Hello, hello!

Oh my god, so much has happened since my last post! Where do I even begin.... Oh, right:

I GRADUATED!

And I wasn't content with that. I also got a new job and a new apartment, both in new neighborhoods. And you know what a new apartment (with a wood floor!) means?

Say hello to my little friend.

So everything's been coming up Marlena, AND THEN!

I got my first full-length story published! This story isn't online, though you can buy a copy of the (very good) magazine here. I also had another flash piece picked up.

AND THAT DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE THE KNITTING, PEOPLE!

So let's talk about that. I finished that baby sweater I was working on and it turned out so cute I could hardly stand it.

Pretty cute, right? Wait'll you see who gets to wear it:

Not the cutest picture of me, but I'm banking on little Mia here to steal the spotlight. To review, this is the Eyelet Baby Cardigan by Looking Glass Knits. I used Berroco Comfort fingering weight for the ease of care and because of that beautiful, perfect lilac color. I looked at other purples and kept coming back to that one. I was a little hesitant to knit with a purely synthetic yarn but let me tell you, I loved every minute of it! It's soft, springy, and holds eyelets beautifully. I would not hesitate to pick this yarn up again.

Obviously with all of the graduating and new job getting and moving etc., it was awhile until I cast on my next project. While shopping my stash, I came across some Nezinscot Farm yarn I picked up a hundred Fryeburg Fairs ago. I believe the fiber is corriedale, no idea what the colorway might have been named. This yarn was amazing to knit! So squishy! And I didn't even block my mittens when they were done because I loooooove that sheepy smell!

Oh yeah... I dyed my hair red too.

Fun Times!

I went to my first ever knit group last night! Amy is visiting right now, which is always nice anyway, because she's my only real life friend who knits (she's also my oldest friend, I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't know her). I've never been to a knitting circle/group/stitch and bitch before because of ridiculous shyness. Seriously, I love meeting other knitters and the idea of hanging out with knitters always appeals to me, but I always wonder what I'll say and if I'll embarrass myself and yadda yadda. Turns out, I shouldn't have worried! Everyone was very nice, and I don't think I embarrassed myself. The group met at my favorite LYS, Purl Diva, and Ellen did an excellent job of keeping conversation flowing. She runs a book group, as well, which sounds interesting.

Another bonus to an evening of uninterrupted group knitting? A have half of the foot done on Roza's Socks #2!

I'm pretty excited to finish these and start the fair isle socks from Sensational Knitted Socks!

I'm hoping someone reading can give me a tip for short row heels. I'm pretty happy with the way my heels have evolved, but I'm nowhere near satisfied. I love the way the side where I'm picking up wraps on the purlside looks:



The problem is with the side where I'm picking up wraps on the knitside. It's very loose, and I can't seem to tighten it up, no matter how hard I pull after wrapping.



I'm using the heel from Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock Pattern. They're my favorite, and they'd be perfect if I could just get that one side to match the other!

In other news, I decided the other day that I don't have nearly enough pictures of Baxter, and set out to fix it. By the end of the day, I got the next shot, which reminds me so much of those shots seen on the cover of tabloids, some annoyed celebrity caught going about their business, flashing the camera a dirty look!

So nice, I made 'em twice!

I woke up this morning, and upon realizing it was the 15th, and we are entering week three of April, I said to myself, "Self, it's time to get those Jaywalkers done already." And I did.

I hunkered down with some TV on DVD (Freaks and Geeks and BTVS, season 7), and got through the second sock in short order. All I had left was about another two inches and then the toe. Due to my supreme luck (I don't pretend it was skill, though I did try), the stripes on both socks match perfectly, and I didn't have to do any measuring at all. I just knit to the same number of stripes. Easy-peasy.



See what I mean? Every time I look at my feet, I pat myself on the back for these. I will have to keep them forever, because it will probably never happen again. To recap, these are the famous Jaywalkers by Grumperina. I have made these before using another striping yarn, but on these, I used a US2 for the leg and a US1 for the foot, which resulted in a supremely comfortable sock. I used AustermannStep in color #3. I love this yarn, though the aloe content makes it feel a little strange in the ball. Mrs. Cooper approves of this color.



I'm sure I'll be making more Jaywalkers. I can't imagine knitting self-striping yarn in stockinette ever again! I highly recommend this pattern.

