and knitting, and knitting, and knitting….

Well, crocheting really. I tried for years to learn how to knit. Let’s just say the cats were always very accepting of my final product. After all, it doesn’t matter if it’s more trapezoid than rectangle if you’re just going to lie on it in the sun.

Crocheting, though, that’s a fiber art I seem to be able to get my brain around. I’ve been having great fun with it. I love yarn…soft yarn, thick wooly yarn, silky bamboo yarn. And it requires very little fuss to get started. I mean, I love painting with watercolors, but by the time I’ve gotten the paper rinsed and taped down, dried, dampened, paints moistened, clean water, clean rags…whew, I’ve lost my groove! For this, all I need is string and a stick.

So far, these are all of the things I’ve made, starting with the first thing I made and ending with the one I did last night.

First, the ruffly pink hat that might be for someone’s christmas present (and it comes with the reassurance that she doesn’t have to wear the things her crazy aunt makes for her). The scarf is actually the fourth thing I made because it took so long. I started it right after the hat, but didn’t finish it until after Cthulhu. And the color in the photo sucks. It’s dark purple with pink and gray stripes.

Then we have the tiny ninja, complete with shiruken.

Next came Cthulhu with his (ahem) mighty wings and horrifying tentacles. I particularly like how he seems to have struck a pose of staring just off center, out in to space. He’s such a show-off!

Then the weather here started getting funky, dipping into the 50s and damp and windy. Lots of places still had their A/C set for 90+ degree days and my hands were getting cold. So, I made a few pairs of fingerless gloves. I know, some of you might say, “What’s the point?” but I prefer these to regular gloves. I can still DO things with them on and they do still keep my hands warm. Plus, I just love the colors and the feel of these yarns.

Then came The Grim Reaper, who looks more like a gansta in a hoodie so it’s really important that he carry his scythe with him at all times.

Finally, last night I put the finishing touches on the Queen Vampire with the big head.

Up next? Nosferatu. I like his big ears.

And since I’m on a photo binge here….this is the splint I’ve had to wear on my left hand for the past two weeks. I tried to share the xray in which I’m giving the finger, but so far I can’t open the files. We have no idea what is wrong with my finger beyond the fact that it hurts. Not all the time, of course, but when it does it can be bad enough to wake me up in the middle of the night or make me drop whatever I’ve picked up. Bleh.

And finally, gratuitous photo of cats in shoe boxes. Spend tons of money of fancy beds and climbing apparatus for them and they’ll spend a week fighting over who gets the blue shoe box. They spent 6 hours swapping from one to the other two days ago.