Biko has come home too.
***
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
still knitting ...
I'm entranced by stripes lately. Knitting some lovely socks, one down, at least one more to go ...
Biko has come home too.
***
Biko has come home too.
***
Friday, March 26, 2010
The day after ...
On Wednesday I had to get out of the house, couldn't stand staying cooped up. It was like I had ants in my pants.
So we once again drove to Lake Marie, where we were last Saturday, when it snowed a little. This time it was sunny and warm, still not much green to be seen though. Soon this pathway will be overgrown like a jungle, full of mosquitoes.
Even though it still looks all dead and brown, there are some signs that Spring is here. A pair of Canada geese have a nest in there somewhere, and this time they were quiet like a church mouse.
The only really pretty shade of green was this one tree, with it's soft long needles. Oh hush, I don't know it's name, I'm glad I know it's a tree, and I know grass is grass, so I'm no botanist. What's in a name? When I see something beautiful I enjoy it.
Happy was really excited to be out there again. And I was quite proud, when he made a wee spritz twice! You see, so far he NEVER pee's or poops when out and about, he always holds it in until we get home, so this was progress!
The lake was still frozen, although it was soft ice on top. I expect it's more solid today, since we've got -9C this morning.
By the way, Happy hates his harness. Whenever I grab it to put it on him, he runs away at first. He also hates car rides, but I'm determined to show him, that a car ride has much fun at the end (mostly).
The short hike was lovely. Wind was blowing softly, the sun was warm, but not yet too hot, it opened up my soul, and blew out all the sadness.
***
So we once again drove to Lake Marie, where we were last Saturday, when it snowed a little. This time it was sunny and warm, still not much green to be seen though. Soon this pathway will be overgrown like a jungle, full of mosquitoes.
Even though it still looks all dead and brown, there are some signs that Spring is here. A pair of Canada geese have a nest in there somewhere, and this time they were quiet like a church mouse.
The only really pretty shade of green was this one tree, with it's soft long needles. Oh hush, I don't know it's name, I'm glad I know it's a tree, and I know grass is grass, so I'm no botanist. What's in a name? When I see something beautiful I enjoy it.
Happy was really excited to be out there again. And I was quite proud, when he made a wee spritz twice! You see, so far he NEVER pee's or poops when out and about, he always holds it in until we get home, so this was progress!
The lake was still frozen, although it was soft ice on top. I expect it's more solid today, since we've got -9C this morning.
By the way, Happy hates his harness. Whenever I grab it to put it on him, he runs away at first. He also hates car rides, but I'm determined to show him, that a car ride has much fun at the end (mostly).
The short hike was lovely. Wind was blowing softly, the sun was warm, but not yet too hot, it opened up my soul, and blew out all the sadness.
***
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thank you!
From the bottom of my heart I thank you all for your kind words, and sympathies. Please forgive me, when I don't respond to each and every comment this time. It's overwhelming, but I wanted to let you know, how much it means to me, and my son David.
Our Vet sent flowers again, in memory of Biko. For my taste this happens too often, too soon lately. But - it's a nice gesture, and the flowers are pretty. I especially like the pink rose, with the drops of water on it. Biko had a collar in that color.
I'd like for you to enjoy them too my friends. Biko loved people, she would have cuddled with you, and begged for a scratch and a hug.
I miss her already, because I can see how much of Happy's energy she took off my hands. Now that she's gone, the little bugger doesn't know who to play with, so he's getting material out of the recycling bin again, and shreds things to a million pieces. He brings me toys, and will not be ignored, because if I play deaf and blind, a little muzzle appears by my side, and a chew toy gets pushed onto my desk, just like magic (he thinks). Who can not smile at that?
I'm glad he loves David too, because those two did cuddle last night for a while, before we went to bed. It's good to have him.
***
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Furrari's Irresistible Biko
Biko
Oct. 22, 2001 - March 23, 2010
Biko was our first dog here in Canada. My son David worked on a horse farm for a couple of years, during his weekends, and during summer time. They had three dogs there, one German Shepherd, her daughter a Shepherd mix, and a Lab mix. He got to know and love them, and wanted a dog of his own. So we started researching German Shepherd breeder and Labrador breeder. We looked at a GS puppy, male, but it came from a guard dog breeder, and we wanted a female. We found a breeder for White Shepherds, and waited a few month for a litter to be born. The litter had 11 puppies, and one of them was our Biko. She got her name, because all the farm dogs names started with "B".
We brought her home in December 2001. People thought she was a Christmas puppy, but we had waited a long time before we could bring her home, and during that time I read many books on how to raise a puppy.
She was such a joy, that soon we realized that we wanted another one, this one for ME, since she was very much my sons dog. Sure, I fed her, I gave her medicine (later on), I played with her, but she always saw me as her servant. She was very smart, and I'm sorry we didn't do more with her. She had potential, but we were only looking for a companion dog.
