Thread Theory

Missing a Threat

I am very sad to report the death of one of our beloved "Threats to the Thread."
Our dear friend Mr. Cat died this summer after his liver collapsed.
Harriet and I picked Mr. Cat up at the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook when both he and Harriet were 2 years old. I always liked to say he picked *us*. I'll never forget standing in the shelter's "cat room" wondering how on Earth I was supposed to select a cat from the hundreds that needed homes when a black cat came running down a ramp and meowed. The toddler in my arms leaned toward the cat, and the cat stretched over and licked her cheek. "We'll take that one!" I said, pointing at the black cat. He and Harriet grew up together, and I heard her call him her best friend many times.
He was kind of skinny when we got him, but he grew into a handsome, fat, squishy, lovable cat. He really disliked a certain standard poodle, but was very affectionate to everyone else and we forgave him his intense interest in our knitting projects.

As the scarf grows

The Irish Hiking Scarf is growing nicely. I find myself looking forward to that eighth row when I get to twist the cable. There is a free pattern for the scarf from hello yarn here
The knitalong for the scarf can be found here
(An aside: woohoo! I can put links in my post!)

I think I've figured out why I love this yarn, Wensleydale Longwool, so much - other than the fact it is 100 percent wool and warm and soft. There is a picture of this handsome, yet cute, yet strangely familiar sheep on the label.
The Wensleydale sheep recovered from near extinction in the 1970s, according to the Berroco label, but continue to be a rare breed. They are known for their blue-grey face and curly fleece. Hmmm. NOW I know why he looks familiar.

Here is what Arlo looked like when the Massachusetts animal control people found him last summer.

Here he is yesterday, blue-grey face, curly fleece and all. He cleaned up rather nicely, don't you think?

This particular yarn is discontinued, but now I have a new reason to visit the north of England! To learn more about Wensleydale Sheep, visit the breeders' association

A slow-growing sock

Olympic ennui has passed, and I'm back to knitting my very first socks. I know by perusing knit blogs that many knitters out there have jumped on the sock bandwagon. I can kind of see why. If for no other reason, they are portable. And the tiny birch double-pointed needles are fun. BUT (you knew there was but coming, didn't you?) ... I've had sweaters progress faster than these things. Maybe I have to get used to to working on three needles, maybe my hands are tired after rushing to finish the Olympic sweater before the mom went into labor. But it seems like these socks should have more than 2 inches of ribbing done, given the time I've put in. And that's where I am. Two inches of ribbing. This sock also looks suspiciously small. Fortunately, there is a 9-year-old, pink-loving girl named Harriet in the house who would love nothing more than to steal the socks, so I'm not worried.
Meanwhile, here is Mr. Cat (see Threats to the Thread Photo Album) making a double nuisance of himself this morning - monopolizing both the yarn and the newspaper. I'm surprised he's not drinking my latte, too.
Harriet and I are meeting a friend this afternoon at the South Portland Library's knitting group. I'll report back later. Harriet has a new project going, which we'll have to photograph in all its multi-hued glory and get up here.