Linus Loves His Bag

Christmas socks

The Boyfriend bought me sock yarn for Christmas. I had mentioned Knit Picks Essential or Opal in red, blues or purple. He also helped his mother and brother buy me sock yarn. His parents came up with a teal Regia, another excellent choice. His brother and his wife gave me a red-blue Opal and a blue-white Opal, more excellent choices. And The Boyfriend, he gave me a yarn gift certificate accompanied by “Tiger” Opal. You know what tiger means? Orange and white and Yellow and Brown and Black. I’m seeing a communication breakdown here.

And what was the result of getting three skeins of sock yarn I really liked and one I despised? I cast on the Tiger yarn immediately and informed Mr. Boyfriend that he’d be the ‘lucky’ recipient of this pair. To which he stated he’d be happy to wear them. And now that I reflect upon the happenings I’m wondering if he had an ulterior motive here. His high school mascot was a Tiger after all.

Arya didn’t much care for the sock yarn. She was more interested in being a present.

Fuzzy Season

Did I mention that its “fuzzy season” as The Boyfriend likes to call it. The time of year when I spend most of weekends at a cat show with fuzzy kittens or a wool festival with fuzzy sheep. This was another great show weekend! Bella and Arya did very well. This was a bigger show with lots of top quality kittens. The girls split the judges in half. Bella made a 3^rd best kitten in show. Yeah Bella!

And Arya was consistent in the three out of six finals she made, an 8^th best kitten and two 10^th best kittens. OK so to you that might sound disappointing. And in light of a 3^rd for her sister that might sound disappointing. But there were 60 plus kittens there; including some big classes of Siamese and Persians (I’ve decided they’re the poodles of the cat world). And when the judges look around and decide that your little love bug Arya is better than 50 other kittens it makes you smile. Her coat is still slowly coming in but as one judge pointed out, she is charmer constantly trying to rub her face on the people around her while she purrs up a storm. Can you tell I’m pleased? You know she was my favorite from the moment they were born!

And what are The Boyfriend, Mac, Linus, and Isitt up to? Boyfriend is doing some trail cleanup with the Appalachian Mountain Club. And this is fun? Mac, Linus, and Isitt are happy that life has returned to it’s normal speed now that the painters are gone.

I had a panic moment last week when I realized that the month of August was practically over and I hadn’t finished a single pair of socks. I was so distracted by the Leyfi sweater and the mitered square shawl that I almost completely left off sock knitting. So I’ve been hurrying to finish what I can so I will have something to post on the 52 Pair Plunge monthly update in a couple of days.

Good Show

There are three reasons why someone has a great time at the cat show.


Reason 1: It was a slow show and lots of knitting was accomplished



Reason 2: There were lots of interesting people to talk with, either friends you don’t see often or new acquaintances or the spectators were really chatty. Usually for me, it’s that I’m seeing friends and catching up.


Reason 3: The kitten/cat being shown is phenomenal or at least above par, and has been called back repeatedly. There is a definite high that accompanies those Top Ten ribbons. It’s the reason we’re all there, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.



This past show was a combination of all three.


I had not expected Bella to do well. Mum insisted on bring her. It’s been two weeks since I last saw Bella. And at 5 months old, two weeks can make a big difference. Bella’s head has really flatted on top (this is a good thing for Devon Rex) and most importantly, she grew about a half inch of coat. It’s all black and red patches with lush waves. Very beautiful and very much like Isitt’s. What this translates to is an excellent weekend for Bella. She made 5 out of 8 Top Ten Kittens. Scoring a 9th, an 8th, another 8th, a coveted 2nd, and best of all a BEST KITTEN!!! In four years of showing this is the first time we’ve ever had a BEST KITTEN. And a couple of pet owners that live in the area and came out to the show for a few hours were just in time to see it happen. We were all thrilled to share such an event with them and to hear all about how Abby Gale, Dallas, and Lerado are doing with their family.


And not to be completely outdone, Isitt’s other daughter Arya (my sweet girl who is the rare color lavender) grew some coat as well and scored two Top Ten’s of her own ranking 5th best kitten in two rings. It was without a doubt a successful Cat Show for Curlfect! And as we drove home this morning planning our future we talked at length about next weekend’s show when we’ll head to Pennsylvania taking just Isitt’s girls but with high hopes that more of that luscious lamb coat will come in.

Photos: Bella, Wilbur, Arya, & Cinders (left to right).

