Tag Archives: cat

Little nippers

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Julie | Comments Off

I don’t generally do a huge amount of Christmas knitting but I made a couple of these nip nuggets for a friend. There’ll be a few more for my own girls pretty soon as they knit up very quickly and easily. I stuffed mine with a wad of wool with catnip in the center.

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Tagged cat, cats, Knitting, nip, nuggets, toy

New Year, New Opportunities

Posted on January 9, 2012 by M. Gingras | Comments Off

Design
When I found myself with nothing to do on New Year's Eve, I got to thinking about all the projects and ideas I'd been putting off. I was learning new knitting techniques in order to write patterns for items that I wanted make, but never doing anything with them. For some reason, I was inspired to change all that on New Year's Eve. I sat down with my laptop, some measurements for different infant and toddler sizes and jumped into my first formal pattern writing process.

I designed a yoked baby cardigan. I opted to make it striped to add texture to the product. Several hours and recalculations later, I had a finished pattern available for me to test. While knitting, I did realize that I didn't account for some simple things, like decreased stitches and such and did a re-write mid construction. In the end I came up with the finished project shown at the right.

I initially botched some of the blocking, but it was easy to start over. I then attached the buttons and it was done. It is now listed on etsy for $35.

I will be selling the pattern on Ravelry.com soon. I'm working on making it a full outfit that includes a hat and pants (maybe shorts since spring is coming up). I plan to have the pattern posted by the end of the month for somewhere around $7-$10. I'm leaning toward the lower end since it is my first pattern to post to Ravelry.

I am making the full yoke cardigan set for my husband's boss, who's wife is due in February. That will be in a spring green, tan, and off white with brown buttons. It will include a hat and pants, all size 0-3 months in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. It's so fun doing these designs and I hope to increase my pattern library quickly this year.

My parents have also wanted me to design them a Groundhog Day hat since they own a Bed and Breakfast that was filmed in the movie "Groundhog Day". I came up with the idea to deconstruct the idea of the groundhog and make it more like a hat with pom-pom ears in wool that was the color of a groundhog. Peanut modeled my mock up design.

Other news...

I posted before the end of the year about our sick fur baby, Baby Buddy. Although he was not diagnosed with cancer, he took a turn for the worse shortly after the new year. He wasn't able to digest food anymore, his growth had noticeably increased in size, and he lost more than 2 pounds in less than two weeks. At the recommendation of our vet, who just like me could tell he was starting to go, we decided to end his suffering. I'm sad to report that on January 7th, he passed away peacfully in my arms. He was tremendously loved and will be missed terribly.

Knitting Madness

I've been working on getting in contact with yarn sales reps in order to jump start the yarn shop. But after a poignant conversation with my mother, I'm having second thoughts. Will owning a yarn shop take away from my love of knitting? Will I still have the opportunity to design as much as I want to? Will the costs of owning the yarn shop outweigh the benefits?

These are some tough questions I will have to deal with as I get in touch with the yarn distributors. Mainly because it will be a stretch to fund the start-up of the shop. I don't want to have to take out any loans, but I don't want to blow my savings on something that won't pan out. I'll be thinking about this more as I talk with other yarnies out there. Please, let me know what you think, the uncertainty is killing me!

Coming soon

Spring designs. Even though I have limited drawing ability, I've been working on some sketches. Liking what I see so far. :)

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Tagged baby cashmerino, cat, cats, circular yoke, crafts, Debbie Bliss, design, Family, knit design, local yarn shops, LYS, sweater, yoke

Reflecting on 2011 and Counting Down to 2012

Posted on December 26, 2011 by M. Gingras | Comments Off

Knitting Madness

I never really cared for this time of year. In spite of the family gatherings and all the parties, I always felt so small and alone. What I didn't realize was that I was spending the time reflecting in my own space, rather than reaching out and making others happy.

Baby Buddy came out of hiding and went
right back to the tree on Christmas Eve!

And now, I can't believe Christmas is over! I've been running around, knitting like crazy, baking, Christmas shopping, and taking care of a sick cat. With all of the incredibly bad things that have happened this year, I had so much to be thankful for once I sat down and thought about it. When you look at all of it, I still have my wonderful family and many opportunities ahead of me. I even got my own Christmas miracle when I found out that we did not have to put Baby Buddy to sleep! They did not find cancer but we will have to have more tests run to see if his growth is affecting anything. He even started to act like his old self again and came to sleep next to me on Christmas morning (something he has not done in a few months because he didn't have the energy to get upstairs).

