Kathy from MO had the best reason for not finishing her challenge sweater in time. Chickens. She wrote, “The summer challenge sweater was almost done-a short cardigan crocheted from DIC Classy Butter Peeps. Then I discovered the chickens LOVED to watch me crochet. So this past week, every day I did a few rows on the back as I sat outside with the flock. The night before last I joined it all…and the back was twice as long as it should have been. I still cannot believe I over-crocheted the back because I was entertaining the chickens by crocheting.” She even sent me pictures as evidence. I think that’s probably the best excuse I’ve heard yet, for not finishing by the deadline! Note how one is particularly determined to get right into the middle of the situation. Or rather, on top of the situation.
I have the same problem. No, not with chickens. With Zoe, my cat. She loves curling up on my lap when I am knitting. If, heaven forbid, I should have my laptop on my lap 
for a bit, she sits on the arm of the chair and gives me the evil eye until I move it off to the table next to me and she can reclaim her spot. (Really – she can be quite intimidating with her eyes.) This photo was taken last summer while I was knitting my 100% Alpaca Girasole. There’s nothing quite like having a large throw on your lap, made out of 100% really really warm Alpaca, along with a furry, warm, purring cat, in the middle of 100 degree weather and 90% humidity. Special times.
So do you knit or crochet with pets that feel the need to be RIGHTTHEREWITHYOU while you work?
Sheri Idolikehavingalapcatinthewintertimewhenit’scold,though
Not only do the animals at home insist on “helping me” (that would be 4 cats, 3 dogs and 3 parrots), but the 2 cats that live at work (a vet clinic) also love my knitting. There’s always one of them sleeping on my knitting bag, and come lunch when I knit, both of them get involved!
(and yes, they have knitted/felted beds at work too)
While my dog, Zoe shares the couch with me while I knit., my cat Kira likes to sit in my lap while I knit. I find it very comforting!
How fun! In my case it is making the yarn that draws the attention. While spinning I had 3 kids from age 5 to 11 sitting mezmerised for 45 minutes watching me make a bobbin of yarn. They were visiting kids and had never seen a spinning wheel in operation yet 😀
Sheri,
I inherited my mom’s cat when she passed last year. She will sit in front of me with huge jade eyes and just stare for quite some time. Sometimes she will get frustrated by the lack of attention and bite my bamboo dpns or bat at the yarn. Although at times I find this incredibly frustrating, I remember the times that I find comfort from petting her or being next to my cat “Princess.” So, we have an equal partnership. I have dpns with cat teeth imprints, and she has a very understanding owner.
I almost spat out my coffee laughing at the chickens!
My dogs don’t pay much attention to me knitting, unless they think I’ve been at it too long and neglecting them. Then they like to sit in front of me, staring, and eventually put their heads (yes, it’s almost synchronized) onto the project on my lap. They give me the sad look from there until I relent and throw a ball or something…
Would LOVE to see a photo of Kathy modeling her sweater with the chickens 🙂 Now I am curious – which pattern was Kathy using – Kathy are you willing to share? 🙂
Also curious – do the chickens and roosters have names?
This post gives new meaning to my knitting chickens project bag. I have a knitting friend who keeps talking about getting some chickens. She’ll receive a link to this post. I never started a sweater challenge but will use pets as excuse for taking 4 years to knit my stranded Oregon Cardi. Somehow I don’t think I could take one dog, one cat and one 100% wool steeked sweater in my lap during our hot months. Thanks to Kathy for sharing.
mostly I am ok with the yarn part, but my SophieBear (feline) sure likes to come over pull the knitting needles out of the yarn. nice that the yarn does not attract her but the needles, what a wonderful cat toy. now her big brother Mo has taken to sitting in front of the computer screen when I knit and as he is a “bit” overweight, he also keeps sitting on the keyboard. I keep patterns I am working on on the computer, it is easier as I tend to change adapt patterns a bit as I work them and I don’t lose the scraps of paper like I used to, but I can’t seen them though him and I don’t doubt that he knows he gets my attention. well, Mo is back. no more knitting or typing for now. – Barb
No cats here, but my 40 lb. Cocker Spaniel turns into a lap dog in the winter, which makes it really tough to knit. Thankfully, she gives it up in the summer unless I have food she thinks she should share. The chicken story is hilarious!
