Fun with Rats and Knitting Needles

There's a title to concern animal welfare advocates, but I assure you I have the best interests of my ratty little friends at heart!

I simply found a way to use some spare needles and a tube of fabric from an old t-shirt to make a new tunnel/hammock for my rats. With the needles to afix the edges of the fabric to the wire cage top, you get a nice cozy rat napping nest.

This has prove a very popular place to nap and hide, and they spend about half of their sleeping time in there. Of course, since it is attached to the roof of the cage, which lifts up, one has to be careful about "lifting the lid" when rats are on board!

They are really cute in here, sometimes sleeping end to end, sometimes front to back, and sometimes side by side.

Alot of the time however, the big one (Bear) just seems to pile on top of the little one (Baby) in a big squashy pile.

I have been knitting like a fiend, trying to get some progress done on Pierre's sweater. The space between the two grey wool knots is yesterday's progress. I had been quite impressed with this but now it seems a bit feeble. I will shoot for more today. This is the simplest of all knitting - don't even really have to look, so I'm watching alot of tv/dvd - yesterday, I started Angel season 2 again, and we watched "Hitch" with Will Smith. Pierre learned some new dance moves, like "The Q-tip" Watch for Pierre the RIpper at a venue near you soon...Today I have season 4 of "Sex in the City" or is it "and the city" I never know - I've never watched the show, but my sister liked it and it was at the library. I also am watching "Fight Club."

The sweater itself is fairly plain and boring, but I hope it will turn out nicely. The wool is lovely and quite warm. My design includes a striaght bottom - I don't like the "tight waist band, bunched over" style of sweater, and I don't htink it looks good on people. It has a garter stitch hem, and is stocking stitch throughout. I am thinking of doing something more interesting to the arms - maybe a cable up the side or a band of garter stitch? Would that look weird? Comments and suggestions welcome.

The design is based on the principles of Elizabeth Zimmerman, as told in the article on knitty.com "Knitting By Numbers" by Julie Theaker.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/FEATknitbynumbers.html

The idea is basically if you can measure the person and measure your guage you can make a simple sweater pattern of your own using percentages. It sounds mathy but it isn't.

Until the sweater is complete, PIerre is forced to huddle beneath blankets with Ranger the Cat for warmth. Sad isn't it? Actually, I walked in on these two in this pose and thought it was hilarious that they looked so much the same.