Knits

Welcome to the bad news blog…

I went away to Brussels, had a great time until late-Sunday night when I came down with the worst case of food poisoning I have ever had. I was sick the entire night and next day. I was stable enough to travel home Monday afternoon, but it was a miserable journey. I managed to sleep between Brussels and London, but the train from London to home was rather crowded and I couldn’t do anything but stare out to the horizon so as not to feel like I’d puke into the lap of the man sat next to me. I had a big meeting yesterday morning so I attended that, but took the afternoon off to get some rest. I woke up this morning with a bit of relapse so I took today off too.

Before I left I had made an appointment to take Trigger in first thing on Tuesday as I could see her tumour had rapidly grown in the last couple of weeks. It was clearly bothering her a lot as she pawed at it so much that she made it raw and was acting very skittish — something she never did before. When I made the appointment I said I think she will need sedation so they can do X-rays and a proper exam since her last one was back in November or something.

When the vet saw her he agreed and asked me in what order I noticed the change in symptoms and behaviour. He said what I already knew — that the cancer was in such a place that there was little to do surgically or even with aggressive therapies like chemo or laser. He said that it may be likely that they’d sedate her and see that the cancer was at such a stage as the best course would be to let her go…

I had to let my little kitty go yesterday. The tumour had spread so much and there was nothing they could do. She’d only get worse and any treatments they could give her wouldn’t really help.

I knew this was coming so I am not as devastated as I was with losing Dakota so unexpectedly last year which actually makes me feel like a bit of an arse. It’s very lonely not having a kitty here to headbutt me and tell me when it’s time to go to bed or insist that she come in the bathroom with me so she can have a drink out of the tap. I don’t need to be careful about kicking the water bowl…

I’m ready for this part of my life to move forward. I have had way too much loss in the last 12 months; way too much upheaval.

RIP Trigger kitty.

That’s my sister’s beautiful cat Ushi. Ushi has taken to me in a big way. She comes and sits with me at night for a bit and purrs, seeks me out and has taken a few afternoon naps with me. She doesn’t behave this way with my mom. The cats are due for their annual shots so we’re going to start Ushi on the road of preparing to move abroad. If she doesn’t settle or my mom decides taking care of two cats is too much, she’ll come in the autumn and bring Ushi.

Ushi is the cat that never grew up. She’s almost 6.5 years old and all of 6 pounds (maybe). She’s so cute and wee.

I called the vet to give him an update. He was just getting ready to ring me with the results of samples he took. My poor kitty has squamous cell cancer (graphic pictures) in her lip. It’s localised and won’t spread to other areas/organs, but it will continue to grow. The vet said he’d never seen it like this as it normally shows up on the tip of the ear or nose so they’re able to remove it; unfortunately, they can’t remove the growth of hers since it would remove her lip (creepy). He said that it’s not actually a painful lump, but of course as it grows it may cause difficulty. Radiotherapy may be an option, but she’d have to go to a treatment centre elsewhere in the country and it may not help (also it would be ridiculously expensive as you might imagine) and would likely be uncomfortable for her. He told me that in instances like this they just let the pet live their life and as the condition worsens to do what is needed to make the animal as comfortable as possible until they can’t do anything else and the animal needs to be put down. I don’t know how long it may be before the growth becomes cumbersome, but I’m inclined to let her live her life as it is and keep her happy until it’s no longer possible. Poor, kitty.

Trigger had to go back to the vet today. The injury to her lip she got so many months ago never really healed, but because she didn’t seemed bothered by it (eating, drinking, being annoying) I decided not to pursue it further. Well the last few days she’s really been pawing at it and a couple of times when she was eating she must’ve bit down sort of in the wrong place because she would immediately run and hide under the bed.

So in she went today. She got lots more stitches in her mouth, had x-rays, and samples of tissue and the infection taken so they can investigate whether it is something more serious than an injury that is just not wanting to heal. Fingers crossed it is nothing more serious. She is still incredibly groggy right now which I’m surprised about since she’s been home since about 630 this evening.

So send her good kitty vibes and speedy recovery. She’ll be on a higher dosage and longer course of anti-biotics this time as well as an anti-inflammatory. My poor little monkey.

If you look at the larger version of the picture you can actually see the swollen lip. It’s the lump that appears behind her nose (her left cheek).

