This is the Wing Top from Interweave Summer 2007. I used SWTC Bamboo in Sky Blue.

A fairly quick and easy pattern. I was slightly disappointed by the yarn. The last time I used SWTC Bamboo it was extremely soft and silky. This time it was a bit scratchy. My swatch did soften up quite a bit after aggressive washing. I hope the same will work on the top.

Lotusknits tagged me for the seven random facts thing, which is totally awesome.

1. I can say the alphabet backwards. I learned this because my dream is to be on Jeopardy and say the alphabet backwards. It doesn't really even matter if I win.



2. Fish scare me. I'm not sure why, but I guess that's why it's an irrational fear. It's the large bug-eyed ones that scare me the most. The pretty, colorful ones don't really bother me too much, so I can watch Finding Nemo, and sharks ,for some reason, don't bother me at all.


3. I'm obsessed with the show Lost. The only podcast in my ipod that isn't knitting related is the Lost podcast. I've never missed an episode. There are shows I like, like House, that are consistently better, but I only catch that when I remember it's on.


4. I have the biggest crush on Ewan MacGregor. I have ever since Moulin Rouge. I think it's the accent.
5. I've used an insulin pump for the last nine years.
6. I used to take oil painting classes when I was twelve. Mostly just wet on wet, Bob Ross kind of stuff. It's something I've always meant to start again but never really had the time.
7. I played Rapunzel in Sondheim's Into the Woods when I was in college. The main reason I got the part was because I was one of the few people in my very small college that could hit b-flat above high c. My usual contribution to the theater department was making costumes.
   

Hobbes Loves Cotton or The Cotton Kitten

Last May, when I got Hobbes, my cat, I was pretty much through with my summer knitting and starting on things for fall and winter. Hobbes was odd. I'd dangle bits of scrap wool in front of him and he'd yawn. I'd leave alpaca blends out in the open, and they'd remain untouched. I thought I'd found the one cat in the world who had absolutely no interest in yarn. This had its benefits. I could knit and have a cat in my lap at the same time.

As it turns out, I was just using the wrong fibers. Here are the remains of some pima melange that Hobbes got his paws on.

I found it scattered through the hall and wrapped around my bed a couple of times. Thankfully, I was finished with the yarn, and I'm glad it had use as a Hobbes toy, since it was probably just going to sit in the back of my stash for who knows how long.

To test my theory, I tried to get Hobbes to play with some other types of yarn. He ignored them, but here he is protectively clutching a skein of cotton.

He also seems to have cotton sixth sense. When I recently received a shipment of cotton yarn I had ordered for a new top. He grabbed a skein of yarn as soon as I opened the package and carried it out to the hall before I could stop him.

Why the obsession with cotton? Maybe he's just trying to tell me that other summer fibers have better drape. He's comletely ignored the hemp that's been laying around for months. He showed some initial interest in bamboo but has pretty much ignored that. Even the pima/tencel blend I had went unmolested. Hmmm.

I've been in something of a knitting slump the last couple of months, but I've made up for it by finishing two projects this week. Both are from Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits.

This is the Coquette Lace Tube Top. I liked the pattern. The only modification I made was cutting out one repeat of the lace pattern. I used Cascade Pima Tencel in Leaf.

The Drop-Stitch Lace Tank was a really quick knit. I Started it last

Friday and finished on Thursday. I used Cascade Pima Melange in

Tudor Rose.