Wow, Laurie! I learn so much from your knitting instructions! Thanks.

And also? Is this scarf for your mom? Hee!

forgot to add,

"Jesusonacracker" will have me smiling for days!

Hey Laurie,

Longtime blogstocker, first time actually admitting to the world that I am here. I wanted to first tell you that I LOVE your blog. Second, I wanted to point something out to you. You have officially moved from being a lowtech knitter to an actual teacher! You should be proud of yourself. When you started this blog, you were quite nervous about your knitting abilities, and now you are posting how -tos. I read your blog everyday, and have even printed out your tidbits and utlized them!! CONGRATULATIONS on a successful reentry into the world. You have survived, and you will continue! Take care!!

PS - We have an orange cat too...his name is Kubrick...he does not play well with others. Well actually he plays well with the dog...his name is Stanley...

Hi Mary! I may taunt my mom with this scarf, but I'm giving it to my friend Ellen Bloom, she loves the color orange!!

Whitni, Hi! Thanks for that... you know I still feel very remedial with my knitting on the whole... I basically only make swatches and scarves and hats. But I love knowing how to make different stitches and stuff, plus any excuse to photograph yarn is good enough for me LOL.

I think it stems from a need to pretend I am still a reporter. Except now I am reporting on ... the felted join!!!!! hahahahaha

That Ellen is a lucky duck!!! And I have never heard of the felted join...so cool...I must try it soon.

gnomes are responsible for everything. all i know is i didn't do it.

also, it's a good thing no one's taken to calling him "cheeto bob," because that has a distinctly white trash feel to it.

thus, i love it, and will immediately commense with the using of the term.

Dude, SERIOUSLY, you need to write a how-to knitting book. I have learned more from you in the last two posts then in any of the knitting books I have. Especially since the stuff you teach is the stuff I wanna learn (though I didn't know I wanted to learn the felted join (having never heard of it before) til you showed us ... but now ... really ... I know I really wanted to learn that!!!). And you demonstrate it perfectly. Other knitting books ... no idea what the hell they're saying. You I get.

So thank you, Laurie ... you ROCK! What's tomorrow's topic?????

hey Laurie,
I've been reading your blogs for days now, and, as my knitting teacher, Kathy, would say, you are at least an intermediate knitter. Me, scared of those evil dpns. I also think you are a very talented writer and should write a book. Also, discovered we share the same b-day! But, ahem, I'm a little bit older than you! LOL

Wow - had to write. Winter Haven's not too far from where I live in Davenport. What a co-inky-dink. Love your scarf - Got to try some me some Drops & Loopies. Great instructions - ought to be able to handle this. I've only been knitting for about 5 months. Finally taught myself the Continential Method after failing miserably with the other method. I've crocheted for about 20 years, so it's easier to handle the yarn with my left hand.

I had an orange "Morris" cat growing up - his name was Butterscotch :). Now I've got a fluffy siamese (Jazzy) & a very fat black & white kitty (Rizzo - Rizzy for short). Along with a Lhasa Apso (Sadie) who "thinks" she's a cat too. Quite fun! Had to write - I love your Blog. Keep up your wonderful blog, you're an amazing person & a great inspiration. Awesome knitting teacher!

Hey Laurie, either you've solved the space-time continum problem or I've lost a day. I prefer to think you're just moving that much faster than the rest of us and it's Thursday already where you are!

I heart Bob & Cheetohs.

No way. I thought today was Thursday.

It's not Thursday?

THAT SUCKS!!!!!! I have been thinking it's Thursday all day!!

What's wrong with including gnomes? Harumph.

I like the name Bob, but then again I used to have a cat named Bob. He was pretty as is your Bob.

Perhaps it is time for me to start thinking about knitting again.

hey!
Someone pulled the old switcheroo! I'm Laura in OK.! Not Kat. But, love the name.

Drop stitch! Felted join! Laurie, you can explain these things so they make sense! Bless you. Why can't instructional books be this clear, or written in something approaching English at least?