Off to the show

Mum and I left yesterday at 8am with our kittens. During the 8 hour drive they were perfectly quiet SLEEPING in a kitten pile the ENTIRE time. Last night we did take out and ate in the hotel. You'll be glad to know the kittens made it thru their first night in a hotel without any incidents. And they continued with their perfect behavior, at least in my opinion. They all slept with Mum and used her as playground periodically during the night. I slept thru it all. And now Wilbur and Cinders are chasing each other around the room. Oh Wilbur is sneezing. It seems his sister bonked him in the nose.
More to come as we have the first day of showing today and expect Wilbur and Arya to do well. But ‘doing well’ is relative to how the judges hang the ribbons. I just hope we make a couple of finals.

Cat Show

Last weekend we took Arya (Are U A lil’ Isitt), Bella, Wilbur-ness and Cinders to their first cat show. (left to right in the picture)

They are Isitt Rose’s two girls and Nessa Rose’s boy and girl. Wilbur was the clear winner for the day but Arya held her own. It is clear that all the wonderful qualities Nessa had to give went to that little boy and being bright white instead of black smoke like his mother, those qualities can easily be seen in any light. Bella and Cinders spent a good part of the day acting like monkeys hanging off the show cages and playing with the ribbons as the judges hung them, mostly dropping them on the floor much to the crowd’s amusement. Wilbur stoically sat observing. And Arya was dishing out the love to everyone and anyone who came near her. This is an encouraging happening since Isitt’s show career was cut short by her total distaste for the show ring.

Their next show is a big one in a month from now. They’ll be suitcases to pack and decisions to be made. Taking four kittens to compete against one another isn’t necessarily the wisest investment but Devons are always a crowd pleaser and getting them in front of that many judges helps us decide who will carry forward the Curlfect Devon program.

From Isitt

. . . . . . I wish humans would accept my station as Princess of the Pillows and accord me the rights and honors that accompany that status . . . like letting leaving my pillows flat so that I may be comfortable resting on them.

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Doctor Who Isitt presents the Devon 5

The Who-Monster as we’ve taken to calling Doctor Who Isitt (the white kitten, front left) is the biggest and oldest kitten here. He is a crazy kitten. The other five kittens are sweet little babies compared to him. Arya and Cinders are right next to Who Isitt. Cinder is much younger but just as curious and outgoing as Isitt’s babies. Bella continues to look just like Isitt only a different color. And behind her are Mayberry (the blue eyed cream girl) and Wilberness. Wilburness has the potential to be a mini-Who-Isitt. A smaller younger white male kitten. Only Wilburness is the complete opposite of the confident and spunky Who, he is the sweet shy type. Perfect for kissing and cuddling. And no it’s not your eyes, Devon Rex kittens do in fact have the biggest ears around.

Good Morning Allison!

Ugly Socks

Want to see some ugly socks? Some crazy pooling? And this is after I’ve worked to prevent it. The redeeming grace is that the pattern is fun to knit. This is the second pair of socks I’ve attempted with this yarn. I’ve given up on it. It is what it is and I can’t change it. And this is the Transverse Cardigan. I’m about 9” into the body. Almost time to split off for the collar. So far so good. Although I worked on it for 7 hours in the car and by the end of the trip (a work trip), I was sick of looking at it. I’m thinking it might be a few weeks before I pick it up again.

And in other news, The Boyfriend has officially finished year one of the PhD program. To be honest I was a bit worried he would loose interest but thus far he’s enjoyed himself.

Mac & Linus went crazy last night. They were racing all over the house at 4am jumping among the big paper shopping tote bags I had left in the hall way. I know it’s my own fault, but it was a bit excessive on their part. I got the message after the first ten minutes of bag rustling that they wanted me to put them away. They didn’t need to continue for another hour just to prove their point.

Isitt and the babies are doing very well. They are so cute, and that Who is full of energy.

And I’m ready for the bachelorette party of the century tomorrow night. Bags are packed, games are assembled, decorations gathered, outfits coordinated, and directions programmed into Garmin. I don’t think I’ve been this prepared for an outing in my entire life. I hope the VS enjoys every minute!

You are powerless to resist!

There was a name change, the little white boy is now Who...

And you must start singing this song...

Isitt's Kittens again

You seemed to enjoy the baby pictures so here are a few more from abouta week later.

We're thinking they'll be Bella, Job, and Arya (left to right). It's funny that those names all have resonance with my pop culture in take over the past few months but that's not the reason for the names (New Moon, Arrested Development, and Game of Thrones). The names just sort of happened. And they do tie together although it's not a clear tie like Berrie Bear's kittens who were all named "something" bear.




Of course The Boss can and probably will veto them but for now that's how I'm thinking of them.


