Weaving a little magic

So many months ago I bought some yarn to make Alyssa a scarf.  It's Maleficent in Sparkle Gnome from GnomeAcres.  It's gorgeous yarn and I was really excited to make her something special for her move to Florida and her new life...Then, as you know, all hell broke loose, I got divorced, moved across the country and that yarn hid out in a basket until a couple of weeks ago.

I was, of course, looking for my tapestry needles (which happened to be in my purse because that's where every knitter carries her tapestry needles, don't you know!) and found a bag of yarn--2 packages of which had never been opened.  Club yarns from Dragonfly and Cookie A from August.  I was so thrilled to see them, touch them and mourn for the sadness that was my life at that time.  Then I put them in my special place and will get them out in my 2015 year of the clubs!

Anyway, back to Maleficent.  I knew I wanted to weave this scarf and was really excited this "weekend" to finally sit down at the loom and get it started.

I just have to say that it's gorgeous on the loom.  Can't wait to see it off of the loom...in fact, I think I'm going to do some fancy tied fringe to bring about the full magical effect.

Happy Monday every body!  It's my Wednesday!

Past Tense

I remember when I got the call that Daddy passed away, I thought "We have to refer to him in past tense now."  I know...weird English major...but that's me.  I think in terms of language, grammar and putting sentences together.

And I remember thinking "I don't know how to do that."

I am finding that it is extremely difficult to do.  It should be just a simple parsing of a verb.  Taking it from its infinitive form--to be--to past tense--was/were/been--...but man...that is so profound.

And I don't like it...at all...not one tiny little bit.

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What I'm noticing, and this is really interesting, is that I'm making the mistake and saying things like "Daddy tells this really funny story."  Or, as was the case on Friday last week at my student worker end-of-term party, "Daddy LOVES NutterButter cookies."  I had a whole roomful of pity filled eyes look at me when I made that grammatical error.  And it was really hard to see and kind of choked me up for a minute and I almost couldn't go on with the funny story about my daddy and the NutterButter cookies (I'll tell you below).

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So, right now, I don't like past tense and I'm convinced it's why I have 30 works in progress and about 10 more in my head that I want to work on...Crochet continues to be pretty intense.  I subscribed to 3 crochet magazines yesterday, am planning an entire house decorated with crochet items...the possibilities! (future tense...that feels so much better).

Today's picture is of the mutilated yarn on its second warp.  This one is brown cotton and the weaving pattern is called "Cat's Paws."

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Daddy's Story:  Daddy loved Nutter Butter cookies when I was growing up.  Mom would go to the grocery store on Saturdays and buy him a package of them and he would open them up as soon as we got home.  They would sit on the counter and he would grab one or two, or a handful, as he walked through the kitchen on his way to various places (on Saturday or Sunday afternoons in the fall that would often be from in front of the TV watching football to the bathroom and back again).  He could plow through an entire package of cookies in the weekend.

Shortly after my father turned 50, he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, so mom quit buying the Nutter Butters and anything else sweet that would tempt him.  And then one day mom was buying peaches from the road-side stand, stepped off the curb and broke both of her ankles at the same time.  My dad was then put in charge of going to the grocery store.  He came home from that first trip so excited because "did you know they started making Nutter Butters again"...there were 2 packages in the bags...one for that day and one for the rest of the week.

When life give you lemons...

...or when a cat destroys your yarn....

Make scarves!

I have the first of 2 scarves finished from the salvaged kitty terror incident.  I'll have finished pics to show later this week, but I did want to tease you with the first one on the loom:

I'm not sure why the pic is turned sideways, but anyway, the warp is actually running right to left...I used a silver and pale green tencel (two strands, one of each color) for the warp and the Cephalopod yarn is the weft.  The pattern is a simple twill and was a perfect first project for getting back on the loom.  I completely finished this project yesterday, minus the fringe twisting.  I think I'll have a fringe twisting "party" later this week as I have another scarf in there that needs fringe twisted, the one I'll make today, and then I need to get Liz's birthday scarf finished (yes, that's from her January 2nd birthday).

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Daddy's story:  My daddy would always say to me, "how much do you love me?"  We had this little routine where I would respond "this much" and hold my fingers a tiny bit apart.  He would pout and pretend to cry and say "Is that all...say you love me more."  And I would then hold my hands about a foot apart and say, "I love you this much daddy." At this point he would "tune up and cry" and say "How much do you love me?" and I would throw my arms wide and say "I love you this much Daddy" and I'd run and give him a big-old-hug.

