Poor Teddy

Last night I was sitting on the couch knitting and computing by the open windows and enjoying a nice breeze when I began to smell skunk. Suddenly, it was so powerful that it was beyond skunk. It was thick and burning and chemical and, Quick, Shut all the windows! When I went to the front door to let the cat in, I couldn't stand the air and had to close the door right away. I put a fan in the window, blowing out, gathered my computer and phone, shut myself up in the bedroom and called it a night at 8:30.

You've probably guessed by now that Teddy got skunked. I thought the usage of the word "skunked" only applied to cribbage, but no, it's like Pepe le Peu in reverse. The skunk is the offended party, rather than the cat, at least at first. I did let Teddy in this morning to eat, but then he had to be shooed out again. Geez, what an acrid, horrible stench. The air outside was fairly fresh and sweet. The odor was emanating from an elongated orange puff down at floor level.

After due diligence in internet research I determined to bathe him in peroxide and baking soda with a little dish soap. Teddy is 16 years old and I've had him since he was 6 weeks. I never once gave him a bath. Until today. I gave him 2 baths today in the back yard.

He's still not dry from the second, but I have faith that he'll be passing tolerable now. I didn't capture the worst bath moments because, well, I was busy (giving the cat a bath). Here he is calming down after bath number one. He looked much angrier after the second bath!

Poor Teddy.

Gloves! Soft, fuzzy gloves!

It's not that easy to take a picture of your own hand. I did not figure out how to take a pic of both of them. Just not that ambitious. Not even ambitious enough to have subjects in all of my sentences. Or is "sentences" more proper?

These really could be called camp gloves because the pattern is by Sue and the yarn is from the 2011 knitting camp yarn swap courtesy of JPKnits (blog link on sidebar). Furthermore, the pattern is from KnitCircus, the print version, on which 2 of our campers worked. The gloves fit beautifully and I'm ready for winter.

Pattern: Offhand Gloves by Susan Iding Size small.

Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, between sport and fingering, 70% angora, 30% merino, color #2, held double, 2.5 balls.

A few words about the yarn. It's soft. Its smooth. It's yummy. It's angora. Angora. Ahhh. Angora breathes pleasure right into my soul. I've got 2.5 balls left.

More hats.

The first I made awhile back. It doesn't fit right. It looks awesome, but the top is too tight. I'd like a do-over. I'm going to frog it. I want to replicate the look, but improve the fit. Maybe I'll use a pattern.

On the second I did use a pattern. Short Rows Sideways Hat by Kristi Porter. I whipped this baby out super fast. It was one of the quickest knits I've ever done. If using this yarn the next time I'd might subtract a few stitches to make it more beanie length or add some to make it more of a folding over length. But the way it is will be fine. It will fit a big papa bear just right if he or she has a bigger head than mine or it will fit a baby bear with the brim folded up.

A few words about this yarn. It is the same that I used in an earlier hat, but I identified it incorrectly. This is actually Zwerger Garn Opal Luftpolsterwolle.

Another Another Post

Remember the monster from the last post? I'll give you a sec to go take a look.

Sue thought it could have gone either way, so we put the action to the word. Right there at Panera in Mequon, I turned that rear into another front. I ripped it a new one. This is Gork. The other side is Brenda.

Or vice versa. If you think that was easy for the inimitable Sue, you are wrong. How she suffers for my art.

Henry almost remained armless as a design feature, but after much deliberation, the idea of arms was embraced. I learned a new skill--dreadlocks. This hair is the end (except for the purple), of the yarn that Sue and I dyed and she spun, back in the heady, but not army, days of 2006 or so.

If Mick Jagger could knit:

This sock is opk--other people's knitting. In this case it is also opd--other people's dyeing. 'Tis the work of the inimitable Sue. As bright as the colors look, they are even brighter and purer in real life, a master work of the dyepot.

An overdue credit: The monsters are take-offs of some designed by Rebecca Danger. This is her book, The Big Book of Knitted Monsters. Beth has gotten permission from Ms. Danger for us to use her designs for the shelter. We are still waiting to see if the program is a success.

So long, Brenda-Gork. Go make magic.