Things have been busy since Christmas but during the last week I've finally found some time to sit down and work on a new pattern. I've had the idea for a Star Trek tribute sock for a while. Designing one was a bit terrifying though. I've never knit a sock, let alone designed one so I've made this as easy as I can for fellow sock beginners. It's knit from the toe up with a Turkish cast on and a short row heel. You can knit it in blue for Medical/Sci, like the example in the photo, red for Engineering or gold for Command. The silver stripes denote your rank and are based on the insignia from the 2009 movie. Instructions include the insignia for Captain, Commander, Chief Medical and Engineering Officers, Lieutenant and Ensign. There are also two sizes, ladies and mens.

The pattern includes a couple of yarn ideas and all the instructions you should need to make a pair of socks to fit you. The pattern is free to download. Just click on the link below and please let me know how you get on.

Ridley had taken possession of one of my favourite fairisle sweaters. He insisted on sleeping on it every night. In order to get my sweater back I decided to make him something to cuddle up to. I spotted Anastasia Roeszler's pattern for a cat crescent on Ravelry and decided it was perfect. All the cats who already have one seem to love it. There was just one problem. The original is knit as 14 separate triangles which are then sewn together. I hate sewing. So I decided to modify the pattern to knit the cushion as a single piece.

If you're a fellow sewing-phobe you can click on the icon below to download my pattern notes.WARNING:If you’ve ever knit a shawl you know what it’s like knitting long rows. At its widest point this cushion contains over 300 stitches per row. Great for TV knitting but hard on the arms. If you find the stitch count a bit daunting you might want to stick to the original pattern. It's available for free from Orange Fish Knits.

I finished Ridley's cushion yesterday and he slept on it all night. Finally, I managed to reclaim that sweater.

It's been about a month or so since I last updated but now that I'm back at university and inundated with work blogging has slipped further down my list of priorities.

However, I feel that I should make a reference to my new adoptee. After Vinnie died I wasn't going to think about adopting another rescue cat until Christmas but then I made the fatal error of browsing my local shelter's website and spotted a beautiful young tom by the name of Ridley. He was a stray and had a couple of health issues when he arrived at the shelter but, after two weeks of waiting he is now home with me and busily destroying my curtains, not to mention shedding hair on everything. I'm very much looking forward to his first Christmas at home.

My cat Vinnie died today after suffering a stroke last night. I nursed him all night but there was no chance he was going to recover so the vet put him to sleep first thing this morning. He was 17 years old. He was a rescue cat and I only had him for a year but he was a huge character and I will miss him immensely.