Gnome Hats

 

I've fallen in love with this pattern.  I rarely make the same thing twice, but I've made about eight of these hats, to date.  They've become my favorite way to use up all of my old Red Heart yarn; it gives a nice, stiff structure for the peak of the hat.  I never do the loop at the top that the pattern shows. I think it looks goofy.

I found this Earflap Hat pattern on Lion Brand's website, so you won't be able to view it unless you are signed up to the Lion Brand site.

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I call the blue one Princess Habba (after a Swedish toy that my friend's son gummed to death as a baby) and I think I just might keep it for myself.  I got the flower from 10 Petal Popcorn Flower on The Laughing Willow blog, but I stopped after row 4; the popcorn row.

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I finished the ear flaps with either a braid of 20 to 30 yarn strands or a simple icord.

 The dogs are always ready to help.

I decorated the maroon hat with sage green yarn remnant and a pink and white flower I made up by either dc or sc into a loop.

Thank you to my hat model, Heidi.

Pet Birthdays

Panzer, my Cat Tales Rescue rescue, is 2 years old this July.

He's still quite a handful. He likes to harass the dogs. He loves to lick Brisbie. And Brisbie? She's not a fan. She growls to warn him off, but he still tries to sneak in and lick her. He seems to be partial to her ears.


People think he is sweet because he is fluffy and squishy, but there is a wild raccoon inside of him. It makes me think of the Black Keys lyric 'The look on the cake, it ain't always the taste. My ex-girl, she had such a beautiful face,' from the song Next Girl. If I could get him to wear a collar it would read 'Watch your fingers.'

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Brisbie and Tatum's birthdays are in August.

They got old peanut butter jars of blissful happiness.

Tatum, a rescue from Nevada County Animal Shelter, is 9 this year. She survived a cancerous tumor on her paw last year and got quickly back to her status as FIRST! one to the ball.

Happiness is apparently a branch around your neck and a tennis ball in your mouth. Panzer followed her around keeping the world safe from the dangers of branch ends.



Brisbie, now 7, and her resident handler, Kayla. She gets Brisbie to perform acts I would never have guessed possible.

All eyes on the ball.

Fingerless Gloves for Kayla

I found the pattern for these Fingerless Gloves from a link on Knitting Pattern Central.

Using 3.25mm double pointed needles, I made these gloves using Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight in Amethyst.

I like this pattern for using sock weight yarn for something other than socks. However, the thinner the yarn, the more knits it takes to cover the same space. This was my first venture with a thumb hole and I'm happy to say that it went pretty well.

Kayla and Brisbie

*Thanks to Krisie, James and Kendra. Your generosity bought the yarn that made this gift. :)

Popeye and the Dogs

I am pleased to report that Popeye is acclimating to our dogs. We have a lab (Brisbie) and a lab/german shepard/etc mix (Tatum). Both dogs are fairly excitable and curious, especially when there is a new smell in the house.

On the first day that Popeye and the dogs began to share the living room, I was prepared to separate them after a short while, but I didn't have to. Suddenly Popeye became aware of the dog and no-dog areas of the room. He played in the cat area and peeked out at the dogs from behind the couch.

Dog watches Cat, Cat watches Bird

(Tatum is the brown dog, Brisbie the yellow one.)

The biggest surprise that day was when Popeye curled up and went to sleep on the cat tower. It was the first time he had gone to sleep outside of his crate or his favorite hiding corner, under the curtains. And on dog day #1 of all days. Since that Monday, the upper rungs of the cat tower are Popeye's favorite napping spot.

Another startling advancement happened the next day when he wandered past the dogs on their dog beds (they were obeying the rules without taking their eyes off of him for a second) and down the hallway, then used the littler box in the bathroom. I'm amazed that he chose to treat our house like his own so early in his introduction to our dogs.

Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that everyone loves each other and they all roll around together in a field of heather. Popeye doesn't care for the dogs but is becoming quickly tolerant of them. He plays his way out into the living room, forgets they are there, complains at them, then darts away. The good news is that he doesn't stay hidden for long. Less than a minute behind some piece of furniture and he is back to what he was doing.

Popeye's reaction is much different than anything I had expected. He doesn't treat the dogs as though they are predators, which would be natural. He treats them like any other moving, noise making thing in our house; potentially scary. He gives the dogs a wide berth while walking by and doesn't let their presence deter him from what he is doing. Popeye has no problem objecting when the dogs try to get closer or they surprise him.

In summation, Popeye still enjoys himself the most when the house is on the quiet side, he is adjusting well to our dogs, and becoming very comfortable traversing our house. Still not a fan of the video camera though. :(

The cure for feline photophobophobia? Why, a little white mouse, of course.

Furrballicide

(He didn't want to be videotaped, but the mousefur toy could not be ignored.)

CUTENESS NOTE: Not only are Popeye's ear hairs white, but he has one, tiny, white whisker.