Its time to put Knit With Cat Hair to rest.  I’ve been here for a while and I used to love the domain but the association of knitting things with actual spun cat hair stops being funny after a while.

So, I am moving on to a new blog - all the same posts, etc.  It will also be where I will post my designs when I make them, so I hope you will update your blogrolls, bookmarks and feeds in your feed reader.

Please join me at…

Squirrely Knits

There are a couple of questions that I always find myself pondering on.  So I thought you would share my latest dilemma with you.

I worry that this blog is a little too knitting-centric to attract readers from other interests.  I might like to blog more about my health, life, dreams, etc.  Just a little refocus.  Reading about all the excitement at BlogHer makes me want to expand my readership somehow.  Not sure how I would do that. I know I should spend more time leaving comments on other peoples blogs, but I keep forgetting.   I’d love to have a more interactive readership. So, what do you think… Should I move to a less knit-centric domain name

Edited Tuesday 22nd July.

I removed the poll that I had on the site about moving domain name. Out of the five votes that were cast, two said to stay on here, the other three said it was my own decision to make.

People who know me IRL will know that paper versus online is something I deal with all the time. I worry about the future - I’m am was a librarian. Its what I do.  I worry if there isn’t something on paper left for the offspring that I so desperately want, then I won’t have the same connection with them.  I see Mommy Bloggers get trolls saying it all the time - “How can you make all that private information public?”  But those blogs are so successful, and by successful, I mean they have a devoted readership.  Thats all I want.  Is that too much to ask?  And I don’t think I can do it if I am blogging on a knitting-centric blog.  Whether that means I need two blogs, or to remove one, I don’t know.

Can I feel free enough to put myself out there?  Am I brave?

What a rollercoaster of a day.  If you look back in the archives you’ll see that ‘rollercoaster’ is how I describe a lot of my days where I actually leave the flat.  But it tends to be true.  Right now a have quite the headache, and I can hardly keep my eyes open and its only 9.30pm.  I’m not sleeping great (note to self: ask doc about that) so that contributes to the tiredness.

But what a day - a panic attack in the morning, then pulled myself together enough to go to DH’s Church fair.  We only stayed about 30mins - 1 hr.  Long enough for me to be around more people than I have been in a month, and meet my DH’s ‘best friend’ from Church and her family, so they know when he complains about what a suck I am on his life, they know what I look like now.  We leave the fair with the whimsical idea of getting a fish tank (there was a stall where you could win goldfish at the fair) and head to the nearest big pet store.  We spend some time deliberating over whether to get a goldfish, then realise that we hardly have time for the cats, never mind fish, and oh yeah - cats and fish as pets are not necessarily a great combination.  We left with lots of wild bird feed to put out since would wild feathered friends have been neglected of late.  When we got home we rested for a while and then decided to try out Mario Kart for the Wii.  DH has been keen to find a game we’ll play together for a while.  I had fun, though I kept forgetting to actually turn the wheel to make the car turn corners *duh*.  I think I am at a disadvantage as I don’t know how to drive.  Anyway, it was fun though it hurt my arms.  Later we had dinner and watched ‘Be Kind Rewind‘ which had me totally hooked for the whole film.  It was nice to see Jack Black not over acting for a change.

Now I am here writing a way to detailed blog post about what I did today.  The higher points of the rollercoaster involved being inspired to sew my own clothing (I’d love to make a shirt dress that fits my larger size - must look for patterns), and considering my first knitting pattern to be the scarf that I am making my dad for Christmas.  I am going to go look at my cables stitchionary in a second and see if I get inspired.

A lot of bloggers that I read are getting excited about the BlogHer (who kindly agreed to put their ads on my site, feel free to click on them if you see something that interests you). I wonder if its the kind of event I’ll get to go to some day.  You have to aspire to something, right?

Well, sicker than normal. An infection (throat or chest, we can’t decide which) has had me collapsed since the weekend. I was getting to so enjoy getting out of the flat, even if it were only for a few minutes too. But it has been raining on and off since Sunday. The weather also affects my mood. Something to do with the barometric pressure - I’ll google it some day.