Next up is the adorable February baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac. While I continue to work on the CWT, of course. I'm almost done with the ruffle (I'm finished according to the pattern, but I'm adding length), and then I just have to get it all sewn together!

Mish Mash

No knitting pictures today. My Jaywalker is just a leg right now, and I'm only a couple of inches into the front of my nephew's vest. So, just some chatter today.

First of all, I am so excited about a pattern I found yesterday, I almost posted right off about it. It's Rusted Root by Zephyr Style. I have kind of this thing for puffed sleeves lately, and I almost fell off my chair from the adorable-ness of this top. I bought the pattern immediately, and as soon as I got home I raided the stash for appropriate yarn. I'm just shy of the yardage requirements with most of my cotton yarns, but I do have enough Cotton Ease in black, red, bright pink, bright yellow and pale yellow. I also have enough in two colors of Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece, but there are two problems with that. One, I bought that yarn specifically to make Sherwood for my nephews. Two, and this might seem contrary to number one, I've found that Cotton Fleece does not wear well. I have a ChicKami (love this pattern) I made with CF, and it's so pilly and fuzzy, I hardly ever wear it (I certainly never wear it out). True, I wash it in the machine and air dry, but I do that with a lot of my knitted garments, and none of them look like that. My reasoning for using CF in the boys' sweaters anyway is that they will not wear these garments as long as I would. They'll get one season wear out of them, and that's it. Since I want to make Rusted Root soon, I'll probably use Cotton Ease (which incidentally, I have never seen pilling).

My other exciting news is rather old. On Valentine's Day, there was a gigantic snowstorm here, and I had the day off from work. My boyfriend and I decided to take advantage of the storm and see a movie. The theater is by this crappy strip mall, which includes a craft store which is going out of business. I had been to this store once before, but was unimpressed with their yarn selection, and never went back. But who can resist a going out of business sale, right? I was dumbstruck when I turned down an aisle away from the acrylic and discovered 100% cashmere yarn AND Debbie Bliss Pure Silk for 40% off! So I have enough cream colored cashmere and pink silk for sweaters. After a meeting with my consultant, I decided on the Lace Leaf Pullover from Interweave for the cashmere (if I can get gauge). I pulled the pattern out the other day, and am just waiting to finish the vest before swatching (you've gotta have goals). Now I just need to find something perfect for the silk.

Well, if you've made it through all of that, you totally deserve a picture. Perhaps something... adorable?

And also a perfect illustration of bad bunnies. She chewed through those laces eventually!


PS: I got my Interweave yesterday! Yippee!!!

Thinking about Getting a Rabbit?

Please, allow me to talk you out of it. I try not to get up on soapboxes here at Swatch This!, it is, after all, my knitting blog, and I have plenty to say about knitting already. Easter is coming, though, and that happens to be a time when bunnies are bought by the hundreds to add a little cuteness to the Easter festivities. Then, about a month later, hundreds of rabbits are discarded when people discover that a rabbit is not the pet they anticipated.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know that I have two rabbits, Mrs. Cooper and Baxter Brown. I do not purport to be an expert on rabbits, but I have done a lot of research about them. I’ve also had rabbits in the past.

The first thing you should probably know, if you’re planning to bring a rabbit into your home, is that they are destructive creatures. Rabbits love to chew, and see no distinction between the cute little chew toy you bought for them, and your wooden furniture. They eat power cords (which is not only annoying, but hazardous), carpeting, clothes, shoes, paper… anything they can get their little bunny teeth around. Add to that the digging most rabbits like to do, and a lax owner can quickly have a ruined home. I feel fortunate that my rabbits aren’t that destructive. Cooper likes cords, which means we keep them out of her way. Both rabbits like to dig at carpeted corners, which means we make them inaccessible. It’s entirely up to us whether or not our rabbits destroy our home, it is not the rabbit’s fault if we fail to bunny-proof.

