Monday, May 31, 2010

The Continuing Story

Of the Dread Pirate Roberts (aka Westley).

It has been non-stop fun here at chez Whale Daughter, thanks to Westley. Even as I type this I have to get up to rescue toys and interact with my little bundle of energy. He's talking away, chasing his ball and hunting ants and trying to convince me that he needs second supper.

One of Westley's favorite "toys" is his Trader Joe bag (we're on the third bag now).


This is his second bag, which was retired shortly after these pictures. We both play with the bag. I'll put one of his jingle balls in the bag and Wes chases it around the floor, attacking the bag until the ball comes out.


He'll also hid in the bag and attack out of it. Sneaky cat.


This is why this bag got retired. It wasn't much of a bag anymore.


A job well done. Pirates love destruction.

We've been on a couple of outings, and mellow man is a great traveler. I'm counting on this, because we are BOTH flying down to Texas for my brother's wedding. He loves his carrier, and chills during car trips.


I've been busy, too. Remember that fabric I got at Fabric Depot? Well, I got the pattern for it (Vogue 8571) and finally decided to start working on it this past Friday so that I can have it for my Texas trip.

Westley decided I needed help with my sewing.


This was the calmest helping I got. It was So Much Fun to wait until I'd gotten the fabric laid out, flat and lined up, and then ATTACK from under the bed, rumpling the fabric into a big pile. This was especially fun when I was pinning pattern pieces to the fabric. This help lasted for the entire time I was cutting out the patter pieces (despite my many attempts at attention relocation). Then, when I was done, what do I find?


"My job here is done." Rascal.

Yesterday I worked on my dress (with only one mishap, where I ironed the interfacing to the right side of one of the yoke pieces) until I ran out of brown thread. I biked over to JoAnn's today, resupplied on thread, and would have worked more on my dress if I hadn't taken a 2.5 hour nap this afternoon. Maybe I'll work on it tomorrow.

I've also been knitting, and have 3/4 pair of socks done, but I haven't yet taken a picture. I'm using the Positive Purple Panda Soy that I got on my birthday yarn trip to Woodland Woolworks. I got the first sock done in 6 days, and should have the second sock done in a similar time frame. I'm already starting to think about my next project, which will be a sweater from stash yarn.

That's all from me for today. Despite my nap I'm still tired. I'm going to work on my sock for a little bit and then crawl into bed with my pirate. Thanks for joining me for another Day in the Life.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

More Pictures Please!

This post is in response to a request for my pictures of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Seeing as I'm totally smitten, I'm only too happy to oblige.


He'll just flop over and fall asleep. He is a long kitty, too.


I have to be careful where I leave my glasses, too, because apparently they are fun to lay on. Also, for the record, his tail just lay in that position for as long as he was on my glasses. It's like he's never quite sure of what to do with his tail.


He really likes sleeping on the bed. I flipped the covers back the other evening in preparation for bedtime, turned around to brush my teeth, and when I turned back I found this!!! Where am I supposed to sleep?

Sleeping with Westley has been fun, but I found myself getting much too hot at night with my winter sheets, comforter, and bed monster. So on Sunday I stripped the bed, took off the duvet cover for washing, and put on my summer sheets. I put out my brown blanket so that Westley would have something soft to sleep on, should he choose to.

Well, when it came time to put the cover back on the duvet and the duvet back on the bed...


I didn't have the heart to disturb his nap. He looked so happy and relaxed.

The bed isn't the only place where he lays, though.


He's decided that the computer chair is the place to be, especially when I get up to freshen my tea. Cheeky cat.

I also have a surprise that is not cat related.

The Hot Pink and Vintage sweater is FINISHED!!!!!!!


Well, there still aren't any buttons on it, but I haven't decided which buttons I want, and button decisions for a cardigan of this magnitude shouldn't be rushed. It is quite wearable without buttons (I'm wearing it today) and it fits perfectly. I'm trash at self portraiture, however, so pictures of my wearing the sweater will have to wait.

Westley has settled in for his afternoon nap, which gives me time to make lunch before I have to leave for class.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I'd Like to Introduce...

Westley.


Wes came home with me last night (legally). He's 2 years old, laid back, friendly, and has a clean bill of health from the vet.


He's named after the character in The Princess Bride.
His alter ego is the Dread Pirate Robert. Or Bob, for short. Just kidding.

He's adjusting well to his new home.


He spent most of last night exploring.


He's not the only one who's tired. I was awake for most of the night, too, listening to make sure he was ok in his exploring. Plus he's occasionally come up on the bed looking for company and reassurances that I was still there.


I'm totally in love with him.

That's all for tonight. I'm about to crash. Hopefully we'll both have a more restful night (though Westley got to have some naps today while I didn't.)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

I forgot!

I finished the first sleeve of my Hot Pink and Vintage Cardigan, and am about 3 inches into the second sleeve. I kind of stalled out on working on it, but I think I'll pull it out this evening.

Finished sweater, here I come!

I'll Just Make One Myself

I've been searching for a watch. Yes, I do frequently just use my phone or ipod as my clock, but I'd rather have a watch. Especially when I'm doing observational research at the edge of the touch pool and the aquarium and there are rambunctious children around. That just has "ends badly" written across it.

I've tried on several watches. I've tried on metal bands and leather bands (no plastic bands!). I've tried on smaller watches and larger watches. *sigh* I hate them all. The men's watches are too big, and the women's watches are somehow insipid to me. And all the bands either pinch or itch or scratch...it's bad all around.

I've come to the decision that I'm going to have to make my own (non-insipid) watch. I can get watch faces of various shapes and sizes at the bead store in town. I'm thinking of knitting the band in a wider cuff style, and having an overlay bead strap. That way I have sparkle without the irritation of the beads right against my skin. I'm going to use a nice plant fiber yarn so that it's cool in the summer (probably cotton or bamboo).

Of course, I'll probably be done with my touch pool observations before I get around to making a watch band, so don't hold your breath.

I do have crafty news with pictures. I finished my first plied bobbin of the brown alpaca that was a gift from a spinning buddy. It's mostly sport weight, and I have tons more roving to spin.


I used my swift for the first time when I wound the yarn off the bobbin. I wish I'd remembered to take a photo of the full bobbin. I filled it so full I thought it was going to explode!



I soaked it last night and hung it outside to dry this morning, and it's well balanced and ready to be added to the yarn stash.

In that last picture you can see the shawl that I bought this weekend at the clothing consignment shop downtown. It was on clearance. It's a lovely, lightweight cotton, and the dots that form the flowers have been individually tied before the shawl was dyed. It's going to be lovely to wear this summer.

Alright, it's time for me to find a snack and start to wind down for the night. Until next time...