I am happy to say that Yarrow has gotten a clean bill of health from his vet.  His cone is off, his stitches are out, and he’s off the junk.

Before his emergency, I was in a serious quilt-prep stage  This is what I’m working with

I got a bunch of Tula Pink fabrics from her Nest, Flutterby, and Full Moon Forest collections.  Most will be incorporated into a single bed-sized quilt, possibly attic windows.

I also got enough to complete my acquisition-phase for a batik bed-sized quilt.  I admit that my eyes are now and have always been too big for my stomach . . .

And I got a number of botanic prints for sock bags, sports in quilts, and whatever else comes to mind.

After years and years of scrap quilting, it’s a real relief to have yardage to use for quilts.  I’m excited to see what comes next.

And now, gentle reader, I’m outta here.  I’m in Massachusetts, surrounded by wonderful knitters, and I can’t resist their siren song any longer.

When last we spoke, I mentioned how worried I was about my trouble-making cat.  Yarrow is healing well and getting into lots and lots of trouble already, even with a (kitty-sized) fentanyl patch, three doses of another opiate every day, and what must be a rather upsetting wound and, er, absence of an old friend.  Friday, he tried to get the e-collar off when we got home from the vet, got just his lower jaw out, and had a complete meltdown.  We went back to the vet for a new collar option and to allow them the distinct pleasure of pilling and collaring a very upset young athletic cat.

Saturday night he got out of both the soft and hard e-collars and cleaned his wound.  Lucky for us and him he didn't pull out any stitches or mess with the wound after cleaning it.  Saturday afternoon, I went to check on him and could not find him anywhere.  This door-opening cat doesn't generally close doors after himself, and hasn't yet learned to open locked doors, so I was very confused.  The door to the garage as still closed and locked, and I had opened the door to the laundry room to go see him . . . a minute or two of looking behind and between everything on the floor ended when Scott started laughing and pointed upwards. 

Nice, eh?  I'm not sure how high up that is, but I sure can't reach it.   We have since packed he shelves so he can't repeat that feat.  We have to take him on longer and longer treks around the house every few hours because, even stoned and wounded, he cannot bear to be alone and bored.  I'm working from home on Monday and have Tuesday off for Veterans' Day, so he'll be well tended for the next couple of days.  But that fentanyl is wearing off and the patch comes off Monday or Tuesday, so the excitement is just getting started. 

And now . . . proof of creativity!

This is what I've come up with for the linen quilt (it's not all sewn together yet–just units pushed together–so ignore the messiness).  I made the four-patch blocks ages ago and got stuck for a sashing idea.  I finally settled on that navy linen/cotton blend, which I already had in my stash.  The cornerstones are a mix of burgandy linen scraps.  That stripe makes up about half of them, and then I also have two different solids for some.  I'll let the cornerstones fall randomly, just to keep this from being boring.  I really, really wish I had a serger right now, what with all of that linen to overcast.  But considering the cat's vet bills, I don't see myself buying anything frivolous for quite some time. 

Our wool-thieving cat Yarrow is in the midst of a real health emergency.  He showed symptoms of urethral blockage on Sunday so we took him to the emergency vet.  Sure enough, he has FLUTD.  They've tried a few different things to no avail, so tomorrow he goes under the knife for a surgery that would terrify just about any male animal.  I'm worried and frustrated and I really miss Yarrow, my trouble-making box-addicted cat.  So send him some healing vibes if you can, and please keep in mind that a sudden change in litterbox habits can be a symptom of FLUTD, which can kill otherwise healthy cats very quickly.

Today is the day.  Go to the polls and exercise your right to participate in our federal republic.  

I voted early this morning and it was good to see so many people engaged in this year's election.    This is absolutely the most crowded I've seen the polls in the eight years we've lived in this neighborhood, and I find it heart-warming.  Despite the crowds, I only got to knit a few rounds on my sock because my section of the alphabet was under-represented.  I always feel bad being pulled to the front of the line that way–I ended up voting before my neighbors, who were about 80 places in front of me in the line.  I opted for a paper ballot because the electronic machines in my precinct have been having all sorts of troubles today, and I was very glad to see that the poll workers had plenty of paper ballots ready to go.

I feel like all of my serious posting has gotten me out of the habit of just posting about what I’m up to.  Of course, what I’m up to is making sock bag after sock bag (boring), knitting a gift (secret), working on a tutorial (unfinished) and plotting out a pattern for something you’ve already seen (meh).

