Have to Brag

435 Projects!! And each one more gorgeous than the last. Oh, Ravelers, you make me so happy!!!

Blizzard!

Mia Becomes a House Cat

Last summer Mia, my "baby Siamese," got locked in a garage for nine days. Very long story, but when she got out, I took her to my Dad's, in an attempt to keep her out of trouble. This displeased her. At the first opportunity, she was out the window, down the fire escape, and gone. (I did not know we had a window open with no screen.)

I have not written publicly about this because I was so ashamed of my tactical error and so worried about the cat.

On January 9, I spotted her in a vacant lot a few blocks from home. "Mia! You're NOT DEAD!" She remembered me and did not run away. After feeding her for a two weeks and receiving many happy purrs and cuddles, I was able to trap her last week and bring her home to my own apartment, the one with less traffic and more control of windows.

This time, Mia seems delighted to be indoors with a reliable food supply and cuddles on demand. What changed? Well, it's winter. And the other cats are nicer to her than the ones at Dad's. She is becoming good friends with Blackie. Rosebud hisses at her but is too old and fat to chase her. Pixel just ignores her.

I feel like a mountain has been removed from my shoulders.

The Saga of Mister Darcey

Yet another lost pet showed up in front of our building last night. What had me all sad and furious is that we have rescued this fellow before! Yes, you heard me. Loooooong story.

Tuesday September 7 I arrived home about 10 pm to find a cat in the front walkway. Having just gone through this with Missy (another story altogether), I scooped him up and brought him in, put out the food, and took the pictures for the Found Cat flyer. He immediately inspected all rooms and pretty much took over, hence the naming after the handsome, arrogant, romantic stranger (yes I know I spelled it wrong). Emma and the other girls were not amused.

Meanwhile, he was ravenous, unruly, rude, and tended to bite anyone who tried to cuddle him. He had very stinky goopy poops. I decided to get him to the vet ASAP, which was Monday September 13 due to my overwhelming prior commitments. We tested him for everything, treated him for three kinds of parasites, vaccinated him, and on Tuesday he was neutered and I took him home to recover.

Unlike Missy, whose people found her right away and were overjoyed to have her back, Darcey's people were harder to find. Wednesday I got a call from a woman who thought he was her lost cat, but it turned out he was not.

Thursday I got another call, this time from a woman who was certain he was her cat who she had "put out for a week" because she could not afford food or litter. I was aghast. I did not want to let her have him back, ever.

She persisted in calling and said that things had changed and she could afford to feed him now. I reluctantly invited her over to confirm that it was the correct cat, get to know her better, and see how the two interacted. Since Darcey was still getting medication we agreed that he would stay with me until that was done. She was to call in five days.

Some number of days beyond five (my memory is fuzzy here) she knocks on the door, saying she lost my number. Eventually she comes over with her young niece and they take the cat home. This was about a week ago. Next thing I know, the cat is back in the driveway, and runs to me.

DH tells me that the "owner" had come over earlier to ask us to take him back because she is allergic. He did not agree, and I guess her solution was to dump the cat here again.

Today she rang the bell and returned the carrier. Not one word about the cat. Unbelievable.

Missy

Hers is a far less dramatic tale. She came, she was loved, she was reunited with a little boy and a litter mate, happy ending. But you get pictures.

A Hot Day in May

Higgins

Watson

Guy: "Hurry up with that dinner, willya?"

Watson loves Guy

Tommie Girl

Mia

Feral Cats in Winter

Three of my girls, in the snow.

Party!

I had three guests, so there is a lot of wine left over. We just had some with our turkey dinner.

New Retail Venue

Put some stuff on a wall in this new gallery in Wicker Park. It's only 2 x 8 feet, so it is a little crowded. Someday I hope to move to a larger space, but for now, I'm trying to take advantage of every molecule of my three-inch depth.

While I was setting up last week I met a few of the other artists. Everyone has been wonderful. I'll be hosting (or maybe co-hosting) an opening on one of my favorite dates, Friday the Thirteenth (of November), from 5-9 p.m. at

Galleria 1712

1712 W. North Avenue (between Damen and Ashland at Paulina), Chicago, Illinois

4-Harness Weaving

My second cloth and my first on four harnesses. Today I added some twill. No new photo yet.

Emma Has Decided to Keep Her Sister

Probably they are littermates. It only took a week for Emma to start washing Gaia and playing with her. So she stays. Gaia is a talker. She beeps a lot. Very sweet and gentle. What a little love.

Gaia Has a Home

Gaia, one of my former alley cats, needed to be adopted. We kept her. Dad said, "It's up to Emma," and Emma loves her. Clearly she has been a pet before, and is very gentle and loving, even with strangers. She has chosen to cuddle up to Mom at every opportunity.

Painting Yarn

I worked all day yesterday hand painting a pound of worsted weight wool. I'll post better pics when it is dry. I was so eager to show it off last night I forgot to rinse it first, and did that this morning. I learned of the technique in an article by Nancy Roberts in Spin-Off Fall 2006. http://www.machineknittingtodyefor.com/ Turns out SHE heard of it in an article in in Threads in 1995 by Rebekah Younger. (Turns out this is Becky Younger, my sister's childhood friend.) http://youngerknits.com/ Anyhoo, you knit up the undyed yarn on a machine, dye it, then reknit into whatever you want. It gives you long sections of color impossible to do with a 60 or 72-inch hank. I'm thinking this wants to be either a lace stole or a sideways sweater.