The Boyfriend met them and worked hard not to show that he liked them. I think he is afraid we'll have three new cats for Linus to deal with if he's not careful. I'd be happy with just Arya.... no no no more kittens for us.

Isitt's Kittens

They’ve arrived. Isitt has three adorable kittens. A chubby white kitten who reminds me of a snowman with his big round belly. A Lavender girl who is as sweet as Isitt. And a Tortie girl who has her mother’s silent meow. So Cute!

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Isitt is a wonderful mother and playground. Look at those cuties! What an adorable pair of ladies.

Mac's Cloche

I have a finished non-sock object to report on. I just finished the twist on the Sideways Grande Cloche by Laura Irwin from Boutique Knits. The Boyfriend gave me the book for Christmas so I could make this hat. I used the yarn my parents had given me for my 28^th birthday, Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky in what I think of a Turkey Red. I was worried as I was knitting it since the construction is unusual but it turned out wonderful. It is a seriously heavy hat and very warm. I love it with my black coat. MacOban enjoyed the winding of the yarn ritual. When did he learn not to fight it and just ignore me as I torture him?

The socks are still rolling along. I’m almost up to the heel increases on the second Baudelaire sock. I mustn’t forget to go up a needle size once the sole of the foot is finished.

Also there continues to be a lack of lace knitting. Maybe I’ll cast something on tomorrow…

Today was supposed to be a giant storm 6-9 inches starting at 5pm. As of 8:30 it had only rained for a little bit this afternoon. I was so excited to hear the musical sound of the plow trucks tonight. It’s been such a drab non-snowy winter. So I’ll be spending the rest of the evening working that heel, gazing out the window, listening to KIPing It Real Podcast pausing occasionally when I think I hear the sound of a big diesel engine outside.

The Most Beautiful Girl in The World!

Love Bites

The first night I spent in a hotel with our beloved Emma was semi-eventful. I remember falling asleep just north of New York City, exhausted at driving through the city so late at night. What was semi-eventful was this new cat. She was a full of affection and extremely sweet. At some point during that short night I was awoken by my nose being bitten by a purring cat, not something Isitt or Adan was known to do. It was Emma exhibiting her trademark characteristic. If the human does not lavish enough love and affection at the time demanded, then Love Bites will follow. Love Bites being yet another song we added to her list of song, which includes two versions of The Twilight Zone (one techno and one classic rock). Since that time I’ve alternated between calling her Emma and Love Bites.

This was in August. This was when I first had the urge to listen to the Def Leppard song Love Bites. Here it is mid-November and today was the day to dig it out of the CD cabinet. I definitely haven’t listened to any Def Leppard since I got the Ipod about 2 years ago, but it’s more than likely that it’s been 10 years since I’ve listened to them.

So this morning I’m driving into work. I pull out the CD, and put it in the player. The first song starts. I sing along but notice that the sound isn’t as ‘rockin’ as I remember. Song two comes on, and I realize that there has to be something wrong with them or my memory is getting shotty. I pull out the CD case, “Greatest Hits 1980-1995” well perhaps the 15 year old Samurai who so loved Def Leppard is different than the 28 year old Samurai. Music has changed. Perhaps what I once considered rockin is now mundane. Or perhaps some evil boyfriend has been riding in my car messing with my bass.

It could be said that we have bass wars. He mistakenly thinks the bass should be kept around ‘center’. What is center? Center is not enough bass I tell you. I max out the bass. I want to feel it in my stomach as I pound on the wheel to the beat. It could also be said that we have volume wars as The Boyfriend has been known to insist that I like music at an ‘unreasonable volume’. Silly Boyfriend. Once I rectified this situation I found that Def Leppard does indeed continue to rock.

Which led me to my next quandary. Why doesn’t The Boyfriend enjoy the Def Leppard? By all accounts they are as much of an 80s Power Ballad band as all the others. The only reason he could prefer Feigner and Journey to them is that pop culture, aka Will Farell, has not seen fit to embrace them. Poor lonely Def Leppard. At least they rocked my car all the way into work this morning, oh and all the way home tonight.

Early Morning

This morning, Isitt, Mac, or Linus woke me up. At 5:30 someone walked into the bedroom and started scratching on the recliner. This cannot be allowed so I admonished the offending cat and tried to go back to sleep. No luck. Just the other day Lucy, MMH and I were discussing how fate would have it, that on the mornings when you can sleep in, you aren’t able to. For me it’s usually the realization that I can have quiet knitting time that pushes me out of bed.