Laura... that was confusing to me too at first but names are under the comment thingy. OH MY GAWD ya'll it is only WEDNESDAY. I was SO SURE it was Thursday. so so sad now.

Wednesday is trash day 'round these parts...yet even as I HEARD the dang big truck-thingie going up and down the road it did not register...it is Wednesday, get up, get the trash out...it must be catching. But I thought it was Tuesday.

You left me hanging yesterday so I had to go out and research drop stitches on my own! (Patience isn't in my vocab when I'm curious, sorry, I will not doubt again, promise.)

I too am the scarf/hat kinda knitter (at least you're attempting socks with the fuzzy-thing-we-shall-not-name). I've gone so far as to buy a book about socks....

Well, I feel as dumb as a box of cracked rocks. Never posted anything to anyone before now. See, Laurie, YOU DO ROCK!! LOL

Ok, the way I learned the felted join was to use SPIT....yes spit. I never did it because I just couldn't in all good consiousness give away something that included my saliva.

Now, I learn from the master that it can be done with plain 'ole water...or was that wine?

I also knew how to do the drop stitch, but didn't realize it until I read your instructions....of course my LYS mean lady called it something else entirely.

And here all I needed to learn I can learn from Crazy Aunt Purl!

YOU ARE SO GOOD AT EXPLAINING KNITTY GNOMEY THINGS! i have felt very... daunted... at learning anything other than, say, 1 stitch, because even the "clear" and "easy" explanations SO AREN'T. but then there is you! and you explain things! to people like me, who possibly try doing complicating things while under the influence of wine! please do these helpful little explainey things every time you knit something, ok? :-)

Perhaps someone has already shown you this, but...

http://secure.elann.com/productdisp.asp?NAME=Patons+Up+Country&Cat=NEW&ProductType=5&Count=1

Buy it all, Laurie, all of it in the world! Muahahaha!

Ahem.

My cousin just taught me to knit over Thanksgiving weekend, and I have finished 1 scarf and hat for a friend for christmas, and am working on finishing my 2nd scarf for another friend. It is on this big fat orange alpaca/wool, on size 17 needles. It's actually so similar to your scarf, but since I'm ridiculously remedial, it is knit in a garter stitch. Um... moving on to the point of this post...

I just finished with my first skein, and have been fretting over how to join with the next one, because the yarn is so thick. Felted join to the rescue, and just in time! I am so excited to try it! Thank you Laurie!!

(And, I wish I had found the drop stitch pattern before I knitted half this scarf. :( Oh well)

"Felted join" sounds so much more genteel than how I learned it as (stop reading if you're OCD)... "Spit Splicing."

I do love your blog. Your explanation of the felted join is perfect! I usually just run the two tails together for a few stitches, but your way is much more invisible. And thinning out the ends first? Scathingly brilliant!

So can we use wine to wet the wool? (white wine of course, Silly!) Would be a good excuse to fill a glass! lol

As I said yesterday, "You've got mad writing skillz." Today I must add, "You've got mad comedy skillz." The whole notes from your editor section cracked me right up. And the "Gnomes!" thing? People in my real life keep wondering why I'mm saying that all the time now.

Laurie, don't read the next 2 sentences. Attention CAP blogstalkers and commenters: please don't ever suggest to Laurie that she should take up standup comedy. Because, she would rock at it and would then spend all her time being famous and stuff and then we'd never get these amazing posts anymore.

Also, I think what makes the knitting instructions so helpful is the photos. So clear and well-labeled.

You must have thought it was Thursday because of the wrap party! Yes, that will happen on Thursday. I hope you are still up for it...let me know, please?

I love the felted join instructions. I always end up with lumps and bumps in my knitting because of yarn joins. And you know how you have to weave in the ends? Mine always end up creeping out of the knitting...do you have the same problem? I end up snipping them if they bother me too much...otherwise I just keep tucking them in.

Love you CAP, hope all is well.

