Gettin’ my groove back

Feb25

Thank goodness, my mojo was not gone very long. Yesterday afternoon I went up to my craft room and gazed at my stash and pulled out a handful of skeins that called my name, and wound them without any expectations of what I should knit with them. I just appreciated the colors and the feels.I mean, how can you play with this and not want to knit it?? It’s hot pink Simpliworsted and I know it’s going to be a hat, maybe for me, but I feel a little of that crippling fear you get when you love a yarn so much that you want it to be exactly the right pattern. I keep telling myself I have two skeins of it, so it can be two hats and I can keep whichever one I like best.

While I pondered that, though, I decided I needed a fast felting project. I’d pulled out some wool in peach and mint green that wanted to be a felted bag, so I spent a while on Ravelry before deciding on this clutch pattern. The knitting part was super fast; I got almost all of it knit last night, with maybe an inch left to do this morning. I did a three-needle bind off instead of learning Kitchener. I didn’t think trying that for the first time was the right way to coax my knitting mojo into staying! Now the bag is ready to felt and as soon as I get my errands done, I’ll be working on that. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.The other excitement of the morning was thanks to these two monsters. They look sweet and calm, don’t they? Well, they greeted me when I got up this morning and they were all excited and happy and bouncy, and then they decided they should start roughhousing on the stairs while I was trying to go down. Two puppies crashing into me means I fell down and slammed my lower back into the hardwood stairs. Yeah. It’s awesome. I’ll be doing some training with them on stair etiquette very soon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find an ice pack!

Mojo, where are you?

Feb24

I seem to have misplaced my knitting mojo. No, no, don’t fret, it will be okay. I’m not anti-knitting, I’m just finding other things more appealing at the moment. I think partly I got absorbed with the puppy-finding process and then I lost momentum. I didn’t knit *at all* while I watched the Oscars. Four hours of TV time with no knitting. I just watched it. It was kind of weird, but also a little nice. And last night I read a magazine. Cover to cover in one sitting. I haven’t done that in ages either. Maybe I need a break to restore some balance to my life. It can’t be all knitting *all* the time, apparently.

I do have some yarn-stuff going on; my waiting-room knitting still travels with me, and I’m crocheting a hat/boot cuff set for a Poker for Puppies fundraiser.One more boot cuff to make and then I’ll get them shipped off. After that, I might just go up and paw through my stash to see what inspires me. There’s a lot of gorgeous yarn waiting for me. Something’s bound to call my name.

Our new pup Gracie is settling in wonderfully. I truly feel like we won the puppy lottery both times. We had a couple of puddles the first two days but since then nothing. They sleep great together overnight. They were alone yesterday for over two hours and I came home to two happy puppies but no puddles, nothing destroyed. They rough-house and wrestle a lot, and fight over toys, but not in a mean way. Usually they’re just devious, stealing a toy when the other one’s not looking. The two dogs are really starting to bond, and yesterday they even sat together peacefully on the couch.Gracie is a snuggle-puppy lapdog, which I love. It’s just delightful. I’m really enjoying having two dogs. I haven’t been brave enough to walk them by myself yet, since they’re still pretty wild on a walk together, and I can see myself getting all tangled up in leashes. Hopefully it won’t take long. Of course, I’d like to do it in slightly warmer weather! Until then, we might just hang out right here.

Puppy Time

Feb22

We got our new puppy yesterday! I got tired of waiting to hear from the volunteer-run rescue shelter place, so we drove out to the Great Plains SPCA just to see if anyone caught our eye. We made it all the way through before this little black Lab looked up at us. All the other dogs were barking and she was just watching us. She had this pretty white streak on her chest and little white socks on her back paws. She was a little over nine months old, young like we were looking for, and seemed friendly enough. We arranged for a meeting and she was bouncy and playful and affectionate, and it didn’t take long for us to decide we needed to bring Jack up to meet her. The meeting went well, though they didn’t play immediately like I was expecting. She was a little more aggressive than he was, and he didn’t appreciate her nose going where it went. But they didn’t dislike each other, little growling, no hackles raised, so we figured what the heck, and brought her home.Her name is Grace, and she’s 59 pounds of sweet sass. She’s not quite 10 months old yet so they expect her to get a little bigger. Right now she’s about as tall and long as Jack is, but he’s much stockier. She seems lean and streamlined compared to him.As soon as we got them in the backyard together, they started wrestling, and pretty much haven’t stopped. They’ll take a five-minute break and then they’re back at it. I love that they’re getting along so well, but I had no idea how much space two crazy puppies would take up! Three dogs? Fuhgeddaboudit! But these two seem to be having a ball, so I can handle it. I kind of wish they’d chill out a little bit now and then, but it’ll happen eventually.The best news for me was that they did fine overnight together. Jack has a bed in the kitchen, so we put another bed in there for Gracie, and after a few thumps, it was quiet all night. I woke up to two very bouncy, happy puppies. And a puddle too, but hopefully that won’t last long. She grasps the concept; I think Jack just needs to leave her alone long enough to let her pee when they’re outside.

