i weep for pullman.

i am finished the trilogy. i am so sad. i cried just a wee bit on the king streetcar. it's hard to cry in rush hour, let me tell you.

a few links: Heat and Dust, an interview with Pullman which contains my favorite quote from the book, and his reason behind it.

Bridge to the stars, a big reference site. I stumbled across this a few times before I finished the trilogy. If you haven't finished, don't go there. Spoilers up the wazoo.

the BBC4 dramatization. Try the quizzes!

I'm sure there's more. I'm too sad to look now. I have to go download "Lyra's Oxford" from Audible so I don't get the shakes on the way to work tomorrow [i do the audiobook thing on the iPod on the way to and from work every day].

Oh. Pan. Lyra. Will. I miss you all already. [i am so sorry, but this is not a kid's book. wanna discuss? use the comments.]

Are you on Team Canada for the Knitting Olympics?

Do you want one of the kickass hockey jerseys we're having made up? The window of opportunity is small...orders must be prepaid by tomorrow, end of day.

Full details here. Shwag for everyone!

Knitty yarn preview, the first

Starts now...

Here are some of the treats that have crossed my desk as the editor of Knitty. If I don't share them with you, what's the point of having such a cool job? So here goes. I'll do this whenever there's something you should see.

Have you seen this? Brand new from Handmaiden, Sea Silk.
70% silk, 30% seacell.

It is, if it is possible to believe, even softer than Silken. What is Seacell? This tells you more, but the summary is that it's a cellulose fiber like Lyocell/Tencel, but made with seaweed. And, get this: "The structure of SeaCell® facilitates the active exchange of substances between the fiber and the skin – nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin E are released by the natural body moisture when the fiber is worn, thereby creating a complete sense of well-being."

All I know is that this delicious stuff would feel amazing against the skin, period. If it could possibly have health benefits, that wouldn't be a bad thing. I will absolutely be knitting something with this, and soon.

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New from Debbie Bliss, and hot [and how!] off the show floor, it's her brand new 100% silk -- Pure Silk DK. Comes in lots of nice solid colors and is suitably soft and elegant, as is Debbie herself.


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My big-surprise find at TNNA is yarn from Tilli Tomas. Everything made by this company is silk [are you sensing a theme yet?] but each is very different from the next.
Pure and simple [above] comes in solids and variegates.


Fell in love with this stuff - Simply Heaven, it's called. It's a not-too-shiny two-ply silk. It was shown knit up into whole sweaters...can you imagine? If silk is sometimes too much for you [are you mad?], this is a more stealth way to get some silk into your life.


Tilli's silk chenille. I was strongly advised to knit it double and then wash it. Will do!


This is an amazing yarn. Rock Star, I believe it's called. It's pre-strung with shimmery beads, and yes, it's still silk. Pre-beaded silk. I just want to sleep with it.

There were more...sequined yarns [tiny, tasteful sequins] and even the famous yarn with Swarovski crystals already strung on for your enjoyment. I don't have retail pricing for this yarn -- but I believe the pre-beaded and pure silk yarns are priced on par with other silks.

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More silk? Why the hell not! This was a gift from my friend Shannon. It's sari silk, but I've never seen sari silk in such colors before! Perhaps Shannon can help you find some, if you like it like I do.


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And from Curious Creek, my prayers answered. Yes, more silk. They were a wool or wool-blend shop only, until recently. They've added a few choice new yarns to their lineup, all in their signature African-named yarns. These are samples of Isalo. Yummy.

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One more? From the Rowan Classic line, the new Natural Silk Aran. It's mostly viscose, with silk and linen. Rowan Classic is clever. They're sending their color cards out with a HUGE 5x7" swatch so you can see what the yarn's like knit up. So viscose, silk and linen...doesn't sound very sproingy, does it? But people, you won't believe the inherent spring this stuff has. And it's an interesting, sophisticated, rustic yarn. If a yarn can be all those things. Makes me want to knit something boatnecked and simply shaped to curl up in on cool summer evenings.