If you're anything like me (and I *know* you are!), it doesn't really matter what day they call it. I was up at 2 this morning, frantically working on a new project that (for some reason) I thought I would complete by the time it was time to get up (6). Need Drugs. Please Send. Many thanks.

hey? where can i find me some gnomes to do my headlines and kickers? do i have to look under a rock? or perhaps in a tree? or do they just find you?

maybe i should pray to the gnome gods or something...

i love your cheeto orange scarf. it's fabulous.
i crochet but but because of you and some others i will start knitting compulsively too. i had a nightmare about knitting last night... for real...

Hi Christine, yes I am very excited about the party, I've been sniffly and sick for a few days and foggy at work, but I will call you today, I promise!

Yes... my ends always creep out too when I weave them in. Bleh.

Lauren: I could never do theatre or public speaking stuff, I'm way too hermitlike. I'm not funny in person, ask anyone from snb. unless by funny you mean "painfully dorky and also maybe crazy and also maybe dorky." Yup!!! Gnomes!!

glad ya'll like the nutty pics! I have felted a join with white wine before... don't judge LOL

Now I have to go buy all the upcountry.

Ya know what?! I just realized what I'm gonna start tonite to make by Friday for the Monkey's teacher - A loopy drop-stitch scarf!!!!! Kudos to you. And another sleepless nite for me!!!

I have to ask: what's a gerund? I looked it up, and consequently am more confused than ever: 1,A verbal noun that expresses generalized or uncompleted action or 2, any of several linguistic forms analogous to the Latin gerund in launguages other than Latin. (And then it goes on for another three lines using MORE words I don't understand ... and I thought I had a pretty good vocab!
A verbal noun? As opposed to what, a visual noun? Maybe a physical one? HELP!

about the gerund thing...

I kept writing kickers headlines that looked like this:

"Running Makes An Entrance At Cypress Gardens, Gnomes Prove Elusive"

"Moving ... But Not Without Gnomes"

"Dating, Not Just For Gnomes Anymore"

It's basically any -ing word used as a noun. I had a gerund addiction for a while.

Where I knit we call that method of joining yarn a "spit splice" but then you didn't want to know about the spit part did you?

This morning I had to make a quick run to the discount mega store (not Target) to get plates for the office snack extravaganza. On the way out I spied scarves on the end of an aisle. Guess what they were? Yes, loopy scarves. The entire scarf. Loops and more loops. The only thing that popped into my head was "Laurie". The yarn was big fat squishy stuff too. You're a trendsetter.

I got an orange kitty on halloween and was going to name him Pumpkin. He almost escaped from the box on the way home from the pet store. I told my boyfriend that the way he worked his way out of the box was like watching Houdini try and get out of a straight jacket. That night while he sat on my lap they had a story on the news about people who did seances to bring back the spirit of Houdini on Halloween. I joked that it must have worked. So the kitty became Houdini instead. Pumpkin was a pretty stupid name so he lucked out.

CAP, I'm so sorry that you are sniffly...but SO HAPPY to hear that I'll see you soon.

Cheers!

I really love these last few posts. I mean, I love all of your blog, but your tutorials are hillarious and helpful, too.

I'm sorry you've had such a rough year, you're a wonderful person and deserve only the very best.

PS: I love your blog.

Bob ANSWERS to something??? Dude.

One of my cats (Zoe) only answers to treats. She can be anywhere in the house, but she comes running if she hears treats. It's the only time she runs. Zoe weighs 14 pounds (she used to weigh *16*, but something's up and she's lost a little weight).

Okay, I have a stupid question that I'm almost too embarrassed to ask. And I've been knitting since I was five, which was many, many, MANY years ago. Here goes: What do you do when you get to the end of the scarf? Do you do two more rows of loops? And, if so, will they fall the right way? Also, I love that you're on the West Coast because when I come back from lunch, it's like a little treat when I get your updated posts. You know, when I should really be working....

