Bunny Thumper Contest!

Kitkatknits is running a contest on her blog - it involves measuring your cat's "bunny thumper" - from the tip of their longest rear toe to their "heel". Presumably the length of the "sole" if you were insane enough to knit a pair of socks for your cat. Greedo wasn't interested in being measured demonstrated the difficulty involved in taking a picture of a white cat using a flash, and turned out to have a 5 3/4 inch thumper, which isn't the longest measurement out there. But it looks like Somerset might be in the running for having the daintiest Bunny Thumper: 4 and 3/8 inches long. Since it's impossible to measure accurately and take a photo at the same time, The Gambler kindly took a picture of me doing my imitation of a giant caliper: Of course, size isn't everything, because it's usually Somerset who ends up thumping the crap out of Greedo's head when they tussle. But enough about the cats... it's time for another Hourglass Sweater Update: I've decided to rename it the "Lines in The Sand Sweater" because I thought it would be bad knitting karma to refer to something as The PITSS. I am a few inches away from dividing for the yoke: I'm wondering if I should have gone down a needle size for the seed stitch border (a modification from the folded hem called for in the pattern) - I might do that for the collar/cuffs. I'm just letting the Silk Garden stripe as it comes off the skein, because I would go insane if I tried to enforce some order on its Noro-ness. However, I think it is somewhat fortuitous that that lime green section ends up falling at the top of my hip rather than lower down... I decided to change the striping ratios a final time, so the middle section is 4 rows dark/4 rows light rather than 3/3 - now I just have to figure out when to switch to 3 rows dark/4 rows light. Probably at the bust line, because my chest can stand a bit of emphasis! This is the first time that I tried the sweater on; the pre-blocking fit is snug, so it should work out well post-blocking. My gauge is 20 st/4in right now, so it should end up being close to the called for 19 st/4in when all is said and done.

I am five.

From a Frankfurt hotel bathroom:Tricky Ricky. Hanky Panky. Tee hee. I remember being disappointed that the toilet paper wasn't nicknamed Poopy Loopy. (Speaking of poop: sometimes in hospital, when patients are having very loose bowel movements, a tube is placed in their rectum to keep things 'contained'. I recently learned that there is a super deluxe version of the "rectal tube" called the Fecal Management System. I don't know what is more disturbing - that someone was paid to come up with the term "Fecal Management System", or the fact that you can buy one on Amazon.com) Well, it turned out that nobody correctly guessed the inspiration for my creative writing last week. Not surprising - it was a bit obscure. Not Google-able. I can't find the answer in here either... There is a weekly CBC radio show called The Vinyl Cafe, which, in addition to music and stories with some basis in fact, features the ongoing adventures of a middles aged record shop owner and his family/neighbors. One episode was about a book club. Morley (the wife) joined a book club; it was one of those book clubs where people always sat in the same chair and picked obscure books written from the point of view of a piece of cheese, and generally made Morely feel like she didn't belong. The woman who spoke first would always say "This was a work of awe inspiring beauty which has changed me forever". Another woman, who was always the last to speak, would say "I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said here today". One day Morley decided to rebel, and sat in someone else's chair. This led to much consternation, and disorder, and the woman who usually spoke last ended up sitting in the chair which belonged to the "work of awe inspiring beauty" woman. So the woman who always spoke last found herself in the position of having to speak first. She turned red in the face, opened and shut her mouth, and then said "I have nothing to say about this book that hasn't already been said here before", and then glared at Morley, and then everyone else, daring them to challenge her blurb. I am awarding a consolation prize to Bobbi (of The Kelly Green Rogue fame), because she thought it had something to do with music, and the Vinyl Cafe does feature live (in-studio) music in addition to the stories.

Blah-ugh Contest

I have 11 hours left on call. It has been a hard week - this time mind-numbing rather than sleep depriving. This afternoon I was sitting, staring at a page in a chart of a patient who has been in the ICU for over a month. I had written "ICU daily note" on the top of the page an hour or 2 prior, but kept getting up to deal with this, that, or the other thing in the meantime. As I tried to decide what to write, the thought suddenly popped into my head that I would just write "What can I say that hasn't already been said before?", and then sign my name. Common sense prevailed, and I wrote a "proper" note. I will send a skein of Malabrigo and a big bar o' chocolate to first person who correctly identifies the inspiration for that line. Include your favourite colour and chocolate varietal in your answer.

What I plan to knit this summer...by Ladylungdoc

Here's my entry in the Skeins Her Way summer knitting contest. Courtesy of Melinda Feel free to name drop "Ladylungdoc" if you enter it via my blog. 1) I plan to keep up with my pair of socks per month resolution. June's socks are going to be for my Sockapalooza pal. If I finish them early (she has wee little feet), I might start a pair of socks for myself in a Bamboo Rib using my Regia Bamboo sock yarn. July's socks will be a gift for The Gambler - a pair of ribbed socks using Tofutsies yarn - I am thinking of trying out a reversible (ribbed) pattern with a garter stitch heel/sole. In August I will knit Tex Mex Sox - pattern to be determined. 2) I am going to finish a tanktop that I started a few years ago. 3) I will block my Tivoli and weave in the ends. 4) I will knit a tank out of the Earth Day bamboo yarn. 5) I am going to knit a Lily tank.