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Okay. I need to lie down now. All that silk! Sigh.

proof we wuz there

clearly i'm too busy signing to notice my own camera snapping us. but isn't dedication to one's work an admirable quality?

and how cute is jillian? VERY. that's all i'm saying.

the Big Girl Knits forum is open

Seems only fair, since there are bound galley copies in circulation after TNNA last weekend.

You'll find a place to tell us what you think here. And damn, we sure hope you like it. :-)

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The Tuscany shawl swatching continues, and has now, thankfully, progressed into full-fledged sample knitting. I send thanks to the heavens for Ms Mandy Yarnageddon, who made the suggestion that made it finally work out as I'd envisioned it.

I love you, Ms Mandy.

p.s. this shawl will be in the No Sheep book, too. Eee! WAIT till you see the colorway Handmaiden sent me to knit it in. I weep.

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Stuff I didn't mention yet:

- I met with my publisher [the nice Interweave people] at TNNA. Final decisions on the shortlist are forthcoming momentarily, and we'll be picking colors shortly. For everyone waiting on a message, I'll be writing them all this weekend.
- Big plans are afoot, and I can't go into detail about many of them. But they're good.
- One I can tell you: starting this weekend, I'll be blogging all the new yarn that comes my way, long before it hits your LYS, likely. I have treats from this weekend I'm dying to share with you and need fresh daylight to get good pictures so you can savor every bit of the new stuff that's coming out. This will be a regular feature of the KnittyBlog, and my great pleasure to bring to you.

That's all for now. Back to work for me!

A TNNA wrapup in brief

I was in San Diego from Friday afternoon to Monday night. People who know me well know how busy we were because of the following statement: I never made it to a drugstore. Even when I went to Rhinebeck, I managed to sneak into a CVS to stock up on Jujubes and Aleve before we left town. :-)

Okay, so the summary, without links [after writing a url-filled post yesterday that got eaten by the internets, I am going the lazyass route now]

- There was hugging of friends old and new.
- I got to meet Cat Bordhi, Mags Kandis, Ann and Kay, Melissa Leapman, Lexie Barnes, Margrit from Morehouse Merino, Jordana Paige, Beth from Lorna's Laces, Iris from Artyarns, Kristine from Knit Happens, Shannon Okey, Kim from Crochet Me, Clara Parkes [from Knitter's Review], the cool Louet dudes, Kristi Porter, Kristine Brooks, Amylovie from the Knittyboard, Mercedes from Tennessee and so many more that I'm certain to have forgotten people. Sorry.
- Jillian and I breakfasted daily with Ann & Kay and can state categorically that we are BFF!!!!!! [ :-) ] Sorry. It was a bit of a theme this weekend. But really, those two women are more fun than a barrel of drunk monkeys.
- I got to read their book, and Fiona Ellis' and Cat Bordhi's...and they're all really, really good.
- The publisher people -- the folks from Potter Craft -- were fun, and took great care of us. We loved the hotel we stayed in [Hotel Solamar], too.
- As A&K mentioned, we shared a convention center and hotel with the cool skate/surf/ski dudes of the piercing/tattoo/black hoodie kind and damn, if a lot of those boys aren't cute. I managed to contain myself and only indulged in skate wannabeness when I bought a black Quiksilver hoodie to wear on the last day. [I ran out of clothes, seriously. First time I've ever underpacked.]
- And J and I signed a big big pile of bound galleys of our book, cause the actual printed one wasn't ready. There was a long line of people waiting for a copy. It was very, very nice, it was. And so were they.

