The Hat

This hat is stunning. It is the cover of Vogue Knitting Winter 2010/11. I have the yarn. I have the needles. My fingers are itching and the mag doesn't come out until January 4. Because of the cables, I doubt this will be a commuting project so I'll have to devote evenings and weekends to it in hopes of finishing in January.

Meanwhile, I've started my first colourwork project: Mittens. I've managed to loose two gloves in the last week...grr. But I can tell that the mittens are going to be toasty! I'm not doing anything fancy, just a stripe. Using Knit Picks Palette in Tumeric and Ash. I'm finally getting the hang of knitting one colour English and one colour continental. Now if I can get the hang of changing needles without dropping one. Toupie no longer looks up at the ubiquitous clink of a dpn hitting the floor.

I fear Toupie is quite spoiled with my being around so much. But I've learned a bit more about his "daytime" life. At night he sleeps curled up next to me usually at my feet or against my legs. Every once in a while, he'll curl up next to the pillows. Since most of my previous cat companions managed to hog most of the bed at night, I found this curious. But I've noticed that his daytime naps are when he sleeps stretched out: either on the top of the bookcase or diagonally across the bed. Only once in a while does he take refuge in the computer chair. Every two hours or so, he changes position or location.

My hours have been irregular because of Monlam, so I know he spends some of the night munching and roaming around. His little kitty friend hasn't been out because the weather has been so consistently cold, so the vigils by the window have ceased.

He has some great periods when he's been quite vocal (today has been one of those days) but for the most part, I don't hear a peep out of him. Despite having me around almost 24/7 for nine days, he's lost none of his fascination with any activity I'm engaged in, except knitting.

But this really has been the most relaxing time off, I've had in years.