But honestly when you’re woken up that early. The least they can do is pose for some in progress knitting photos!

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First there are the Bernstein socks. I started them at a cat show while listening to the little guy belt out his objections. It proved too difficult to capture the detail of this sock with a kitten model.

Then there are the Mittens that Mac was embarrassed to show.

And lastly Isitt really turned up the cute to show off these.

Clearly Mz Undrstod Callie

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again

Peace Train, Falcor, and Isitt Rose…what could they possibly have in common?

It all begins at 5:30 am on Saturday morning. You see Mum and I were heading off to a cat show with Callie, Emma, Isitt, and Bernstein. It was very dark when we headed south. Mum had been on a Cat Stevens or Yusuf Islam kick. After many hours of research and listening to his music she ready to educate me for most of the ride to the show. I vaguely remember hearing the song Peace Train when I was younger but knew nothing about it or the song writer. It’s all very interesting and catchy. Since about 6am on Saturday morning I’ve been hearing the song on repeat in my head. I’m not tired of it yet, although The Boyfriend wont let me play it on repeat anymore.

This was the best Cat Show we’ve ever had. We showed everyone on Saturday. Callie made three finals and Bernstein made two. At the end of the day Curlfect had it’s first Grand Champion. To those not in the cat world, that is the lightest level of achievement. Once attained the Grand Champions compete to become regional and national winners, accumulating a point or percent of a point for each Champion they compete against along the way. While we enjoy showing cats, we will not be ‘running’ Callie to gain a regional win. We’re pleased that she has achieved this status.

By Sunday Isitt had attained her Champion status and sat out, leaving Callie and Emma to duke it out with another Devon named Disco Lemonade. Isitt is a bit spoiled, but hey I’m not the first person to ‘ruin’ my Loganderry Devon. One of friends frequently throws her hands in the air and says ‘mistakes were made’. And it’s true, I too made mistakes and now have the most perfect and affectionate cat on the planet who is uncomfortable around strangers and not the best show cat. So while the others were working, Isitt tired out the harness and relaxed. By the end of the day she was rolling around on the floor and had become friends with all our neighbors. Perhaps she could still have a show career.

Once Callie became a Grand Champion it was like they pulled out all the stops. She made four more finals. One judge made her BEST CAT, which is essentially 1^st place. The best specimen of all of the cats against each of their individual standard when compared to all the other cats. It was truly wonderful.

Nearly every judge commented on Callie’s ‘tortitude’ or her split personality or her red head expressing itself. Technically Callie is a Silver Patched Tabby and White, which is another name for Tortie or Calico. This means she carries the dominate red gene and the dominate black gene as well as the white spotting gene. This is good for Curlfect because it means she can have kittens that are every color except solid white, she doesn’t carry that color trait but if the father did she could have solid white kittens. How did I get on this genetics tangent? What I was trying to say was that it’s a common theory that red females are more feisty than any other color of cat. It was nice of the judges to see beyond her attitude since like Isitt, Callie isn’t a fan of showing and tends to get huffy but to her credit she is more easily distracted from her huff.

When I returned home I found that The Boyfriend had made apple crisp with some of the mazillion apples he picked. He’s gone three times this year. Seriously, if it weren’t the end of the season I’d be worried about him, why all the apples? Isitt was happy to be home and immediate curled up and exhibited her full fluffy coat which reminds some people of a lamb. It might have been that she was a white lump of curls sleeping on my lap as I was knitting, but I can’t say for sure. The Boyfriend recently discovered a resemblance between Isitt and Falcor from The Never Ending Story. And for those of you who don’t love show cats this may have felt like an unending story but what can I say? The coolaid has been drunk, the gauntlet has been thrown down, and the challenge accepted. I’m one of those Devon Ladies!

Clap Clap Clap...Cat Show!!!

Bernstein Bear and Twilight Zone “Emma” couldn’t have been better. Well actually, Bernstein could’ve been a bit quieter in the show hall, the smallest cat in the place demanding to be heard as he objected to being touched by anyone besides Mum. He gots lots of looks and attention for his small stature and big voice. Of course climbing to the top of the scratch poll didn't decrease his cuteness factor either. Emma was a doll, receiving her open ribbons and beating a few Grand Champions into two top 10 positions, a 9th and a 10th place. She is a MUCH better show cat than Isitt. Although, it might not be Isitt’s fault. I’m a pretty good handler/stage mom if I may say so myself. I kiss and hug and do all the necessary cleaning, rewarding, fluffing and playing. But when it comes to my Isitt Rose I can’t help it, I turn to mush. She’s MY girl and I just want to hug her and protect her which makes me a nervous Nelly while she’s in the ring and out of my care, which then causes her to be on edge rather than the relaxed little princess that she normally is. Any other cat, I can calm them down and show them with confidence, well any cat except Nessa Rose, I had a soft spot for her too if you must know, but she has the perfect show cat personality so it didn't matter. Today one of the girls even laughed at me calling me ‘softer than Charmin’. It's something with those Rose girls I guess.