She helped us raise Sam, and later Happy. Especially Happy learned a lot from her, and he adored his "Aunt Biko". He always wanted to be with her, snuggle with her, but she would have none of this for a long time, until one day, when he was about 4 month old, she started to interact with him more, not leave the room, as soon as he entered it. For a while she started to get playful again, like a puppy herself, even chewing bones, which she never did before, at least not those. She played catch with him, and he would not pee or poop without her! He would hold it in until she got up and joined us outside. Now he has to get used to being alone, doing his own business. I hope she taught him everything she knew, he always looked to her to see how she reacted. She was our alarm system, which made him run to hide, whenever she barked, even now, that he's almost 10 month old.
Biko enjoyed her tennis ball games, and chasing after them, endless it seemed sometimes, playing in the snow, swimming in the pool as soon as we opened it in April to closing at the beginning of October (who is going to teach Happy to swim now? and that swimming is fun?), going for walks, and lately going to the dog park. She would do things for you, if you'd play with her, but not for food. She couldn't care less about food. "Car ride" was a magic word for her, wherever in the house she was, as soon as she heard us call "car ride" she came running and was out and in the car in one swoosh.
When I think back, she too was never a total healthy puppy. When she was about 4 month old, she had some kind of seizure, and after that she was incontinent, and needed some medicine for that. She was spayed at 6 month, so we never figured out, what that exactly was. She had a sensitive stomach, and later she had to have back surgery, from which she recovered wonderfully. She was able to run and jump again, which was surprising to us, but also made us very happy.
When Sam died, she missed him very much, and was depressed for a while. The both of us grew a little closer, because I gave her all my attention, which she very much enjoyed. Then we brought home Happy, and as I said, at first she surely was mad at us for bringing home this little monster, but grew to love him too.
During the last few month we noticed that she was not her usual self. Checkups with the Vet didn't show that anything was wrong with her, but we saw something.
So last Saturday we went for a short hike, as I've mentioned before. She did well, but was tired afterwards. Sunday she got worse, so we made an appointment with the Vet on Monday afternoon. He saw that she was not well, did take blood, and did a check up again. She was bloated, had had diarrhea, and had vomited once over the weekend. She hadn't eaten all day Sunday, but she took some food he offered her there in the office. He suspected Addison's disease, but we had to wait for the blood results which we should have gotten on Tuesday.
Monday evening she vomited again, and was very weak, and had ice cold paws, cold ears, and was moaning a lot, breathing hard. When I massaged her head, and belly, she relaxed and slept for a while. During the night she vomited again, it was aweful, poor baby. We took turns petting her, massaging her, and she always relaxed while we did that, but it still got worse. We decided to pack her up and get her to the Vet's as soon as the first person showed up there, when she suddenly died at 6:45AM Tuesday morning. It's aweful to have to make a decision to put your beloved pet down, but let me tell you, it's not easier, when it comes suddenly. Until then I still thought the right medicine could help her. We were dazed, just sat there for the longest time. We've put Happy in his crate earlier to be out of the way. After a while we let him out, and he sniffed the air, and slowly went upstairs to where Biko was. He sniffed her, his tail wagging hesitantly, when he came to her head, he liked her muzzle, and her ears. Then he looked at us, tail in slow motion, before he quietly left the room. I'm glad he could say goodbye to her, I hope he'll be less confused.
We sat quietly with her, don't know for how long, until David said, he'd like to bring her to the Vet's by himself (which broke my heart). He's very strong, he wrapped her in his blanket, and carried her outside. I just opened the doors for him.
So now the house feels empty. In every room there are things of her, be it a dog pillow, the food bowl, her tennis balls, a blanket, the leash, her hair etc. When Sam died David packed everything up and away so quickly, but I know he does not want me to do the same for him, so I'll let him do it at his own pace. We have hundreds of photos of her, and as many memories. It hurts to have lost her, but I like to think that she's with Sam now, both pain free, and having fun.
BTW - the Vet says she died of heart failure. He thinks (because of the results of the blood test, and whatnot), she had a tumor on her spleen, which had spread. He said we could not have done anything for her. We did not want to let him do a post mortem. Wouldn't make any difference to us.
We thank all of you for your kind words, which brought tears to our eyes again, and again, but it's nice to know that Biko was loved not just by us. Thank you!
Oct. 22, 2001 - March 23, 2010
Biko was our first dog here in Canada. My son David worked on a horse farm for a couple of years, during his weekends, and during summer time. They had three dogs there, one German Shepherd, her daughter a Shepherd mix, and a Lab mix. He got to know and love them, and wanted a dog of his own. So we started researching German Shepherd breeder and Labrador breeder. We looked at a GS puppy, male, but it came from a guard dog breeder, and we wanted a female. We found a breeder for White Shepherds, and waited a few month for a litter to be born. The litter had 11 puppies, and one of them was our Biko. She got her name, because all the farm dogs names started with "B".
We brought her home in December 2001. People thought she was a Christmas puppy, but we had waited a long time before we could bring her home, and during that time I read many books on how to raise a puppy.