And as for TNNA, I got to see stuff you guys may not even know exists...yet.
- Really cool SILK yarn from Tilli Tomas, which will be blogged soon.
- The entire Mission Falls line, back in full, and looking as good as ever, if not better. I could not stop hugging Mags. I love that woman.
- I got to see Lexie' and Jordana's new bags. Excellent!
- I got to see bags from companies I hadn't heard about before. Wait till you see what Namaste has coming. I think the spring edition of Cool Stuff will be the covety-est ever.
- I continued my browbeating of Beth, trying to get her to do a 2-ply silk in the Lorna's Laces colorways. If you agree with me on this, write her.
- I handpicked patterns off the show floor for Knitty at Artyarns [you'll have to wait for fall to see the treat Iris has for us] and at Kristine's open house for her Curious Creek yarns [also for fall].
- Speaking of Curious Creek, I have it on good authority that silk hanky fetishists like me will soon have a new source of fiber. Stay tuned.
- I got to fondle a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk, but had to give it back. And then when I got home, there was one for me! You'll see the results of that soon. It's an AMAZING yarn -- even shimmery-er than Handmaiden Silken, if that's possible. Just a little finer gauge. Yummy.
- I have a skein of Debbie Bliss' new silk yarn, thanks to Ms Kristine, who pilfered it on our behalf. It's very sexy stuff.
- Company who wasn't there who I most wished would have been: Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Maybe next time?

Weirdest sighting: four really serious young dudes in skateboard shoes and baggy jeans with bandanas on their heads. Wearing, and I am totally not kidding, coordinating floral-upholstery-covered bomber jackets. Like you'd see on your mom's couch 15 years ago. Their demeanor made it clear exactly HOW cool they thought they looked. I wonder if that look will catch on?

And finally, since my camera was too bulky to stick in my pocket, I'll leave you with a pic of our last night in SD, also courtesy Ms Kristine. This is the JBar on the 4th floor of the Hotel Solamar. It was overrun by skaterboys and girls the first two nights, but it was all ours on Sunday. As you can see, a good time was had by all.

An announcement!

Knitty magazine is pleased to announce the appointment of Jillian Moreno as Editor of Knittyspin. As our readers know, Jillian has been a vital part of Knitty since we began, and Jillian's experience and passion for knitting and spinning [as well as countless other qualifications] make her the perfect choice for the position. She's also great fun at parties.

I will continue to write the Knittyspin column, but Jillian will direct the rest of the magazine, growing it into what we hope will be the best online knitting/spinning resource available.

Everyone, please congratulation Jillian with me!

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As a result, I get a promotion too. I'm now Editor-In-Chief of Knitty. Rock.

[This is a change in title only for me. I'll still be doing exactly what I've always done for the magazine. Now I can rest easier, knowing that Knittyspin will get the attention it deserves in Jillian's infinitely qualified hands, and can grow alongside Knitty.]

Get out your red yarn!

Knit a scarf for a parentless child at college [and get a bagel? yes! though that's not the point. :-)]

The cut to the chase version of the press release below: knit a red scarf, which will be given to a young person attending college who's in foster care when at home. A token of love for Valentine's Day! Einstein Bros. Bagels will offer one free bagel to any volunteer who works on a scarf for the project in their store during the campaign week, as well as to customers who drop off a handmade scarf for the youth. Coupons are required for the free bagels and can be picked up at area yarn and craft shops in each market.

If you can't get to an Einstein location, you can mail your scarves to:
Orphan Foundation of America/ Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive, Suite 130 · Sterling, VA 20166-8511
Deadline for mailing scarves is: January 28, 2006

Or if you're going to TNNA, you can drop them off there. I'd better get knitting!

[The cool image at left is a promotional poster to support the effort...not an issue of Knits, btw.]

And now, the full story:

Orphan Foundation of America Teams with
Einstein Bros. Bagels to collect 2,500 handknit and crocheted scarves for Valentine’s Day Care Packages

STERLING, Va., January 9, 2006: Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) has joined forces with Einstein Bros. Bagels to send warmth and encouragement to America’s college-attending foster youth. Einstein Bros. Bagels will collect handknitted and crocheted scarves, preferably in shades of red, for OFA to send foster youth in Valentine’s Day care packages.

All 419 Einstein Bros. Bagels stores in 29 states are participating in this effort. The goal of the partnership between OFA and Einstein Bros. is to collect 2,500 scarves for the first annual national Red Scarf Project. “We hope many of our regulars-not to mention newcomers-will stop by their neighborhood restaurant and make a contribution to this cause,” said Einstein Bros. President and CEO Paul Murphy. “We are pleased to partner with the Orphan Foundation of America and do our part to make a difference.”