Really, it’s going better than I expected. I know there’ll be some tension over toys and sticks, but they had breakfast in the same room without too much trouble. The only sad part is that I seem to have lost my cuddle puppy. He won’t lie on the couch with me and when I got up, he didn’t even roll over and ask for his ten-minute belly rub. That’ll come back, right? I sure hope so!

And they do wear each other out, that’s for sure! This is Jack last night after three hours of almost non-stop wrestling:It’s been an adventure already, and I think we’re in for a lot more. I’ve got more dirt and noise than I had before, but I’ve also got a lot of sweet moments.

If you’re thinking about a new furry friend, please check out your local animal shelters first. There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there, and mixed-breeds can be just as fantastic (if not more so) than a pure-bred with papers. In the Kansas City Metro Area we have three big ones: Wayside Waifs, Great Plains SPCA and the KC Pet Project.

Finished Object Friday (times TWO!)

Feb20

Hey hey hey! I have two things to show off today! I was sitting there in the cold yesterday morning, all bundled up in my blanket with my tea, and I realized I needed to make myself a new, warmer hat. The ones I’d made myself didn’t cover my ears, and that’s necessary right now. I’d been borrowing my husband’s hat, but it’s just plain gray ribbing. Boring! Poking through my Ravelry library, I re-discovered the Vermonter hat and knew it was just the thing. Even better, one of the suggested yarns was Berroco Brio, and I just *happened* to have a beautiful single skein just sitting in my stash waiting to be used.

Two hours later, I had a new hat. Seriously. I was catching up on The Mindy Project, and before the fifth episode was over, I was done. That is a fast hat, folks. And as soon as that episode was over, I pulled it on and went out to walk the dog.Now, I modified it just a bit. I used size 13 needles and added an extra repeat of the pattern, so it came out just a tiny bit long, but I don’t care. I even had more than enough yarn leftover for a big pompom. I LOVE it. (I just sang that bit, could you tell?) The *only* thing I would say is that it has stretched a little, so if you make it, use the smaller needles for the brim, ok?Okay, next. Actually this should have come first, because I finished it on Wednesday. It’s my Swirling Spider Cowl and I’m quite delighted with it as well. Plus there’s enough yarn left over to make a cute little matching beanie!Back to yesterday. After I finished my new hat, I decided it was time to cast on for something new. I’ve been in a casting-on fury this week: I’ve started another Honey Cowl and a Rikke hat, but this is something special for me. I got a kit of Knit Picks Palette for Christmas, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, since it’s fingering weight and we all know how I feel about that. They’re all shades of purple so my knitting SIL suggested a gradient cowl. BRILLIANT. It just so happened I’d come across Purl Bee’s seed stitch gradient cowl recently. I could hold two strands together and use seed stitch to make a cowl with several shades of purple!!! Knitting doesn’t get much better than that for me.To get the right yardage, I’m using eight colors instead of five, which also meant adjusting the length of each stripe etc. After consulting with my fashion expert (aka 14yo daughter) I decided to do 3 1/4″ of each stripe, and only do one repeat instead of two. I think it will be marvelous. I’m already on the second stripe and it’s so fun. I want to knit on it all day. But I can’t because today is doctor appointment day so I’ll be taking the Rikke hat with me instead. And that’s okay too.

Still no puppy news. This volunteer-run shelter hasn’t contacted me yet and I’m trying really hard to be understanding and patient but it’s hard. This is my dog, I know it. One thing I’ve realized is that if I can hold out for a couple of days, my need for immediate gratification fades. I no longer simply NEED A NEW DOG. I want the right dog, and I’m looking at other shelters and all the other pretty dogs and my heart says, Yes, but wait for that dog. See if he can be yours. So okay. I’ll wait.

And one more thing and then I’ll be done nattering at you. You need to read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It’s beautiful and terrible and wonderful and heartbreaking. I’ve read a lot about WWII, both fiction and non-fiction, and this book made it real in a way I haven’t experienced before. I confess, I’m an easy crier, and I get very emotionally invested in my books, so maybe that’s part of it, but still, this is a fantastic book. It’s easily her most ambitious, serious, dramatic, engrossing book. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.

Yarn, Hat, Cowl

Feb18

Don’t you just love getting new yarn? It’s even better when it’s being shipped because who doesn’t love getting mail? There’s the anticipation, the anxious tracking of the package, then finally getting to rip it open and see your new treasure! Ahhh. Love it. I won two skeins of Malabrigo Worsted on eBay recently, two skeins for the price of one, and they arrived yesterday.The brown will be another unisex hat, maybe another Barley! I’m not sure about the green yet. A hat, of course, but what pattern? It might get to be something new and different.