I have finished one of my Christmas knitting projects but haven’t gotten around to taking a pic of it yet. I started another project that was going to be a birthday present but as of tomorrow will be late. Oh well, her main present came early so this can be late.  I’m excited about the knitting projects that I have on my to do list (have a look at my ravelry queue if you like) and its almost like I can’t get through them quick enough.  But when I get frustrated my DH has to remind me - I have cfs, I can’t keep up with some of the people I idolize who get through so many projects.  Ah, when I get better, just watch me go!

The other things I want to do frustrate me too.  I have a digital SLR but no clue how to use it.  When I complained about not being able to get out and take pictures before, people suggested using my cats as my models.  When it isn’t raining I can use the garden.  The pictures might end up being repetitive but I’ll learn.  I might convince my DH to take some time on his summer holidays to teach me. I also want to get writing and doodling in my journal.  If I want to put together any of the ideas in my head into knitwear designs, I need to write them down and remember them.  I got no offers of people interested in helping me make a logo :(  I guess I’ll have to do more work on that when the time comes.

Anyway… Enjoy whatever weather you are having, be it boiling hot or pouring with rain.  At least one switches to the other eventually.

Because of my CFS I don’t get out much, but the last two days I have gone out with our oldest cat to play in the garden. Yes, play. This cat thinks she is a dog! I don’t have good video of it yet, but she loves to run and chase. Something we’ve never see her do inside (though maybe its just because there is no room) but just this past week that we have been going out into the garden on her own that she has come back to the door, meowing for us to come out with her. The game is that I stand at one side of our garden (which is really large) and call her and she comes bounding across the grass like a dog! I swear if we found something to throw that she would carry back, we could play that too. Our garden is quite overgrown and she comes back covered in pollen and with various bits of grass stuck to her, but it brings such a smile to your face. And its a little bit of exercise for me - just that little bit to built up my muscles. So its more that just a literal breath of fresh air, its a good breath for me too.

I asked you for your thoughts, and 15 of you gave them:

You picked out I’ll Knit You One Designs.  I’m sure my gran is up there smiling at the choice.  I kinda feel like I have taken on the family baton.

Now… the next part of the process…  any business worth it’s salt needs a logo!  I am looking for someone to make a logo for me and my new venture.  I’m looking for something with a hand drawn feel to it.  I know I could go make one myself from the stock image sites, but I’d like something that is mine only.  If there is anyone who thinks they can help, please email me. I can’t afford to pay much so preferably I am looking for someone who is willing to be paid in yarn, or minimally, or will do it just for the credit and good karma.

Feel free to use this form or email me directly.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I finished the first glove of the pair of knucks this evening.  Well, just before midnight.  I tried some stupid technique to make less holes between the fingers - still had to sew them up - and then I spent a while hating the textured cuff I had chosen and then about 3 hours trying to get to grips with the crab stitch  crochet finishing.  I can’t decide if the glove looks too hideous to gift.  I’ll knit the second one and see how I feel then.  If they actually turn out similar, it would be a shame to waste all that work.

In the mean time, I must go to bed because my eyes are starting to blur from that stupid cast off.

Did you vote in my poll yet??  Its there, just on the previous post.  If I don’t get any more votes tomorrow, I’ll close it and then we can discuss what happens nexts.  About discussing… Do people not comment any more?  I’m feeling a bit like I am talking to myself here.  Or it could just be the past midnight blurry eyedness.  Sorry.  But please comment.  If only to see what cool little avatar the Wavatars plugin makes you.

Yup, I have sunny blue skies outside, a nice little breeze to keep you from getting too warm, my roses are in bloom.  What more could a girl want?  Well, she wants to work on Christmas knitting and knit a pair of knucks.  A nice simple pattern for fingerless gloves.  The ones I making today are for my brother’s girlfriend.  The yarn for my brother’s pair is on order.  I’m not bothering to put it as one of wips on Ravelry because the last time I made a pair it took me just more than one day.  I recommend them to anyone looking for a quick gift.  And I will not do what I did with my last pair, and embroider the hands wrong, so the words were the wrong way round.  I don’t have the yarn to do the embroidery anyway, so it will have to wait.

The poll I talked about in the last post is still going, as we currently have a tie between two options.  So please vote if you haven’t already and vote on what I should call my knitting business!

n

I think its time for a little interactivity on this blog, just to make sure you are paying attention. I’m working on my first sock designs and I really would like to be a knitwear designer when I grow up I’m thinking ahead already and wondering on a design business name (I know, I think too much) and I can’t decide quite what to do.

