Zelda Takes the Catwalk!

Who needs a runway, when you have Mommy's bed? This is Zelda, nineteen years old, who lives with Joan A. in New York City. Joan volunteers for Posh Pets Rescue in New York (www.petfinder.org/shelters/NY615.html) and made this sweater for a rescue dog! This is the Penny design from the Fall 2003 Knitty. I so love that my design is being used for this, it's a really big honor for me. The pattern as it appears on the site has mistakes, so if you want to knit it, e-mail me for a corrected copy. This pattern is going in the Doggy Knits book, too, and sized up with some body shaping for bigger dogs. Celebrate the Year of the Dog by adopting a dog, or doing something kind for a shelter pet. Thank you Joan, and Zelda, for this loving gesture to homeless dogs!

I Hope She Knits

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation at KIP about hosts of knitting shows. How we would like one a little more exciting. This lady, Niecy Nash, has my vote. I guess she doesn't have to knit, she just has to talk and be fabulous! She hosts a show called Clean House on the Style network. The premise of the show is a crew comes into someone's home, cleans out their junk, sells it in a yard sale, and uses the proceeds to redecorate the house. If my apartment were in Los Angeles, I would be a candidate for a home cleaning. Except it would be hands off my yarn stash! Niecy has so much spark, she really makes this show entertaining. I think she could do the same for knitting, and be a lot more fun than what we currently get to see. That flower in her hair seems to be a signature look. While it may be campy on someone else, Niecy pulls it off. She's also on a sitcom on Comedy Central called Reno 911, which I've never really seen. But, hey, DIY--she's adorable!
In Year of the Dog news, we're expecting a 10 pound hairy visitor in the back yard on Wednesday. Piccolo may hate me forever.

Domestic Bliss

I will admit to any one that I am a Bad Housekeeper. I can cook, I'm good at it, in fact, but clean? Not so much. For example, I just finished taking down the Christmas tree today. January 28. Some decorations were taken down last week and put away, but the tree stayed out. There's too much to be done, and everything is more interesting than housework. Thankfully, I have a dishwasher in this apartment. I would be totally lost without it. In my condo, I washed dishes by hand, because when the kitchen was installed, I didn't want to give up cabinet space for the dishwasher (small kitchen). Late this afternoon, the Man shooed me out of the house for some grocery shopping. There's now a meatloaf in the oven, my modification of a Martha Stewart recipe, and some baked potatoes. I need to book my flight to San Francisco in March, and I'm hoping David gets some test shots off next week. Still silence from a New Leash on Life.

One Word

This weekend I set up a stats counter for the blog. It's fascinating! I really get a kick out of seeing who looks at it. Today, I had 100+ hits on the blog. I couldn't imagine why. I discovered that the reason is a certain company based in Ada, Michigan that I mentioned in my January 1st post while I was describing a hotel we stayed in this summer. Another blog, unrelated to knitting, linked to me because of it. Which is interesting because I really didn't say anything positive or negative about that organization. The power of one word! I would imagine that if the publisher chose the book title Doggy S***e instead of Doggie Knits, I would get all kinds of hits from people looking for something naughty. There's no further news on the Agnes front, I think that this process is just kind of slow moving. The man is all for a second dog, but expressed tonight he's not too excited about the old part, having seen two of my dogs die since we've been together. I still need to get her together with Piccolo, and hopefully I can arrange that this weekend.

Mini Alpaca?

So, tonight on my way home was the initial meeting with little Agnes. AKA Aggie or Agster. She's Piccolo sized, but is a little bony under the fur. And, has a touch of arthritis, she appears to have some tender spots if you pick her up the wrong way. The way she holds her head and moves, the foster mom, Sara, described as looking like a llama. She's a little alpaca dog! Her tongue kind of hangs out one side because she's missing most of her teeth. Not such a big deal for a small older dog. I fed her some cheese, and cuddled her for a while. Now I just need to find out what Piccolo will think.

Is There Enough

of Me? Do I take on too much? Projects, commitments? I'm trying to focus on what's important. I go though general anxiety and doubt when I'm about to take on something big. I'm getting closer to adding to my family. I feel like I can't make it a success, but then I think, hey, I've done this before, and it worked out. Back and forth. Forging ahead. I have enough love to make it work.

Hole Lotta Love

In many ways, regarding my knitting, I'm a creature of habit. If I've made something that I really like, I tend to make it again, in different colors, maybe tweaking the design a little. Dog sweaters. Three Trails Handknit Designs socks. Two Klaralunds. I have two more Valery hats planned in the recently acquired Blue Sky Alpacas bulky. It goes on. Another Ekeby is off the needles, this time in Noro Iro #56, awaiting assembly. I went to my Guild meeting tonight--and I'm buzzing! Kaffe Fasset and Brandon Mably in Chicago (suburbs), and I'm registered, people! In other news, I sent an online application for little Agnes, so we'll see what happens. If she gets a good home with someone else, I'll be happy for her, but I can't stop thinking about her, and if I'm the mommy meant for her. There's so many reasons why I shouldn't, but she's adorable, and that is the pro that outweighs the many cons I could list.