I did finish a hat last night, a nifty Swirl Hat. I have named it the Time Machine Hat, because the rich cobalt color reminds me of TARDIS blue and because the swirl is all timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly. It’s a unisex hat, beanie hat for a big/male head, slight slouch for smaller/female head. This is more HiKoo SimpliWorsted and it’s delicious yarn. Bouncy and soft and warm. I was wearing this last night (like you do whenever you finish something new) and I really think I need to make myself one in bright pink or purple. All I have left on my needles now is another swirly cowl. I’m using my Nerd Girl Yarns Smashing in Secretly Spiders and oh it’s so lovely. Rich, deep pinks and purples and black with a sparkly thread in there too. This will be mine to keep forever and ever.Okay, that’s not really ALL I have on needles right now. I have a cardigan from months and months ago that I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to, and I have a rainbow silk cowl in that’s driving me bonkers. It was marked worsted but there’s no way. It’s a Sport weight at most. Ooh, but I have my Quadratic shawl too! I need to get that back out and finish it before spring comes along. IF spring ever comes along.

No news on the puppy front. I’m still waiting to hear from the shelter about the two puppies, though my husband did come to his senses and decide that two more dogs was too many. Sadly, I will not have to puppy brothers that we can name Fred and George. Sighhhhh. But at this point, I would be happy if we could get even one of them. My fingers are still crossed.

It is bitterly cold here today and the kids finally went back to school after a 5-day weekend, so my plans include a couch, knitting, and catching up on my TV shows. I hope you can have a day equally relaxing!

Puppy Love

Feb17

I have been distracted from my knitting the last few days. The only thing I’ve completed is a simple ribbed hat that my son requested. I do have a new project on the needles and another that I’m about ready to cast on, but it hasn’t been in the front of my mind.

See, I want a dog. Another dog. I have a fabulous puppy named Captain Jack. He’s a shepherd mix, just a little over a year old, and he loves to play. Of course we like to play with him, but we’ve decided we’d like him to have a sibling. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine decided she needed to rehome her Siberian Husky, and I got all excited. I love huskies; I think they’re gorgeous and sweet. So I talked my husband into meeting her. (And it was HARD too! He really thought he wasn’t ready for another dog. He was wrong.) We went out there with Jack … and it was a failure. She was bossy and aggressive with him, guarded her water and wouldn’t let him drink, and he wanted nothing to do with her. I’ve seen him with lots of other dogs and he’s never responded that way before. He always tries to get the other dog to play with him. My gut said she wasn’t the right dog for us.

I started browsing the local shelter websites and it didn’t take long before I fell in love with the picture of a goofy-looking Chow mix. I wasn’t sure whether my husband had come to terms with the fact that he wanted another dog, so I didn’t do anything for a week. By the time we went to visit this dog on Valentine’s Day, he was on hold. Oh, we met him, and he was fabulous. Gorgeous and sweet and funny-looking, and so strong and playful. We put our name next on the list, but he was adopted that night.

Moving on, I found a shepherd/Shar Pei mix at a smaller shelter. I filled out the application and waited, only to find out that he too had JUST been adopted after having been at the shelter for over a year. Okay. There were two fun, young dogs at yet another shelter, and one was another Shar Pei mix with a delightful squishy face. Another application filled out, and another reply that both the dogs I liked had applications pending. Not quite a firm No, but not too optimistic either. I let them know I’d love to be second on the list.

Now I’m waiting. This morning I found two beautiful gray/black shepherd mixes at a volunteer-run shelter right by my house. They’re both male, around 8 months old, and they’re litter mates. I showed them to my husband and he really likes them too, which never happens. He usually has to meet them before expressing any interest. This was another extensive application, and they do a vet reference check before contacting you, so I’m waiting. And I think while I’m waiting I would do well to stop looking at dogs. I would really love one (or both??) of these dogs to be Jack’s new playmate. So if you feel like it, send me some good juju, okay? I would appreciate it! And next time I’ll share some knitting-type stuff too.

