Down and Out

Alright, not really out. But I was informed by one of my loyal readers (Thanks mom! Seriously what would I do without you. ) that my site was down. How can this be you ask? How can something so radical s Radical Mirrors be down? Well, it was a mess up by my Registrar. They must have messed something up. Uhm, sure. Though I think it might have been my mistake… cough.

As you can see, reading this means that the site is now back online and spiffy as ever!

YAY!!

Kitty PSA

My cat is inconsistent about recognizing her need to eat and drink. If you are a cat owner then you will know how important this can be.

My veterinarian even stated that she suspected that it could be linked to feline dementia.

She (my cat I mean) is about seventeen now.

I say that because when we got her from the shelter she was estimated at around 11 years old. Now in people years she is closer to a hundred. This isn’t limited to older cats though, since cats would get their nourishment from their prey they can often forget to take additional nourishment in other forms. Mostly through drinking.

That means if you are feeding your elderly cat a diet of dry food you could be putting her at risk for dehydration.

Old cats need wet food because they tend to not drink enough water. This is in part because they have a decreased appetite & cognitive function.

If you have the feeling that you cat isn’t drinking enough you can monitor their intake. Measure how much is left in the bowl, or how much you add to their fountain in the morning. This, along with ensuring that they are eating a diet high in wet food, or exclusively wet food is important to maintain their health.

Stay Organized

If you are going to seriously start knitting then you will want to make sure that you stay organized. While this is a relatively clean and clutter free hobby, if you don’t keep your supplies in order you will quickly end up with balls of yarn, tangled balls of yarn.

Let me say first that I love to knit. I have been knitting and crocheting since high school. And I have learned the hard way that not keeping your items in order is only good for a head ache. That said, as you can imagine I have gone through more than a couple bags but few of them were designed to meet my needs. I like bags that stand up on their own, can be easily taken along, don’t require a lot of yarn organization and yet keep the yarn protected.

It is also a plus if the bag has storage spaces within or on the bag for my large assortment of needles.

My current bag even has a zipper pocket on the front which I like to store my yarn needles in! Another fact that I absolutely love, is when the bags have both a hand strap and shoulder strap, together in the same design.

Also when you choose your first bag make sure you don’t opt for the smallest one. You will quickly learn that the bag is better when it is large enough to fit several skeins of yarn into it. The reason is because after you get a bit better you will usually work on projects that are of several colors.

That is pretty much what I look for when I feel it is time for a new bag. I would name a couple of brands, but my newest bag is about ten years old and I really haven’t looked at new models since then. The reason is because it offers everything I need, looks good, and had held up to various wear and tear. Including a camping trip in the Catskills.

When you find a good bag that meets your needs you’ll know what I mean.

The Wooden Beginner

When you start knitting you are a little stiff, things don’t flow right. And you will inevitably learn that the darn yarn just doesn’t stay on the needle. Well. Thankfully there are a few tricks that you can employ.

If you tried to learn to knit with the old aluminum needles you will know what I mean.

The yarn keeps falling off the needles. If you have watched the videos on youtube you may have noticed that a lot of people use bamboo needles. You could opt for something like Clover size 8 needles and some yarn and got started.

If you have tried in the past to learn to knit you will notice how much of a difference bamboo makes. I now knit and purl away. Perhaps you might want to start with an American/English/throwing knitting style, this is much easier for beginners. Since you will be starting with the bamboo needles they will grip the yarn snugly enough so that you don’t drop stitches. The yarn doesn’t slide sloppily all over the place either. Don’t worry about the fit, there is enough slack to knit comfortably and easily.

Since the Clover 8s are only 9 inches long, they are much more ergonomic experience and put less strain on the hands and wrists than the longer needles do.

Bottom line: if I can knit it might just be because you never had the right needle. I have known people that tried multiple times to knit but it wasn’t until they switched their needles that caused you a few head aches. Both Brittany and Clover needles are good starters for the beginning knitter.

Knitho is Online

I am finally online, sort of. This is going to take me a little bit to get used to, sort of like knitting my first scarf. It was like a million feet long, took forever, and looked terrible. Plus I really wasn’t the scarf sort of girl, which made the entire undertaking sort of senseless. Hopefully this will go a little better.