It has been a quiet few days round here. Perhaps inevitably, my burst of hat-related energy was followed by an evil bout of post-stroke fatigue that has been all the more galling because I had been so looking forward to this week. Felix is in Edinburgh, and we had some fun things planned, none of which I have been able to do because I’ve been so damn tired. But happily today I did manage to haul myself out of the house and round to Mel’s for an afternoon of convivial knitting. The magnificent beast at the top of this post is Mel’s cat Moose — perhaps the superlative feline knitting companion. Please to note, in the photograph above, the insistent — yet respectful — way he has claimed Mel’s knitting as his own.
Unlike my own animals, who seem to enjoy disrupting yarn-related activity, Moose is a very calming and relaxing presence. Here, for example, he takes a wee snooze on my knee while the knitterly business of the room goes on around him.
And here he reveals himself as a cat of taste, displaying his approval of a couple of tasty balls of Rowan fine tweed, and Mel’s recently completed Betty Mouat sweaters – yes, that’s plural – of which more later.
Felix is sporting marvelous socks (spoils of a recent trip to Estonia), and knitting up a Deco in John Arbon’s new yarn, inspired by the pastel Art Deco buildings she saw in Miami.
Mel is knitting the Latvian Garden Blanket in some very pleasing shades of Jamieson and Smith.
and I am working on a pair of fingerless gloves to match last week’s hat.
After a tedious few days, it was lovely to spend the afternoon in the company of two of my very favourite people.
. . .and one of my favourite cats.
In other news:
:: I don’t know if the Rowan members out there have already seen the digital edition of Magazine no. 50? There’s all sorts of interesting additional behind-the-scenes content, including photoshoots and video interviews with Rowan’s designers . . . and, if you turn to pages 40-41, you can click through to see another wee video accompanying my feature on Shetland lace. This footage comes from the epic day when Mel, Emma and I drove the length of Shetland, took 8 boats, and braved the queasy horrors of some very choppy water between the mainland and Whalsay, to go and visit Ina Irvine and Hazel Laurenson. Ina and Hazel are two of the talented women involved in the Shetland Fine Lace Project , and, despite my shaky camera, you can get a taste of their marvelous knitting, which is on sale in the Shetland Museum Shop.
:: If you are out and about in Dublin next week, I’ll be at This is Knit’s annual yarn-tasting and am also looking forward to meeting the wonderful knitters who made my blanket. I think the yarn tasting may well be sold out now, but if you’ve booked, I’ll see you there!
As you might imagine, I’m hoping for a bit of an energy boost to carry me across the sea to Ireland. More on my return!
Aww, this choked me up a little as we just had to put out cat to sleep last week. He was the ultimate knitting companion! Glad you had a nice afternoon out with your trusty knitpals:)
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beautiful knitting kate. thank you for sharing.
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What a perfect taste this lovely cat has. Once again, this is the proof that everything relies on education. All the best to you, green-eyed boy. Take good care of you, Kate.
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Cats do know good wool!
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As just love any and all cats and Moose makes my want to bury my face in his soft fur. And I’m excited about the matching mittens! Take care of yourself. Just remember when you’re in the valley, you will get to the mountain top and when you’re on top of the mountain, you can expect the valley. And the best thing to remember is that you’ll never stay in the valley!
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Can I ask a daft question? Where did your friends get Moose? I ask because he’s the spitting image of my cat Paws who I got from the Edinburgh Cat Protection League almost exactly three years ago, when he was about one year old. And I know Paws had a brother who was adopted seperately.
Lots of pictures of him on my blog…http://spinningfishwife.blogspot.com/search?q=paws
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Here: I send you a lot of energy! I’m looking forward to your fingerless mittens pattern …
Schokosanne
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I do hope you get to Dublin and meet the knitters of that beautiful blanket. Say hi to the This is Knit people for me. I met them early on when they were in a far less fancy location. One of their staff bought my Ashford spinning wheel when we left Dublin to move to Seattle. Maybe she was one of the knitters of the blanket.
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Love the photos, and all the knitty talk; my cat (a Russian Blue female) loves fibre and yarn, particularly at the drafting stage.
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Ah how lovely is Moose – we had a lovely black and white long haired cat called Scruffy who unfortunately died about 5 years ago now and he looked very similar to Moose. There is something about long haired cats – I think they seem to have a really nice temperament plus they shed their hair in clumps which makes it somehow easier if you’re allergic. Best wishes Kate.
