Rest in Peace my Friend

Remy the Rat passed away early this morning.  He was just short of his third birthday.  He was a happy little guy who enjoyed human company and the occasional spat with his big sister, Gypsy.  He was healthy right up until his death, and passed in his sleep.  Rest in peace my friend. 

Remy as a baby.  He had the sweetest little face. 

Remy looks like a drowned rat....literally.

Poor Remy.  He is getting really old.  He's almost three years old.  He's getting really clumsy and his back feet don't work really well for him.  I need to clip his toenails now and because he is so clumsy, he can't clean himself as well as he used to. 











He gets a bath now periodically when he starts to look scruffy.  He doesn't like it but he tolerates it.  What he really likes is the cuddling afterwards and the toweling off.  He looks so fluffy afterwards.  When he is dry, he begs for treats, eats them, then takes a nap....such a rough life.  My poor boy.  He's so sweet. 

Look at that face!

Christmastime Means Too Little Time to Do Too Many Things!

Yay!  Christmas is almost here.  I love Christmas.  I love the food, the music, the wrapping paper, watching my niece open presents, everything.  Well, not everything.  I hate the traveling.  Why can't my whole family just move to my town?!  It would be so much more convenient.  I also hate the way I never get the things done that I set out to do.  I'm in the middle of 7 or 8 different projects that all have the same deadline looming over me.  And I don't really want to work on any of them. 

I did get one done today though.  This was a special order through Etsy.  I love the way it turned out and hopefully she will too.  It is an original pattern based loosely on another sweater I did a couple of years ago.  I think the color she selected looks beautiful. 











I also finished a sweater for me a few weeks ago.  I am pleased with how it turned out too.  The pattern is from Interweave Crochet Spring 2010.  It's called New Town Swing Sweater.  I get tons of compliments everytime I wear it and I wear it a lot! 

Oh My Gosh! I have to work for a living!

I started back to work today. So much new stuff to learn.  I think it is going to be a good year though.  The school I am working for has great administration and everyone seems to be pretty positive about this year.  Now that I am working again after having the whole summer off, it is going to be harder to find time to crochet and knit.  Oh well, I guess that means my time will be more precious and I'll have to choose patterns that mean more to me! 

I just finished this beautiful baby blanket.  I seem to have a hard time keeping boys blankets on hand.  I really like this pattern.  I kind of took parts from a pattern on Lionbrand.com then changed it up and added a different border.  I like the twisted border that incorporates both colors of the blanket.

I was thinking about trying some lace shawls.  They seem to be gaining popularity and might be a good transition back to more wintery items.  Plus I haven't done lace in awhile and I kind of miss the complexity. 

I Take on the "5-hour Baby Sweater" on Ravelry

I have a new favorite pattern - The 5-hour baby sweater.  It is very cute, simple, and gender neutral.  I have tried it in variety of mohair blend yarns and a couple of acrylics.  I also added a hood to one and gave it bear ears.  Now I have turned it from a cardigan style into a pullover.  So versatile!  Here are some pics. 

Above is the hood with bear ears.  Very cute but kind of tricky to take a picture of.     

Above is my favorite.  The rainbow color scheme is so cute and the yarn is really cuddly.  To the left is the sweater in an acrylic yarn.  Still beautiful but now machine washable!

This is the pullover style one.  I made it a v-neck so it isn't too tight around the babies neck and will easily slip over the head.  The sizes range from newborn to 24 months.  I had so much fun making these!

No Farmers' Market for Me :(

Okay, so I got up early this morning after getting practically no sleep thanks to Chris's snoring and just plain being up too late.  I spent hours yesterday making sure everything was ready updated my tags to include the sizes on things.  Got over to the Farmers' Market and stood in line...and didn't get called in their lottery.  I could have slept in.  I'm frustrated because I was really hoping to do it this weekend.  I have been so busy with moving and craziness that this is kind of my first chance since June.  I was in Helena in June and that was fun so I thought I might try Missoula since this is where I am right now.  But no, I have no luck in lotteries.  I will probably try again next weekend.  After that I will be up in Columbia Falls or Kalispell.  I've heard they are both good. 

Just in case anyone else has ever had this experience...It is not easy to type on a laptop with a cat laying across both arms.  Isn't she adorable though? 

Crochet ruffled baby set

I love to make sets for babies.  I remember when I was little and I loved a matched set.  It made me feel all dressed up.  This little set including the ruffled shirt and hat is so cute and I love the ruffles.  Blue, but very girly still. 

Recently I have been continuing in my hat compulsion.  I have made several more baby hats and a couple adult hats and children sized.  My current favorite is my spiral crocheted hat in yellow, blue, and pink.  It was kind of a nusance to do with the stopping and starting again but the overall effect is cute.  I love the edging.  Kind of a signature thing I do sometimes.  The ruffled chain twists around so that all the colors are incorporated and no one color is dominant.