The whole magic knitting thing is cool and all (I am totally copying this scarf btw) but the fact that you have an actual cat that actually answers to any kind of a name is a miracle almost as miraculous as the virgin birth. You might be able to get some money for that on ebay.

Nice tutorial. And a nice scarf too.

BTW, I totally get it about Cheeto/Bob. I had a black cat that I tried to name 'Black Cat', but he insisted on answering only to 'Chat Noir' [pronounced Sha' nawr, of course]. Uppity cat. And to think I saved him from the cold and bitter streets of Vermont! Then again, not being homeless anymore may have made him feel regal and chic, so he figured he needed a name to complement his new found riches.

I think there's post in there - gotta run! Thanks for the inspiration!

Kim.

Um.

Hi!

I HAVE NO IDEA. Seriously, I hadn't even thought of how I will finish the scarf. I guess I'll put a safety pin where the felted join is and then use that as my guide to tell me where Ball #1 and Ball #2 joined. Then I'll knit approximately the same amount of dropstitch as I did with Ball #1. That should leave enough for two rows of loops and a bind off. But I have no idea if the loops will fall the right way. I'll have to report back with my findings. Hmmm. Inneresting conundrum!

I'm assuming "inneresting" is not a gerund. I'll look forward to seeing how you figure the loopy issue out for the rest of us. Thanks!!! PS> Is it pathetic that your posts are the high point of my day? Don't answer that!

That picture was taken in the kitchen because you needed a sponge, of course. And we needed a picture of Roy's behind! :)

Thank you, thank you for the instructions for two previously mysterious knitting bits. Actually, I read about felted joins in SnBN but I had said 'h.e.l.l. n.o.' because of the spitty yarn and was not clever enough to think of REGULAR WATER. As if by some wacky rule of physics you could felt fabric with water but inidividual strands could only be felted with human saliva.. Bright Girl! Anyway, thanks! I hate headlines too! hate. hate. And product names (of which we have literally thousands at my work, and everyone is like 'let the designers decide, they're creative'. So far there are about 15 different 'products' with names of cats I've known. Ooh! Maybe next time I'll name a batch after your cats!) - - and since I'm writing a novel here I'll add that I think Kat has a great idea! You totally should write a knitting book! Your descriptions and pictures are so clear plus you are funny! And you could design it, it would be fun. Let me know if you need someone to write a rambling and pointless forward!

Having grown up in Tampa, I think Winter Haven should have been more grateful for anyone offering them gnomes, gerunds, or anything that would make the town a less likely candidate for Most Boring Town in America. And headlines? Blog titles, email subject lines -- instant performance anxiety. (Did Tomato Blight ever creep into Polk County??)

What kind of needles are those? Because the tips look very interesting to me. I need the ultra pointy tips if I'm ever gonna learn lace, and those look like they might work!

CAP, check out the Rabbitch's December 13 entry comments. The phrase "muppet pelt" has entered the blogosphere vocabulary.

you've been thinking all day that today is Thursday, I hate it when that happens. However I love it when I have days like today, I kept thinking it was Tuesday and it's really Wednesday! I LOVE your scarf and I hope the end loops fall the right way!

ohhhhh.....
there is a god.
the zen of felted join
confers peace eternal
i am one with the join
there shall be no other
joins before me
praise be to our auntie for spreading the good news!

I love the scarf, even in its Cheeto-y-ness to recreate it, notwithstanding the fact that it has been 4, count'em 4!, years since I've picked up knitting needles.

Thanks for the inspiration Laurie! (Of course such a project will be complete in the year 2007, or perhaps in the summer. In the summer I like to imagine I will have more time. :)

I like gerunds. And felted joins. (And bright orange. And orange cats.) Hurrah!

The yarn over thing? I tried it by reading directions on a pattern (evil knitting pattern writers) and assumed because of the messiness that I had gotten it horribly wrong. Now I know.

Thanks for clarifying that for me.