She was such a joy, that soon we realized that we wanted another one, this one for ME, since she was very much my sons dog. Sure, I fed her, I gave her medicine (later on), I played with her, but she always saw me as her servant. She was very smart, and I'm sorry we didn't do more with her. She had potential, but we were only looking for a companion dog.
She helped us raise Sam, and later Happy. Especially Happy learned a lot from her, and he adored his "Aunt Biko". He always wanted to be with her, snuggle with her, but she would have none of this for a long time, until one day, when he was about 4 month old, she started to interact with him more, not leave the room, as soon as he entered it. For a while she started to get playful again, like a puppy herself, even chewing bones, which she never did before, at least not those. She played catch with him, and he would not pee or poop without her! He would hold it in until she got up and joined us outside. Now he has to get used to being alone, doing his own business. I hope she taught him everything she knew, he always looked to her to see how she reacted. She was our alarm system, which made him run to hide, whenever she barked, even now, that he's almost 10 month old.
Biko enjoyed her tennis ball games, and chasing after them, endless it seemed sometimes, playing in the snow, swimming in the pool as soon as we opened it in April to closing at the beginning of October (who is going to teach Happy to swim now? and that swimming is fun?), going for walks, and lately going to the dog park. She would do things for you, if you'd play with her, but not for food. She couldn't care less about food. "Car ride" was a magic word for her, wherever in the house she was, as soon as she heard us call "car ride" she came running and was out and in the car in one swoosh.
When I think back, she too was never a total healthy puppy. When she was about 4 month old, she had some kind of seizure, and after that she was incontinent, and needed some medicine for that. She was spayed at 6 month, so we never figured out, what that exactly was. She had a sensitive stomach, and later she had to have back surgery, from which she recovered wonderfully. She was able to run and jump again, which was surprising to us, but also made us very happy.
When Sam died, she missed him very much, and was depressed for a while. The both of us grew a little closer, because I gave her all my attention, which she very much enjoyed. Then we brought home Happy, and as I said, at first she surely was mad at us for bringing home this little monster, but grew to love him too.
During the last few month we noticed that she was not her usual self. Checkups with the Vet didn't show that anything was wrong with her, but we saw something.
So last Saturday we went for a short hike, as I've mentioned before. She did well, but was tired afterwards. Sunday she got worse, so we made an appointment with the Vet on Monday afternoon. He saw that she was not well, did take blood, and did a check up again. She was bloated, had had diarrhea, and had vomited once over the weekend. She hadn't eaten all day Sunday, but she took some food he offered her there in the office. He suspected Addison's disease, but we had to wait for the blood results which we should have gotten on Tuesday.
Monday evening she vomited again, and was very weak, and had ice cold paws, cold ears, and was moaning a lot, breathing hard. When I massaged her head, and belly, she relaxed and slept for a while. During the night she vomited again, it was aweful, poor baby. We took turns petting her, massaging her, and she always relaxed while we did that, but it still got worse. We decided to pack her up and get her to the Vet's as soon as the first person showed up there, when she suddenly died at 6:45AM Tuesday morning. It's aweful to have to make a decision to put your beloved pet down, but let me tell you, it's not easier, when it comes suddenly. Until then I still thought the right medicine could help her. We were dazed, just sat there for the longest time. We've put Happy in his crate earlier to be out of the way. After a while we let him out, and he sniffed the air, and slowly went upstairs to where Biko was. He sniffed her, his tail wagging hesitantly, when he came to her head, he liked her muzzle, and her ears. Then he looked at us, tail in slow motion, before he quietly left the room. I'm glad he could say goodbye to her, I hope he'll be less confused.
We sat quietly with her, don't know for how long, until David said, he'd like to bring her to the Vet's by himself (which broke my heart). He's very strong, he wrapped her in his blanket, and carried her outside. I just opened the doors for him.
So now the house feels empty. In every room there are things of her, be it a dog pillow, the food bowl, her tennis balls, a blanket, the leash, her hair etc. When Sam died David packed everything up and away so quickly, but I know he does not want me to do the same for him, so I'll let him do it at his own pace. We have hundreds of photos of her, and as many memories. It hurts to have lost her, but I like to think that she's with Sam now, both pain free, and having fun.
BTW - the Vet says she died of heart failure. He thinks (because of the results of the blood test, and whatnot), she had a tumor on her spleen, which had spread. He said we could not have done anything for her. We did not want to let him do a post mortem. Wouldn't make any difference to us.
We thank all of you for your kind words, which brought tears to our eyes again, and again, but it's nice to know that Biko was loved not just by us. Thank you!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Puppy Love Forever!
Puppy Love socks were cast on back in the December 2009. It was the last project I started, but did not finish. It took me until the end of February to finally finish this pair.
But first, I did finish my Hamamelis shawl yesterday. It's blocking, really it's dry already, just have to get the pins out.
On Saturday we went hiking to Lake Marie at the Monastery nearby. It looks so different now, that everything is still brown and grey, no green whatsoever. It was Happy's first hike, and our first one this year. The path was flooded in several spots, but we were able to jump over the worst parts, and did just get wet a little bit. The ponds had a thin layer of ice still on them, but there were Canada geese making a hell of a noise. I forgot to take my camera. Only one other human crossed our path, which got Happy pretty excited. Usually there are many hikers around. Biko did enjoy the walk too, but after we got home she didn't move much for a while.