Rabbits are expensive. Sure, you can get a bunny for twenty bucks at the pet store, but don’t expect to buy a suitable cage at that store, and keep in mind that you can’t buy everything your rabbit needs at that one store. One of my rabbits, Mrs. Cooper, is too large for a cage (the recommended size for a rabbit cage is five times the size of the rabbit). Baxter Brown has a cage which we built for him using NIC blocks (the cage is HUGE and cost only about $40, plus time). They eat a ten pound bag of bunny pellets (timothy based, because they’re both adult rabbits) every two weeks. That’s $15 per bag, not including fuel for the twenty miles I have to drive to buy the pellets. They each eat about a bag of hay each week, which is cheap, $5 a bag, per rabbit, but I had to try a few varieties before I found a timothy hay they would eat. And then the expensive food: greens. Most diets recommend 1-2 cups of greens per five pounds of rabbit per day. My rabbits eat a bag of prepared salad greens per day and a half. Those are about $3.50 per bag. Sometimes I buy a head of romaine, which lasts a couple of days. I spend about $20-25 a week on greens and vegetables for the rabbits, which is an essential part of my rabbits’ diets. So, that’s about $150 a month on food.

Both of my rabbits are litter boxed trained (very easy to do with rabbits, especially older, altered ones), and I quickly learned that unless I wanted to change litter boxes every day, I would need to find a litter. Pine shavings are widely used in pet stores, but are actually bad for rabbits. I use CareFresh, which is made of recycled cardboard. It’s safe for the rabbits to eat, it’s soft, they love digging at it, and it absorbs odor like nobody’s business. It’s also between twenty and thirty dollars for a large package, which lasts about a week and a half, or two weeks. Also keep in mind that no matter how well trained your bunny is, you will find occasional rabbit poops around your house. Rabbits are poop machines, which is awesome if you have a compost heap. If you don’t, I’d get a good vacuum cleaner. Rabbits are not for people who like an immaculate house! Between the poops and the paper shredding and the hay strewing, your house will never be the same again.

Back to money, let’s talk veterinarians. You will need to become close with yours. Rabbits are extremely good at hiding illness, and usually, if your rabbit starts to show serious signs of being ill, it’s too late. They are fragile creatures, capable of literally being frightened to death, and something that might seem inconsequential (like noticing your rabbit hasn’t eaten since yesterday) is actually life threatening. A rabbit’s digestive system is so delicate, if anything throws it off balance even the slightest bit, they can develop serious problems. In a rabbit, a sneeze necessitates a trip to the vet. Our rabbits have gone to the vet so often (for sneezes and fighting wounds, not to mention nail clippings), the staff know them on sight. It’s also very important to make sure that there is a veterinarian in your area who can handle rabbits. Rabbits are not like other animals, and you should make sure your vet has experience with them. I am so lucky to have a clinic nearby with two rabbit experts on staff.

Finally, and perhaps the hardest for people to come to terms with about their rabbit, rabbits are not cuddly little lap animals. Rabbits do not like being picked up or held. They are prey animals, and prefer to have their feet firmly on the ground. They enjoy human interaction, as long as the human plays with them on their level. My rabbits are good with children, but would never tolerate rough play, and I would never let a child pick up my rabbits. Rabbits must be supported and picked up gently. A rabbit’s muscles are more powerful than its bones, and a rabbit can break its back by struggling to get away from being held. Please also keep in mind that rabbits are not short term pets! They can live anywhere from five to fifteen years. I had a rabbit who was ten years old. Please do not get a rabbit if you can not commit to their care.

Which naturally brings us to adoption. Maybe you’ve read this and still want a rabbit! They are undeniably adorable and interesting, and if you’re crazy like me, maybe you even enjoy cleaning out litter boxes and picking out vegetables for them to try. My rabbits make me laugh every day, and one of my greatest pleasures is watching them run and binky every night. If you still have your heart set on having one of your own, please adopt one from your local shelter. Not only will you be helping out a homeless rabbit, but you will get a rabbit who has already been fixed! Neutered and spayed rabbits are easier to train, less aggressive, and spayed rabbits have a decreased chance for female cancers. Older rabbits are also great pets because they are more mellow, less destructive, and again, more trainable. I would also encourage you to research breeds a little before adopting, since some breeds have a reputation for being more hyper or needing more space or exercise time than other breeds (of course, personalities will vary).

Try to think of a rabbit as more like a cat or dog. Many people get a rabbit instead of a cat or dog, because they think a rabbit is less responsibility. Aside from the fact that with all pets come responsibility, a rabbit especially is a lot of effort and care. They have to be brushed (very often for a long haired rabbit) because they can neither digest nor throw up the hair they ingest. Their nails need to be trimmed on a regular basis. They need to be watched while they run around free in non-bunny-proofed areas, lest they find something attractive to chew. They need unlimited hay, a careful diet, and their input and output carefully monitored (I start my day by checking each rabbit's litter box for evidence of illness). I have tried to be as factual as possible here, but of course there are always more points of view, and more information (this is already incredibly long!). I highly recommend reading The House Rabbit Handbook, and Rabbit Health in the 21st Century: A Guide for Bunny Parents before bringing a rabbit home.

