Modifying and Tailoring

I'm knitting a hat with some cute pink bamboo/wool yarn.  It's for my sister-in-law (who, according to my brother, has a very small head).  I went down one needle size on the ribbing and two needle sizes on the psso stitch.   I've knitted this twice before.  The first time was with a cotton yarn and that was a mistake!  Cotton has no give in it at all.  The second attempt was with a wool yarn from my stash and the results were 180 degrees different.  That was perfect yarn for this project.  The pattern is a free one (of course!).  It's called Slouchy Copy Cat Hat.  The passed stitch over two knit stitches makes the hat look more intricate than it really is.

Problem is that I'm not sure my sister-in-law is a "pink" person.  And this dyelot is really pink (the label says "Snapdragon" and I'm not sure how that translates to this really pink color).  I'm sending it to her regardless and whatever feedback I get will determine how I tailor the next hat.

Pink Lady

I was supposed to start a new knitting project (a beginner sweater) but I didn't buy enough yarn for the project.  I need 9 balls of yarn but misread the pattern in the store and only got five.  I can buy more yarn, but, mostly likely, the dyelots will not match.  It should not be fatal to the project but that fact, and because I was swamped with work at the end of the month, meant that I missed the cast on date.  I think I'm going to move it to the end of my project list.  That project list being solely composed in my head so it's very easy to move anything to anywhere since I problems focusing when it comes to knitting.  I don't stay on one pattern very long before I see something else I want to try or when I just want to knit for knitting's sake and that results in me just knitting a washcloth with my stash of cotton yarn.   I'm so close to finishing my third ripple afghan but it's been relegated to the bedroom (the issue with that is that yarn is so tangled that I spend most time just detangling in order to knit a few rows).

I always keeping the current project on the end table next to the loveseat.  Right now, it's the pink slouchy hat.  But that can be problematic because Macy, who loves to lie on top of the pool table, uses the end table as a bridge between the pool table and loveseat.  I have to make sure the end table is fairly clutter-free and stable for her to walk across.   She makes me so happy when she wants to be near me so I encourage her if I can.

Macy's other favorite hangout is her box.  Just a plain cardboard box.  I recently increased her habitat by one by setting out a wicker basket.  Although she just accepts the cardboard box without modification, this is not true of the wicker basket.  She will pick at the reeds and actually pull them up and out.  I haven't heard her do this recently and she's been spotted sleeping in it so I think she's    taken care of all the pieces that were bothering her.

Unfortunately, Macy threw up in her favorite cardboard box and I had to discard it.  We had nothing else to replace it with until Mr. Grumpbump came back from BJ's wholesale yesterday.  Mr. G thought the box was too small for Macy, but I set it down to see if she would like it.

The cat trap is working!

It's definitely not as roomy as her former beloved box.  But she makes it work.   She's utilizing her wicker basket much more for sleeping.  However, for Macy, her box is her hassle-free zone with a special shield around it so she is immune from attacks or other stresses.  I'm not sure that this one will ever be comfortable enough for her to sleep in but she will sit in it and watch us while we sit in the living room.

One of the things that Macy likes to watch is when we can convince Delilah to actually be in the same room as us and we play with her.  Delilah can be so kitten-like when we use the cat dancer toys.  You can get her to put all four paws into the game, where she grabs the ribbon or cloth or boa with her front paws and pushes against it with her back paws.  Delilah doesn't bite the ribbon, instead when she gets a good grip with her paws and nails, she will lick it.  That's what she does when she makes a catch.  She licks her prey to death.

Ferocious!

Success!

 Our pool pump is broken!  And, of course, it is not covered under the home warranty.  The pool is now five days without the moving water and it is a lovely shade of green.  Pool guy is supposed to come out on Tuesday, but Mr. Grumpbump is going to purchase the pool pump separately at Home Depot to cut down on on costs.  The old pump was so loud!  I'm hoping that the new one will be a bit less annoying.   I hope this is the last thing we have to replace for a while.  Since our one-year anniversary in this house will be on August 16, we are trying to determine if we should renew the home warranty.  I don't think it will be worth it since we have all new appliances with their own warranties.  The only variables are the a/c and the roof, but I'm not sure that the coverage would help us with either.   I'm asking Mr. Grumpbump to investigate and figure out if it is worth the expense.