Why I Should Stay Off Petfinder.com

I found Piccolo on Petfinder, three years ago. I occasionally browse though the Pekingese section, and usually end up getting verklempt looking at the poor lonely doggies. I think about getting a second dog, and then rule it out for some reason. Work, committments, expense, travelling with two dogs vs. one, the house is in disarray, etc. Not being sure if Piccolo would welcome another dog. This little peanut is in Chicago, nine years old (I love, love, love old dogs), given up to the pound for who knows what reason. I'm hoping that she was at the adoption event that A New Leash on Life had yesterday at Wigglyville, and someone was charmed by her. Who wouldn't hold her age against her. So I Won't Be Tempted.

I Didn't Want to Make That Sweater, Anyway

Some Q and what I wish had been my A from website inquiries:
Q: Finally, sweaters with harness holes! Can you make a solid black one?
A: I can't imagine anything more dull. Actually, I don't want to. (I can't imagine how someone could look at all the color on my site, and not understand what I do. To quote my little friend at the Indie Designer Fashion Market--but (s)he is a Designer!!!)
Q: I love your sweaters, but I can't justify spending that much on my dog.
A: If you can't justify the price, I suggest you buy a sweater at your local pet superstore. (I actually did send that reply, I was so irritated).
Q: I would really like a machine washable sweater.
A: Clearly you didn't see on my site why I don't use machine washable yarns. It's a quality issue.

I'm not making the black sweater because the person making the inquiry didn't like my quoted price, after I discounted it because she was interested in two, the other being machine washable. If she had read the price list, she might have surmised that the dog she wanted sweaters for was larger than the biggest size quoted, therefore, couldn't she assume it would cost more? Neither sweater sounded at all appealing to me, so I'm glad to not be knitting them. I really can't understand why someone would write to me about how they love the sweaters, but can't "justify" the price. Not that I'm in the same league, but do I write that kind of thing to Miuccia Prada or Karl Lagerfeld? I did my research, and it's a reasonable price for the amount of work that goes into each garment. I might delete this post later, but it feels good to get this stuff off my chest.

All the Coat I'll Need

I don't care what any one else says--I think ponchos are classic. I have back issues of Vogue Knitting, some going back to twenty years, and there is almost always some sort of poncho design. I'm wearing mine as a layer over another sweater for this super mild winter. Mostly I'm walking a short distance to my car, driving to my destination, then a short walk into a building. I don't really need a heavy winter coat to sit in my car. This was made last spring with assorted colors of Noro Kureyon. There's some #146, #52, and I think, #57, a discontinued color I scored off of eBay. Lately I'm loving mixing the Noro colors. My largest Kureyon purchase was last summer at Stitches Midwest, when 30 balls at $6 each went home to be in the Lucky Penny stash. There's also another Noro stash for personal garment use. Also, there's the work in progress, a sweater for my mom in Kureyon #138, that she was expecting to be done this past Christmas. She told me to stop knitting dog sweaters to finish it. Like that's going to happen. It's actually about 2/3 of the way done. I'm showing some previously finished garments as work on the book continues. I've done the pet blanket, have knitted a bed that will be felted, and upsizing the Penny pattern that was in the Fall 2003 Knitty.

The Sock Monkey

This is one of my favorite sweaters, the sock monkey. I was working on one at a dinner party once, and one of the other guests coined the name. What's really fun about this sweater for me is that the addition of bright color makes what could be a very dull and conservative garment interesting and fun. The yarn for the body is Annabel Fox Aran, a discontinued yarn that I purchased about four years ago on Ebay. I have about 1.5 hanks left. I'd love to find some more, or something like it, but have not come across it. The sweater on Gidget has a different color for each band. I'm pretty sure that this sweater was sold some time ago. The pink trimmed sweater is a custom piece for a little Yorkie named Delilah, 15 years old and ornery. She wanted to bite my hand off during the measuring. She finally had to be muzzled!

A Lid for Every Pot

I've been contemplating hats lately. I have a problem with hats, because I have a Big Head. And a Round Face. So while I have knit hats for warmth, the truth is that they don't look good on me. I have a lovely hat, knit last year in my Guild's exchange, that is a superb piece of knitting, but in all honesty, doesn't look good either. I think that I've knit the exception. This is from the book Hip Knit Hats. It's the hat on the cover, Valery. The cover shot shows the hat in profile. There's a section of the book that gives advice on choosing a hat design based on your face shape, and I followed the advice. I like it! I had a little difficulty knitting to the instructions as written, but followed the photograph once I had the correct number of stitches . I used slightly more yardage then the instructions stated, but I knit loose and have a Big Head. Done in Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky, it was rather costly with three hanks, even with my Guild discount. But I liked the yarn and the hat so much, I broke my yarn diet (about one day after declaring it!) at the Knit Happens on line store with some of the same yarn on sale. The hat is substantial, and fits well. There is an interesting wrapped cast on maneuver that results in a nice smooth top. This style is worthy of a hat wardrobe. A word about the cowl--the pattern is from the ChicKnits site, and knit in Misty Alpaca chunky. It doesn't look like it will be cold enough to wear this hat for some time, though! Almost 50 degrees in Chicago predicted for later this week.