In between the regular Christmas-time running around, I managed to make a few gifts for the people in my family who have been admiring some of the things I've made so far this year. There was:

My two sisters-in-law were really excited about their hats:
Slouchy Beanie in Peacock Colors (left) and
Simply Elegant Beanie (right)

A pair of socks for my aunt in Arizona
A pair of socks for my grandmother
A hat for two of my sisters-in-law
A pair of slippers with suede soles for another grandmother (husband's side)
A custom-made sweater vest as my first Etsy sale
Finishing the hats that my brother-in-law ordered

*sigh* My husband and I also decorated the house and built Peanut's larger gifts. We also took turns baking: I made sugar cookies and oatmeal cookes (with dark chocolate and toffee chips) and hubby made three different kinds of cheese cake (peppermint, eggnog and apple). When it finally came down to it, we spent Christmas Eve at my father-in-law's house, Christmas morning at our house opening gifts, and Christmas evening watching football at The Royal Victorian Manor, my parents' Bed and Breakfast.

Peanut models in front of the Christmas tree.

So much love, so many smiling faces. Now I remember why I do what I do. I love helping people and making them happy. If I can do something well enough to brighten another person's day, I know I have a purpose and something to look forward to. Working in health care did give me that opportunity, I mean, I managed a clinic for people who would have no other access to health care if it wasn't for our little clinic. And speaking Spanish allowed me to be a representative for women's health education to a rural Hispanic community, giving those women a chance to learn more about important women's health issues.

With Peanut around, I want to spend every minute with him, watching him grow and learn. He's helped me to realize that there are many things that I love to do, but if I must help my family succeed. Why not do that while doing something you love? And this is why I knit. I love the arts, I love my family, and I love making people happy by making something that keeps them warm or warms their heart.

I am looking forward to see what 2012 will bring for my own personal growth and the growth of Cherished Moments. I'll be:

Frantically working on my business plan
Designing knit clothes for babies and children that have a timeless style
Writing patterns

and enjoying every little part of the process. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

Christmas at the Royal Victorian Manor.

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Tagged baby, business development, business plan, cat, cats, Cherished Moments, christmas, design, gift, gifts, hat, Hats, knit, knit design, Royal Victorian Manor

Fur Baby Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2011 by M. Gingras | Comments Off

Baby Buddy loved watching over newborn Peanut.
He would peek into his bassinet and watch him sleep for
hours at a time. He's a good big brother.

If there was anything I could learn this holiday season, it is humility, because you may have so many things to be thankful for, but you could lose them at any time. Today, I am thankful for my four fur babies. Especially now that one of them, whom we lovingly call Baby Buddy, has been diagnosed with a tennis ball-sized growth in his abdomen.

Although his growth may be benign, he has lost a significant amount of weight for a cat. To put it another way, it'd be like a human losing 50 pounds. His illness could be cystic kidneys or a carcinoma according to the vet, but we have to wait for the biopsy results before we take a course of action. In the mean time, I'm spoiling him rotten and celebrating all the fun times we had together.

Baby Buddy finds the funniest places to sleep.
His favorite two places: under the Christmas tree and curled up
next to the cable router.

He came to our home as a rescue pet back in 2006 at age one and a half. He's a kitten at heart and is always in a good mood, no matter what. When I got pregnant with Peanut, Baby Buddy stayed by my side while I was on strict bed rest. He even massaged my belly and aching bones during my rough pregnancy. Once Peanut arrived, he took on the role of big brother. He was the first to examine the new baby and would always stay perched over Peanut's crib and would come get me if Peanut started crying.

We got our kitten, Q, because he looked just like Baby Buddy and had a very similar personality. Baby Buddy and Q act like they were litter mates. Q doles out loving kisses and Baby Buddy runs around the house happily, knowing that he has another cat who loves to play with him.

Underneath the Christmas tree, waiting for Santa.

Please send loving thoughts and prayers to Baby Buddy during this holiday season. Although it could be his last holiday with us, he will have a permanent place in my heart. He's taken great care of me and my family during some life changing events and I will always love him like a child.

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Tagged cat, cats, Family