My knitting-fu is still off. I got the mittens done which are for a one-year old and being handed over today. I knit the largest size in the pattern so the kid could wear them for some time. It’s a really simple pattern, but actually having never knit an entire project in garter stitch, I struggled to get good row gauge. Now the pattern didn’t actually indicate row gauge, but did indicate the length of the finished mitt… I was over 2″ off! I had already started the second mitt on the same needles, but hadn’t got very far so it wasn’t too painful to rip. I ended up going up two needle sizes in order to get the correct finished dimensions lengthwise — I hope the width isn’t too enormous! I added an icord to them for stringing through coats.

The pattern is the Lobster Claw Mitts from Morehouse Merino Farms and came as part of a kit (yarn and pattern). I would never knit with this yarn again; it is awful. It breaks so easily and when you are trying to make sure there aren’t holes in your ‘make one’ increases, it’s difficult since a tug snaps the yarn. If you’re after something to felt, well I suspect that this yarn will do a fantastic job because it is sticky hence the slight pain in ripping out the gloves, but otherwise a big thumbs down from me. No doubt these mittens will become felted mittens in no time.

I ran out of yarn when knitting the second Little Cables hat and I’m debating whether I buy another ball or rip it out and do it the same way I did the first. Very annoying as it sort of leaves me without something to give as a gift today since the mittens are sort of half a gift since I didn’t purchase the kit (not to devalue my time).

I got the yarn for the C. It is very soft. The colours are a bit paler than I expected (not that you can tell from the picture — it’s just been so dark here already!), but I haven’t started knitting yet so we’ll see what happens. Otherwise, no other knitting has gone on. The cardigan still waits to have the second sleeve added and the bottom of the waist. I started the second ball of yarn on My-so called scarf last night, but was obviously too tired to be doing so since I managed to knit two rows and lose half my stitches. I plan to actually focus on getting the scarf and cardigan done, but I will cast-on for the C probably tomorrow night. I’d like to get it done by the end of November, but it might just have to wait until Christmas.

In other news, I’m looking at getting another cat in December. I saw a very nice looking cat on one of the local rescue sites, but haven’t rang yet since I can’t adopt until December. I should ring as they may be willing to hold on to him. Obviously I need to meet him and find out for sure if he’s okay with other cats. He’s not the ginger cat I always dream of getting, but I know that when it comes down to it, I will take any cat that I take a liking to regardless of its markings.

I’ve managed to destash a handful of skeins of sock yarn and hopefully some bulky yarn (my first luxury yarn purchase). I’ve signed up for a secret santa swap (UK-only) to destash a skein and receive a skein. I’ve also signed up for the Socktopus sock club — my first ever club sign up. She’s offering three levels of subscription depending on how many extras you want to receive. It runs for a year with six mailings. She’s also offering a Stitch Marker club if anyone is interested in handmade stitch markers.

Also, The Boy and I split up. No condolences necessary (or whatever it is you give people when they break up). It’s something I’ve been struggling with for a couple of months now and finally came to a decision. He’s a good guy — kind and generous — but at the end of the day we really didn’t have much in common which makes it difficult to maintain a relationship. We’re hoping to come out of it as friends.

Now I’m off to shower and get ready to head to London for a one-year old’s birthday party — Doctor Who themed! Sadly, I don’t think David Tennant will be making an appearance, but there will be Tardis cake.

 
Trigger is vicious. Or maybe doing an imitation of me laughing at her w/ lobster claw mittens.

I originally wrote the bulk of this post this past Saturday… and then didn’t post it so I’ve now re-jigged it and added some headers just to break it up haha.

Acquired: yarn

I found a shop here in the UK that had the right dyelot, was £1.05 cheaper than the other place, and included free shipping. I ordered from them (Fabstract); they were fabulous actually. I emailed them to ask about the yarn and quickly got a reply. A number of other places that I emailed I’ve still not heard from. WTF? Who doesn’t want to sell a desperate woman yarn that costs £6/ball? I know that’s not even close to the price of fancier yarns, but still.

Unfortunately the Royal Mail staged yet another postal strike (these have been happening since mid-July). The shop got the yarn out in time and it even made it to my door, but there was a different postman delivering to my house and it got returned to the depot instead of hidden on my porch so I only got it today. =(

Over the weekend I did finish up a sleeve as I wanted to see how much yarn a sleeve required. Unfortunately it came out way too wide since I wanted a full length sleeve (the picture in the pattern shows a 3/4-length sleeve). I ripped it back and added in some decreases in the forearm. I tried it on. Damn, not right. I started the decreases too late and then decreased too rapidly. It looked okay from the front, but from the side it was like a weird wing, so I ripped that out too. I think I’ve got it now, but haven’t had a chance to finish it up — maybe tonight.