I love the Cheeto project! (That sounds like a secret government something that I don't want to know about!!!) But really, it looks great, and imagine that wild orange scarf with either navy blue or black or grey coat/sweater/clothes. It will be Great. Thankyou for the great y.o. and loopy instructions - so clear, so detailed (but not too detailed!). Especially good for me, as we call our dog The Loopy Dog. He is a black standard poodle whose continuously growing hair is only cut a couple of times a year - he would look marvelous in the Cheeto scarf!! And he would probably like it, even though we don't _ever_ put clothes on him. :-)

Cheetos with Chopsticks. My god, why did I never think of that? You've changed my life. Quite seriously, you have.

You make knitting look so easy. But I know the truth, and that one needle (crocheting) for me is fine and dandy, but you give me that extra needle and it's just headaches all over the place for me!

My grandfather likes to be called "Daddy Bob" and he often had cheetos when a lot of us grandkids were little (maybe not so much anymore). Anyhow, my cousin Daniel called him "Cheeto Bob" when he was little. Maybe your cat could be Cheeto Bob!

"Dude, SERIOUSLY, you need to write a how-to knitting book."

Yes. You do. Write a knitting book. I will buy it. And buy more of it to give away. Your instructions are the best I've ever seen/read.

Shouldn't I be working?

Probably.

I want to knit this scarf instead.

I heart Bob & Cheetoes too.

The knitting needles:

These are "Uncle Ronnie" hand-carved knitting needles I bought at "A Major Knitwork" in Reseda.

I have tried time and time again to find an Uncle Ronnie website with no luck. However, you can always call A Major Knitwork and ask about the Uncle Ronnie needles ... the ladies who run that shop are AWESOME!! (818) 787-2659 and maybe they do mail order?

So, what happens when you reach the end of your yarn ball while knitting on the bus? No sponge in sight. Which impulse wins: OCD need to keep all saliva in the mouth or OCD need to keep the needles moving? Do you spit on the yarn?

Just asking?

I'm so glad you explained the felted join. You had mentioned that in a post awhile back, and I've always sorta wondered how one did that. Way cool!

Oh, and I laughed 'til I cried at editor Joe's week #6 feedback.

You are such a hoot, Laurie. Seriously -- you need to publish a book. Do it yourself, girl - it can be done. I know I'd buy it.

Gnomes!

Krista... I do not spit. I am a failed southern belle, but I do not spit. This is why one always carries bottled water!!!

Once again, I love my Crazy Aunt Purl. She amazes me with her knitting genuis. Thank you!

(by the way, eBay had kitty-cat knitting needles up yesterday, I almost sent you the link to see/ bid on 'em)

Bob answers?! You must have amazing kitty-calling powers. My cat only answers to the sound of a can of tuna being opened, but I call her Grace anyway. :)

Hee hee .. "gerund."

Jesusonacracker, you are fabulous!

MMMMM, Cheetos.

We're going to Trader Joes tonight & they stock a low-fat kind that actually tastes pretty good & doesn't come with the cheetos guilt -- though it does include the orange fingers.

Okay, got all the knitting stuff. But how on earth do you get those little white boxes with your comments in the photo's??? Now that is boggling my pea brain.

That orange does not remind me of cheetos but of those saftey vest worn by hunky men at constructions sites. Yum! Ok, both hunky men & cheetos can be Yum!
Will you post your loopy scarf pattern on your blog? As I would love to copy it.
Also, do you really read all your blog comments? I would appreciate it even if you do have to lie.

Forgot mention I had a dog named Cheeto & a cat named Frito once. Both black in color. Go figure. Forgive me, I was 11 then.

Some of my faves: "That (insert object here) is so old, it must have been around when Christ was a corporal". "Don't make the Sweet Baby Jesus cry." "Crimoninny".

Wine for felting? Why waste it?

And we used to live in an apartment complex where a neighbor cat would jump onto our 3rd floor balcony from the roof to the total mystification and pissed-off-ication of our feline brood. We'd let her in, she'd head straight for their food, eat a bite or two, and then head for the front door to be let out. Our nickname for her? Miss Wallenda (of the Flying Wallendas).

