Olive wants to wish everyone a happy Easter, and hopes your Easter basket is filled with lots of hay, twigs and raisins. Oh, and maybe a pinecone or two, if you’re into those. 
Archive for March, 2008
Hoppy Easter!
Summer of Knitting
First day of spring! Wheeeee! Time to put away the heavy sweaters and start working on summer projects. I usually don’t go for knit tank tops and such, but there are a few summer tops I want to knit. I also really really want to finish all the piddly little projects I have yarn for. Scarves, hats, mittens and the like. So, I made a list of everything in my Ravelry queue that isn’t a sweater, socks, or an incredibly daunting and/or time-consuming lace shawl. Here it is…I’m going to be lazy and not link them all.
Tops:
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Leaf paneled sweater from Runway Knits
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Honeycomb from Knitty
Shawls:
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Clementine lace shawlette from IK Spring 07
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Loop shawl from Sensual Knits
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Logan River wrap from IK Fall 07
Scarves:
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Diamond leaf ascot from The Little Box of Scarves
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Halcyon from Knitty
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Feather and Fan scarf from The Little Box of Scarves
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Misty Garden from Scarf Style
Mittens:
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Fetching from Knitty
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Fingerless garter mitts from One Skein
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Subway mittens from IK Winter 07
Hats:
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Cabled newsboy cap from SnB Nation
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Amelia from SnB calendar 2007
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Foliage from Knitty
Bags:
Other stuff:
My plan is to…brace yourselves…knit all of these by the end of the summer. 28 projects. Think I can do it? I’m starting at the top with the DROPS tunic. Here goes!
*Only if the yarn I already have works out with this pattern.
Two packages in one day.
Yippee!
First, I got the second installment of the Neighborhood Fiber Co. sock club. This month’s yarn was inspired by the photography of Mika Ninagawa, featuring flowers in rich, saturated colors. Karida named this colorway “Hypercolor!” which made me picture something neon. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this:
Whew! I love it. She also included a lace sock pattern and some chocolates, which are not pictured. Because they were promptly eaten. Oink.
Next, I got some soft and fluffy white BFL from Spunky Eclectic. This stuff is heaven compared to the fiber I’ve worked with so far. You may never see Corriedale on this blog again! Remember that metric crap-ton of Corrie roving that came with my learn to spin kit? Behold: TWO metric crap-tons.
I fully expect to be a spinning expert by the time I get through all this.
Mystical Creation Yarns
Anyone ever order from this company? I hadn’t heard of them until I started reading this thread on Ravelry. If you don’t already know the story, you need to read this. To quote another Raveler, it’s “better than anything on TV.” It is hilarious, sad and appalling all at the same time.
A lot of people are calling it a train wreck, but to me it’s more like a good book you can’t put down. The plot keeps thickening and yes, it is 86 pages long and growing but I really really want to know how it turns out. If you do, don’t spoil it for me! I’m only halfway through (although I did get to the big plot twist somewhere between pages 25 and 30, and I don’t see how the story could get any better than that).
An Easter Message
It’s that time of year again, and some folks will be getting baby bunnies as Easter gifts for their kids. A few months from now, these bunnies will reach maturity and either the child will lose interest, or the parents will discover that a pet rabbit is more than they bargained for. Shelters and rescues will be inundated with these unwanted rabbits. If not taken to a shelter, they are either confined to an outside hutch or “set free”–the former being a miserable existence, and the latter being a death sentence.
Rabbits make great pets for the right people. Before you decide to get a rabbit, there are several things to consider:
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Rabbits do not make good pets for children. They are prey animals, and are easily startled by the loud noises and quick movements of an exuberant child. Rabbits do best in a calm, quiet environment where a responsible adult is the main caretaker.
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Rabbits do not like to be held. Again, rabbits are prey animals and being picked up away from the floor is a lot like being carried off by a predator. While some rabbits will tolerate being held, most will struggle to free themselves which can include biting and scratching. Rabbits are such delicate creatures that they can break their own backs while struggling to get away from you. If your child wants a pet to carry around and cuddle, a stuffed rabbit toy would be a much wiser choice.
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Rabbits are not “easy-care” pets. They are as demanding as a cat or dog. They need daily, supervised play time outside of the cage. Rabbits require a specialized exotic vet, which can be difficult to locate and expensive. They need to be spayed or neutered, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
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Rabbits can live ten years or more. By the time your child is heading off to college, that rabbit will still be around.
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Rabbits are not for the “house-proud.” Rabbits are big chewers. Anything within reach is fair game–shoes, books, electical cords, plants…whatever they can wrap their little teeth around. Even with careful bunny-proofing, a rabbit will still chew on your furniture, baseboards, and even pull up the carpet.
If you still think you might be a rabbit person, go to www.rabbit.org to find out more about living with a house rabbit, and for a list of rescue organizations in your area. Thanks for reading!
The last thing I need…
…is another hobby.
The second to last thing I need is more yarn. But what the heck, I’m adding both of these things to my life with a single purchase:
This is the Louet drop spin beginner’s kit from WEBS. One spindle, one metric crap-ton of corriedale roving, and an instruction book, all for the low low price of $25. I am shocked at the size of the spindle. It’s huge!!! They look so teeny on the internet.
In case you didn’t know from painful experience, spinning is HARD! Here’s the result of my first attempt:
Awesome. Let’s try that again.
Much better, right? It does seem to get easier pretty quickly. And it’s fun! My first little skein is hanging up to dry right now. We’ll have show and tell later but for now I’ll just say it looks quite…rustic. No offense, first yarn, but there’s some serious felting in your future.
Ok, I’m off to finish the work I was supposed to be doing today. Heh.
P.S. Olive says “hi”
