Stats

In my usual way of being at least a decade behind the times with technology, I have discovered the "Stats" feature on Blogger. I check it several times a day now, fascinated by being able to "see" who is viewing my blog, how they found it, and what they find most interesting. I have noticed a regular reader from Iran...........how cool is that! I wonder what this person stitches, do they have cats, a garden, perhaps a doll house. Viewing these stats has opened up a whole new world for me. Although the majority of the viewers remain anonymous, it is still nice to know there is someone out there actually reading all of this.

Continuing with the theme of "stats", I have noticed that the yellow socks I am working on will be pair #35! Another good stat is the fact that I have now sold 4 items from my Etsy shop. Any other Etsy shop owners out there? How do you do it? I know my items are designed for a very focused and limited audience, but I would really love to give sales a jump-start. Maybe my things are just too "modern" for the average Etsy shopper.

Again sticking with the "stats" theme, we have increased the cat population by one. This is not official yet because this guy doesn't have a real name, I haven't petted him and he won't even come up to me yet. This is actually the closest I have seen him so far. Right outside the kitchen door on the patio, just lounging there, quite relaxed. Of course I am taking the photo through the window of the kitchen door. If you look carefully you can actually see little Roy sitting rather close by under the red wagon. I spotted Grey Guy in his usual hang-out yesterday, the old office chair in the shed but, to my surprise, there was Coal sitting right next to him. No time to run back to the house and grab the camera to capture that moment. I am pretty sure they weren't fighting since the "Bud Alarm" wasn't sounding. Bud goes absolutely nuts when he hears the cats make that high-pitched howling (speaking in tongues) that they do when they challenge each other. Tails were twitching though, but this may be the first step to accepting a new friend into the group. Since Sammy has passed away I notice the others stay a bit closer to me, even when we are outside. Especially Roy, my shy boy. And here's an odd twist, Coal and Carmella rolling around together. They have always gotten along, but Coal has shown a marked preference for Roy (and his best friend Sammy) and Carmella has been a bit of a loner.

On the stitching front, not many stats to report there. At a stand-still on the 1911 gown. I changed the idea a bit when I found this fashion plate drawing. I have altered a store-bought doll pattern of a modern gown with similar cut and style. I've cut it out and have all the pieces marked for stitching, but I'm a bit afraid of making a total mess of such nice fabric. I finished knitting this cowl (sp?). My mother has been after me to try this freebie pattern from Lion Yarn. She even picked up the recommended Lion Brand "Amazing" yarn on sale. Her hands don't move as quickly with the needles anymore, so she wanted me to give it a try. Circulars are not my strong point, but here's the results. An easy cast-on 80 stitches. 1 1/2 inches of ribbing (K2,P2) on either end of a 9" knitted tube. This uses two balls of Amazing knit with two strands held together ( also a first for me).

Looks like it will be more of an outside day anyway. Already 56 degrees F and sunny. Before I head out I want to say "HELLO" to my reader in Iran. Thank you for visiting and brightening my day!