Down at Fraggle Rock

My middle daughter  fell in love with the old series “Fraggle Rock” when she saw the very first episode.  Of course, I loved the show when I was a kid, so I thought her enthusiasm was pretty cute.  She quickly found a favorite character…Boober Fraggle. 

For those who aren’t lucky enough to be familiar with the legendary Fraggles, Boober  is a worrywart to the extreme.  He prefers activities such as washing all of his fellow Fraggles’ socks or cooking up a big batch of radish stew more than anything else.  He always has a reason why the capers of his compatriots are just too dangerous for him.

I think my dear daughter likes him so very much because she identifies with him.  She loves to take care of other people, and she is quite the little worrier herself.  Much like her Mama, she wants to be sure that she knows she is getting into before she even dips in a little toe.  Like Boober, she can become rather anxious if she is treading on uncertain ground.

So I knew that I had to crochet Boober Fraggle for her.  I used mercerized cotton for his face and limbs, Lion Brand Homespun for the body, Fun Fur for his hair, and I used some random wool to knit his hat and scarf.  By far the most complicated part was shaping his face correctly, and I’m still not satisfied with it, but my daughter loves it so that will have to be good enough for me!

And now my middle daughter, (in fact, she is the middle of all five of my children) who dreams of radish gardens, can bring Boober along on her adventures.  As long as they are planned carefully beforehand.

Meow!

The Amineko Crocheted Cat was in my Ravelry queue for a long time before I finally decided to make it. What spurred me to finally get around to it was the decision in our family to go ahead and (finally!) look for a kitty cat to adopt and make a part of our family. So, in between bouts of searching Petfinder I worked on Sleepy Neko for my youngest child, B.
I used some minimally processed Jacob wool for the main part of the kitty. And when I say minimally processed, I mean minimally processed! I was pulling bits of vegetation and
what I am assuming were lanolin chunks from the yarn the whole time I was working with it. If the mystery white globs weren't lanolin, then maybe the poor sheep had a monstrous case of dandruff. Needless to say, Sleepy Neko had a really thorough washing before he was stuffed and assembled. B took an instant liking to his new kitty, thank goodness! I was worried that he would do what he does with every other toy I give him - take a look and toss it over his shoulder on his way to bigger and better things.



We did find the perfect cats to join our household. Yes, I did say cats! We ended up with a gorgeous mama and baby pair.
The plan was originally to only adopt one cat, and we were looking specifically for a Russian Blue, since they shed less and
seem to be more allergy friendly. We found Georgia through Three Sisters Pet Rescue, and found out that she had her
last kitten, Dakota (Kode for short), with her still. Tim and I couldn't bear the thought of separating them, so we brought
both of them home with us. They are definitely a well bonded pair!



Kode, the kitten, is just a bundle of energy...he's right in the mix with my four kids having a blast! He's claimed me as
his official snuggler, and likes to climb right up on my chest and curl around for a good ear scratch and pampering session.
Georgia, the mama, is more reserved and wary. She's coming out around the kids more, but she spends most of her time out of
reach around them. Except when they're sleeping, that is!

The Elusive Sock Monster Found!

In a household of six, there is always laundry to be done, especially when four of the six are kids (one of whom is in cloth diapers). I am very familiar with our laundry room, and I am even more familiar with the phenomenon of the disappearing sock. It strikes everyone, but most often the socks which go missing are those of the younger members of the family. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about here, since this mystery seems to plague everybody.
I do believe I have found the root of the problem.

I was shocked when I opened the dryer today and saw a massive ball of lint sitting right in the middle of my freshly laundered clothes. Did I forget to put the lint filter back in? But then I saw the eyes. Hmmm, a lint ball with eyes!



After staring each other down for a few moments, the little lint ball jumped to the side of the dryer, never taking its big eyes off of me.

I backed up in surprise and it once again used those amazingly long legs to launch itself right out of the dryer!

Never in my life had I seen anything like this little thing! What could it be? As it scampered across the top of the dryer and jumped down behind, I set my camera down and leaned over to investigate. And there it was, baby sock in tow, slipping into a small hole in the dryer vent hose.

It's a Sock Monster, folks! They really do exist! And I wouldn't be surprised if your house has one too.