Fat Cats Corner

  Knitting.  So much yarn, so little time.   I have a significant S.A.B.L.E...Stash Available Beyond Life Expectancy.  It's a real struggle to divide my time between my hobbies: Reading, Knitting, Beading, Painting.  Then there are the mundane chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes. Sigh.  I'm not a compulsive 'starter'.  I only have one major project and one TV/Social Knitting project (wash cloth, garter stitch blanket/scarf etc.) on the needles at any given time.  A great deal of my SABLE was purchased with no project in mind at all.  But sometimes I buy for a specific purpose. I took a Fiber Road Trip in April 2019 to attend a spinning class given by Kate Larson at  The Fiber Event  at the Putnam County Fairgrounds, Greencastle, IN.  Kate was so informative and patient with the small class.  We weren't overwhelmed with statistics or extraneous details.  I learned a lot.   While I was the...

Or Blankets for the Whole Family.  Some 9 years ago a Dear Friend asked me to make a particular knitted blanket for her daughter 'ET's 13th(?) birthday.  Well I didn't knit at the time so I crocheted one. Add caption 'ET' loved it and used it every night on her bed.  Well apparently her younger brothers 'MT' and 'BT' loved it too and would sneak into her room and steal it!  They needed blankets of their own so, I used the left overs from ET's blanket and made them each a blanket of their own. Add caption Eight years after the youngest boy was born, My Dear Friend gave birth to another girl 'ST' and of course she needed a blanket (or three) as well. Add caption All this brings us to the point of this post. 'ET' is now 22 and has had a baby of her own!  So the tradition continues.  I knit these for ET2 in May during the COVID-19 (continuing) Isolation Period . All of these were made with acrylic (Caron and Red Heart) so as to be mac...

There was Knitting.... and all the yarn used was from STASH!  I've put myself on a Yarn Diet these last couple years.  At the rate I knit my yarn stash is considered S.A.B.L.E “SABLE- A common knitting acronym that stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.” Atlantic Cowl by Antonia Shankland in Classic Elite Yarns Majestic Tweed - Gifted This yarn was purchased in 2015 Denver Cowl by Veronica Parsons Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted - Donated to Charity Yikes, purchased in 2009! About time it found it's project :)  I often bought yarn without a project in mind.  Not the best idea really.  But these yarns have told me eventually "I want to be a scarf/hat etc." Cloud of Softness neckgater by Marji LaFreniere Bijou Basin Ranch , Bijou Bliss - Gifted Yarn purchased in 2015 Great yarn!  I'll be buying more from them. Oops!  Awe, forget the Yarn Diet! Dangling Conversation by Mindy Ross Wolle's...

Crochet is always faster than knitting for me.  I guess 40 years of experience will do that for you ;-0   Feather and Fan Baby Blanket by Alexis Middleton I used Red Heart Soft Baby Steps for this blanket.   I always use acrylic for baby items.    Acrylic these days is  way softer than it was when I first started crocheting back in the stone-age '70's.  And what new mother has time to hand wash a blanket or the room to it lay flat and wait for it to dry????   Free pattern can be found   here . Whipped up Dakotah's Fabulous Scarf by Kathy Lashley  at ELK Studio Handcrafted Crochet Designs in a couple hours.  Don't let the 'crochet through the 3rd loop' scare you off.  Super easy!  So quick and easy I made two!  Again I used acrylic for wash-ability.  Above is Red Heart Unforgettable in Dragonfly colorway, below is same yarn in Echo colorway. This is a free pattern as well. And becaus...

Summer is always full of friends and fun so the Lost in Time shawl has been progressing slowly. It's not a complicated pattern at all.  Just requires a bit of attention which I must admit I can be a bit short on sometimes, haha! I'm excited about how the Schoppel-WollenZauberball (in Frische Frische color) is working up. The beginner crochet class that I'm set to start teaching in 2 weeks has yet to draw any students.   I explained to the arts center director that I'm happy to teach but if there is no interest it really isn't an issue for me.  More time to work on my own projects :) Weather here in Upstate South Carolina has been hot and humid as it is every August.  The lake is bathwater warm and oh so not refreshing at this point.  Soon it will be cool enough to start wearing some of these lovely shawls I've been making, start hiking again and to get back out on the Skeet Field.  Looking forward to it.