The Red Scarf Project is part of the National Care Package Program created by OFA and the Freddie Mac Foundation to ensure that young people aging out of foster care are encouraged to succeed as adults. Three times a year care packages, assembled by individuals and volunteer organizations, let foster youth experience the same excitement as their friends when they receive a box from home. These packages show them that are valued citizens in the wider community. The annual back-to-school event is held on Capitol Hill in September, hosted by Members of Congress and their staff.

An estimated 13,000 foster youth are attending colleges and universities this year, most without any family support. They are success stories in progress; studies show that less than 50% of foster youth graduate from high school and fewer than 18% go on to college or vocational training programs.

“For young people without loving families and homes, receiving a beautiful, soft handmade scarf sends a powerful message that people care about their hopes and dreams and believe in their potential,” said OFA Executive Director Eileen McCaffrey. “We ask that people attach a small tag to the scarf with their name and city and group affiliation if any so that it will become a treasured gift from a distant friend.”

The Red Scarf Project is endorsed by The National Needlework Association (TNNA) and Interweave Knits magazine. “Interweave Knits is thrilled to be a part of this wonderful effort,” said Editor Pam Allen. “I am delighted that our fall 2005 Washington, DC Knit-Out and Crochet scarf contest has become a national initiative and is a cornerstone of the Care Package Program. We are proud of the hard work of needleworkers across America to make this program a success.”

“The National NeedleArts Association is pleased to partner with the Orphan Foundation on the Red Scarf Project,” said Executive Director Patty Parrish. “The needlearts are known to help promote concentration, self esteem and well being, bringing comfort to both the creator and the recipient. By knitting or crocheting a scarf and dropping it off at any of the supporting Einstein Bagels, you are supporting foster children across America who want to further their education.”

The Lily Chin Signature Collection, the first signature yarn created by an American knitwear designer, is the official yarn of the Red Scarf Project. Beginning in Fall 2006, every skein of Lily Chin’s Grammercy Yarn, a 100% superwash merino wool in the color red, will bear the logo of the OFA Red Scarf Project. Lily Chin, known for her appearances promoting the knitwear industry on Martha, the David Letterman Show, the CBS Early Show, ESPN Cold Pizza, DIY’s Knitty Gritty, Lifetime’s Handmade by Design, and HGTV’s Sew Much More, will be a spokesperson for the charity.

Needleworkers who do not live near an Einstein Bros. Bagels location may send scarves by mail, with their name, address, and email address to:

Orphan Foundation of America/ Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive, Suite 130 · Sterling, VA 20166-8511
Deadline for mailing scarves is: January 28, 2006

SOURCE: Orphan Foundation of America (OFA)

Web sites:
http://www.orphan.org
http://www.einsteinbros.com
http://www.interweave.com
http://www.tnna.org
http://www.lilychinsignaturecollection.com

About The Orphan Foundation of America
The Orphan Foundation of America advocates for older foster youth who were never adopted and offers a comprehensive scholarship and support program. OFA annually awards over $11.5 million to students nationwide. The Freddie Mac Foundation is the founding partner of the National Care Package Day Program, and Gifts In Kind International and Otis Spunkmeyer are sponsors. FedEx is the official carrier of the Care Package Program.

I meet the coolest people

People, meet Kory. Read Kory's Livejournal entry for today. She did what I've been either too busy [that's the excuse I can be proud to give] or too chicken I'd wreck the things [more like the truth] to do. AND she tells all about it.

She dyed silk hankies with kool aid. And she spun 'em up! And the resulting skein looks a hell of a lot like a skein of Manos, but completely sheepfree.

Kory! How you spin so thick? Wheel? Do tell! And thanks huge for sharing. I've got to go buy a case of the stuff. I must have a pound of hankies waiting to be dyed. [After TNNA. I'm crazy, but I'm not nuts.]

Looking for a boy/young adult guy who knits

Just got a really interesting e-mail today. A TV producer is looking for someone in their late teens, early 20s -- male -- who knits in the Toronto area.

