Not much news, but Duncan’s surgery yesterday went great, no complications. The vet said his knee is nice and stable now, and the most important things we need to do are restrict movement and watch for infection. He comes home later today and I’ll be happy to have him home with us! It was weird to just have the two dogs last night and this morning. But Jack was very happy to have all of my attention!
Thanks for all the well wishes for Duncan, and happy Friday!
This is a nice way to start off a new year, with a completed project that used two skeins of stash yarn from a year ago! I actually finished it on December 27th, so it’s not really the first FO of the year, but it’s the first one I’m sharing, so it’s pretty much the same.
This is Twindom, which used two skeins of Malabrigo Rasta. I did modify it by using size 17 needles instead of 19. The 19s made it too loose. Using the smaller needles, I got a tighter fabric but I did run out of yarn a few rows early, and it’s not as big as I expected, but it also hasn’t been blocked yet, and I’m pretty sure that will relax the stitches quite a bit. I’ll be sure to share an update after blocking. This color is Baya Electrica and I love it! It was a Christmas gift from the husband last year, so it was nice to finally find the right project for it.
I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve! We spent the evening our usual way, with board games, an obscene amount of junk food, and much laughter. It’s such a treat to have all of us together these days. And I got to sleep until 10 this morning!! I know that won’t happen again for a very long time.
Duncan’s surgery is tomorrow. We’ve got a mattress downstairs so we can lay with him to help keep him calm, and one of us will sleep there overnight for at least the first week or so. We borrowed a crate from the brother, for when we’re not able to supervise him and the other dogs. He’s never been crated before so we’re trying to get him used to it by putting in one of his dog beds and blankets, and we put a few treats in there last night. Each dog took turns napping in there while we were playing games. It was pretty funny.
Now I just need to pick out a couple of easy knitting projects that I can work on while I’m sitting with a dog. I’m planning on another Bandana Cowl, and maybe a hat too. What’s your favorite mindless comfort knitting?
Happy New Year, friends!
Duncan had his x-rays and it turns out he’s torn a ligament in his knee, the cranial cruciate ligament. He will have to have surgery next week and then there will be a minimum 8-week recovery period with limited movement. Starting immediately, he’s not supposed to go up or down stairs, jump on anything, or roughhouse with the other dogs. This is not going to be fun.
Since the backyard is down a long flight of steep stairs, we bought a ramp for the front stairs, and he has to go out on a leash to do his business. It took him a few tries to get used to the ramp, but he’s still not used to not being able to go outside whenever he wants.
He was pretty needy last night, probably thanks to some soreness after the exam, and pushed down the kitchen gate to come upstairs at 4:30 in the morning. I came down, let him out a couple of times, dozed a little, gave him some breakfast and another potty break, and when my back was turned cleaning up the poo I’d tracked in, he hopped up on the couch. And now he’s feeling a little better and is bored and restless and we’re struggling to keep him calm.
A friend who’s been through this said they put a mattress downstairs so they could lie down with the dog and sleep there overnight during the first week after surgery, so we’re going to try that. And I’m guessing I’ll need to take a few days off work for that first week or so.
The silver lining is that it’s not hip dysplasia or something long-term and debilitating that we can’t fix. But it’s going to be a long two or three months, and there’s a good chance he’ll end up rupturing the other knee at some point. Basically, I’m overwhelmed and tired. I have knitting to share but that’ll be another day. Hope your weekend is going better than mine!
He really was done, and very cute. And then last night I went to a book signing and the boy forgot I wasn’t going to be home so he didn’t lock up the dogs when he went to band practice. (You can see where this is going, can’t you?)
Yes, alas, Duncan strikes again. The silver lining is that it’s just the one piece that’s damaged, and it’s even the smallest piece. I should be able to remove that, attach a new one, and even save the flower. I guess that will be added to my weekend knitting! Sigh. Dogs. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them!
Don’t you hate it when work gets in the way of your fun stuff? This week has been too busy, and I haven’t had the mental energy to put much toward knitting or blogging or cool things like that. But I’m going to change that today! It’s a cool, sunny morning, so I’m outside with a cup of tea and a couple of dogs and I’m going to clear my head of work.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I HAVE been knitting; I’ve just been working on projects that don’t make me think too much. My Mudpunch sock has gotten the most time, which is why I’m a good way into the foot.
This is the Twizzler socks pattern and I like it a lot, but I also like how this stripe pattern works up in plain stockinette. I almost wish I’d done a vanilla sock. (I also wish I’d taken the time to get a better photo, now that I see this one here. Oops.)
My other project this week has been my Estonian lace cowl. I worked on this while I was watching the US Open, but only during the less critical matches, i.e. not Rafa Nadal. My skein was smaller than the designer’s, so I cast on fewer stitches for a cozier cowl. I might not get the full three repeats of the lace pattern but I’m not bothered. I’ll just go until I can’t go anymore.
And today is Duncan’s Gotcha Day! We’ve had him for two years now and can’t imagine life without him. He’s the husband’s favorite as well as the boy’s favorite, and he’s such a sweet snuggler. I’m just really glad he stopped destroying things as he got older!
Happy weekend, friends!
Somehow I have turned into a monogamous knitter. It’s the weirdest thing. But it means that I’ve been working solely on my Find Your Fade shawl and as of last night, I am in section three. Here’s how it looked at the end of section two:
Weird, right? Like a thong, or a uterus, or ram horns. But I am assured that this is how it looks for everyone and it will grow up to become a normal Find Your Fade shawl. I’ve even planned out my fade sequence, thanks to the little graphic at the end of the pattern.