On Sunday she felt poorly again. Drank a lot of water, but did not want to eat at all, not even tasty treats, and we had to lure her outside to pee. Usually she's the first out the door. I'm going to make an appointment with the Vet for her, because I have no idea what's going on with her.
So here are the specs for the socks:
pattern: Puppy Love by Pauline Schultz from the book "The Joy of Sox" (this might just be my favorite sock book at the moment! If you can only affored one sock knitting book, that's the one to get.)
yarn: Regia 4-ply, lime green # 01092 (this yarn was a gift from Christa - thanks again!) I love this kind of green.
needles: 2.5mm (could have used a smaller size)
mods: I didn't like to knit the lace pattern on my heel flap, so I replaced the whole heel with a different one. I also made the leg longer: more rounds on the ribbing of the cuff, 10 lace pattern repeats instead of 4.
start-finish: Dec. 27, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010
I loved the zig-zag cast on for these socks, they make them extra special. It's not hard to do either. I've worn them several times, and I love them.
I've also done a little crochet:
The basic pattern for this square comes from "Sunny Spread" by Ellen K. Gormley, but I've made it a little bigger. I still don't think I have the stamina to make enough for a blanket.
***
But first, I did finish my Hamamelis shawl yesterday. It's blocking, really it's dry already, just have to get the pins out.
On Saturday we went hiking to Lake Marie at the Monastery nearby. It looks so different now, that everything is still brown and grey, no green whatsoever. It was Happy's first hike, and our first one this year. The path was flooded in several spots, but we were able to jump over the worst parts, and did just get wet a little bit. The ponds had a thin layer of ice still on them, but there were Canada geese making a hell of a noise. I forgot to take my camera. Only one other human crossed our path, which got Happy pretty excited. Usually there are many hikers around. Biko did enjoy the walk too, but after we got home she didn't move much for a while.
On Sunday she felt poorly again. Drank a lot of water, but did not want to eat at all, not even tasty treats, and we had to lure her outside to pee. Usually she's the first out the door. I'm going to make an appointment with the Vet for her, because I have no idea what's going on with her.
So here are the specs for the socks:
pattern: Puppy Love by Pauline Schultz from the book "The Joy of Sox" (this might just be my favorite sock book at the moment! If you can only affored one sock knitting book, that's the one to get.)
yarn: Regia 4-ply, lime green # 01092 (this yarn was a gift from Christa - thanks again!) I love this kind of green.
needles: 2.5mm (could have used a smaller size)
mods: I didn't like to knit the lace pattern on my heel flap, so I replaced the whole heel with a different one. I also made the leg longer: more rounds on the ribbing of the cuff, 10 lace pattern repeats instead of 4.
start-finish: Dec. 27, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010
I loved the zig-zag cast on for these socks, they make them extra special. It's not hard to do either. I've worn them several times, and I love them.
I've also done a little crochet:
The basic pattern for this square comes from "Sunny Spread" by Ellen K. Gormley, but I've made it a little bigger. I still don't think I have the stamina to make enough for a blanket.
***
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Happy Vernal Equinox!
Spring is here! What fun!
That's what we get when Spring has sprung!
Yesterday was a busy day for me, and an exhausting one. Biko woke up nauseous, didn't eat until after noon, barfed it up a couple of hours later. Clean up!
Also, there was yard work involved later on, and the yearly poopy scoopy session out front (not as bad as all the years past), still very unpleasant. The sun was shining, and it was really nice out. I felt bad about the pups not being able to run free, so I let them out in the backyard to run around. Big mistake! I was sitting underneath the big sun umbrella, crocheting for about five minutes, when I saw both of them eating mud! Yuk! But they sure thought it was delicious. Happy was galloping around like a young horse, jumping in the air with all four legs at once, and doing the puppy run around the whole yard, circling Biko, while she was looking on, like she was dizzy just from watching.
So, I sent Biko in, David could clean her up. She was just a little less dirty than Happy was. I had to catch him first.
Only his chest was clean, the face, the belly, legs, tail everything was dirty and it stank! Normally they would get the hose down, but it's too cold for that. So I had to give them a bath in a small tub, where they can only stand with two legs, while the other two are outside the tub.
After all the romping around, Happy slept deep for an hour. Then he got up and threw up some black goo without any warning at all. Clean up! I was not surprised. Just waiting for Biko to do the same.
Yeah, Spring!
***
That's what we get when Spring has sprung!
Yesterday was a busy day for me, and an exhausting one. Biko woke up nauseous, didn't eat until after noon, barfed it up a couple of hours later. Clean up!