Here: read this.

Tuscany for me? Si!

So, if you'd have asked me a few months ago what I'd be doing in April, I wouldn't have answered "going to Italy".

But I will now.

Evan Kleiman, who you may know from her cool NPR show Good Food, is also owns her own restaurant and catering company. And several times a year, she hosts cooking classes in her favorite country -- Italy -- where she teaches the lucky attendees secrets of Italian cooking. Of course, there's shopping too. In Firenze. [That's Florence, for people like me who haven't cracked open the "Learn Italian" podcast just yet.] Evan books an entire villa, so the attendees stay in one beautiful location, where the classes are also held.

Why am I so excited? Because this April, Evan's going to hold her first cooking/knitting class. And she's asked me to be the instructor! I will be teaching "Learn to Love Lace", and we'll be knitting an original shawl I'm designing in Handmaiden Silken. I'm designing this shawl specifically for the class, so that it's an easy, encouraging knit for lace newbies, with a surprisingly sophisticated result. Remember all that talk about swatching silk lace? What an enjoyable task I've got!

Oh. And there are YARN STORES in Italy, people. And I believe we'll be hitting at least one.

So...this isn't an inexpensive adventure, but it will be an amazing, memorable one. For more information, you can download Evan's brochure here.

You can find a quick overview of Evan's tours here. This fabulous cooking/knitting adventure in Tuscany is set for April 20-29, 2006.

[Eeeeee! I've never been to Italy before!]

little healed tummies

hub reports that the bunnies had their stitches removed quickly and without incident. he then returned home, and cavalierly let them frolick together, which they haven't done for more than a month. there was, he reports, a smidge of hump-dominance, but mostly licking and cuddling. [that whoosh sound you heard is the sound of my immense relief.]

both rabbits are now in their separate quarters until this evening when i get to finally cuddle my boeing again!

it's friday. i have a paycheck in my purse and a bar of green & black's in my desk, if i need it. this weekend, i finalize the No Sheep shortlist. i'll just keep breathing. it seems to be working.

a rare political moment for me

people of Canada, listen up. if you think the liberal party is the only one touched by scandal, you are mistaken. every political party does things that the rest of us would find, at best, hard to live with. the difference this time is that what Mr. Chretien did is out in the open. you have no idea what secrets are in Mr. Harper's closet.

i cannot vote in the upcoming election, because I'm a US citizen. i voted in the last US election -- fat lot of good that did. i wish i could vote up here. but i'm going to uncharacteristically post something political that clearly states my position, because it's all i can do.

- if you appreciate living in a country that validates marriage between two loving parties, regardless of gender
- if you appreciate that our soldiers were not sent to a war most of the rest of the world objected to

think hard about who you vote for. the Conservatives are not an innocent party. you just can't see into their closets yet. you can, however, look back to what Conservative leader Mike Harris did to Ontario. we're still trying to rebuild the health-care and education systems.

what I love most about Canada is that we're our own country, and we've never been an uptight place to live. i really hope we stay that way.

The summer issue...

I just sent a longer version of this note to the Knitty designers' list. Wanna know what we're up to?

The summer theme has been chosen. This year, our summer issue will be the Extremities issue. That means we want things for the ends of bodies. Hands, feet, heads. Whatever.

A week after I sent in my column for the spring Interweave, which is about socks, I noticed that the Purling Ps declared this year 200Sox, which amuses me beyond words. Clearly great sock patterns will be a big part of the issue. There is nothing nicer than handknit socks, especially if they're made for you by someone who loves you.

Our spring issue will have lots of fun summer wear as well, so don't fret. People get cranky about themes if they don't suit them, but almost all of us have extremities to knit for.

I'm looking forward to a creative, strange, amusing issue. Quite the Knitty thang.

i may do these, but i almost never post them

except when they're this freaky.


What Animal Would Your Daemon Settle As?
brought to you by Quizilla

of course, I had to delete the description of the hare daemon. it babbled something about my inner tranquility. who the hell are they talking about? certainly not me.

but i can pretend i have a hare in my soul. better than a hair in my soup.

life, she is funny.

