More socks...

I finished another custom order of 9 pair of socks.I love it when they're all done and i put them together like this and every pair is different and colorful and i know somebody is going to wear them and keep their feet warm and happy.

Quick kitten update: the baby's are doing great and are rapidly growing. Their little eyes are starting to open and they move around a lot more.We try not to handle them a lot yet( which is pretty hard to do, they are sooo cute), even though Bib doesn't seem to mind.But she has been trying to move them behind the sofa and under my computer desk where its dark.I caught her several times and put the baby's back in the basket, so this morning i moved the basket into a darker corner in the kitchen, maybe that will work better for her.

Other than that nothing much else going on .I already have two more custom orders for socks ,so I'll be starting on them today.I'm also getting ready for my studio to be moved in a few weeks. I am so excited about that.Finally!!! It'll be a lot of work finishing it and organizing it to how i want it but once its done I'll be.. ( well , i just had to intercept Bib again trying to hide a kitten)..set up for some serious dyeing, spinning and weaving.

KITTENS!!!

The kittens are here!!

We have four and i think that's it, last one was born 50 minutes ago .

I've been watching her closely the last couple of days.I knew she was pretty close. So when she acted really strange this morning i took her inside.She was very vocal and tried to hide behind my computer desk.

so i fixed her a basket and put it in my closet with the door open a crack. she lay in there for awhile moving around a lot.

then she came out and had the first one in the hallway right in front of me.so i just put a towel under her and let her take care of business.

first one was born at 2:10 pm, and the others came about 30 minutes apart.

right now mama is asleep with each kitten attached to a nipple.

I'll let them rest up for awhile and then I'll put them in a clothes basket in the living room.For some odd reason all the kittens look just like her: orange tabby.

Good job Bib :)

Getting close...

Here are some update pics of Bib,who is more like a Blimp right now:

She is starting to crawl into corners and under furniture , a sign of her due date getting close.

Poor thing can not get comfy, she lays here ,lays there, this way and that.

When she's on her side i can see the babys moving :)

Coincidental we are also awaiting for my niece in Germany to give birth any day now.Maybe they'll have them on the same day, how cool would that be!

Of puppies,kittens and a whole bunch of sox

Still not much going on here.We're just plucking along from day to day, awaiting spring .We had two very nice days the beginning of the week ( 74 as a high on the second day) . Got a couple of hours horseback riding in and just enjoyed to be outside. Now its raining again and drab, yuck!!

Well, enough with the weather report.

Here is a pic of Bib, as you can see she is a wee bit big around the middle.

When we got her i was under the impression that she had been spayed. Well, apparently not. That belly is not from over eating, there's kittens in there!

I expect her to have them within the next 8 days or so.

I already been asking around and might have two placed to good homes already . 

Jack has grown quite a bit but we found out that he is totally deaf.

So now i have to train him a little different ,which is no big deal but we'll have to keep him on a leash at all times unless he's behind a fence cause he can't hear whats coming . One good thing : he really pays attention to you and makes constant eye contact.

I think he tries to read our facial expressions since that is the only way for him to know whats going on. One of his little ears has flopped over which gives him a feisty look which fits his personality.

He sure is a sweet little guy. He loves to be picked up and he will sit on my lap all proud .

I haven't weight him lately but i estimate hes got about 4-5 pounds now.

The bucket you see on this pic is a two gallon small bucket and he is about that size.

He has a ongoing feud with the Turkey but he gets along fine with Skimpy ( they actually started playing a little ) and he loves the cat. They are living in the studio now and will be my working buddies once i get started in earnest.

 What I'm working on right now: another big order of socks .

Nine pair in all ,going to Canada.I've finished two pair ,working on the second sock of the third pair.

More Socks...

Still busy with orders for handknitted socks.

Here are two pair size 12 Patchwork Socks going to keep a jung man's feet warm in Toronto , Canada.