Other knits

Saturday morning I woke up at 6.45. I don’t even wake up at 6.45 on days I have to go to work! I didn’t actually get up though, I stayed in bed and snoozed; and despite wanting to snooze more, I couldn’t. I got up an hour later because I had knitting on the brain. I wanted to finish up the sleeve (literally 4 rows and a bind off before I realised I had to rip it out the first time). I was also thinking of all the things I want to and/or need to get started… the C for my sister, a scarf for me, the hat I’ve not finished, at least two toddler sized hats and maybe some booties to go with them, and something like the hourglass sweater. Plus socks. I’ll probably get a start on the toddler-ware today. I really need to clean my flat at some point though.

I went to a work-related conference on Monday and Tuesday and as I was staying over two nights, brought a ridiculous amount of knitting with me which of course meant I barely knit. I started the C and it just looks terrible. I’m knitting it on larger needles than recommended for the yarn since I want it drapey, and it looks good when in stockinette, but there’s something about the way you start C that is just looking really ugly — too loose and messy. I may try less slippery needles and see where I get.

I also tried to start one of the toddler hats, but I always struggle starting a brim up hat on circulars unless there are a ridiculous amount of stitches. I know the circular needle I have will work for the hat once I get it going, but I’ve recast on this evening and after I finish dinner and this post I will get going with it as I need it this weekend (should easily be doable).

Acquired: more yarn

I’ve also bought more yarn. Ugh. Really. I bought some Posh Yarn because the other librarygirl totally tempted me. It arrived and, you know, I don’t know if it’s the colours I chose or what, but I’m not that impressed. The colours look one of two ways: really dull and dirty or too bright, not saturated, but bright. One of the colourways looks okay (the one at the top which is Helena in Poignant), but one is definitely way brighter and more yellow than I like so I might sell that on or return it. I have to decide quick since she only has a 7-day return policy. Maybe it all knits up nicer than it looks in the skein…

 
Emily in Patina (seems okay) — Laura in Holm (don’t like this - anyone interested?)

Trigger went back to the vet because her cheek started swelling again after she finished up her antibiotics. She’s on another course, this time for 10-days, plus some pro-biotics.

I’m still incredibly busy at work and don’t see an end in sight really, but it’s actually somewhat good because I’m enjoying things, just some stuff is falling by the wayside and I feel a bit guilty about it.

Here’s a gross picture… I got some compressed air to clean out my laptop keyboard. It’s still a bit dirty, but not nearly as it was. Mostly it was just matted with cat hair and yarn hahaha.

Oh! I won a blog contest. The funny thing is I didn’t even know there was a contest going on! I left a comment on a science blog that’s part of ScienceBlogs during their 500,000th comment contest. I was one of 50 runner-ups and won a cool beaker mug. It looks like that one minus the DNA logo.

I’ve made risotto for dinner with chorizo. I wondered what else I might put with it so searched for some recipes. I found one that had red wine so I decided to try that and you know, it’s not very good. It’s tolerable, but I won’t make it again — the red wine risotto, not the risotto with chorizo.

Okay, that’s plenty long; I’m shutting up now.

I had a pretty nice birthday. The Boy turned up on Sunday to take me to Kew Gardens. It turned out to be a rather warm day and I wasn’t feeling great, especially when we went into the greenhouses. I kept getting dizzy and felt a bit faint and was even sweating more than I really should have been. Once outdoors I felt better, but I suspect that I’m trying to come down with something flu-like since I’ve felt a bit off for the last 5-6 days.

If you’re into seeing flowers, well it’s not exactly the right time of year to go, is it? Many things are already dead/hibernating or on their way out, but there was still plenty to see and satisfy my photographic-bug for taking pictures of flowers and plants. And of course there were a lot of large scale sculptures on display throughout the gardens.