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I like the embroidery kind of feel to the pattern and colours of your hat and fingerless mittens, very happy and miniature :)
I didn’t know why so many people all of a sudden faved my Latvian Garden Blanket over at R – now I now thanks to one of your readers. You must have a lot of readers?
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Moose is very beautiful, and so is Peerie Flooers. I can’t wait to see the matching gloves!
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I think Moose is the long lost brother of my cat Lestat…..Beautiful pictures of him. It looks like you had a wonderful time.
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Cat envy!
I’m sure you have little time for such frivolities, but I was given a Versatile Blogger award, and protocol dictates that I pass it on to 15 others…so I am passing it onto you! I love your blog :)
http://eleni-drinks-tea.blogspot.com/2011/09/versatile-blogger.html
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What a shame that the evil fatigue hit during Felix’s visit but it looks like you managed to have a nice knitterly time on Sunday at any rate.
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What an absolutely gorgeous cat! And the knitting looks good too.
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I can’t wait to see those mittens. There’s nothing nicer than a day spent with friends, knitting, drinking tea, eating cake (well I’m guessing that you might have done that, it would definitely be part of my day!) and the company of a magnificent furry beast too, who leaves your knitting alone!!! My new cat, Florence, thinks that yarn has been created just as a plaything for her!
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Hope you make it safely to Dublin and manage to do everything you plan. Enjoy!
Looking forward to seeing the pattern for the peerie flooers fingerless gloves. I loved the hat, but knew such a beauty would look daft on me. I might well attempt the gloves though.
And, i wish you hadn’t mentioned the latvian blanket. I have quite enough projects on my to do wish list without adding to them….This blog is dangerous.
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Oh, I fall in love with Moose immediately. I like to call this kind of cat as “man-cat”. Their intelligence is unfathomable. My friend Dorothy got a British short hair exactly like him, she’s my favourite cat. I can imagine how happy and satisfying you were with your knitting pals and I will be meeting mine in the coming Sunday. We have a sort of knitting/crocheting gathering every other Sunday after church and I’m really looking forward to it ^ ^
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I’m glad you got out! I’ll never understand the cat thing but I’m glad it made you happy and that I can knit cat-free. Win-win!
Firmly set the intention that you will have enough energy to get to Dublin AND have fun. I’ll ship over a boatload for you to draw on.
The information on the digital version is almost enough temptation for me to become a Rowan member again. Last time, things seemed to get messed up and I only got one issue. Too late by the time I realized it.
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What a beautiful cat!!! I hope you’ll feel better soon.
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bummer, I’ll be in Dublin for a few days as of the 10th…it would have been lovely to get to meet you (though you’re quite right, the yarn tasting is indeed fully booked by now). Hope you have a great trip–I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve never been to Ireland before!
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Hi Kim
TIK have been posting online over last couple of days; some spaces have become available due to cancellations. Might be worth a look-see if you’re going to be in Dublin anyways! the yarn tasting is always good fun :)
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So sorry you are not feeling well. Glad you made it out to cheer you up a bit. Love the post. Fingerless mitts to go with the hat! How exciting! Can’t wait.
Laura
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What a wonderful feline Moose is, and clearly he’s a cat with much discernment when it comes to yarn!
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i hope we’ll be able to meet the knitters of your blanket too. just the idea of it makes me think better of mankind.
have fun.
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Kate I hope that you have had a restful afternoon and that your energy returns soon. I am spending my sunday afternoon working on warriston–I have just joined the body and sleeves and am knitting away like a house on fire. Would love to see more of the socks sported by Mel and Felix.
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hurrah! I was wondering earlier whether Felix was in Edinburgh – I had a feeling she might be. Glad you had the afternoon knitting with the lovelies. xx
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Lovely cat!
great post!
your blog is really interesting. I am also passionate about knitting, I love cats. They always surprise us
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Hoping you feel better very soon. It is so odd to see you all in long pants and socks…..we’re hitting 90* today in New England! I’m working on my Peerie Flooers and melting :)
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Have a wonderful time in Dublin …… I am currently persuading Malcolm that he really wants to go to Galway for the first Irish International quilt show next June!!
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