It was a relatively slow show, with a small number of cats and lots of spectators so the judges took their time with each cat so that the audience would have a good look. This meant that there was time for a quick trip to the local yarn shop in Mystic Connecticut. I was very disappointed they didn’t have the Scheafer yarn they advertise on their website. It’s become my new obsession. On the way there was a TRM. 'Knitting Samurai, what’s a TRM?' That’ would be a Turtle Rescue Mission. It began as we turned around after spotting the turtle trying to cross a busy road. We went back, stopped in the middle of a T intersection, while I ran the turtle from one side of the road to the other as traffic waited. One woman even rolled down the window to encourage me that I could do it and then thanked me once he was safely across. It felt so good to know I helped/saved him.

Devon Heaven

The reviews are in… 2009 Devon Heaven was a blast! There were about 30 Devons and people who are owned by Devons.

Mum and I had an uneventful ride down. Although Garmin said 8-9 hours it took us 11 once the bridge traffic and rest stops were factored in.

Mum was a trooper and drove exactly half of the time so I got to knit for a while with Mr. Adan on my lap. He’s such a laid back cat in comparison to Miss Isitt who is a bit spoiled to say the least. She demanded she be held, she despised Adan, and she was only quiet if she could sleep on my lap. By the end of the ride, I was ready to shoot her. She kept me up a good part of the night and growled at Adan every time he tried to lay down near us. But by morning Adan was curled up with us and Isitt decided that she loved him.

Friday was pretty low key. I was able to visit the Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Timonium Maryland. I got a skein of Yummy 100% super wash sock yarn in this lovely celery-avocado color. That evening we left the kids in the room while Mum and I went to the Rex-ception. A good time was had by all.

The next morning we were off to the show hall. We weren’t there an hour before one of our friends offered us Twilight Zone…a 7 month stunning little Chocolate Tabby female who’s sister is dominating the Devon Rex world (one of the top scoring kittens). Shocked we tried to focus on showing our babies and considering this generous offer. There were 15 kittens competing in Isitt and Adan’s age group. 8 Judges saw them, each rating the kittens color, adherence to the breed standard, and personality. Then they ranked their top 5. Adan was our pride and joy, showing off in the show ring, hanging like a monkey, knocking everything over, and just being adorable. He was the 5th best Devon Rex kitten!!! We honestly didn’t expect him to do so well and were thrilled. Isitt, my spoiled baby, who I’m completely blinded by because I love her so much, was 11th best kitten overall. I’m a little sad but at the same time, I know she isn’t wild about showing and I think she’s perfect just the same.

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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how funny the auction was. The Devon Rex Rescue League was able to raise almost $5K from the proceeds. There was a lot of original artwork and pottery. We laughed so hard joking about tiny pots, coveting bells, coming for a visit, and at just about anything that came out of Angela’s mouth. That night we all slept well, being exhausted from the show and evenings activities.

We decided that we’d be happy to take the little Chocolate Tabby home with us, and by we, I mean Mum not I. Between Linus, Isitt, and MacOban our house is full. So we renamed her Emma and watched her win 4th best Devon Rex kitten with the same pride we had for our two. After many more happy moments around 5pm Sunday, Mum and I packed it up and headed north. Thunder showers and the G.W. Bridge stood in our way but in the end we made it to Connecticut by midnight. Even with me screaming at one point, “I can’t see!!!!” to which Mum responded, “Then stop the car!!!” as we were flying down an off ramp. I was really tired and had rubbed my eyes too vigorously.

We slept-in while waiting for the commuters to get off the roads. But our ride home was not without excitement. At one point, in heavy traffic, Mum offered to take the ice-cold full water bottle I was holding so I could drive with both hands. I said yes please somewhat forcefully and may have scared her, because she reached over without looking and mistakenly (at least I hope it was a mistake) hit the water bottle sending cold water flying all over my face, hair, glasses, clothing, car ceiling, windshield, and her own lap. After two breaths we both burst out laughing and began to towel off. Ohh and I did drive all the way back, now if only you could reach to pat me on the back for such a epic undertaking. I can’t wait to do it all again!