Knitting and Cats.

Today Jose and I are meeting my mom in Dallas to go look at a couple more wedding venues. I'm hoping that after this weekend we will know for sure where and when our wedding will be. I cannot wait to finally get that set in stone.

As I mentioned yesterday,  I am currently working on the Make Up Your Mind Racerback Tank from this summer's issue of Knitty. I'm on the final stitch pattern and am close to splitting for the armholes. So far I've enjoyed this pattern for the most part, except for the fourth pattern, or the "Hindu Pillar" stitch. I love the way it looks, but the three-stitch clusters done all across every other row killed my hands. I actually ended up cutting that section a bit short and just planned to make the next section longer.

I said I'd try to have a progress picture, so here it is. I'm using a Classic Elite yarn that I got on clearance and I'm using my Knit Picks Options needles, which are amazing. If you're looking for a set of interchangeable needles, I recommend checking those out.

It took me forever to get a picture of this without Augustus in the picture! Every time I'd move him and get my camera ready, he'd come back and lay down on my knitting! I had a conversation with one of my friends that graduated from the same Fibers program I'm in about how cats probably love living with Fibers majors, but it can be a pain for the human. I didn't grow up with cats, so sometimes I'll still leave my knitting out on Jose's couch an return to yarn spread out all over the living room. The dogs at my parents' house never cared for my crafts!

I decided since my cat tried to squeeze his way into this blog post, this would be a good time to mention one of my favorite Etsy shops: The Willow Goose. Kylie at The Willow Goose makes adorable dog and cat collars, leashes, and toys. Each of my cats wears a Willow Goose collar, and they have a catnip toy that they love to play with/try to destroy. The cat collars come with little bells on them and each cat collar is made with a breakaway buckle, so if your cat gets caught on something and struggles, they can get themselves free.  I really need to get a couple of small dog collars to give to my family dogs.

My cats also have this catnip toy shaped like a rain cloud. I only got one because only Othello likes catnip, but Augustus loves this toy too. I think he likes the blue "rain drops" that dangle down and the texture of the rain cloud. I really need to order a couple more toys so they'll stop fighting over it.

Oh and the best part is that 10% of the profits go to Furry Friends Rescue, which is a dog and cat rescue organization in California.

Well, I'm off for now so I can get ready to venue hunt. Have a great weekend!

-- Laura