Joining Kat & friends again this week…

KNITTING:

On Christmas morning, I sat the kitchen table with my coffee and put the finishing touches on two Sleepy Kittens.

Whiskers & a bright pink nose for Gin's:

And the entire face situation for Jün's:

Alabama Chanin's Button Craft Thread is perfect for whiskers on kittens… who knew?!

I'd finished knitting the "shirt" for Junah's kitten on Christmas Eve.

It's a little more "ruffly" than I'd intended, but who cares? He certainly doesn't! I also ran out of a green and the lighter color of yarn, so one sleeve and a few rows at the bottom of the top are lighter green!

• Ravelry Project Page: Sleepy Kittens — Gin's & Jün's
• Pattern: Sleepy Kitten Set by Susan B. Anderson from Making No. 4 / LINES
• Yarn: 
  • Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted for bodies
  • Leftovers of Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted & Plymouth Galway Worsted for clothing
  • A couple of yards of pink from a Crazy Zauberball for noses
  • AC Button Craft Thread for whiskers
• Needles:  5 US DPNs for bodies, 3 US DPNs for clothing
• Start to Finish:  November 19-December 25, 2017
• Mods:
  • I knit the first (Gin's) exactly as written — except that I first made the nightie/dress too short and then just riffed the lengthening by extending the ribbing (which I actually like a lot as it helps prevent flipping up at the bottom).
  • For Jün's, I simplified the knitting-in of parts a bit by eliminating a needle (on the "held" pieces, pulling the back stitch through the front) so I could knit two stitches together from two needles instead of three stitches together from three needles.
  • Also, inspired by the too-short dress for Gin's, I striped only the legs and to the "waist" of Jün's kitten (not at all on the arms) and knit a separate top.

I am currently working on making additional kitten clothing!

READING:

I received some books from my Amazon Wish List for Christmas!

In addition to Handcrafted Bitters from Ali, there was Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder from Rusty, and Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art from Kate.

I am looking forward to all of those books, but I am still enjoying Tender At The Bone, by Ruth Reichl. Hopefully, there will be a bit more time for reading now that holiday madness is winding down!

I will finish listening to You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, by Sherman Alexie, today! This was an amazing book, and I'm sorry that I was unaware of Sherman Alexie last spring when he was one of the featured authors at Green Bay's inaugural UntitledTown Book & Author Festival.

How are things going with you? Are you reclaiming some knitting/reading time??