back in the swing

Hey, thanks for the comments about my dead cat, you guys. It means so much to me that you are all out there, feeling sad for me. What do you mean, there were no comments? That was such a heart-breaking post! No one commented? Really? Oh right, no one reads this. But thanks anyway, to the friends I know in real life who reached out and let me know they cared. That meant a lot. We still miss Totie around these parts, and I doubt that will go away any time soon. Sigh.

Anyway, in happier news, I finished the Hemlock Ring blanket! I don't know why I wanted to knit this so badly. The last thing I need is another lap blanket for the couch, seeing as I got a snuggie for Christmas (complete with one for Stella too)

BUT it is such a pretty blanket, and I happened to see the Eco Wool in a Yarn Store in Pittsburgh, and knew that the blanket only took two skeins so... I bought it. And then it sat in my stash for 4-5 months (not actually that bad, when you think about some of the other yarn I have...) before I got around to knitting it. And it might be sitting there still, if some of the other ladies in my knitting group hadn't decided they wanted to knit it too. We had a mini-KAL, and I think I'm the last one finished, but maybe the second one to block. And man, that was a trial.



Spanky said no to blocking it on the bed, so I had to block it on our stinky living room rug, crawling around on my hands and knees trying to pin it out evenly. And look at it. It's not even! Because I ran out of pins, and I ran out of steam, finally, and figured it was just for me, so who freaking cared anyway. That was after my creaky knees and sore ass kind of gave up too.

But look at that flower:



Isn't that gorgeous?

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed

Needles: US 10 for the flower (because those were the only DPNs I had) and US 10.5 for the feather and fan. I ended up stringing all my Boye cables together to make one massive circular needle for the end, but it was easy enough to use and worth it not to have to go out and buy a super-long circ just for this.

Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool, 1.75 hanks. I think I probably have enough left over for a cowl or a hat for myself, which I'm pretty excited about, because I really like the yarn. I don't think I could have gone another repeat and managed the bind-off, so either you play it safe, or you end up on Ravelry begging someone for a few hundred yards of one of their skeins. And do I look like that kind of person? Pfth. So I have a pretty big ball left, but considering that you get about 478 yards in each skein, I still used about 600-700 yards. Maybe more. I'm not real good on the estimations, and I can't weigh the remainder. Once I blocked the blanket, the yarn was really soft, and it's pretty warm on the legs. I've been using the blanket while I knit my next project, and I do love it. I just have to carefully fold it up when I'm done using it to preserve it from the pets. They tend to treat whatever's on the couch as theirs, and I'll be heartbroken if anything happens to my blanket.

Notes: The finished blanket was about 38 inches unblocked, and I think it is about 54 inches in diameter now that it is blocked, so it's big enough to cover my lap and wrap my feet in when sitting on the couch, as well as go up past my waist. Good for snuggling! All in all, a success. I love the blanket, love the yarn, and would happily make more things with the yarn, although I don't think I have any desire to knit another Hemlock Ring. Oh, I did the knitted edging on this, and it was not hard at all, just awkward, as you have to turn the blanket back and forth. I like the way it looks though. I can't wait to bring it on Tuesday to see what the group thinks.

Next up, Veil! Plus, a baby sweater I knit for a co-worker that has entirely too much finishing, and a project for my niece's birthday. Then maybe I can get back to knitting a sweater for myself. I should probably start with the summer ones at this rate, even though it is still cold here. And extremely wet. BRR.

totie

When Totie came to live with us, Spanky and I lived on Bright Street in Jersey City. We'd been there maybe a year when Spanky's childhood cat died, and after a few months, we thought we'd get another cat so that we'd each still have one. Stella was not with us yet. We looked off and on for a while, and back then, there was a bus that used to park along Union Square that housed cats for adoption. One day while out and about, we decided to investigate. The man who ran the bus told us that he drove it around and rescued strays from the streets and rehabilitated them, and then when they were ready, he tried to get them adopted. There were a lot of cats straining at the cages trying to get your attention, and then there was this black and white cat, sleeping amidst all the noise and chaos, with her little paw over her eyes.



"What about that one?" we asked.
"Oh, that's Totie," he said, "She's been here a long time. She's a really special cat, and I would love for her to go to a good home."
Spanky picked her up and held her, and Totie put her face up to Spanky's and kissed her. It was just meant to be. We knew she was a fat cat, but it was time to bring her home, it took both of us and a really long walk down 14th street to 6th avenue to get her home on the PATH. She was SO HEAVY. We had to keep stopping to rest our arms.

When we got her home, we put Sugar, our other cat, in the living room, and Spanky opened the cage in the bedroom to let Totie come out. When she sauntered out, Spanky said, "Kim, can you come in here a minute?" And I went in, and there was this fat cat, walking around on these stumpy little legs! She had a shorter than normal tail and these really short little legs. Apparently, the man who rescued her called her Totie after Totie Fields, a large comedienne who also suffered an amputation because of diabetes.

Anyway, Totie was a joy. She had such an even temper, loved to play, was Stella's best friend when we brought the little puppy home to live with us, and even learned to work a bowl with a pedal-powered lid. She would wake us up at 5am every day, slamming the lid of her bowl to say WAKE UP BITCHES, AND FEED ME. I'M HUNGRY!!! HELLLOOOO!!!

Not only that, but everyone loved her. She was so sweet and loving, and just wanted to be with you. Her greatest joys were sleeping in the sun, eating, taking gigantic shits in the litter box, and playing.

 

Stella was her biggest fan, too. We'd often come into the bedroom looking for the dog, only to find her on top of the cat, making sweet, sweet love to her, while Totie just looked on mildly. The dog was very protective of Totie, defending her against Sugar, who can be quite fierce when provoked. Totie just wanted to be friends with everyone, and I think she succeeded.

 

Earlier this year, we noticed that she had something sticking out of her left nostril, and after a biopsy learned that it was malignant lymphoma. We were told that without aggressive treatment (that we could neither afford nor wanted to put the cat through) we were looking at a couple of months more at the most. Then Totie got sick with a cold, or the beginning of pneumonia, or something else. I don't know, but her last few weeks she couldn't breathe and seemed to be in pain, whether from the tumor growing in her face or the cancer that (maybe) spread to her lungs, or the pneumonia which made it hard for her to catch her breath. I don't know. But we finally made the painful decision, backed by her oncologist, to put her to sleep. Her quality of life was very low, and we hated to see her in so much pain. Even at the end though, she was good natured, putting out her paw for the laser light toy, trying to get the catnip cigar. She couldn't smell anything, could barely breathe, and bundling her into our rental car for that last trip was one of the hardest things Spanky and I have gone through together.



Totie had a very specific feel and smell, and looking at all the pictures of her, trying to decide which showed her in her best light, I can remember touching her fur, and feeling her gigantic weight laying on my chest at night for a purr and rub before bed. She had a thousand quirky habits, and we've been keeping her alive for each other by remembering things she did. She brought us so much joy that I wouldn't have traded having her in our lives for anything. She really fit. She just made herself at home and became part of our family. And now that part is missing, and it feels weird to just have Sugar and Stella with no third point of reference, no comic foil to relieve the tension. No fat butt to wipe or ear to clean. No purr to hear.

We all miss you, Totie. I hope if you're out there, you get all the food you want, get time with the string, and have someone to clean your ear for you if it itches. I'm sure you're making everyone there just a little bit happier, because that's what happened here. Everyone who met you went home just a little bit happier.




*Thanks to Spanky for all the beautiful photos. She's much better at that than I.