Also, there was yard work involved later on, and the yearly poopy scoopy session out front (not as bad as all the years past), still very unpleasant. The sun was shining, and it was really nice out. I felt bad about the pups not being able to run free, so I let them out in the backyard to run around. Big mistake! I was sitting underneath the big sun umbrella, crocheting for about five minutes, when I saw both of them eating mud! Yuk! But they sure thought it was delicious. Happy was galloping around like a young horse, jumping in the air with all four legs at once, and doing the puppy run around the whole yard, circling Biko, while she was looking on, like she was dizzy just from watching.
So, I sent Biko in, David could clean her up. She was just a little less dirty than Happy was. I had to catch him first.
Only his chest was clean, the face, the belly, legs, tail everything was dirty and it stank! Normally they would get the hose down, but it's too cold for that. So I had to give them a bath in a small tub, where they can only stand with two legs, while the other two are outside the tub.
After all the romping around, Happy slept deep for an hour. Then he got up and threw up some black goo without any warning at all. Clean up! I was not surprised. Just waiting for Biko to do the same.
Yeah, Spring!
***
Friday, March 19, 2010
Handspun Friday - Pond Life
After the last finished yarn, which was spun so thin, I wanted to give thicker spinning another try. I don't want to spin thick and thin when it's not on purpose. For some reason it worked out better than I thought it would, and it was a lot of fun to finish something so fast for a change!
The whole time I had "hat" in my mind, when I spun this. So I'm hoping to find a pattern for this yarn.
This winter I only wore two hats, one was made with my handspun, it was the warmer one, and the other one was made with Noro Kureyon, and it was very drafty. I've washed both several times in the washing machine to shrink them, because they kept getting bigger and bigger with use. It worked out really well. But still another hat would be nice. Not that I'll need it for this winter, but the next one will come for sure.
So here it is: Pond Life dyed by FatCatKnits 4oz of sw BFL
This time the yarn was no surprise. Of course spinning thicker keeps the colors more seperate, they don't look all muddled up.
This turned out to be ~ 161yds, 14 WPI (remember last time my three ply was 22 WPI!!!), 2-ply. I'm very happy with it. It's not totally spun even, there are thinner parts, but you definitely can't call it a thick and thin yarn.
I rarely have the same amount of singles on both bobbins. Same is true here. I navajo plied the rest. I like how it looks that way too.
So, back to the spinning wheel. So much fiber is a-waiting! New Fiber Club fibers are coming in too!
***
The whole time I had "hat" in my mind, when I spun this. So I'm hoping to find a pattern for this yarn.
This winter I only wore two hats, one was made with my handspun, it was the warmer one, and the other one was made with Noro Kureyon, and it was very drafty. I've washed both several times in the washing machine to shrink them, because they kept getting bigger and bigger with use. It worked out really well. But still another hat would be nice. Not that I'll need it for this winter, but the next one will come for sure.
So here it is: Pond Life dyed by FatCatKnits 4oz of sw BFL
This time the yarn was no surprise. Of course spinning thicker keeps the colors more seperate, they don't look all muddled up.
This turned out to be ~ 161yds, 14 WPI (remember last time my three ply was 22 WPI!!!), 2-ply. I'm very happy with it. It's not totally spun even, there are thinner parts, but you definitely can't call it a thick and thin yarn.
I rarely have the same amount of singles on both bobbins. Same is true here. I navajo plied the rest. I like how it looks that way too.
So, back to the spinning wheel. So much fiber is a-waiting! New Fiber Club fibers are coming in too!
***
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Waiting ....
I'm waiting for FedEx Ground to show up, since we missed each other yesterday for delivery. Those guys are weird, they called last night and asked if this is "name", and I said no it isn't. Then they asked if this is "phone number", and I said yes it is. So they figured they've got the wrong number, but they were reading their own delivery sheets wrong, since the name above was from the company sending the package! Sigh! I hope they still manage a delivery.
While waiting I'm playing around: This is my desktop background. It's Sam. I think he'd have liked bubbles.
Also, I finally started knitting chart 3 on Hamamelis and I'm certain one skein is not enough. I'd like to do three repeats of chart 3, instead of two. Good thing I've got a second skein. :o)
***
While waiting I'm playing around: This is my desktop background. It's Sam. I think he'd have liked bubbles.
Also, I finally started knitting chart 3 on Hamamelis and I'm certain one skein is not enough. I'd like to do three repeats of chart 3, instead of two. Good thing I've got a second skein. :o)
***
Monday, March 15, 2010
Last photos of winter!
I could be whining about the weather, and even more about DST, but I wont. Instead I've some last pictures of this winter to show:
Apparently he looks like Rin-Tin-Tin in this picture (except that Happy's coat is white).
Love the action shots!
Going, going, gone! Throw the Frisbee already!
Since our backyard is off limits to the dogs right now, we've got to get them exercised somehow, which means more walky walkies. It's good for us too. Yesterday we drove a little north to walk in the countryside, dirt road, less traffic etc.
There was a hilly road, me/Happy, David/Biko. I'm still desperately trying to get him to heel and don't pull on the leash so much. It's getting better every day, but boy a lot of patience is required. Anyway, I was up that hill in no time, thanks to Happy, when I heard Biko's whining behind me. I was so focused on Happy and heeling, that I didn't realize, that we were only a dot in the distance for David and Biko. She wanted to catch up with us, but had to heel. That was kind of funny!
