My Dream Come True

The 28th of February is not a special date. It comes around every year. Unlike the 29th of February, which we only see every 4th year, the 28th of February is very ordinary. 

I have an uncle who was born on the 29th of February (Happy Birthday, Uncle Bill!), and he is a twin! Pretty cool! He's around the same age as my mom and her sisters, but he's had less than 20 birthdays! Don't worry, he is celebrated every year, but those leap-days don't come around every year for the celebration.

A few years back, on a Saturday, Sweetie and I were talking. We were talking to a minister, in preparation for a wedding, and we were planning to get married in June. It was February 21st, another very ordinary day. We were eager to be Mr. & Mrs., and eventually I just blurted out, "Well, could we get married sooner? Like next Saturday?," and none of us could really come up with a good enough reason not to do that, so we did. We got married on February 28th, which turned that ordinary day into something quite special indeed. 

So, here it is, February 28th...again. Sweetie and I are still married, and we are pretty content with the cards life has dealt us. We are not the same crazy kids who got married "next Saturday" on a whim, but we do still enjoy our life together, and we occasionally still do crazy things. These days, crazy might be more staying out past 10 o'clock, and less like the "Hey, Baby! Let's go to Vegas!" of our youth, but as long as we're together, it's all good.  :)

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!

No big plans for today...there has already been knitting (of course), 

and there may be some spinning (on that new TurtleMade spindle - I love it!)...

and Sweetie has promised to hang a new picture frame in the hall for me.

Yep. We are livin' the dream, baby!

What are YOUR real-life dreams-come-true? :)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Hump Day...

You know what I often need to get me through "hump day?"

I just need a little, itty-bitty, 

Cat Nap!

And maybe some chocolate.

If only I could knit all day at work...

What's getting you through the week? Napping? A little sock knitting?

Whatever is getting you through, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health as we all work our way towards the weekend! 

Hairy Stuff!

Cat-hair disclaimer: Life in a house with cats means that I live with some pretty hairy stuff! Even my knitting gets hairy sometimes, so if you're allergic, perhaps this is not the post for you...

First up, Alpaca Hat for a dear friend in this frigid zone:

Honestly, I think most of the "hairy" on this hat is the alpaca in the yarn, but you never can tell for sure. Cat hair gets everywhere, and my cats are naturally drawn to the alpaca yarns and fibers. Actually, I'm glad this one left my house before some cat sucked on it or chewed a hole in it!

Next up, Cuff-to-Cuff cardigan for me!

It's half-done, as you can see, and it is just cat-hair covered! Of course, so am I most days, so who will notice? The sweater body is about half-done, and I can barely wait to wear it!

Next up, I've also been doing some spinning, and it was pretty hairy!

The fiber is a mystery blend from a friend, and while the colors are pretty, I'm not sure I'm enjoying the fiber prep. I did enjoy making a center pull ball of singles, however, then creating a two-ply, using ALL OF THE YARN! That felt really good, even though there were a couple of "hairy" tangles during the plying...I don't have any specs measured for this one yet, but I'll put them out there when I do. :)

Lastly, these socks

and booties, made from the same yarn!

These are not so "hairy," that you can see, but that's because of the variegated yarn...it is great for hiding cat hairs and flaws! It is not great at hiding that little pink tail peeking out between the brown toe stitches on that second bootie, tho! lol! I'll be making two or three pair of these, and I hope that some of them will end up matching. All in all, I guess the knitting hasn't been too hairy, really. And I can't wait to share these booties with some tiny toes! 

Finally, before I sign off, I'd like to share one more reason the knitting (and everything in my Pretty little house) has been so hairy lately. This cat loves to take a proper nap, in the sun, on the lap of this knitter (preferably while watching an episode of Downton Abbey)! There really is nothing hairier than that!

On a cold winter's day, it is good to stay warm under a pile o'cats and knitting. I hope that you are  also keeping warm, however you prefer...maybe a little Irish coffee? 

Wherever you find your warmth, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Lent Me Your Ear!

So I can tell you about my grandkids! I know, I know. Lent has nothing to do with grandkids, but today is the start of Lent, and the first blog post after my most recent trip to see the girls, so it is what it is. Let me tell you about tiny fingers...

...that fall asleep to my knitting.

Let me tell you about a little Peanut that likes to curl up with Pop Pop to read and play magazine games!

Let me tell you about a love between Pop Pop and that newest Sweet Pea!

Let me tell you how smart that toddler-turned-little-kid is getting to be...finding all the silly stuff on that page. (You don't sleep at the basketball game! That's silly, Pop Pop!)

We had so much fun visiting the girls, and we all cried when it was time to come home. But when I opened my Kindle at the office the next day, 

...it was like they were still right here with me! Thank you Mork and Mindy for not minding that we love to visit frequently, and thank you for giving us two beautiful reasons to keep those visits high on our priority list! We love you!

So thankful (once again) for the ways technology keeps us together, even across hundreds of miles. If I give up anything for Lent this year, it won't be social media (I might miss a picture!) or technology, that's for sure! Maybe sugar...? Nahhhh. Probably not. lol!

Thanks for stopping by to hear about my beautiful granddaughters! I'm not sure if you're planning to give anything up for Lent, but I hope you won't be giving up your visits to the Pretty blog...or your knitting! I won't be giving up knitting either. Look! I've already cast on another project!

