Little Knits

The last few days have been so lovely and relaxed. Yesterday a friend brought me lunch and we chatted. Then I finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Today? Lunch with a different friend. We brown-bagged to keep our choices healthy. Then we knitted. We knitted a whole bunch.

This is the meaning of life -- I'm sure of it. Lunch with friends, knitting and reading.

Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon for newest nephew.

This knitted up very quickly, and the Berroco Comfort yarn feels great. If I make this again, I want to find out how to convert a pattern from garter stitch to stockinette. Garter stitch doesn't have the refined look that I like to see in baby garments.

Love the Mason-Dixon Knitting

The Mason-Dixon heartbreakingly cute kimono is growing quickly and nearly finished. I hope it grows up before the recipient outgrows it. Making this led to my second knitting epiphany.

The first knitting epiphany was a jumble of thoughts: finishing projects is satisfying; children are small; therefore finishing a knitted project for a child would be more satisfying than knitting for an adult. The size of the child and the size of the knitter count when determining the quantity of satisfaction.

A five-year-old child's knitted garment is the equivalent satisfaction factor of X. A newborn's clothing, being ever so much smaller, rates a satisfaction factor of approximately 7X -- the purest ectasy possible when knitting. Imagine the equisite satisfaction and near instant gratification of a newborn's baby bootie. A full-grown adult's sweater would be X/5 or 0.2X. Being well-rounded and fluffy of figure, the satisfaction factor of knitting a garment for myself is X/7.

As you can plainly see, 7x > X/7. Therefore, knitting babies clothes is better.

Here's the rub (and the second epiphany). Kids grow quickly. If you cannot knit quickly enough or get it in the mail with appropriate haste, the joy is lost. Just multiply your satisfaction factor by 0.

A quick analysis reveals that even a sweater knitted for myself at X/7 is far more satisfying than 7X(0). If you're going to make this gamble, knowing full well that the returns are great, then clear your calendars and pull out your knitting needles. You'll have to sprint for that finish line.

The inevitable cat picture: Norah with her litter mates. That sweet little black thing -- all by himself is her brother Magraw. The black kittens in the litter were separated. Magraw is at Petsmart West and waiting for someone to adopt him.

The woman who placed Norah with me suggested we would like Magraw. She says that folks are very reluctant to adopt black cats and kittens. Part of me wants him to have a wonderful home, and I know he'd get that at our house. But holy smokes! We'd have three cats. One of those cats is eleven years old and pretty grumpy about the first cat.

Brand new and busy

Here at Casa del Sally, we have a new member of the household. Meet Norah. She's terribly busy. Her little tail waves like a flag as she trots from one project to the next. She purrs constantly and is a very cheery kitten.

Atticus isn't so sure about this nonsense, but he tolerates her. She follows him from room to room. He walks at a dignified pace while she follows him dancing a conga. Inevitably, he stops and she rear-ends him. He hisses and then they proceed about whatever cat business is at hand. Atticus has had to take more naps than usual to deal with the change of pace.