So look–ponies!  Ok, no, Percherons.

These exquisite beasts were pulling a big carriage around Rhinebeck.

Let’s check out those harnesses, shall we?

He is well-kitted, no?

Rhinebeck also has great antique machinery.  I am a woman who grew up listening to and playing a lot of dorky video games, and believe you me, the machines sound like they came straight from a goblin’s workshop.  I do wish they’d clean up the surrounds and actually make this a living history shop, but I also wish they’d give me the Percherons, and neither wish looks to be coming true today.

I hope you’re enjoying autumn and huffing fallen leaves and clean wool.

U is for Upstate.  I’m originally from Rochester, but we moved to Virginia when I was a little kid, so most of my memories were formed here.  Certain things about New York, particularly autumn in New York, grab me right in the spine.  The leaves and hills and the smell of the air are so evocative, and they’re all at Rhinebeck.  Spending a long weekend up there reinforced my desire to get the hell away from DC . . . if only there were good game companies along the Taconic.

I had a great time there.  I got to meet Morgaine and Lann and confirm that they had indeed been the source of my wonderful spinning wheel, allowed Jeane deCoster to suck me back into a form of rug-making I hadn’t thought about since I was about seven, and was lucky enough to have total strangers give me great compliments on things I’d made.  That’s a huge, heartwarming, life-affirming thing, and it just may be addictive.  I also saw many many dear friends at the Spirit Trail booth, met some folks I’d been hoping to meet, fed as many of both as I could with homemade baked goods, saw some gorgeous knitting and spinning, and only came home with a tiny bit of yarn and a few projects buzzing around in my skull.  I’ll try to get the camera out tomorrow, but I’m fighting off a cold while also celebrating a birthday, so I’m making no promises or apologies.  enjoy your autumn, and get out and see it, already.

Jen and I drove up yesterday through gorgeous weather and lots of changing leaves (and possibly a fair amount of chatting).  Martha met us here and we had a great dinner and did a tiny bit of work.  Today, we set up the booth, eat scones and hazelnut brownies, and await Purlewe and Beth and Jane.

I know most of my ABC-along posts have been more philosophical, but right now I’m just excited that this is done!  I made this bag entirely from things I had on hand.  I came up with a general design and then jumped in.   I felted a bunch of sweaters, none of which were repairable, cut them up, sewed them onto scrap twill, made a reinforcing base from some scrap plastic, lined it with some leftover fabric from quilting, and added some buttons I had on hand.  I love it when a project comes together from what I already have–the best dinners often come about that way, as do some of the best hand-made items.

As with most of my scrap projects, I love thinking about where these wool squares came from.  The pale green was my favorite cashmere sweater (sigh).  The brighter green was a sweater that had one too many run-ins with Scath, and the orange was just never the right shape.  The browns were old sweaters of Scott’s, the bright blue is from a thrifted sweater that was worn clear through at the elbows and cuffs–clearly a good friend to the man who owned it before.  

I added a key-clip on a lariat, since I hate to lose my keys in a bag.  I also added some pockets to the lining for pens and a small notebook. 

My favorite little feature are the two side-pockets though.  I don’t think most people would notice them, and they seem like the perfect spots for silly little somethings. 

I still have lots of felt squares, so I can absolutely see a sibling in the works.  If only I didn’t have that silly job in the way of stitching.

This was a hard one–not picking the topic, but trying to decide how to represent it. 

Music in general, and singing and songwriting  in particular, have been important to me for as long as I’ve given much thought to what’s important to me.  I made this songbook when I was  a junior in college, and I’ve beaten it to hell and back since then.  I designed it with removable pages, knowing that I’d add and subtract things from my repertoire and tear out pages to give people lyrics or notes.  It’s one of the few things I’ve tooled that I still have–I tend to give away most of the things I make along the way.  I toy with the idea of replacing it, but I doubt I’ll bother anytime soon.  This is an old friend.

In the Woods by Tana French

I picked this one up because it's set in Dublin, and because it won an Edgar Award.   I was really impressed.

The book is part mystery, part thriller, part psychological study of survivors and murderers.  French is a good writer, and she develops two great central characters to build her book around.  Both are wounded, and both are bright, and the reader will root for them throughout.

Since this is a mystery/thriller, I don't want to give any details.  Suffice it so say I like the book as a whole but found the ending annoying.  I find that to be true with a lot of mysteries, so it didn't ruin the book for me.  Instead, I'll just think up an ending I like better for this pair of detectives.