I don’t really knit or crochet around Saru-chan, our kitty. She used to have a yarn eating habit, and the yarn is put away when not being used. I knit near Victor, the dog, instead, because he won’t try to pull it out of my lap. Though if I am too boring he will give me these sad eyes that say if you aren’t going to play with me, you could at least give me liver and bacon.
Those chickens are just too adorable. Don’t know much about them, but I know they’re quite smart and trainable. My dog just likes to be where I am, whatever I’m doing, but one of the three cats I had loved to lay in my lap when I was knitting. Luckily, she was a petite little thing, and she’d curl up, I’d even end up putting my knitting on top of her…she didn’t care. The other two liked to lay next to me, but Tittums, my dear little calico psycho-bitch kitty was truly at peace when covered with my knitting.
My cat, Francis, is quite clear that he has propriatory rights to snuggle up next to my thigh whenever I’m sitting down. If a ball of yarn should happen to be on his turf…not a problem, he just lies on top of it.
I LOVE IT! My pets feel the need to be in whatever I am working on too. The cats and dog are pretty well mannored…but when it comes to Frances, the rat, well that’s another matter! She likes to sit on my chest and watch, acting all innocent, and then, when I am not paying attention to her, she springs right onto my current wip….and tries to eat it!!!! I am going to have to catalog her as one of my WIP too! 🙂
the chicken story is absolutely priceless. I have 3 cats who vie for my lap so my knitting time can be cut significantly depending on what i am knitting. Currently I am doing the lace part of Ishbel and I just can do it with a 14 lb cat on my lap! Mostly, I give the kitties their time but will ask them to leave after about 30 minutes so I can get some knitting in!
Obviously pets have decided that time spent doing what we love is not time devoted to them, and have to get into the act! My late kitty, Irish, loved the process of me hand-quilting since I do it with a hoop in my lap. Instead of being on my lap with the quilt, he’d make a nest of the quilt draped onto the floor, and that little 10-pound kitty could suddenly seem to weigh 50 pounds when I’d try to shift the quilt to a new spot. Another cat, Mittens, used to think my balls of yarn were her personal body pillows and wrap herself around the ball of yarn, complete with holding the yarn strand down with her front legs. That really stopped the knitting until I could unwind it from her. I think its time to get another pet who will dominate my needlework for me.
and I thought I was the only one!!! Rosie is a 2 yo golden retreiver who for the most part ignores me during the day….except when I start to knit. Then it is nap time for her and her head (you guessed it) in my lap. Hard to knit with your arms up in the air and she doesn’t like it if the yarn tickles her nose to wake her up. I love her….good thing!!!
Oh yes. I’ve had a terrier in my lap since the moment I decided to take up knitting again, however many years ago that was now. Gretchen, the current lap guard, has a special fetish for any yarn with cashmere in it. She just rubs her face in it, so gently… Smart girl!
My animals are not on my lap but “help’ in their own way. I made a pair of fingerless gloves for our mail lady this year and as I was finishing the second one, my adolescent dog ate the first one…..luckily, I had enough yarn to make a third. He also “helps” by stealing any skein of yarn he can and playing catch me if you can! Somedays it’s funnier than others…….
Wow, love those chickens!! Thinking of getting a brood myself. But that might cause a bit of commotion if my current knitting buddy gets jealous!
http://images4.ravelry.com/uploads/jpsdad/7319729/img_0280_medium.jpg
He’s such a love pig, but feels as cozy as a handmade sock when he’s at my feet. Just a little difficult to get into my shoes! 🙂
Angus follows me around from room to room while I clean, etc. He likes it when I sit to knit or whatever so he can get some rest!
I think this may be one of my favorite posts!