Best Buddies

After banishing Bib,the cat, out of the house a couple of weeks ago, for fear of her mistaking Jack for a mouse,we decided yesterday to let her back in. First of all Jack now weighs close to two pounds and certainly is not the size of a mouse anymore and secondly temperatures are in the single digits and even below zero with the windchill that i just could not leave her out there anymore.I propped the door open to the studio for her to go into but its not heated so its just as cold in there.

Anyhow, after letting her back in the house we introduced Jack to her. After a curious sniff and lick (its a little fuzzy):

she took right to him (i think the smell of milk on his breath helped too):

even sharing the couch with him for a nap:

I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.

I'm so pleased with this little cat,she is so easygoing and gentle, I'm glad she came to our family.

On the yarny side of things there is nothing new to report. I'm working on a steady string of custom sock orders which keep me very busy. I've not had the chance to do any weaving or spinning, or dyeing or carding for that matter.Maybe in the spring things will slack off a little, i really would like to get to weaving a little, I've been using the kitchen towels i made last year and i absolutely love them.I also want to make several for gifts for the coming ( yes, it is coming again ,even though a while off) Christmas. This time I'll be prepared!!

I'd also like to get to spin a little,i have this very luxurious ,super soft,merino/silk/polwarth/alpaca/corriedale mix I'd like to dye in some fallish colors and spin up into a fingering weight yarn and weave into a soft ,light shawl.

But,for now, knitting socks it is and I'm very content doing it.

Boniva Disaster/Order Delays/Jack

So far not a good start into the New Year!

I had to go get a "BONIVA" shot last Tuesday and it didn't turn out so well.

Since i can't use my left arm for that (no no 'cause of the lymph notes i had taken out ) only my right arm is available .Unfortunately over the last 5 years I've been stuck so many times that I'm running out on veins.

I also made the mistake not drinking enough that day so i was a little dehydrated by the time i got to the doc's office.

I'll spare you all the gruesome details of the many tries by the nurse (who is usually a good sticker) to hit a vein.
Finally after the third try at different places (blew one vein on the side of my elbow) she hit one at the left side of my wrist. It hurt like hell when she squeezed the medication in but i just sucked it up 'cause i wasn't going to be stuck again. By the time i got home my thumb was totally numb.ODD! Next morning i was in somewhat of a little pain and my arm had swelled up around the injection site.I put warm wrap around it, took some Motrin and hoped for the best. Wrong!!

By next morning, more swelling, more pain and my arm felt hot to the touch; more Motrin and warm wraps. By Thursday afternoon i got scared,my arm and hand had swelled to more than twice the size was tight as a drum ,red ,very painful and hot to the touch.

normal hand:

not so normal hand:

of course by now the doc's office is closed until Monday .Great!

couldn't use my hand/arm at all. John did the cooking, washing dishes and everything else. On top of that we had both grandbabys over new years .Fortunately they are good babys and it worked out all right.John helped out a lot.

I was debating Friday morning to go to the emergency room at the hospital. I called both local hospitals for an estimated waiting time and was told between 4-6 hours!! No way!!!

So i just took some more pain pills and laid on the couch all day because by now i didn't feel so good all around.By Friday night i felt a little better and it seemed that the heat in my arm had gone down some.By this morning it's a lot better but i think it'll take about another week for it to go all the way back to normal, my thumb is still numb.I'm supposed to get one of these shots every three month. Guess what?! It's not going to happen!!! Doc 's gonna have to think of something else or i just have to live with my brittle bones!!! (can't take the Boniva pills since I've already got a bad tummy and the pills are very bad for that).I googled about those kind of problems and found a lot of people have severe sideffect on this stuff.So if your doc mentions this to you as an IV 'beware'.

At least i can hold a knitting needle again today and i apologise to my customers who have orders waiting, I'll get them done as fast as possible.

On the good news side, Jack the bottle puppy is doing great. he weighs 1#3 oz, and has his eyes open:

he'll be three weeks old by next monday.He still sleeps most of the time. can't wait until he gets more active. Theire great fun when they get to be about 5-6 weeks old.