It's still hard to get Happy's attention, when out and about. He does all his heeling, and other commands I give wonderfully, as long as we are in the house, in the driveway, or in the backyard. We set one foot on the road outside our property, and he's a changed dog. I don't exist anymore. I'm just an annoying lump, that he has to drag behind him. Anyway, it's getting slowly better. Patience!
I still knit, in case you are wondering: This is going to be the lovely Hamamelis shawl. I've never knit a shawl that slow! I LOVE the design, you just wait and see after it's blocked! But I'm still missing some of my knitting mojo. Besides, I'm watching MacGyver episodes, and then I make mistakes, or don't know where I am in the pattern. Still, it will be finished eventually. I'm knitting this with Fluffy Cat yarn from Wandering Cat yarns in Pink Pearl. It's an alpaca/silk/cashmere blend - yummy!
***
Apparently he looks like Rin-Tin-Tin in this picture (except that Happy's coat is white).
Love the action shots!
Going, going, gone! Throw the Frisbee already!
Since our backyard is off limits to the dogs right now, we've got to get them exercised somehow, which means more walky walkies. It's good for us too. Yesterday we drove a little north to walk in the countryside, dirt road, less traffic etc.
There was a hilly road, me/Happy, David/Biko. I'm still desperately trying to get him to heel and don't pull on the leash so much. It's getting better every day, but boy a lot of patience is required. Anyway, I was up that hill in no time, thanks to Happy, when I heard Biko's whining behind me. I was so focused on Happy and heeling, that I didn't realize, that we were only a dot in the distance for David and Biko. She wanted to catch up with us, but had to heel. That was kind of funny!
It's still hard to get Happy's attention, when out and about. He does all his heeling, and other commands I give wonderfully, as long as we are in the house, in the driveway, or in the backyard. We set one foot on the road outside our property, and he's a changed dog. I don't exist anymore. I'm just an annoying lump, that he has to drag behind him. Anyway, it's getting slowly better. Patience!
I still knit, in case you are wondering: This is going to be the lovely Hamamelis shawl. I've never knit a shawl that slow! I LOVE the design, you just wait and see after it's blocked! But I'm still missing some of my knitting mojo. Besides, I'm watching MacGyver episodes, and then I make mistakes, or don't know where I am in the pattern. Still, it will be finished eventually. I'm knitting this with Fluffy Cat yarn from Wandering Cat yarns in Pink Pearl. It's an alpaca/silk/cashmere blend - yummy!
***
Friday, March 12, 2010
Handspun Friday - Winter Doldrums
Ginny of FatCatKnits took a break in dyeing her Fiber Club, but she left us with Winter Doldrums mini club, until it's time for regular Fiber Club again.
When she announced that it would be a mohair blend fiber, I was already thinking SOCK YARN! Well, I was certainly surprised when I saw that it was 64% kid mohair, 25% superfine merino and 11% nylon. The braids weight kind of heavy in my hands. I've spun mohair blends before, and am actually spinning a 50/50 blend right now, but the mohair percentage was never more than 50% so far. It really makes a difference, when you like to spin for sock yarn, because mohair has no memory, and no give. I really like a little bit of mohair in my sock yarns, because it makes them even warmer. I doubt however, that I'll use this yarn for socks. I've never spun a 3-ply and knit lace with it, but I might just do that in this case.
By the way, this is 3-ply yarn with a WPI of 22! I questioned my sanity after finishing it. Anyway, I think it looks pretty, still a little hairy, not especially soft. I might have squeezed the life out of this fiber. It sure looked pretty pre-drafted.
I made it into 2 skeins, since I wanted to ply with my Elizabeth and the Wooly Winder, because it was so thin. It came out as 544yds total, and as I said 22WPI, 5.7oz. I lost some of the 6 oz, because I had a slight mishap at the beginning of plying. I shouldn't have started plying at that moment, because the dogs where whining in front of me, and I had a million other things I was supposed to do, but I wanted to see how the 3-ply looked. So I did, for the first time in my spinning life, spin in the wrong direction. Very embarrassing! Well, here it is:
I do have another 4oz of it left, but I'd like to spin it differently, just not right now. I made no progress with any of my WIP's. I've just been spinning, and enjoying it very much. I don't have a mindless knitting project right now, I should change that, but then my shawls will never get done.
And here's a photo of Happy, because this is one of my favorites lately. Sadly the snow is gone now.
You really should look at it in the biggest size.
I'm ready when you are!
***
When she announced that it would be a mohair blend fiber, I was already thinking SOCK YARN! Well, I was certainly surprised when I saw that it was 64% kid mohair, 25% superfine merino and 11% nylon. The braids weight kind of heavy in my hands. I've spun mohair blends before, and am actually spinning a 50/50 blend right now, but the mohair percentage was never more than 50% so far. It really makes a difference, when you like to spin for sock yarn, because mohair has no memory, and no give. I really like a little bit of mohair in my sock yarns, because it makes them even warmer. I doubt however, that I'll use this yarn for socks. I've never spun a 3-ply and knit lace with it, but I might just do that in this case.