Last night, my real birthday, The Boy came up and we went out for a nice dinner all fancied up. I was absolutely stuffed and didn’t even eat dessert which was okay since during the day at work I’d eaten several (small) slices of cake. I did some baking on Saturday and took the results in to work. I made one small Chocolate Zucchini (Courgette) cake and some Pumpkin bread. The chocolate cake was wonderful as always — it’s pretty tough to mess up really since the zucchini keeps things moist. The pumpkin bread, well, something funny happened there. It was definitely thoroughly cooked according to the toothpick test yet when it was unwrapped and sliced the middle sort of melted out! Slightly embarrassing, but people ate it up.

I got a rather nice gift as well as being taken to Kew Gardens and a nice dinner. I was given a digital picture frame pre-loaded with a number of pictures I’ve taken. It’s pretty clever as it allows you to set a timer to turn it on/off and how long each image is displayed. I was also given some chocolates, a british food cookbook (surprisingly little boiled meat ;)), and a Doctor Who book (for children) with the lovely David Tennant in a 3-D hologram on the front. Fellow ex-pat will be jealous.

This morning I had to take Trigger to the vet because she’d injured her mouth over a week ago. She knocked herself into a chair leg rather hard in an excited rush to the door. I knew she’d hit herself hard and after she’d calmed down (initially she ran outside and pawed at her face and then hid under the bed) I had a look and couldn’t see any blood or anything else wrong. It wasn’t until several days later that I noticed her cheek had swollen up. I kept my eye on it and it wasn’t going down so in she went. The vet had to put her under in order to examine her and she’s come away with a number of dissolvable stitches in her mouth (she separated her gums from her lip! OUCH!) and well as a couple of shaved spots where the IV went in and where they made a small incision on her cheek to drain the infected area. Now she’s on anti-biotics for a week and has to return to the vet Friday for a check up. She’s been eating and drinking well and hasn’t really changed her behaviours so it was lucky I noticed her usually pretty profile was looking a bit swollen.

Oh yeah, this is a knitting blog! I’m into the third ball of Noro for the cardigan and I think I’ll definitely be getting another ball when I’m in London on Thursday although I suspect it may be a different dye lot… I may have to go on the hunt for the same dyelot. Nothing else on the knitting front happening, but I may pluck up the courage to frog a number of abandoned projects and free my mind from those weighing on them.

The full set of photos from Kew Gardens is on Flickr.

First, thank you all for all the kind comments. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to each of you individually, but I just couldn’t. Everytime I read a comment I’d break down in tears.

I’m getting better. Monday and Tuesday I bawled my eyes out until they stung; and bawled some more. I didn’t even make it to work. I pretty much didn’t sleep on Sunday night / Monday-day even with a heavy sleeping pill — it only gave me about 90 minutes of “peace”. I was so emotionally exhausted that I did sleep nearly 12-hours Monday night (I also had a sleeping pill to help me get there). I also didn’t really eat until Thursday. I tried. From Sunday dinner until Wednesday night I had all of a half piece of toast, two kid-sized pots of yog(h)urt, and two small bowls of cereal. Thursday was the first day I’d eaten actual meals.

 
This terracotta bowl that the previous owner left was one of Dakota’s favourite places to sleep. It was out on the deck and would warm up. He fit inside it really well and would sometimes spin himself around it it to scratch his back. I didn’t bring it with me to the UK as it was too heavy and probably would’ve broken. My mom and sister now have it as they took care of Dakota and Trigger until I could get them here, and my sister’s cat, Ha Ma, now sleeps in it even if he is far too big for it.

I wrote a big list of all the charming things about my man, Dakota, that I will miss. Some of them were definitely annoying, but also “him” and thus charming (e.g. his penchant for using the litter box and running out of it at such high speed that a trail of kitty litter was always left in his wake which meant having to vacuum 2-3 times per week). It helped me smile and get past the horribleness of having to watch him die. I do keep reliving that moment, but it was so unreal that it’s getting easier to detach myself from it.

My other cat, Trigger, is slightly confused. I don’t know if she’ll become more confused when she realises that he’s not off having a holiday. She’s changed some of her habits — especially her bedtime habit of getting in the sink while I brush my teeth because at the same time Dakota would come charging into the bathroom and leap over the side of the tub, through the shower curtain and then attack the shower curtain; she often looked down her nose at him. I feel bad that she’s alone at home since she’s had a companion for the last eight years. I’m not going to rush out and get another cat right now — not until I’m ready.