I had to color it twice to get the sequence I liked best, which is the one on the left that will allow me to use as much yellow as possible. But I have a confession to make: the Fade is a little…boring? I hate to say that because it’s such a popular pattern. Maybe it’s just because it’s not a color I like that much and I’m in a big garter section. Surely it’ll perk up once I get back to lace and start fading in a new color.
And in other news, Duncan has not reached the point of not chewing things up.
In his defense, this bed already had some holes from a few months ago when I tested Duncan the first time, so he might have just expanded on his earlier work. Still, he’s back to his beach towel on the floor for now.
Why isn’t FO Monday a thing? I mean, most of us are coming off a weekend where hopefully we’ve had some knitting time, if not substantial chunks, so it seems like Mondays would be the perfect day to show off finished projects. I’ll start: I knit a sock this weekend! On Saturday morning, I had an inch of cuff for my second River Fleet sock, and last night, I grafted the toe. Of course, it was the second toe because first I had this:
These socks do not match.
I couldn’t live with that much difference, not when it was easily fixed. I pulled back just the toe and reknit so they’d (mostly) match. Even then, the second sock seemed bigger overall than the first sock. I was disgusted with myself for the lack of matchiness so I tossed them to the girl to try on.
These socks also do not match.
It’s not super obvious, but the lace doesn’t match. Somehow, the second sock has an extra repeat in the foot. I have no idea if the first was right or the second is right, and at this point, frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. They are done, they are pretty, and the girl can get them on her feet and they fit. I’m calling it a win and moving on.
The pattern is River Fleet Socks by Jem Arrowsmith, which I test knit. I really do love the lace on this one. I’m just learning I need to pay close attention when I knit lace! The yarn is Knit Picks Capretta Reserve, with 10% cashmere, in Vibrant Violet. I’ll be interested to see how they wear with the cashmere.
And today is Duncan’s birthday. He is three, which I hope means we’re moving past the long stage of chewing things up. He’s been doing much better the last few months so I’m cautiously optimistic. Here he is from adoption day to now! Spoiler: he’s a lot bigger.
Hope you also had a lot of knitting time this weekend!
Excuse me, have you seen my mojo? It went that way? I wonder if I can track it down!
Seriously, my creative juices are non-existent at the moment. I have two WIPs with a deadline so that’s all I’m working on, and I think that’s part of the problem. I have over-extended myself with non-selfish knitting. I’ve been doing a lot of yarn reviews, some gift knitting, some test-knitting, and I think I need a project that’s all about me. I want to choose both the yarn and the pattern, and I want to keep the finished project at the end. Another blogger talked about doing a Mother’s Day cast-on that is purely selfish knitting, and that is a thing I would like to do.
BUT. First, I have to make some progress on my deadline WIPs. I’ve got one birthday sock done and am on the gusset of the second. Thankfully these are Rose City Rollers so they go fast. I tried a new toe this time, a barn toe that’s more rounded, and I like how it looks. I want to try it on one of my socks next.
The niece likes complementary socks better than matching, so I picked two leftover balls and am just kind of making it up as I go along. I’m thinking the foot of the second sock will be striped.
My other deadline WIP is a shawl test for Under the Olive Tree Knits. It’s a beautiful lace pattern and I chose some Araucania Huasco from the stash, so it’s an enjoyable knit. I think my brain is just malfunctioning right now and is often too tired for a trickier pattern that I have to think about.
I’d like to say I’ll make good progress on it today, but that’s doubtful. The husband is out of town, off to fetch the girl home from her first year of college, so I thought “Oh! I’ll let the dogs sleep with me! How sweet that will be!” Well. I have three dogs. And Duncan is not a big fan of sleeping through the night apparently. So I had this 100-pound bear of a dog clambering all over me and licking my face and it was not a restful night. I have learned my lesson and tonight Jack will be the only one allowed upstairs with me because he is a good dog and knows how to behave himself.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to nap a bit.
I’ve missed this. Work has kept me away from my knitting life this week. We organized a big external event with a well-known (in the science world) speaker, and I love the energy and bustle that comes with putting on those events, but it’s pretty much non-stop from the day before to the day after. It was on Tuesday, and today’s the first day that I feel like I can catch my breath. I’ve only been knitting in short bursts here and there, so I have no fun progress photos to share. Still, I wanted to share how pretty spring is in my neck of the woods!
I wish it could stay like this year-round! Plus, I’ll share some dog photos, because they’ve been the other constant this week: I work, I come home and pet dogs, and I sleep!
Jack is doin’ a snooze, Grace is waiting for the squirrel to reappear, and Duncan is basking in the sun. You can tell I’ve been spending a lot of time on our deck!
Hope your week has been a bit less hectic than mine, and that I have knitting photos to share soon!
There is a lack of focus in my head today. The last few days, actually. Even though I have very few WIPs on my needles, I feel like it’s all getting away from me. My knitting group at work is crocheting a blanket for the Welcome Blanket Project so I made some squares for that. I have a sock almost done, I just started test-knitting a new sock, and I have some new review yarn coming my way, along with the yarn to finish my blanket. I type that out and it’s like, Well, that’s not that much, Bonny. What’s your problem?? Who even knows. But here’s the yarn I’m using for my test knit:
Isn’t it so bright and awesome?? The socks are for Under the Olive Tree Knits again and there’s another lovely lace pattern. I finished the first pattern repeat last night.
And oh yeah, I have some friends having babies, so I wanted to make a few washcloths to add to baby gifts. A few means six, apparently, three for each baby.
But the washcloths are done, and the second Baby Girl Power sock is almost done, and I finished my squares for the Welcome Blanket, so that means I can focus on the test and review projects. Except I’m going to a new LYS this weekend and will probably fall in love with some other yarn that I’ll want to knit up right away!
Here’s Duncan. He really wanted to learn how to crochet but it didn’t work out.
bonnyknits 