And most importantly, please remember, a pet rabbit is not a wild animal! They may look like their wild brethren, but the rabbits at pet stores and shelters are no more wild than your neighbor’s cat. Setting a rabbit “free” is cruel and will certainly result in a terrible death for the rabbit. There is no shame in taking an animal you can no longer care for to a shelter.

Taking down the soap box now! Oh! And there’s one more thing you need to know about rabbits and Easter. It’s when we celebrate Mrs. Cooper’s birthday! She was born in April, so it just seems right. Please consider carefully whether a rabbit is right for your home. If you decide to get a rabbit or a different pet, please visit your local shelter first. Chances are good you'll find your next best friend waiting for you.

Don't Front

Okay, I don't know if my subject makes any sense whatsoever, but I was listening to some rap today, and the phrase popped into my head. I finished the first front of the Slimline Jacket today! In my excitement to soak up the last rays of sunshine to take a photo, I forgot to take a photo of my mitten in progress, but it's not much more than a cuff right now anyway.

I've also decided to start messing around with photo size again. Flickr needs a size between small and medium!


I'm debating with myself whether I should block the pieces I have so far, or wait until I have the whole sweater finished. I'm also considering where to do this. I laid the back on the floor this afternoon while I measured the front against it, and almost had a coronary event when Mrs. Cooper hopped on top of it. You might not know this about rabbits, but they like to dig. And I don't mean that gentle knead that cats do, I mean they grab fabric with their teeth and pull it taut and dig furiously with their long wicked claws. I shooed her away without any major tantrums, but learned that the floor is not going to be suitable for blocking. I'll come up with something.

The fabric looks nice pre-blocking, but the bottom is curling like crazy, and the shoulders could use a little straightening. I can't convey in mere words how much I want to be wearing this sweater already! Even though it's a bitch to frog, and difficult to weave in the ends, and (let's face it) boucle is a little hard to knit with at times, I highly recommend at least trying a ball of Astrakhan in a hat or something. It is so soft, and makes the most wonderful fabric.

Long Time!

I feel like it's been a hundred years since I last posted! There has been a lot going on: shopping, baking, bunny care, and, oh yeah, knitting.
I made a scarf for a co-worker. I usually give this lady a giant tin of popcorn (her fave), but due to some health issues this year, she can't have popcorn. So I thought a simple scarf would be just the ticket. This used one skein of Colinette Giotto in Lichen, and I knit it using US15 needles! The only US15 needles I have are a set of double points, but faced with whether to obsess over lost stitches or buy a set of US15 straights, I chose obsession. What can I say? I live on the edge. I definitely could have gotten away with a few fewer repeats and had fuller fringe. After blocking, this scarf stretched like nobody's business. It hung down to my knees!

There's a bit of back story to this one. There's a girl in my office who loves hand knits, and I decided at the last minute to make her something for Christmas. After a brief search, I decided that Calorimetry would be perfect for her, as she is always wearing headbands and rarely wears a hat. I busted some Lamb's Pride from my stash and got started. It was a fast knit, and I finished it in one sitting. I was feeling so pleased with myself for finishing it on Friday and having the whole weekend before I gave it to her, that I decided to give it a nice wash. Uh, yeah... isn't there some rule against wet blocking ribbing? There should be. That poor sucker stretched out so far that it would still be too big if I wore it over a football helmet. I tried felting it down a little, getting it damp, putting it through the washer (!), all to no avail. Calorimetry was a lost cause. Last night I decided I still really wanted to make something for this girl, and remembered a cabled headband from Knitty, Nakiska. I dove into the stash again (this is the kind of emergency stashes are made for!), and came up with a light green acrylic/angora blend by TLC called Cara Mia. As with all good things, this yarn has been discontinued. It's been sitting in my stash for eons, and I'm almost sorry I even chose it for this project, because I'll probably never find any again. This yarn is wonderful! It has none of that plastic-y feel of acrylic, and all of the softness of angora. It reminded me of a cotton/angora blend, but with more elasticity. As an added bonus, it suited this project perfectly, and I ended up with something I'm proud to give away. Please note the five piece luggage set under my eyes. I finished this in a measley two hours, but that put my finish at 10:30pm. I wove in the ends this morning, and decided against blocking. Why tempt fate?