Debbie-- photoshop!
Cristina -- I read every one!

gotta run, bus time!

Chopsticks! To eat Cheetos!

YOU ARE A GENIUS.

Hope you made the bus. You better post about the binding off tomorrow, b/c I'm starting the scarf tonite!!!

OMG, Winter Haven? You are a true survivor of Rednecks and Old Folks Florida! You really ARE a Long Lost Cousin of the Dugan Clan! I love the loopy scarf and am inspired to use some of the stash (in a wine color) on one of my own! Girlchild also says she loved the Muppet Scarf.

This started out to be a good post then segued into knitting. What is going on? I blame the gnomes...(now I have to go look up GERUND)

Film at 11....back to you Soba...

Laurie, sorry to hear about your languishing Fuzzyfeet. Mine sat around for a year...until you inspired me to finish them. Then I gave them (pair I had made for myself and the one I had started for dh) to my parents at Thanksgiving (they live in Florida near where you grew up and we live in the Midwest so that's the closest to Christmas that we'll be seeing them). I felted them after "gifting" them so they'd fit perfectly. You can see a picture in my blog here: http://www.tanapageler.com/life/archives/2005/12/leading_a_doubl.htm
After the were done, I liked them so much that as soon as I got home, I went out and bought more yarn to make pairs for us as I had originally intended. But alas! I have yet to start them. So don't give up - you have at least a year to make your Fuzzyfeet. :) Cheers!

I just made it home, am feeding the Monkey and printing out "Aunt Purl's Loopy Scarf" pattern to work on tonite. You are a lifesaver. But don't forget about the casting off post...

Laurie,

you are an excellent knitting teacher. Your instructions are clear and easy to follow - and the humour is always welcome!

Laurie - AS always, a whole hearted THANK YOU to you for your wonderful knitting guidance and inspiration!! :) Very well timed, I might also add - as I loved your loopy/drop-stitch pattern scarf idea and I actually began making one tonight myself to give as gift to my sister...and here I didn't think I was going to have time to knit her anything. She will love it too - she likes quirky and distinct stuff. As a lover of the blog and your wit and writing style - I would suggest a Crazy Aunt Purl knitting book be considered. I am sure your feline friends would be more then happy to help as well. ;)

And in totally not related to this post news... I thought you would like this t-shirt!

http://store.yahoo.com/zen/whatparofyal.html

:-)

Can't wait for the instructional DVD!

Can't wait for the instructional DVD!

I can't write headlines either. That's why I gave up and quote songs as my post titles. Should it scare me that I know what "gerund" means?

Everywhere I turn people are wearing scarves made in drop stitch, but until I read your blog I figured the scarves must of been made on some kind of wonderous knitting machine. Now I have to dig out my needles and see if I can make one ... I wonder if I can finish one for Christmas

I do my drop stitch the other way - I do the yarn over and then pull it through the stitch....which may explain why my drop stitches involve more cursing than yours. And my orange kitty's name is Louie (we never considered Cheeto..hmm), and he gets jealous when I knit. He crawls into my lap and up onto my chest so that he's in between me and my knitting. It's very cute, even if it does lead to weird pins and needles in my shoulders from having to hold the yarn up and off the cat.

i may, or may not, have a news alert on cnn to tell me when stories containing the word "gnome" appear in the news. that is all.

Hi, I'm back. The one with the huge orange alpaca/wool half scarf. Well, I only bought 2 skeins of my yarn and my gartered stitched scarf was only 2 1/2 feet long after I used the first skein, and my scarf is for a very tall person. Plus, it was kinda ugly. I love your drop stitch scarf in a way I cannot explain, so I decided I'd start a new drop stitch scarf with the second skein. I knitted the whole skein last night! It was so quick and basically completely impossible to mess up. AND it looks a bajillion times cooler than the garter stitch (and much longer too). So now all that's left is to take pictures of the two halves, and rip out the garter stitch half and finish the drop stitch scarf! Woo hoo.