When you find yourself going to bed before 8pm, and you're not a morning-tv host, clearly the stress is getting to you. Me.

Except it's almost all good stress. Being on the verge of too many good things and wanting it all to happen, except it can't happen right now, and you don't have enough time or energy to make it happen under current circumstances, but you don't want to lose the chances cause they won't come back again. That kind of thing.

Just writing that last paragraph made my stomach hurt. My stomach hurts a lot lately.

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My hub has great clarity lately. This morning, he told me to look way down the road, not at my feet. Keep your eye on the prize.

My stomach still hurts.

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In other news, I'm completely obsessed with Lyra and Pantalaimon and Mr. P. Pullman, whose voice is like warm honey. I've been too busy/distracted/frazzled to change the sidebar, but I'm into book two of the trilogy and am completely captivated.

I saw a very cute guy reading book one in the Starbucks last week. From England, he was -- said he started reading them because he'd seen the stage play adaptations of the book. I'd be interested to see them too, but first I really want to savor all three books, unabridged.

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The silk lace swatching has progressed into a test knit, and I have to tell you...I'm quite excited.

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Work continues on the No Sheep shortlist. This book is shaping up, people. Rock.

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Next weekend, TNNA. San Diego, in the middle of January. With J. OH, the shmoozing that will ensue! I can't believe it, really. This won't be anything like the indulgent decadence that was Rhinebeck, but it will be great fun just the same. Time to polish off the business cards!

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On the bunny front, knocking wood, all is well. Stitches are to be removed this Friday morning. Already we've seen increased signs of affection [and less squabbling] between them -- through the bars -- thanks to the removal of the hormone-producing bits.

I wonder what kind of world it would be altogether without estrogen and testosterone? Maybe we'd all get along.

Where the hell are the tiny violins when I need them? [my stomach hurts.]

For the Sibarites

For those who couldn't attend the sale, love Jane Siberry and want a chance at something special, she's auctioning her red electric guitar on eBay. I saw it at the sale. It's beautiful.

siberry sale

heavens.

hub and i just got back from jane siberry's house, where she's selling off a lot of things she wants to clear away. it was quite odd, being in her house, with her there [p and i know jane from the early 1990s when i did her website for a few years], but so fascinating. not at all what i expected.

p bought a microphone and a filing cabinet, because he needs them both.

i bought jane's copies of her collaborations with hector zazou, nigel kennedy and takafumi sotoma. there were little signatures or other surprises in almost each one. i gave jane's books on japan and learning japanese a new home. [one day, i WILL get to japan] they're annotated. i love that. i bought a few choice delights for Shannon who shares my love of Siberry. one of them is making my skin itch, but it's really beautiful and i know Shannon will love it.

for me, a faux-fur collary thing. big like a wrap with a single button. and my quiet treat of the day: jane's copy of shawn colvin's fat city. which jane signed for me.

anyone who understands WHY this is a special treat gets bonus points.

i don't know if jane is leaving toronto, or just downsizing and purging. i hope she keeps some kind of presence here. having her in this city makes it feel better, somehow.

bunny update

thanks for all your sweet notes. you guys are nice. :-)

weight...
Boeing -- 5.2 lbs
Squeeze -- 3.8 lbs

clearly i underestimated one and overestimated the other.

meanwhile, recovery continues chez knitty. boeing took a full day to resume poopage and even longer to rediscover her water bowl. i was getting a little worried there.

they're now both surprisingly accepting of their temporary confinement [watch -- i'll regret saying this almost immediately] and are doing well with the blessed trio of eating, drinking and pooping. we've got to check their incisions nightly, which isn't fun for any of us, but we do it. one more week till they get the stitches out and they are re-released to cause havoc on the world.

we're also planning to celebrate the stitch removal [a few days later] with a nice bonding car trip. we're thinking bobcaygeon and back might be far enough away to do the trick. :-)

yup, that's a tat you see in squeeze's ear. we're not pleased, but that's how they came, and we love them anyway. if it were a little skull or something, maybe that would be cool. i joke.