Thanks for the concern over Baxter and Cooper! They are getting along much better with the gate between them (no more attacking the gate), but we haven't put them together again yet. It turns out that Cooper gave Baxter quite an injury on his neck the last time, and we are on a routine of antibiotics and wound cleansing for the little guy. You'd never know he has an issue, though! He is as cheerful and spunky as ever! And, Pioggia, the rats are marvelous! They LOVE all of the wrapping paper in the bedroom, and especially love it when I put a few wads of tissue paper in their cage.

Mrs. Cooper is partial to the tree.

Another lesson in gauge.

What you see in this picture is a tragic lesson in gauge. You'd think that after the many, many lessons in gauge I've learned over the years, I would know better, but no. This tragedy could have been averted by two things: better organization and less laziness. Unfortunately, these two things work in tandem, or I may have had a fighting chance. See, the pattern I'm working suggests a US3 needle for gauge. I know I've used US3 double points recently, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I have about ten sets of US1 and US2 dpn, but only one pair of US3. I still can't find them. Now, don't be fooled by this narrative into thinking I looked very hard. I handily convinced myself that, since I routinely use at least one needle size smaller than recommended in any pattern, I could use the set of US2 dpn conveniently in my hand, and that searching for the US3 set would be pointless because I wouldn't get gauge with them anyway. Yeah, the ribbing seemed kind of snug, but I deluded myself with the magic of blocking and continued. Only when I actually got into the meat of the project did I see the folly in all of my thinking up to that point. The silver lining to this whole sad tale is I rekindled my love of bamboo, and today I purchased another set of US3 needles in bamboo. Also, the knitting will go faster with the larger needles. Perhaps this is my penance for putting down the tangled hair scarf. I hereby promise to do four whole repeats as compensation.

In other news, we have a new friend here! Meet Baxter! We adopted him from the shelter on Friday. Mrs. Cooper met him at the shelter with conficting results, so we brought him home to begin the bonding process. The initial meeting at home was less than stellar, but we're trying another approach that seems to be working. Since Cooper doesn't have a cage, we put a baby gate up between the room where Baxter's cage is and Cooper's area, and they interact through the gate. At first they constantly batted at each other through the cage, but now they've been witnessed laying next to the gate occasionally in short cease-fires. Things are looking up!

Bad Bunnies Are Still Cute Bunnies

A crime against knitting has been committed. The details are pretty gruesome. Those with weak constitutions should avert their eyes from the following images.

I have my suspicions of course, as to the identity of the guilty party, but no one's coming forward. Well, one party did seem to be beginning the stages of confession, but it turned out she was just after a treat.

I'm looking at this as an opportunity, rather than a setback. I now have the perfect excuse to knit Avast instead!

There is other, non-criminal knitting news. I'm safe to knit again! So I have actual works in progress photos to share! I'm halfway through the heel on Hedera #1, and almost ready to change colors on my Kureyon scarf. I'm a little concerned about my Kureyon scarf. The colors I chose to begin are pretty staid and conservative. They stay within the same three colors or so, just changing shading. For my second half, I chose Kureyon that has a lot more color changes, but still a lot of red. I guess the only way to see what'll happen is to knit it! Hopefully it'll work out. It's been getting steadily colder here, and I am in need of some winter accessories!

C'est finit!

So, I decided that simple really was best and just did a single crochet all the way around the afghan. It was my first time crocheting!

The blanket is Mrs. Cooper approved. She is visible in the lower left corner of the photo. From the second that I draped the afghan over that chair, she was under it, on top of it, and generally sniffing it! I hope the recipients don't mind a little bunny hair. I suppose I could always say it's some stray angora....

With that behemouth of a project now behind me, I spent last night and this morning choosing my next project. There are a couple of strong contenders, but in this round of "What Do I Knit?," I decided to swatch first and pick a pattern second. The winning yarn is Sirdar Breeze, which is a dk weight cotton/acrylic blend. Since finishing Green Gable, I've been a little obsessed with making more fun summer tops. Which is good, since I also have a decent stash of cotton and cotton/blend yarns! I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a pattern tonight.

