Twin sleeves and a rescued bird

Another installment

Well, finished spinning up the rest of my original roving and started on the sleeves. Trying to remember to read all the directions backwards so I can do them cuff-up rather than shoulder-down - and must remember to add a stitch on either side for the seam that the original doesn't have. Already messed up and didn't cast on as many stitches as needed for the cuffs, but I'm not going back and changing it - I don't mind slightly snug cuffs.

At least I caught it before adding stitches at the top of the cuff - so total stitch count for the sleeves will be right.

The color change happened a little earlier than I'd've liked but I'm just glad the original roving has lasted this long and the bottom of the sleeves will match the bottom of the sweater. I've saved a little bit of this color for sewing the pockets and finishing up.

I even spun up another skein's worth of the Black Welsh Mountain top (I already have one skein spun). I've been spending more time prepping my fiber before spinning - I'm usually too impatient and have been known to just pull a handful from a fleece and start spinning from wherever I please. I'm working with prepared fibers this time and it does help to strip the roving or top down quite a bit and loosen it up before I start.

Even spent a bit of time working on my new Fair Isle design - might be getting a bit too ambitious there - I tend to go a bit over the top sometimes. And, no, I'm not showing anybody the designs before I start; I'll probably change my mind at least 10 times before I even start.

Before anyone asks - I've not done anything on my Fearless Fair Isle or my railroad stitch socks for awhile. I'm obsessing too much with my sweatshirt jacket right now.

Bird Rescue

My husband looked out a window at work yesterday morning and saw a beautiful blue bird flying around. Thought for a brief moment that it was a blue jay, then realized that it was much too colorful for that. It was a parakeet... it landed in the street in front of the building... DH took several tries and finally managed to catch it in his hat.

It's at the Richardson, Texas, animal shelter in case you know someone missing a bird. It's beautifully marked and has lovely color. It's got a band on its leg and seems fairly tame. I got the impression that the young fellow at the shelter wouldn't mind having another parakeet (he's got two already and seems very knowledgeable about birds). If the owner of the bird doesn't claim it, I suspect it will be finding a good home. I posted a 'found bird' notice in several websites hoping the original owner will see it.

I acquired with my cockatiel in a similar fashion. A co-worker of mine had found him in her yard and didn't know what to do with him. I took him and after several weeks of not locating an owner decided he was mine. Jack was probably less than a year at the time - he's 16 now. Last time I had him at the vet (which has been awhile, I admit), she was amazed that a cockatiel that old was in that good of shape. We got him a companion about 9 years ago - Jill. Jill's a male too, but we didn't know it at the time as he was immature and not showing his orange cheek patches. They get along fairly well, although Jill can be a bit of a bully.

Emy thinks they are both very interesting, but Jack finds her equally interesting. He has caused clothes pins to snap at her (we use them to keep the birdie bloomer around the cage up). He works on them until they fly off right in front of her. I thought it was an accident the first time - I knew better when I saw him do again. If she approaches the cage he gets down on her level and follows her all the way around it. He's not afraid of her, in fact, I think he likes her. I'll post some pictures of Jack & Jill later this week.