By the way, this is 3-ply yarn with a WPI of 22! I questioned my sanity after finishing it. Anyway, I think it looks pretty, still a little hairy, not especially soft. I might have squeezed the life out of this fiber. It sure looked pretty pre-drafted.
I made it into 2 skeins, since I wanted to ply with my Elizabeth and the Wooly Winder, because it was so thin. It came out as 544yds total, and as I said 22WPI, 5.7oz. I lost some of the 6 oz, because I had a slight mishap at the beginning of plying. I shouldn't have started plying at that moment, because the dogs where whining in front of me, and I had a million other things I was supposed to do, but I wanted to see how the 3-ply looked. So I did, for the first time in my spinning life, spin in the wrong direction. Very embarrassing! Well, here it is:
I do have another 4oz of it left, but I'd like to spin it differently, just not right now. I made no progress with any of my WIP's. I've just been spinning, and enjoying it very much. I don't have a mindless knitting project right now, I should change that, but then my shawls will never get done.
And here's a photo of Happy, because this is one of my favorites lately. Sadly the snow is gone now.
You really should look at it in the biggest size.
I'm ready when you are!
***
Monday, March 08, 2010
My Handspun Multnomah shawl
I can't believe I still have something from last year to show you! It's my handspun Multnomah shawl. Here's the yarn again:
I quite like how it looks like:
specs:
pattern: by Kate Flagg
yarn: my own handspun, Fairie Falls, 366yds, merino/bamboo/nylon bought from Moonlightbaker
needle: 3.25mm
size after blocking: 17 1/2 inches x 48 inches (it's a small shawl)
mods: I can't remember, but I think I did 11 feather & fan repeats.
start-finish: December 16-18, 2009
Biko was poorly over the weekend. She really had us worried. She didn't want to eat, and she didn't want to go outside, that NEVER EVER happened before. Of course it's always on a weekend, when we can't get our regular Vet. But thankfully, late yesterday afternoon, she suddenly went from glassy eyed to her usual old self, eating, AND playing outside. I don't exactly know what was wrong with her, and why. Another sign that she was not well was, that Happy did not bother her in his usual way, but only sniffed her, and went away again.
The photo is from a couple of weeks ago.
***
I quite like how it looks like:
specs:
pattern: by Kate Flagg
yarn: my own handspun, Fairie Falls, 366yds, merino/bamboo/nylon bought from Moonlightbaker
needle: 3.25mm
size after blocking: 17 1/2 inches x 48 inches (it's a small shawl)
mods: I can't remember, but I think I did 11 feather & fan repeats.
start-finish: December 16-18, 2009
Biko was poorly over the weekend. She really had us worried. She didn't want to eat, and she didn't want to go outside, that NEVER EVER happened before. Of course it's always on a weekend, when we can't get our regular Vet. But thankfully, late yesterday afternoon, she suddenly went from glassy eyed to her usual old self, eating, AND playing outside. I don't exactly know what was wrong with her, and why. Another sign that she was not well was, that Happy did not bother her in his usual way, but only sniffed her, and went away again.
The photo is from a couple of weeks ago.
***
Friday, March 05, 2010
Handspun Friday - The BFL project
I'm really surprised how many of you liked my simple Evilla shawl! Thank you so much for all your kind words. I'm not going to write a pattern for it though. If you are on ravelry, there's a very similar free pattern called Deirdre by Linden Heflin. You just need to pop in some of those gathered stitch rows from Nancy Bush's "Knitted Lace of Estonia", if you happen to have this book.
And now to my finished, long term BFL (Bluefaced Leicester) project:
I've started this in April 2009 by dyeing up some of my natural brown BFL fiber, seen here with a wet Biko:
(I bought this fiber on eBay in May 2007)
I was a little to enthusiastic dyeing this up, stirred the fiber in the pot too much, and it was all a little felted. I did not look forward spinning this up, but ripping stripes from each color, loosened up the felted fiber, and I also did a real good job in pre-drafting. After I spun the first three skeins, I put everything aside, because there kept gorgeous fiber coming into my house, which distracted me from this project.
But as you can see, I finished it! Over the last 3 weeks, I've spun the last 4 skeins. To tell the truth I got pretty sick of it by the end, also because it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. And to make it worse, my spinning kept getting thinner with each skein.
At the top there's the natural brown undyed skein (which looks rather grey here, but it's not). It's the smallest one, but for whatever project I'm going to use these skeins, if I need more of this, I still have plenty of undyed fiber left to spin. All the others are half/half with the color before them until I came to the last color, which is also only a 2oz skein of pure dark red colorway.
There is a total of 3468yds of 2-ply yarn here. As I said, unfortunately not all the same WPI. I still want to use it all together for an as yet unknown project in the future.