May we all Knit in Good Health, during Lent and beyond, friends!

Happy Heart Here

See? Looks pretty happy, don'tcha think?

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

A Little Selfish Knitting...

I knit. I knit a LOT. Ask anyone. 

Some of my knitting friends are surprised by how much of my knitting I give away. Some have known me long enough that they are no longer surprised. However, there is a kind of tradition in the knitting community for January, as the holiday-and-gift-giving-season retreats...Self-Indulgent Knitting! Last January, I eagerly complied, casting on a color-work sweater that was intended as a KAL for my local knitting group. (At least two of us actually finished our sweaters, too!)

This year, there were two babies born between Dec 20-Jan 8, and two trips to see our granddaughter (then our granddaughters) a few states away, so my selfish knitting ended up taking a bit of a back seat to the baby stuff! lol! Still, I have managed to cast on a little something for myself, and here it is:

I've been drooling over cuff-to-cuff cardigans for a couple years, and I've had this yarn tucked away for a red cardigan for a few years...so, thought I, it was time! So far, I'm not very far, but I think I am pleased with how it's coming out! I won't really know for sure until I get past the first front and can try on the half-sweater to check for length, fit, etc. Whether it fits me well or not, I am enjoying the knit - there are 4x4 cables every 10 rows, but the rest is just plain knitting...it is a balm to my knitting soul.

You know what I think I deserve for finally casting on my 2015 selfish knitting? Even though I've started a month late, I think I deserve a gold star, so...BAM! I knit one...

(I'm hoping to write up that pattern. It's a combo of some knit-flat-and-seam-together patterns that I saw, then converted to knit in the round...kinda cool, if I do say so myself!)

How has your selfish knitting/crafting gone in 2015? Or are you already knitting for next Christmas? lol! Whether you are knitting for gifts, or for yourself, thanks for taking a break to stop by the blog today. I think you should get a gold star for that...BAM!

Oh, and Knit in Good Health!

Black Cat Sat on a Lap, Oh yeah!

Black Cat: I like the couch...

...but I love the fleece-covered lap even more.

White Cat: The floor is safer.

Black Cat: Is that a DOG toy?

White Cat: It is. Dogs really know how to live.

Black Cat: Don't be ridiculous! The lap with the fleece...now, that's the place to be! Ahhh!

Wait a second...what is happening here...?

Gah! I'm wearing a dog sweater! White Cat! Hellllp!

White Cat: What? I told you, dogs know how to live...

Black Cat: What is the matter with you, White Cat? Sweaters are stupid!

White Cat: Still enjoying the lap, then...?

It's a perfectly good lap, you know...

Black Cat: Shut up.

Pretty: Whatever you're into, whether it's couches or fleece-covered laps, I hope you have someplace warm to cozy up this winter, especially since that silly groundhog saw his shadow!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

The Knitter's Instant Gratification

Sometimes I give a knitted gift...and then I never see it again. Since I do not live with all of the people that I give knitting to, and since some of the gifts are socks (which I might not see if the recipient is wearing shoes), I try not to let this bother me. I do not have to see the item(s) in use to assume that they are actually in use...I can make that assumption on my own, with or without visual confirmation. While it is generally not within any industry's best practices to assume things, I think this kind of assumption is a good one for me, as a knitter. I assume that you like the gift, and you do not destroy my ego by telling me you do not. (All of a sudden, I hear my mother's voice, "I know it's ugly. Just take it and thank your grandma...she gave it to you because she loves you." There's some irony, huh?)

Anyway, and with all that back-story in place, I have to thank a couple of very special people who did not force me to make any assumptions this weekend! First up, this momma, who received the sweater at church and immediately put it on the baby it was intended for...even though it really was plenty warm inside without it. 

Then she and the daddy gushed, and they gushed, and she gushed some more. :) You're welcome, Owl-y Baby Sweater Wearer and his parents! (By the way, they also gushed appropriately at the pink sweater, for a little sister that is still cookin' in her belly...this is a very knit-worthy family!)

You might not have guessed that Dollface (the deny-er of the hand-wash socks) is my next special lady to thank...after all, she just got done denying a pair of hand knit socks. I assume that is truly out of respect for the knitting and the knitter, so I am totally ok with that. And look at this:

Immediately upon receiving a sweater for the grand-dog, it went straight on him! Isn't he just the adorable-est??? (That's rhetorical, by the way...we all know he is...lol!) As I look at that picture again, you know what I have to do, right? Yep, it's already cast on, this time with some fancy color-work and a hood! (Gah! The cute will probably knock me right over when she puts a hand-knit hoodie on that pup! Gahhhhhh!!!)

Thank you, Owl-y Baby Sweater Wearer's Parents and Dollface, for your appropriate gushing and for reinforcing that knitting=love! This has been a very wonderful, instant-gratification kind of knitting week for Pretty, and I couldn't be happier about my recent home runs with yarn!  

Thanks for stopping by, friends! Tell me, what victories have you claimed in your crafting this week? I hope that your yarn has been knot free, soft and wonderful, and that all your hand-knit-or-crochet gifts have been well-received and thoroughly gushed over!

Knit in Good Health!