Before the poll, I’ll explain out the options for you:

• Knit With Cat Hair Designs - yes, its me, but I don’t want people thinking they need cat hair to make my designs!
• I’ll Knit You One Designs - ‘I’ll knit you one’ was one of my gran’s favourite phrases - whenever I told her I wanted something, be it a book, toy, or walkman (hey, this was a while ago) she would say ‘I’ll knit you one’. I think it would be nice to honour that. But there is the worry that if I don’t follow this through, I’ll have messed up her memory. Neurotic much?
• Hazy Knits - simple, and to the point. No big story behind it or anything, just what I do.
• Or feel free to suggest!

Thanks in advance for your input!

Well, I could perhaps have broken my laptop today as I spilt some water on it. Its sitting with a fan directed on it drying and refusing to switch on, but according to Mr Google it could take 3-4 days to dry out completely, so I am using N’s laptop in the mean time. I found this list over at Tales from My Dusty Ovaries. Its a big long list of things you could have done. The ones I have done are in pink.  I really need to do more with my life.  Any thoughts on how?

Bought everyone in the bar a drink (it was real quiet)
Swam with wild dolphins
Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
Been inside the Great Pyramid
Held a tarantula
Taken a candle lit bath
Said I love you and meant it
Hugged a tree
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game
Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Grown and eaten your own vegetables
Touched an iceberg
Slept under the stars
Changed a baby’s diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne
Given more than you can afford to charity
Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Asked out a stranger
Had a snowball fight
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Held a lamb
Seen a total eclipse
Ridden a rollercoaster
Hit a home run
Danced like a fool, not caring who watched
Adopted an accent for an entire day
Actually felt happy about your life, even for a moment
Had two hard drives for your computer
Visited all 50 states
Taken care of someone who was too drunk
Had amazing friends
Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
Watched wild whales
Stolen a sign
Hitchhiked in Europe
Taken a road-trip
Gone rock climbing
Midnight walk on the beach
Gone sky diving
Visited Ireland
Been heartbroken longer than you were in love
In a restaurant sat at a stranger’s table and ate with them
Visited Japan
Milked a cow
Alphabetized your CDs
Pretended to be a superhero
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Posed nude in front of strangers
Gone scuba diving
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Played in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
Toured ancient sites
Taken a martial arts class
Played a computer game for more than 6 hours straight
Gotten married
Been in a movie
Crashed a party
Gotten divorced
Gone without food for 5 days
Made cookies from scratch
Won first prize in a costume contest
Ridden a gondola in Venice
Gotten a tattoo
Rafted the Snake River
Been on television news program as an “expert”
Got flowers for no reason
Performed on a stage
Been to Las Vegas
Recorded music
Eaten shark
Had a one-night stand
Gone to Thailand
Bought a house
Been in a combat zone
Buried one/both of your parents
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently
Performed in Rocky Horror (by this I mean went to see it in costume)
Raised children
Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
Picked up and moved to another city
Walked on the Golden Gate Bridge
Sang loudly in the car and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
Had plastic surgery
Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have
Wrote articles for a large publication
Lost over 100 lbs
Held someone while they were having a flashback
Piloted an airplane
Petted a stingray
Broken someone’s heart
Helped an animal give birth
Won money on a TV game show
Broken a bone
Gone on an African safari
Had a body part below the neck pierced
Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
Eaten mushrooms gathered in the wild
Ridden a horse (does a pony count?)
Had major surgery
Had a snake as a pet
Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Slept for more than 30 hours over 48 consecutive hours
Visited more foreign countries than US states
Visited all 7 continents
Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
Eaten kangaroo meat
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the paper
Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
Gone back to school
Parasailed
Petted a cockroach
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Read the Illiad
Selected one important author who you missed school to read
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Skipped all of your school reunions
Communicated with someone without sharing a common language
Been elected to public office
Written your own computer language
Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
Had to put someone you love in hospice care
Build your own PC from parts
Sold your own artwork to someone that didn’t know it was yours
Had a booth in a street fair
Dyed your hair
Been a DJ
Shaved your head
Caused a car accident