One time I threw him for a loop, though.  He asked me how much I loved him and I held up my right hand and said, "I love you this much."  He looked puzzled and said..."what does that mean."  I looked at him and pointed at my right hand and said, "my love starts here and goes on and on and on...my arms aren't big enough to show you!"    I got an extra big hug for that one.  I was probably 4 or 5 at the time. (and think I was pretty precocious, to be honest!)

Something for Sale

I haven't had something for sale in a very long time.  It's a lovely, knitted mohair scarf in foamy green with pink speckles throughout.  There are a few blue specs in there as well.  Gorgeous, light-weight and ruffly.

I've shown it here so you can see how it swirls and ruffles.

The scarf easily wraps around your neck 2-3 times for added warmth, or can be left to drape across the front for a pretty accent that will make you feel feminine and happy all day.

I'm asking $50 + shipping for this scarf.  If you're interested, please send me an e-mail at lesliestbutler @ gmail dot com

It's Friday

In front of me I see 4 blissful days of reading (i.e. listening to books since that's what I do while I'm...), knitting, playing with kitties, hanging out with David (who actually took off Monday and has off Tuesday).  We should be good and relaxed before having to go back to work on Wednesday.

I plan to work on my Skew and get it finished.  I'm at the point where I'm increasing for the heel bump.  Wrap?  part?  it's an interesting section of the pattern, anyway.  I'm going to try working on the Dragonfly Cowl again.  That should be fun.  If I can't concentrate on it for very much I'm going to have to seriously reconsider my plans for the yarn.  Seriously...a cowl on the needles that is just slightly over half done is better frogged and becoming something else that I can enjoy knitting than it is as a half-finished cowl on the needles that makes me feel bad for not finishing it.  I'm not always a giver-upper, but I do need to be honest with myself about how I feel about the pattern, etc.

I'm still trying to decide whether to go out or eat in tonight.  I want to do both, so maybe we should eat leftovers and then go out for a couple of drinks...that's a thought...

I'm super excited to report that the daughters' dreams are coming true.  Both have jobs at Disney World starting in mid-May.  They will be working "attractions" in the College Program.  We don't know any more details than that and won't until they get there but it's very exciting and step 1 to establishing them permanently in Orlando.  Yea for dreams come true!

We're in the throes of Mardi Gras around here.  Locals don't really go to parades, which is something I find interesting and kind of funny.  None of my student workers WANT to go to New Orleans...I know I certainly don't.  Everyone eats King Cake though (I'm not, obviously.).

So, my picture today is a "throw-back" to a Mardi Gras scarf I made for a co-worker.  I love this scarf and need to make another.

Look! Look!

I managed to get a warp wound and on the loom yesterday!  woot!

I'm making Alyssa's birthday scarf.  The warp is a tencel variegated held together with a rayon slub.  The weft yarn is "Little Flowers" by Crystal Palace (from stash...I'm still being good, don't worry).  It's a fun string with tufts in black and white...and there's something silver and sparkly in there as well.

One note about the yarn.  I originally thought I would knit something up with this.  I really wanted the yarn to be all alone and shine by itself.  I didn't make it past the first row.  It's a pretty yarn, but it's grabby and was a major annoyance with knitting, or at least the way I like to knit which is to crank out stitches as fast as I can maneuver hands and yarn and having adorable little tufts grab at each other every time you try to set the stitch...just not fun.  I didn't even try frogging what I'd knitted, so be warned...if you intend to embark on knitting with this yarn, be patient, have time, and do not make a mistake!

And a couple of notes about weaving:  It's been a long time since I've been with my loom.  I don't think I've made anything on the big loom since moving back to the house in May.  I've lost at least 50 pounds since then and almost 100 overall.  I'ma different person inside that loom and it's a very different experience dressing the loom and working with it.  I expected as much just wasn't quite prepared for the actual feeling of it.

Also, I need a bench cushion...the cushion that used to be my rear is now gone, and the bones there weren't super happy about sitting on a hard wooden bench and moving back and forth as I treadled.  Something to make?  possibly...would be a great stash buster!

So very tired

I think I've used that title before--so very tired--but things this past week (and probably last) have truly worn me out.  I could put my head on my desk and take a nap but I fear not being able to wake up again.

I know I'm not thinking clearly and can only hope that I'm not giving bad advice to all the students I've been working with.