A Cure for SAD?

January in Chicago. It's been rather unseasonably warm, and rainy. I can't imagine how much snow would be on the ground right now if it were normal January temperatures. It's been more than a week, I think, since I've seen sunlight. I'm feeling only what can be described as malaise, at a time when I should be revved up and energetic, buzzing along on my projects. Not even caffeine can get me going these days. I had a large latte this evening, and could go to sleep right now. So, if I can't get my sunshine from the sun, here's to a little retina damage from my knitting. You could spot Piccolo a mile away in this one. It's Noro Kureyon, #154, banded with Lamb's Pride in Lemon Drop, and tipped with Lamb's pride in Lotus Blossom. The collar is Louet mohair that is almost a perfect match for the Lemon Drop. I think the color yellow doesn't get the love it deserves.

I've Got one of These, Too

As I need to focus more on the Big Project, I'm hauling out some finished objects to post, some done before the blog. I knitted mine in the recommended yarn, Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. I used more than three hanks. The color is called Jeans. I have some Bullfrogs and Butterflies in the same color that I intend to make into a Piccolo sweater. I normally don't like person/pet clothing that is overly matched. I usually have something subtle, by chance. For example, I have a few pairs of socks done in Cherry Tree Hill handpaints that happen to match some of the dog sweaters. Sometimes they get worn at the same time as the sweater, but it's usually not planned. More and more I am finding myself drawn to the color that looks best on me. Delft blue. It matches the color of my eyes. Refer to the previous post for another completed blue garment. I sometimes think it would be cool to let my hair get gray (not likely to gray completely on its own, though), put a blue rinse in it, and have an all blue wardrobe.

Gloria, Done My Way

This is Gloria, pictured on the cover of the Jane Ellison designed Noro book. I knitted it in Cash Iroha, shade number not remembered, acquired some time ago on ebay. The stripes are Noro Silk Garden, shade 206, purchased at Wool Needlework discounter. The sleeves were knit by hand, and the stockinette portion of the body was knit on my machine, a Singer model 155. I purchased the machine to make the body portion of my dog sweaters for sale, and using the machine has crept into my personal knitting as well. Waste yarn is used for a provisional cast on, so live stitches are at either end of the machine piece. I also used the machine for making parts of the Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton design Klaralund. The machine doesn't replace hand knitting, and of course there are garments that can only be made by hand, but it's a nice little adjunct to my knitting equipment. I left off the eyelets and ribbon the the original design, and added bands, which hopefully will relax somewhat so the sweater hangs a little better. I didn't do buttonholes because I mostly wear cardigans open anyway. I'm concerned that the sleeves will lengthen somewhat with wear, already they are past my wrist bone, so I may alter the sleeves eventually. This is the first sweater that I have in Cash Iroha, and it's really soft and comfortable to wear. I knit the pieces some months ago, but hurried to finish the sweater last week so it could be worn to the infamous Chicago loft party. Which is kind of ironic. Meeting some of the guests for the first time, how would they know I had a new FO. I could have worn any knit garment, really.

What Lies Ahead

Happy New Year to any one stopping by! I'm spending the day at home, changing sheets, doing laundry, and knitting assorted projects, booky, Lucky Penny, and some personal stuff sneaking in. This photo is from this summer, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The entry to the Amway Grand Hotel from the parking structure, which the Man had issues with because it cost extra to park. This was the nicest hotel that we were in this summer, and it had All Things Amway. The gift shop had many Amway products. I have a bad brother who thought he could make a living selling Amway (called Quixtar now) instead of getting a job. He talked me into being a distributor, so I recognize the products. I spent a lot of time in the hotel bathroom with the lovely lighted magnifying mirror, working on the chin hair thing. Welcome to middle age. I'm doing a mental assessment of projects past, and thinking about 2006. I would like for the future to be more thoughtful regarding the projects I make for myself. Just because a garment is a spectacular piece of knitting, it may not be something I would actually wear. My goal moving forward is to knit things that will be useful pieces in my wardrobe. Of course, the next few months will be devoted to finishing the book project. I would also like to move the Lucky Penny enterprise forward, and hopefully the workshops that I will be doing at Wigglyville will help to accomplish that. This year I would also just like to knit projects for the fun of it, like some toys or home furnishings. There's a lot to think about. I was out in the yard with my camera today, so photos of new (and some old) finished projects are planned for this week's postings. Come back in the next few days or so!