Have a little Courage

Feb13

Who here is familiar with Courage the Cowardly Dog? I was not, so when my aunt asked me if I could make a Courage hat, I was a little unsure. My first instinct was to check Ravelry for patterns, and I found one, but we weren’t crazy about all of it. My aunt and I shared a few photos back and forth and I said I would do my best to replicate the image of Courage she liked the best. There was a lot of improvisation and modification going on! For fun, I decided to document each step of the process, so non-crafters could see what goes into making a detailed character hat.The basic beanie is the easiest part. It takes maybe an hour, 90 minutes tops.Now it’s time to start adding little bits. Each piece only takes a short time to make, but there’s a lot of them! I start with eyeballs.The black centers of the eyes are simple.A nice brown triangle noseNow some pink half-circles for Courage’s…what are those? Jowls?Brown eyebrowsDarker pink eyelidsBrown ears. They need to be stiff enough to stand up. Now I have all the pieces laid out, and it’s time to weave in all the extra ends and sew it all together. This is the most time-consuming part, since I work hard to make sure the placement is correct and everything is sewn securely. Each piece is sewn on individually.The final product. I may not be familiar with Courage but I sure like my version of him.I think I did a pretty good job of replicating the picture my aunt sent. What do you think? Her friend was pleased, and so was the daughter who ended up stealing the hat!

Guess what? I don’t like cables.

Feb12

Okay, they aren’t terrible. But they weren’t a lot of fun. See, I made a hat yesterday. And it had a cable zig zag, and I’ve avoided learning cables to this point but I really liked this pattern and I thought it would be perfect for my dark blue/black Dream in Color wool. A one-stitch cable? Fine, I can handle that. It was also my first time knitting from a chart, but I could handle that too. And I did! It wasn’t even that hard, but it was awkward and it slowed me down. I like my hat-knitting to zip along along but I kept having to stop and put a stupid stitch on a cable needle. I’m sure it’ll get easier with more practice, and I will try again because the result was really cool. This is the Wanderer Cap from the book Weekend Hats. It’s my first project from that book but I’ve got several others marked. This is a generous size, large enough to fit my big-headed husband, but the brim is snug enough for a woman to wear it as a slouch hat. It used about 155 yards of the Dream in Color, color Peacock Shadow. It was strange because this skein felt a little different than the grey Dream skein, which makes me think they changed it a bit at some point. It still had great stitch definition but it felt a little crisper, almost coarser. But it’s not itchy and it should be nice and warm!

As soon as that hat was done I started on my next one. This will be a tam for St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m loving this yarn. It’s Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool Worsted in Lime Green and it’s super soft and squishy.Here’s hoping I can get this done before my craft show on Saturday!

Headbands for Runners

Feb11

Not that long ago, I mentioned that I was partnering with a runner/blogger about my knitted headbands. I sent her two headbands knit with Berroco Borealis, accessorized with a crocheted flower, and told her to keep one to try and use the other one as a giveaway on her blog. Well, today her review is up and thank goodness it’s positive! Apparently she loves it! Please, take a moment and check it out on her blog at The Everyday Warrior.

You’re back? Good. I hope you take the time to peruse her blog a little bit. She’s passionate about living a healthy, badass life, and while I’m not a runner, I definitely admire her commitment and positive attitude. And I love that my little headbands can give her, and other runners, a little bit of pizzazz! Now I need to knit some that are less traditional and more…badass. Hmmm. What would that be, exactly?

I Fought the Yarn

Feb10

So I was making this hat. It’s an awesome hat. I was using the dark gray Dream in Color Classy yarn left over from the purl ridge cowl I made recently, and … Okay. Wait. I just went back and was looking for the post about this cowl so I could link it and couldn’t find it. How did I not share this cowl?? Well, we’ll just do that first.

A week or so ago, I went to my LYS for one specific skein of yarn and found some amazing yarns in their sale section, including Dream in Color at 50% off. I grabbed two skeins, a blue/black and a gorgeous Grey Tabby. (I won’t lie, I grabbed a few other skeins too.) I loved the grey so much I cast on the next day, and out came this fabulous Present cowl.This was my first time using the Dream yarn, and it’s fantastic. It flows smoothly on the needles and it’s soft but just crisp enough that it has marvelous stitch definition. I’m in love. It’s yarn like this that makes it hard for me to go back to cheaper yarns. So anyway, this cowl used a little over half the skein, leaving me with a tad over 100 yards. I decided that had to be enough for a hat.

After much perusing on Ravelry, I decided on the Thank You Hat by Purl Soho. Everything about it was right: weight, yardage, color. And you can’t go wrong with one of their patterns. I got most of it done yesterday, and then picked it up this morning after I got rid of all the extra people (kids, husband, who needs ’em?). I just had decreases left and my yarn was dwindling. It was time to play Chicken.Faster and faster I knit, eager to get to the end before the yarn was gone. And maybe you more experienced knitters are looking at that photo and laughing because you know what I didn’t but soon would…I had PLENTY of yarn left to finish this hat! I’ve got a good yard left over. And I am so in love with this hat. I want to find every skein of this yarn and buy it all for me. I just love all the subtle variations in the color, the different shades of gray…Oh god. No. Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Pretend that didn’t happen. Just look at the hat. It’s pretty. So pretty.

bonnyknits

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