Today I want to share with you a scarf that I'm working on.  I call it "improv" because I have (sort of) made this one up as I've gone along.  The stripes were determined using a deck of cards.  I wound the warp until I ran out of red yarn--thus I let the project be as wide as it ended up being.

Then I decided to thread it so that the red diagonal stripes would go in the opposite direction as the grey and black, creating an interesting wave pattern.  This decision was made up as I sat down to start threading.  I really like the result.

One of the finished projects

This scarf is knitted with a lovely rayon warp (think silky soft without the price) and sock yarn.  The sock yarn is self-striping.  I get the yarn in a more or less monthly installment of the yarn club from Knitterly Things.  Each month I look at the skein of yarn and think "There's no way she can make a prettier skein next month" and somehow she does.

I also decided that after getting 6 or so pairs of striped socks, that I did need the yarn to do something else, so I experimented in weaving with it.  The name of this colorway is Dancing Waters, And to be honest, it took me back to a story I wrote in undergrad about my Native American great (many times) grandmother who I named Singing Rain.  I knew that the weaving pattern needed to somehow evoke a Native American theme, so I chose a simple broken twill (that's the zig-zag pattern you see that doesn't quite match at the top and bottom) and let the stripes and the lovely deep red warp do the work.

I'm very happy with this project, and also a little sad that I didn't have quite enough yarn to make a second scarf for sale, because this ones mine.  Mineminemineminemine.

[a little technical weaving talk here...if you want to, skip ahead to the picture]

And, for the record, the drape is wonderful, and it's amazingly soft.  If you want to weave with sock yarn, I always recommend something soft and silky for the warp (or weft whichever is the opposite of the where you have the sock yarn) and then setting the project just a tad looser than would be "obvious" based on wraps per inch.  This project was sett at 10epi for a twill pattern.  The rayon (which is a 10/2 yarn) is pretty skinny, so I actually doubled it in each dent and heddle.

If you're working on a rigid heddle loom, I think you could probably use a 10epi sett as long as you didn't beat too hard.  On the loom it looks a little loosey-goosey, but as soon as you take it off, the springy-ness of the sock yarn draws the project in and everything looks just right. This allows the scarf to be drapey and not stiff.  Once washed, the yarn blooms and everything gets all snuggly and the end result is a very pretty scarf that I can hardly wait to wear.

Busy day(s) (and a lot of promises of future pictures!)

I like being busy at work...it's being bored or not having enough to do at work that makes me tired and irritated.

Being busy, even too busy, is so much better.  The days go by faster, I have a real sense of accomplishment, and at the end of the day I feel somehow more energized than not.

So, thank goodness I've had a couple of busy days at work, and the rest of the month looks like it'll stay busy, so hopefully (fingers crossed) I won't get cranky from not being busy enough.

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I find it interesting that when I'm busy at work I'm also much more productive at home with my crafting.  I am working steadily on the baby sweater (Great Wool Experiment #4).  I'm not going to post pics of it until it's been given to the new parents, JIC they take a peek at the blog.  But trust me, after finishing the right front, I'm enamored.  Not enough to want a new baby, but to hope people around me start having babies so I can make them tiny little sweaters.

I'm using a yarn, in a lovely shade of orange and pink, from a company called Dream in Color.  They yarns are hand dyed and very beautiful.  The yarn I'm using is a sock-weight yarn, which you already know I love to work with, and so pretty that I'm hoping I have enough yarn leftover to make myself a pair of socks when I'm finished.  I love working with this yarn and can't wait for the gift to be finished...how sweet little baby girl will look when this set finally fits her.

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The other projects I've been working on at home are my square a day blanket.  I'm 4 squares away from finishing row 5!  I'll have a picture of it then.  I'm also working on the Noro blanket that David bought for me.  I have a dark green square and a dark blue/purple square finished.  The next ball I chose is a lovely bright multi-color that's working up so interestingly.  The middle is a pinky-lavendar, the first round is different hues of bright green and the final round is (so far) bright pink and orange.  I can't wait to post a picture of this one, but it's not quite ready yet.

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My picture today is of the cricket loom with the lovely mutli-colored scarf in it.  The yarn is from Unique Sheep and is a cotton and bamboo blend.  The drape on this yarn is gorgeous...it worked up into a very light-weight and pretty scarf.  I love how the mutli-colors work across each other and end up looking like a crazy plaid.  I'll have a picture of it after it's been washed.  Behind the loom, if you look carefully, you'll see Pearl, my sweet kitty.  She's crazy about weaving and particularly likes the cricket loom (I think because it appears to be just about the right size for her).  All last weekend I had to battle with her about whether she could eat the yarn or the rigid heddle, or sit underneath the loom while I was working, or play with any thread that was hanging loose.  At this moment, she was sneaking up on me.