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also, i am spending my evenings swatching silk lace.

that is all. back to drop-down menus in excel. woo hoo, my days are so much fun!

Clapotis...design of the year!

I should have blogged this last week! Did you read that Knitter's Review picked our very own Clapotis as Design of the Year for 2005? An excellent choice, I think -- I can't remember seeing so many versions of one pattern ever before.

Congrats to designer and new mama Kate Gilbert!

interim whew

Both bunnies are home and really, really unimpressed with us.

Well, not actually. They don't quite know why they feel so crappy, but they both are very glad to have their heads rubbed -- their favorite thing. Head rubbing has helped stimulate their appetites and Boeing has had a bigass meal of flat-leafed parsley. Squeeze is taking her time, nibbling a bit here and there.

So far, so good. As long as all bodily functions resume soon, all that remains are 10 days of confinement while they heal.

Remind me that I said this: I'll be very glad when they're both rattling the cage bars, wanting to get out.

Sweet rabbits.

Nothing deep here.

Sorry, but the deep "a new year is beginning!" post just isn't coming this time. Could be because my column is due tomorrow [and someone forgot to tell me] and so, as I do, I'm saving my juice for the column. Do forgive.

Instead, I offer you pictures with captions.


It's just like I told you. This is Squeeze, running around for days, obsessively gathering each scrap of newspaper she could find [we line her cage with it] to build a nest. How did we get her to stop? We removed the nesting materials, once they threatened to be dangerous to them. A box full of paper with nowhere for a bunny to be, and yet the buns insisted on cramming themselves in it.

The removal of the paper, despite our concerns to the contrary, caused no rabbit trauma whatsoever. Totally confounding to us humans.

And now, some perspective shots of our darlings:





Hopefully you can see how much bigger Boeing is than Squeeze, but no matter. Tomorrow is spay day. The vet will weigh them before the procedure, and then we'll know for sure. I predict Boeing is 6 lbs, and Squeeze...3.25. That is my prediction.

I'm trying not to think about tomorrow too much, honestly. I will just be glad when it's over and successful. These little fuzzy babies have wormed their way into our hearts in a very short time and we really want them to stay.

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Holiday knitting. Summary:

Clearly I am not very good at this taking pictures of yourself in the bathroom mirror, but you had to see. I'm likely one of the few people who has never seen Firefly, yet likes the Jayne hat. I saw people talking about it on Craftster, looked at the pic and decided I wanted to make one.

I bought the kit from this nice lady, and honestly, I don't know how she makes any money on it. In the kit, I got full instructions [more than sufficient for even the beginnerist beginner], all the yarn I needed, the pompom premade [by hand!], stitch markers and even a wee bottle of fray check. All that, including postage, for $17? Must be a volume thing!

Anyway, I bought, of course, the cotton kit and the pic shows the result. I knit the largest size, because I wanted it loose, and it's not exactly loose, but it's still fun. The yarn is one of my favorites -- Araucania Nature Cotton -- and it was hella nice just to have everything right at my fingertips as I worked.



Also, I finished the silk wrap, twice. Ripped the silk/silk version cause the colors weren't working, and went with a cotton/silk charcoal grey yarn [also from the stash] and the ball of Handmaiden Lopi. I wanted, as you can see, to hyperblock it [original width on the right, blocked width on the left]. I thought I'd succeeded, but it quietly slunk back to fairly normal garter stitch overnight after coming off the blocking wires.

Pure silk doesn't do that, by the way. It holds blocking beauty-full.

See? Everything I'm doing now, even obsessive holiday knitting, is all learning for No Sheep. I expected that the cotton wouldn't hold the blocking, but when it came off the wires looking just fine, I was hopeful. Oh well. You can't fight nature. So I now have a quite dramatic, very wide scarf instead of a wrap. The colors are delicious, though, and I'm quite pleased with it.

And so I end the post designed to distract me from tomorrow. I don't think it's working. I'm going to go rub my fuzzy girls now.