I have a stalker kitty who having been a stray needs to do things on her time. So she does tend to be next to me or at my feet hoping for a chance to chase the yarn string when the chance arises! My golden who passed a year ago used to have a habit of lying on the yarn if it fell to the floor, i think she thought if it as her pillow.
No cats or chickens here: just dog(s). Only one interfers with my knitting and that is the littlest (25 lb) one. He will play happily by himself for a while and then want my attention. Little bugger grabs my needles and just sits there with them in his mouth as if to say “Pay attention to me or I’ll rip these out”! Hasn’t attempted to bother any yarn except one skein of cotton but does get into the knitting bag every once in a while. Thank goodness the larger dog (70 lb) isn’t interested!
Unfortunately, my cat hates me. Actually she hates everybody. She can not stand to be held and would never sit on ones lap. She just hauntingly sits by ones feet and gives the evil eye. In her defense, she was a stray and has lived with us for 11 years.
They don’t sit in my lap, but all three cats feel free to interrupt me when I’m knitting. Entropy, who “lives” on the couch, will tug at my shoulder with a paw, or stand on my shoulder and yowl in my ear – she wants some roasted chicken – NAOWWW! Ganache, our big fat glamour girl, will flop next to me and occasionally try to bite through my yarn. Espresso will stand on the spiral staircase and try to get me upstairs to the loft so I can brush her fur for the umpteenth time and feed her cat treats.
My cat, Louis usually drapes himself near or on the pattern or the skein of yarn. I love it.
My Bichon-shiztsu?? and poodle love to help me knit. If I leave a ball or skein of yarn within their reach, Rags and Rose will shake it until it is unraveled for me. They think that I enjoy untangling as I knit!
We had a kitty for nearly 20 years who would sit next to me and attack my yarn, and she did not appreciate that I would stop to dry the yarn before it went through my fingers!
TH0SE CHICKENS ARE SO FUNNY!!!
I WANT CHCIKENS TO KNIT WITH TOO!
Oh yes! We have chickens but I’ve never knit in front of them – those pictures on your blog are too funny. I usually have 2 wiener dogs trying to squeeze on my lap along with the knitting.
That is so funny! I knit sitting in my recliner with a Pug on my lap and a Corgi across my legs. The cat hates the Pug so he stays away unless he knows the coast is clear. He then likes to stand on my lap with his head under my chin. Not surprisingly, every single thing I knit has some pet hair in it. But not pet feathers.
Love the chicken pictures! My cat, Taz, has to come help me knit or tat every night, but he would really prefer it if I would just set my work aside and pay attention to him! Many times he will try to nose his head into my hand which really tends to help me drop stitches at times, but I would not have it any other way!
My pets have always been such a nuisance that I now have a room of my own where I do my knitting and spinning. It has a slatted door so air circulates well and the critters and I can see each other but they can’t get in. With the current total at 3 dogs and 2 cats, this has been a great solution.
Oh, the chickens made me laugh! Both of my Labs have to alternate lounging with me in my corner of the sectional sofa while I knit. The cat rarely ventures downstairs, but when she does, she will study the movement of my knitting needles, and then wander off, bored. No one seems to have much interest in the spinning wheel.
Yep, my cat, Gambit, loves to lay in my lap or up on the top of the cushion by my shoulders. When he’s feeling particularly amorous, he will turn and invert himself in a way that his head and paws are flopping over my shoulder and perdiodically paw at me to get my attention!
I actually have about 3 or 4 cats that fight over my lap in the evenings. They have all learned that playing with the yarn is a sure way of being booted from the recliner. They usually surround me by sitting on the foot rest or on the arms. They usually get annoyed when I peddle on the spinning wheel. As if to say ” why must you move my bed” ahh life with pets.
I used to have 4 cats! Three of them died this winter- the 4th is my knitting assistant-he checks the yarn as it approaches my needles from the ball and he leaves bits of fur on all the projects in my house.
I have two cats and they really don’t pay all that much attention to my knitting. Unless I’m knitting with alpaca. Then, they snuggle up next to me and my knitting and pet and cuddle the yarn.
Its not just us humans that have a think for alpaca!
Sarah