Knitting and Weaving

I learned to weave in 2007, and got my loom in January 2008.  I quickly became obsessed with weaving.  I bought yarn, planned projects, read books, and wove until my shoulders hurt.  I loved the process of creating fabric, seeing it come to shape in just the way I imagined, and then starting my next project.  For three years my loom hardly saw any rest.  I wove and wove and wove.  And loved every single minute of it.

One of the problems with weaving, though, is that it isn't very portable.  Also, with my loom set up in a separate room, I couldn't watch tv or hang out with the family when I wanted to do both.  It was solitary, and while I don't mind solitary most of the time, every now and again I do want to be around folks.

Also, we had several trips lined up and I wanted projects I could take in the car with me, so I dabbled in knitting.  It took a while for it to "click" for me, but when it did, I became as obsessed with knitting as I previously was with weaving.  In the past two years, I have completed countless projects, taken on more and more challenging ideas, and knitted so much that my thumbs hurt.

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I realized on Thursday morning, that if I keep up knitting like this I'm going to have serious issues with my thumbs and not be able to knit any  more.  That scared me, so I started deliberately stitching slower (I find that I'm more relaxed and feel the tension in my thumbs a lot less IF I knit slower).  I also started taking breaks and weaving on my cricket loom.  I bought it so that I could weave in the car (not thinking, of course, that weaving a scarf takes approximately 2 hours or less (after the loom is set up)...which won't get me too far in an 8 hour car-ride).  I had a project on the cricket that had been there since August of last year, and it really needed to be completed.

So, I knitted, wove, knitted, wove and so on throughout the rest of the weekend.

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I'm happy to report that my thumb is feeling better, and that I've completed 2 scarves (woven) and that I've knitted on my square a day blanket, the baby sweater for my cousin, and a new blanket from yarn that David gave me in my 4th of July present. (yea!)

The pic below is of a gorgeous silk and mohair scarf woven at just the right tension to make this a light and airy piece.  I'll definitely enjoy wearing it often!

I've started a second scarf out of this same yarn in a slightly different pattern, using the mohair and the silk alternating in the warp.  I think it's going to be absolutely lovely, too.  That one I'll sell.
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All of this is to get to my point for today.  I used to be obsessed by weaving and now I'm obsessed by knitting.  I have projects that I want to weave, but I'm not compelled to go in the studio.  I don't know if it's because it's so hot (weaving is pretty sweaty business even in winter), or if my love affair with weaving has diminished.  I'm also curious whether it's the isolation of it that's my problem. I  could bring the loom into the living room to work on while David's reading or watching tv, but there's the problem with the noise (weaving isn't quiet), distraction (weaving does require some concentration from time to time), and the cats (who would tear my yarns to smithereens before I finished with the warping).  This has led me to consider getting a table top loom that is smaller that I could set up in the living room and work on in there...

In the meantime, though, I'll continue to enjoy knitting and weave when I feel like it.  I don't know if there'll be another new craft in my future (I'm am pretty sure I can't afford it unless it has something to do with yarn...I have lots of yarn).  I'll also continue to ponder why I'm not weaving as much as I think I should, and why it bothers me that I'm not.

Plodding Along

Two years ago I figured out how to knit.  I finished a hat in a yarn called "Fabulous Felines"...colorways dyed to match kitties who won the modeling contest early on.  they were gorgeous yarns in a chunky weight. And using that yarn I finally figured out the mechanics of knitting...and successfully completed a really fun hat.

Then I started knitting a scarf...which had knits and purls and was kind of slow going, but little bits in the car and before I knew it (July) I had a finished scarf.  I knitted a hat for a few other people and then started the scarf in the picture below while visiting Elizabeth in Orlando in October 2011.

This one was a learning experience for me.  I found this gorgeous yarn while visiting Asheville, NC.  It has sequins in it, is soft and squishy and really quite striking.  I wanted to try some lace, so found this pattern and thought it would be spectacular...so I cast on, misread the pattern a few times, but finally got going on it.

And hated it.

I hated every minute of working on this scarf from about 4" in.  I can't explain to you exactly why, but I did.  I brought it to lunch to knit on after I'd eaten.  I'd find other things to do.  I made myself knit on it for 30 minutes per day before I worked on anything else...and then I'd find things to besides knit so I wasn't making progress on anything.