It was such a strange sensation when I finished off the afghan and found myself without a project. Usually I have something to finish, or a project I can't wait to start, but last night I went through all of my pattern binders and a bunch of my magazines and came up empty. That's the truth in why I swatched first. I just wanted to knit something, but didn't know what! (Even though I feel I SHOULD be trying to get ahead and make a Christmas stocking for my nephew or mittens and hats. Try getting excited about wool while you're sweating sitting still!)

Somebunny is being awfully bratty.

And it's not me! Today is Mrs. Cooper's birthday (of course, we don't know for sure the DATE of her birthday, but we do know she was born on Easter), and she has been making her queen status clear all day. Hay has been flung, ankles have been nipped, extra-special salad (with grapes AND cranberries) has been eaten. She is done being the birthday girl:

You might think that my bunny talk is a clever ruse to distract you from lack of knitting content. You would be mistaken! While I actually knit this item some time ago, last weekend (was it that long ago already) this object went from this:




To this:




I felted the hat by hand, which actually wasn't bad. The only felting experience I had prior was with Kureyon and believe you me, that yarn does not want to felt. This hat was made using Cascade 220 which felted like a dream. There is zero stitch definition in this hat. I did notice that the light blue portion took longer to felt than the charcoal gray, but I've heard that lighter colors are like that. I plan to make one of these for myself, too. Would you like to make one? I am also officially amped to do a felted Bottoms Up Bucket Hat (though the "Bottoms Up" seems to be unnecessary now, as there appears to be only one bucket hat pattern available).

Work on the sock continues. I just have about half the foot left! I'm pretty excited about wearing them; the one that's finished is very comfortable. In other news, I had a pleasant surprise on Friday when the yarn for the wedding blanket arrived! I'm using Plymouth Encore (which I've heard referred to as "the cream of the crap"), which I've never used before. It's okay, but I can really feel the acrylic. I don't think a non-knitter would even notice it, though, as the yarn is fairly soft. I only have one repeat of one square completed (out of twenty squares!), so I'll spare you the photos. Hopefully next time I post I'll have another finished sock, a Ribby Cardi, and a completed square. The race is on! Want to bet on whether I'll have the blanket done by the June 15th wedding in Vegas?

Crazy Times

Sometimes I feel like we'll be moving forever! Seriously, though... our furniture was delivered today so now I'm about a hundred times more excited about moving all the way into our new place! Keeping my priorities straight, my yarn has already been moved. I cleaned out the stash a bit, donating some yarn, and putting some up on eBay. Once I nail down yarn storage in the new pad, I'll be able to start stash enhancement activities again, but for now it's all about minimalism.

Speaking of minimalism... I've had minimal time to work on my sock!

I turned the heel last night, and haven't been able to knit even one measly round today. Ah, well. The colors and the way they're knitting up please me, and I don't even mind the cotton so much. These socks are the perfect knitterly retreat when it seems like everything is happening at once.

Of course, I also have non-knitterly retreats:


Enjoying some delicious all-natural chicken dog treats after some strenuous (pea) fishing.

and Miss. "I don't care what you think you were about to do, I need some attention right now"


(PS: I'm going to be adding some knitting magazines to eBay tomorrow. Mostly Knitter's.)

Back in the Saddle

Sorry about that extended break, there. I had some things to get sorted out and stuff to do. Today I'm without a camera, so I can't show you pictures of my work, but I can give a update, just the same.

I finished the hood on Rogue, and am now on the decrease section of sleeve number two. That's right, people, I am thisclose to being finished with Rogue! I've been thinking a lot about blocking and have decided to steam block it, because having stuff on the floor right now is kind of dangerous. See, we added another girl to the group:

She doesn't care much for yarn, but loves the rice basket where I keep my projects. She also enjoys nibbling on pattern pages and playing hide and seek with a blanket. Her name is Mrs. Cooper (a.k.a: Mrs. Pooper, Pooper Scooper, and Koopa Trooper), and we got her from a girl at work who was moving and couldn't take her. She's generally a very good rabbit, box trained and rarely chews on stuff she's not supposed to. I find she usually chews when she wants attention, hence her chewing on my knitting stuff. It's hard to pet a bunny and knit at the same time!

I also finished a hat that's to be felted It looks pretty cute so far! I'll take a pre-felting picture as soon as I have the camera.

Oh, and just one more thing: we found a new apartment and will be moving soon! As I go through my stash, I might decide to put some stuff up on eBay. If I do, I'll post links here.