn. I googled for that to see what it was and one of the hits was this pattern at Purple Kitty Yarns I quickly tried to add the pattern to my cart and it told me it was sold out. I e mailed the owner and she said she would get it in for me. Less than a week later I had an e mail saying it was on its way!

This is my first attempt at intarsia. I watched the video over at knittinghelp.com and picked up a couple of good tips about twisting the yarn. It really isan't that hard to do, you just have to keep all the little balls of yarn straight. And knittinghelp.com also has a really cool way to wind center pull bobbins right on your hand, no little bobbins needed and it really works!

So I have the front and the back done, sewed the shoulders together and now am working on the sleeves. I am doing both sleeves at once which always seems to take forever but at least when I am done, I am done! It will probably be too warm to wear this until next fall, but I just had to make it. Here is a closer shot of the face In case anyone is wondering, I am using mostly Encore worsted for this. The body of the sweater is all Encore. The orange color for the cat is also Encore but I am carrying along a strand of Kid Silk Haze to make it a little furry and to break up the orange color a little. The paws are angora (!) You would not believe how soft it is. I have to add ears, which will be in the orange and KSH and little pink paw pads for the back feet. Can you say aaawwwwww??

In other knitting news, not much is going on . The cabled shrug is still sitting in my UFO basket along with the snowflake vest. I have promised myself I will finish the shrug next, but there is this lace cardigan from Lana Grossa that is calling my name. I cannot find the yarn called for locally and am hesitant to order it from Germany, although the price is right, even with shipping. I have been thinking about making it in SWTC Bamboo. I got a skein the other day and swatched with it and I like it but I am not sure. Unfortunately this pattern only comes in size Small so I have to do so adjusting to the pattern. Either knit it in a heavier yarn, which Bamboo is not, or add repeats to the lace and adjust the cast on amount.

Whew, that was a long update. Of course, if I posted on a more regular basis I wouldn't have to type so much at one time :-) I have this week off from school and my daughter has gone to spend a couple of days with a friend, so the house is quiet!(well, those dishes and that pile of laundry are calling my name, shhh)I have been trying to do a little spring cleaning...sending stuff to Volunteers of America. Over the weekend I sponge painted my daughter's bedroom and it came out really good, if I do say so myself and she actually liked it too. Here's a peek at how it looks. Enjoy the clean room and the made bed because it won't last long! Yes, she is a teenager and yes, that is a Care Bear on her bed...I can't figure these kids out these days. LOL