I took it to the beach with me and worked on it a bit and said, "ugh"...I hate this scarf and it'll never be done.

I knit and knit every now and then and guess what?  I pulled it out of its bag this weekend, looked and it, and decided that it's long enough.  It isn't as long as I typically like scarves, but it's long enough, so I cast off and took its picture and was so relieved to be done.  Done and done and done!

This scarf has been an interesting lesson for me from the beginning.  I liken it to the first needlepoint I did.  I hated working on that one, too, but one day fell in love with needlepoint (not that project but others).  I never gave up on this scarf and I'm glad that I didn't.  Like that needlepoint, I know it'll become one of my favorite scarves to wear.  It's so pretty, prettier in person than in the picture, and I know when it gets cold enough, I'll feel all fancy putting it on with its matching hat.  The little sparkle from the sequins is just the thing to make me smile, even if I'm cold.

The scarf also taught me that not giving up on a project is a good thing.  Sometimes they get to where they aren't much fun, but putting it aside and letting it steep for a while helps.  I was genuinely amazed when I pulled it out how long it really was and that I'd actually managed to progress that far even though I genuinely didn't like working on it.

Now, what I need to figure out is why.  Why did I hate that project so much?  Was it the pattern? Was it the fact that it went on for so long?  Was it the right yarn and wrong needles?  Was it the wrong yarn (pretty though it may be, it was kind of splitty and frustrated me from time to time)?  Was I just bored with it after a certain period of time (which is a good lesson for me to think about in regard to knitting giant projects)?  

I'm sure I'll need to get to another hated project to make complete sense of it.  But it'll probably be a totally different thing.

However, I do want to point out that even though plodding along isn't fun...it is progress towards a goal.  Sometimes we just need to keep that in mind!

Dancing Waters

Thanks to Mary over at Hugs I got rather addicted to the Vesper Sock Yarn club.  Each month (or so) a new skein of gorgeously hand-dyed self-striping sock yarn comes in my mail box, which I usually wind into a ball right away because I "can't wait to start it."

David's heard that last statement so many times he doesn't really blink any more.  He asked the other day how many projects I have on the go and whether I thought the "average knitter" was like me with lots of projects on the go...I told him that I honestly didn't know, but that I did know that some people were one project only people.  I honestly can't understand how they manage.

(And don't ask. I don't really know how many projects I have on the go.  I did realize over the weekend that all the "skinny sweaters" I was making would likely be too big for me when I get skinny so I frogged them all.  All the bags of yarn and patterns are sitting in a basket awaiting my skinny self.  THEN I'll know what size to make...and I'll make lots, trust me.)

Back to the sock yarn.  I wrote last week about how much I love fingering weight yarn and how much I love making different things out of them.  I've been contemplating making different things than socks from the Vesper yarn and over the weekend, I started a scarf--a woven scarf.  And oh, my, is it gorgeous!  Just look.

I plan to get this woven over the week.  Trust me, I'll show you the finished picture.  But it's so pretty on the loom, the shuttle is gorgeous with all those colors...wow and wow!

5 Shades of Grey

I haven't read the popular novel series 50 Shades of Grey.  I'm really not interested in doing so.  But, I do like the idea behind it.  Grey is such an interesting color.  One of my favorites, actually.

For a neutral, it has such potential.  It runs the gamut from white to black, but can have hues of green, blue, yellow or red in there to make it more interesting.  When painting or coloring, if a color stands out too much, just add some grey to it and it calms down, and looks more respectable.

Taken all by itself, however, grey is rich.  It's shimmery and ethereal.  It seems ungrounded and yet solid at the same time (think clouds or mountains).

My literary reference when thinking of the color grey goes back to Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.  The painter is looking at the sky and asks the girl "what color are the clouds."  She responds "Grey."  And he tells her to "look more deeply and tell me what color are the clouds."  She ponders the clouds and realizes that they have blue and green and yellow and black.  Darker shades of the same color.  The clouds, which look simple and "one color" are really deeply textured because of all the different colors reflected back from the surface.

That said, what better accessory than a grey scarf.  It isn't something I would ordinarily think of, but I had just a tiny bit of grey alpaca silk left from the blue and grey scarf I made a few weeks ago.  It certainly wasn't enough to make a single warp or weft but could be combined with another yarn (or 3 or 4) to create something shimmery and wonderful.  The alpaca silk yarn is incredibly light and airy and was an obvious choice to add the chenille that I love working with so much which is even more light and airy than the alpaca silk.  Then I decided to put in some grey cotton and another grey tencel (all shimmery and reflecting back light).  I toyed with the idea of a 5th variegated grey (that goes from silver to black).  Decided against it...then as I was about to start winding the warp I realized it needed it.

