Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Three small pretty things

I was just noticing that the single sock was my only FO since September, and thinking, "what kind of slacker knitter am I?", when suddenly two little O's were magically effed in one weekend.
I don't have much of an extended family: only two first cousins, both adopted. (This is what happens when your mom is an only child, your dad's brother was gay and died of AIDS, and his sister is a DES daughter.) Since Katie is siblingless and my sister swears up and down she'll never have kids, my niecephew outlook is similarly bleak. But! The adorable man whom Katie has known since babydom and is practically her brother is becoming a poppa in December.

Dudes, this is the closest I may ever get to having a niece. Ergo, Shedirlette! I followed these directions for babyfication, though to my untrained eye it looks more infant than newborn sized. I used roughly half a skein of Calmer leftover from Fifi.

Second in the lineup, proof that boring knits can be pretty.

Ignore that yarn tail for the moment. I can't find my tapestry needle.

This scarf was a request from a friend, and the yarn he chose is heavenly -- 4 balls of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Flamme in Serge -- but I have to admit it had me a bit stymied at first. I had all sorts of great ideas, but none of them seemed to fit the solid color and drastically thick and thin texture. With reassurances from the recipient that "simple is fine, really", I ended up with plain old 2x2 rib, and you know what? I love it.

Finally, the third soft pretty thing that's hanging out at my house these days:

We signed up to be a foster pet family, and this is the first little fellow to come home with us. He didn't come with a name, so we've been calling him Helo. They were going to euthanize him because they said he was unfriendly, difficult to manage, and wouldn't use a litterbox, none of which have proved even remotely true.


He is, however, hard to get a decent picture of, because he literally spends 90% of his waking hours doing this:


I'm going to have a hard time when he has to leave.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, Helo is so cute! I don't think I would be able to give him up either, but you're doing an awesome think by being his foster mommy :)

You're on a roll with the knits! I love the color you chose for the baby shedir. It's adorable!

Jodi said...

Helo is heart-meltingly adorable! I don't have it in me to foster kitties -- we'd end up with 40 cats in our vintage 2-bedroom apt.

I'll have to check out the Elsebeth Lavold yarn -- never seen it before.

ames said...

can i haz kitteh kissehs? =]

tooooo cute. =]

Courtney said...

Cuteness overload! I just made a hat from some of that Silky Flamme stuff, still need to post about it, it is also very simple..but nice, warm and cozy. I needed a new waiting for the bus in the cold hat.

schrodinger said...

Helo is adorable! I can see why you're going to have trouble saying goodbye.

Great shedir and scarf - sometimes less is more isn't it?

Kath said...

Helo looks very sweet. I can completely understand why you'd have trouble giving him up. I don't have it in me to foster animals - I want the permanent connection (and have two cats).

That said, I think what you are doing for Helo and other animals like him is absolutely wonderful and (putting on my old Humane Society shelter management hat) it doesn't surprise me that he was a problem before and is a complete love in your home. Some animals just don't do well in the shelter environment, whether in an individual cage or open area with other cats, they are just not happy, sometimes just a little too sensitive. And then as soon as they are in a "home" environment, they blossom.

Neuroknitter said...

Thank you for your kind words! That means alot to me! OMG! Helo is adorable. Do you have to give him up...does he get along with the canine people?

a friend to knit with said...

oh, i think you have been very productive! love the shedir....so great to be a soon to be auntie!.....never heard of des daughter....thanks for educating me!

simple is so nice...love the scarf.

oh, and what a sweet helo....i guess he just needed someone like you both to love him!!!

Anonymous said...

What a sweet kitty! What pretty FOs too!

Stacey said...

awww - what a sweet thing to do - open up your home to foster pets. He is adorable!

Macoco said...

I think it's wonderful that you've taken in a foster cat! What an adorable kitty.

The baby shedir is very cute.

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Shedirlette is so adorable, and Helo is a looker!

Anonymous said...

Hurray for a new little family member on the way! Handknits are a fantastic way to welcome someone into the world!

I love the color of the ribbed scarf, beautiful and bright, which I like for winter knits. You know, cheerful!

ACK - Helo is so damn cute (this is coming from a dog-person!) and little nose-kisses are irresitable!

Amy said...

Those are beautiful FOs!

...But Helo steals the show. As a foster family, are you required to give him up? Or can you choose to adopt yourself?

Anonymous said...

I love the Shedirlette! I am not a cat person, but even I think Helo is the cat's whiskers (literally, I guess).

Anonymous said...

Sweet tiny little kitten! Oh, he's adorable. I miss the days when my cats were kittens. I guess this is how parents feel about their children as babies...

femiknitter said...

Oh, so cute! Bravo to you for being a forster mommy--we need more people in the world who are willing to do that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Neuroknitter said...

Happy Thanksgiving! Helo is just way too cute...Pete might have to bar me from looking at your sight!!! NOT!!! :)

Anonymous said...

oh, helo.

a friend of mine found a cat in a trashcan and took it home. she named it booger, and we're all in love.

the desperate cases are always the cutest.

-janani

Anonymous said...

oh, helo.

a friend of mine found a cat in a trashcan and took it home. she named it booger, and we're all in love.

the desperate cases are always the cutest.

-janani

Kristy said...

The baby shedir looks great! Nice job on modifying the pattern to meet your needs :)

Helo is so cute! It's hard to tell what a cat is going to be like in a home-- the shelter is such a different environment. I'm glad you're giving him a good place to live!

Stell said...

oh why does he have to leave? cute!