Perhaps this isn't interesting to anyone. I feel this driving need to start my own knitting blog, with pictures and gory details. However, I am resisting that urge and instead posting my gory details here. That is all.

Laurie
I admit it, I am a spitter when it comes to felted joins. Blech! I always regret it when I do it...the taste of the yarn, that lovely smell of sheep and spit. I think next time I will try to ocd sponge way....if I am not too lazy to get off the couch.

Y'ou take beautiful pictures. Please visit my blog sometime.

Don't forget to mention that after you finish dropping the stitches, that you should have the same amount of stitches that you had BEFORE your YOs.

Ok, keep in mind when you read this comment that I am a Knitting Idiot who only knows one stitch. I hang out on a couple of knitting blogs, including yours, because a) I like your writing and b) I have a vague hope that I'll absorb some of the knitting stuff in spite of myself.

So yesterday I read about the drop stitch thing and even with your excellent photos I totally didn't get it - as usual - and was really freaked out at the whole idea and scurried away.

Then last night, while I was watching Project Runway and knitting one of my poor, pathetic little one-stitch scarves, the drop stitch directions clicked in my head!! I get it, I really get it!! WooHooooo!! "I have legs! I can see!" (name that movie) It's a miracle!

Thanks, Laurie. :-)

Hey Laurie - be sure to check your crazytourist email. There is a Christmas gift for you! Love the blog.

Jenna

There's something about the accidental picture of Roy that's cracking my ass up. I think it's the exclamation point.

Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're right, I have like 25 knitting books (acquired over the last 6 weeks - somebody block me from accessing Amazon - quick!) and not a single one of them really explained a yarn over to me in a way I could understand. I get the flipping it over the needle thing, but they never really said what to do on the next row. How the stitches were counted, etc. Thank you!

And I have 2 orange cats. Morris (I didn't name him - he looks like a George to me - blame my idiot sister - Morris is too - obvious?) and Ripple (after the Grateful Dead song, but everyone thinks it's because he's stripey - heh.)

Oh, and when I asked about Roy being a Lynx point, it's because my mom has one too. A female named Cleo(patra). She's a bitch of a cat. Talk about attitude. But she'll lay on your lap for hours, just don't move or you'll be sorry. Even though she has no claws and her two fangs fell out years ago. Ornery for a 13 year old cat.

Thanks for explaining that in a way that a beginning knitter like me (scarves and hats...and nothing else!) can understand! I now have a lovely scarf started with three rows of loops, followed by some of the dropped stitch-ness (only three rows so far, but I just started)...because I am a complete copy-cat. Also, I am using the third skein of my Thick and Chunky Wool Ease that I was using for my checkerboard scarf (have been working on that one forever), so I might have to go BUY NEW YARN! Love that!

Thanks, again!

Wow~! You are such a knitter! You are so very ready for Clapotis..no, it's not a disease (though it is a bit of an illness in it's tendancy for addiction!) I't in last winter's knitty..drop stitches..so satisfying and daring! You're there!

Laurie,

Your post has inspired me -- finally it is clear that the only way I will ever get into good shape is by knitting. Thanks.

Yes, I'm late in reading this, but I just got addicted to your blog a few weeks ago. So here I am NOT working at the FLorida RV Trade Association, and see you talking about News Chief - we use them to do our member directory and show guide. Deanna is a staple in our office. I thought it funny that not only do I knit vicariously through you (i'm a crocheter) (I know, I know - the other guys) but I know you vicariously through other people. Strange. I'm just sayin.

i almost named my kityy cornflake because i thought it sounded snazzy! she just looked at me like i was touched and ignored me.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a149/courtstuffs/everyone%20loves%20chloe/100_0542.jpg

as you can she, she has a bit of an attitude - she must get it from her dads side of the family 0:-)