Designing the warp was incredibly fun.  I have a deck of tarot cards that I bought in France.  Tarot cards have 5 suits, the typical hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds and then the trump suit which has "major" cards. I decided that the alpaca silk would be the trumps, and assigned the other yarns to different suits.  I wound off however many ends were the number and chose the yarn based on the suit of the card.  When I used up the alpaca silk, I wound off the other edge until I reached another trump and then called it a scarf (rather than a shawl which it had the potential to be."

This picture shows the warp after it was sleyed in the reed.  I think adding the variegated was a very good idea.  It keeps the scarf from being too much of a "cloud."  I love that the shades of grey also have very different textures.  It's going to be a wonderful light-weight snuggly scarf.

Get Ready...Get Set...

...no "go" yet, but I'm mentally getting ready and set for moving back to the house.  The contractor hopes to have everything finished by next Friday...that's two weeks.  Then we can get in, clean everything up and have the movers, hopefully, "set" to "go" the first weekend of May.

How exciting would that be!?!?

And in the mental game of getting prepped, I've been thinking again about how to move the loom.  It was a very stressful thing for me to move to the apartment, but I'm so glad I did.  I had really lost touch with my weaving, finding it difficult to weave during the week, but with my forced blank weekends, I have found lots of time on Saturday and Sunday and find that I can make good progress on things if I am dedicated to working on them over the weekend.  This is good to know...

My plan is to have all my projects finished when it is time to move and to put a false warp in the loom to hold the shafts steady so that they'll transport just fine.  And for that reason, I need quick-to-work projects, so I'll be making a lot of scarves from this point forward.

I started Art Box #2...well, I've designed it.  I have a lovely grey scarf in the loom right now.  The picture of the yarns I'm going to use are below.  I've decided to mimic the red and black plaid in her dress but include the blue and cream from the table to help make it a little more feminine.  I'm still trying to figure out how to incorporate the blue and cream...I have some ideas, but we'll see where I end up.

Teeny Tiny Little Baby Steps

I have been struggling with all the emotions and crazy-ness that has been my life lately.  I think I'm even beyond the point of feeling stress any more.  Not quite numb, but I definitely don't feel stressed.  I think what I feel is that somehow things are beyond my control and stressing about it won't do one single little bitty bit of good.

It's freeing actually.  There are things that I CAN control, and focusing on those has allowed me to actually feel good despite all the circumstances around me.

The one thing that has me still stressed, but I felt ease up a bit this morning is Pearl.  Poor kitty is having a hard time overcoming her attack.  I don't know if she was still feeling physical pain from it, or if she's just genuinely frightened (and who can blame her) but she's been very very skittish and not wanting to play much or cuddle.  One of the reasons for her name is that she has such a big purr (thus the pun PUUURRRL), and the amount of purring has been very minimal and it has definitely not been loud and rip-roaring like usual.

And of all the things from this past week, this makes me the saddest.  I know (in my head) that she's a cat and has to do things in her own time.  But I know (in my heart) that she needs comforting and that she has always sought me for that comfort.  So I'm feeling incredibly anxious about helping her heal all the while knowing that she needs space, and for me not to feel anxious.  It's been very very difficult.

But, today, Pearl took some teeny tiny little baby steps towards getting herself back to normal.  She came and sat in my lap and purred for a few minutes.  She still flinched when I reached out to pet her, so I backed off, but she stayed there and purred and looked at me and said, "I'm working on it" in her kitty way.

And David just texted me a picture of her sitting in his lap with her happy face on, and it made me tear up.  She's such a sweet fun kitty and is truly special.  She is friendly to everyone who comes over.  I'm hoping that she can get back to her normal self eventually.

Today's picture is a close up of the scarf I'm weaving.  The pattern is a lace pattern that will look completely different once it's removed from the tension of the loom.  The fibers will relax and get all cozy in a different way and open up pretty holes and create a lovely pattern...that's the plan anyway.  Even if they don't, I think this is quite lovely and can't wait to feel the kitteny softness of this scarf against my neck.  I'm almost hoping for a continued chill so I can give it a wear next week after I've finished it.  (btw, you can click on the photo to see it close-up and get a real appreciation for the pattern).