I had Dakota cremated and brought him home Wednesday. It is very weird to have him there in this tiny wooden box. I let Trigger have a sniff and she rubbed her face all over it. I need to get a little plaque made for the box although I may get a different urn as I wanted something unique for him. I understand that a plain item can be good to help you remember the true meaning of that item, but I want something beautiful and special just like he was.

I have a few more thoughts on owning a pet and the value I find in it even when things like this, inevitably, happen, but I will save those for another post.

I had started knitting a sock on Sunday, but it wasn’t working out. It was to be the Jigsaw sock, but the chart either doesn’t convert well to toe up or it didn’t appear to because of the yarn choice (Knit Picks Memories¹ - Pansy). I then tried something else (can’t think right now what it was) and decided that didn’t work either. So now I am knitting Anastasia. It is definitely a quick pattern (I had to stop myself before I made a clown sized foot), but thanks to the current issue of Yarnival, I discovered a post about knitting toe up socks and how short row heels don’t really work for those of us with high insteps. Maia has written up a sort of recipe/tutorial on doing a gusset/flap toe up which is far more accommodating for those with a high instep. Since these socks are for me, I am going to knit one with the short row across more stitches which, apparently, creates a deeper heel, and the other with the gusset/flap as suggested in that post and see how I find each fit.

I also got a new camera. Because of the week I had I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be. I’ll be practicing using it this weekend as much as I can as in just over a week I’ll be off to Paris for a few days. The sock picture was taken with the new camera.

¹ I guess they’re discontinuing this yarn? I bought 4 colours and this has really been the only time that I wish I had a colour card first as I find the colours to be hideously bright really. As The Boy said when he saw it “That looks like School Wool. You know, the stuff they use in schools that’s cheap and bright to teach kids crafts.”

At 1230 this morning I held Dakota has he took his last breath. I’m fucking devastated. I feel sick. I can’t eat. I have a headache to rival all headaches. I’ve pretty much done nothing, but cry since. It was completely unexpected and happened so fast that I know that he couldn’t have suffered for long.

If there ever was a cat that should’ve been cloned, Dakota was it.

RIP Baby cat.

Dear Sock pal,

I feel sort of slack that I didn’t make a pretty sock band thingie to wrap around your socks giving you lots of detail about the socks. They are washable! I don’t think I remembered to jot that down. It’s superwash wool. I hope you also don’t mind that I didn’t make an extraordinary package for you. I have seen various pictures of other sockapalooza packages (either sent or received) and feel like I may have done bad by you! I hope all the beautifully wrapped packages filled with gifts (and in some cases lots of sock yarn!!) are an exception rather than the rule.

Hope you receive them soon - the post out of Oxford has not been reliable lately. =(

Please enjoy them!

-shannon

Well, I have been pretty good about not adding to my stash, but I did buy some yarn for something for my sister that is hugely popular and starts with C.

It was really difficult to take a truly representative picture - too bright, too dark - you know how it goes. This photo isn’t really representative either. It’s too dark, but getting close. It’s various shades of green with just a tad of yellow and blue thrown in. I had it out to photography and Dakota took a liking to it immediately - rolling on top of it, rubbing his face and body on it, snuggling it - but then I had to put it away because he really grabbed on, face buried in it, and started kicking it. Bad kitty. Maybe I need to make him a mini-skein.

I thought I’d made more progress on my modified-modified Cathode, but I didn’t. I tried it on and was disappointed to see how much more I really needed to do before I separated the sleeves. That’s what I get for having a long whatever-it’s-called between your boobs and shoulders. And I didn’t cast on for the socks, but am definitely planning on that tonight. I need something to take to the work knitting group.

Completely crap picture in many, many ways, but you can see Dakota loving the yarn.

I have been in a really foul mood with people I come into day-to-day contact with all week. Not all people, but a small handful. It’s not pleasant and it’s driving me nuts because I am not a confrontational person and for the most part, the situations wouldn’t even require confrontation. I think it all may be down to PMS. *sigh*

Oh, I think I forgot to point out Domesticat’s Drunken Bee sock pattern. It’s not a full pattern - just the chart and some basic instructions. I really need to do some stash busting so I can get some semi-solid sock yarns into my stash. I may, again, try to sell some of it, or give away some small, spare bits. OH OH, and totally humbling to see THREE people now knitting my sock pattern. Seriously. It feels me with delight and awe that someone would choose to knit something I wrote up!