In the pink

Lovely pink tulips to brighten up the dreary winter skies.

It got me inspired to start a pair of socks in this luscious pink hand-dyed yarn from Spruce Dragon.

Not that Sassy is a bit interested in any of this discussion about the color pink. He is, after all, an orange cat. Excuse me, please, a ginger cat.

Identical Twins

Yes, at last I've knit a pair that are as close to identical as I can imagine self-striping socks to ever be. To say "we are pleased" is an understatement.

I knit these straight, because I've decided that boldly self-striping yarn doesn't do any justice to a pattern at all. Why bother? Even ribbing can be too visually annoying. Problem is, I 've never gotten a pair to fit my leg very well without ribbing. So this time I stepped down to 52 stitches and knit the cuff with #2 needles, then dropped down a size to #1 on the foot. They fit loverly! I now have the formula for my own foot, and will plan on more of these socks for my idiot-proof-riding-in-the-car-holding-up-my-end-of-the-conversation projects. Hard to believe so few stitches for such a monumental foot. I must be a really loose knitter. I won't argue with results though.

Steinbach Wolle Aktiv Effekt, a typical sock yarn but slightly softer than Opal and even Trekking.

Soon, very soon

I plan to host Donna Druchunas soon on her Blog Book Tour for Kitty Knits. Yes, this is the same knitwear designer who just released Ethnic Knitting Discovery. The woman clearly never sleeps, which is all to our benefit(s). Anyway, since this knitting book is for my furry royal felines, I thought perhaps I should introduce you to the purr-fect court of champions. Following will be photos of many, if not all. And, yes, I do intend to knit each of them one of those darling mice from Donna's book!

Every Queen needs a Harlequin

Here she is although we call her Harly most of the time. She's one of our ferals and is the only tortoiseshell we've had other than her mother, Jazzabelle. If you can see past her curious markings, she's really a very beautiful creature.

The car club

Edsel, Beamer, and Bentley. Where's Porsche? We better go find her. There she is on the Katman's back!

Believe it or not, these are all out of the same litter. They couldn't be more different in looks and personality!

Snoozers

My oldest cat, Buddy, at the top. He's over 20 years old. In the center, Gingko and little Ming. Last is Sweet Annie in her usual pose. She's part Japanese Bobtail, and frequently sleeps this way. She exhibits another Bobtail characteristic - singing.

Meet Sassafras and pals

You'll notice that the kitties you meet seem to have themed names, and indeed most do. Sassafras, and his brother, Gingko Biloba came from the same litter. Here's Sass, the handsome dude, and a few of his pals.