I've still plans on giving this color play another go. Now that I have a clearer picture of what I really want.
I just realized that I have another long term spinning project, which I have badly neglected! It's the Shunklies Humbug project (official name for this project as of now) :o).
I've just read The Beebonnet report and it looks like America has discovered how cool dyed Humbug fiber is! (at the end of the blog post). You should see more of it all over the place soon! :o) Something like this for instance (Jacobs Humbug):
I really like this kind of fiber.
***
I'm also sharing this with you, against my better judgment, since it decreases my chances of winning! :o)
Wandering Cat Studio is having a contest, and I'm telling you this because I've had the pleasure of knitting with some Fluffy Cat yarn I bought from their Etsy shop, (and I would not mind winning another skein of it) and because I like to support this mother and daughter team, spreading the love of their wonderful hand-painted yarn! ravelry link. There's still time to enter the contest!
***
And now to my finished, long term BFL (Bluefaced Leicester) project:
I've started this in April 2009 by dyeing up some of my natural brown BFL fiber, seen here with a wet Biko:
(I bought this fiber on eBay in May 2007)
I was a little to enthusiastic dyeing this up, stirred the fiber in the pot too much, and it was all a little felted. I did not look forward spinning this up, but ripping stripes from each color, loosened up the felted fiber, and I also did a real good job in pre-drafting. After I spun the first three skeins, I put everything aside, because there kept gorgeous fiber coming into my house, which distracted me from this project.
But as you can see, I finished it! Over the last 3 weeks, I've spun the last 4 skeins. To tell the truth I got pretty sick of it by the end, also because it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. And to make it worse, my spinning kept getting thinner with each skein.
At the top there's the natural brown undyed skein (which looks rather grey here, but it's not). It's the smallest one, but for whatever project I'm going to use these skeins, if I need more of this, I still have plenty of undyed fiber left to spin. All the others are half/half with the color before them until I came to the last color, which is also only a 2oz skein of pure dark red colorway.
There is a total of 3468yds of 2-ply yarn here. As I said, unfortunately not all the same WPI. I still want to use it all together for an as yet unknown project in the future.
I've still plans on giving this color play another go. Now that I have a clearer picture of what I really want.
I just realized that I have another long term spinning project, which I have badly neglected! It's the Shunklies Humbug project (official name for this project as of now) :o).
I've just read The Beebonnet report and it looks like America has discovered how cool dyed Humbug fiber is! (at the end of the blog post). You should see more of it all over the place soon! :o) Something like this for instance (Jacobs Humbug):
I really like this kind of fiber.***
I'm also sharing this with you, against my better judgment, since it decreases my chances of winning! :o)
Wandering Cat Studio is having a contest, and I'm telling you this because I've had the pleasure of knitting with some Fluffy Cat yarn I bought from their Etsy shop, (and I would not mind winning another skein of it) and because I like to support this mother and daughter team, spreading the love of their wonderful hand-painted yarn! ravelry link. There's still time to enter the contest!
***
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Mixed Green Shawl
After I've finished my Haruni shawl, I went through my stash to find some yarn for my next shawl. I did not know what I wanted to knit next, but was just looking through it all, to find suitable yarn. That's when I came across some ancient Evilla yarn. It's very smelly, and really rough. I had wound a skein into a yarn cake a long time ago, and just found the second skein. Somehow I wanted to get it out of my stash, and decided to knit a shawl with it. I wound the second skein, sat down, and cast on. I had no clue what I was doing, no pattern. It's not even lace weight yarn, or fingering weight either. It's so rough, that I would not tolerate something made of it on my head, on my hands, or feet, but a shawl over clothing would be alright. Besides I liked the colorway, it's so rustic!
There was vegetable matter to feed a sheep, which I picked out as I knit, some of the dry grass got stuck in my fingers, prickly little things.
Since I've knit Miralda shawl by Nancy Bush, I always wanted to use the "Gathered stitch pattern" again, and this was the time I did. I love the look of this stitch pattern!
I wanted to use up all of the yarn I had, and at the end I almost ran out of yarn. I could not quite finish it, as I wanted to, but I managed to do another gatheres stitch pattern before I had to do the garter stitch section before the bind off. At least there's nothing of it left now.
Somehow I didn't block it with pins and needles. I just soaked it in wool wash, and soaked it in water with hair conditioner in it (for the smell). It did nothing for the roughness, but it sure smelled good afterwards. I just smoothed it out on a big towel on the floor. I'll do a better job, after it's next bath whenever. It turned out huge, compared to all the other shawls I made lately, and it's warm too. I like it, even though it's nothing special, a real down to earth kind of shawl for every day use.
It's also # 2 of 10shawls2010.
And here's one more shot with my Sweety.
Here are the specs:
pattern: my own
yarn: Evilla 100% wool, color A-35, 4/2 (mixed green), 220yds/100g, used 417g - 917yds.
needle: 5mm
size after blocking: 39" x 80"
start-finish: Jan. 11-16
***
I almost forgot to add this link to the most wonderful new sock pattern coming soon! For adventurous knitters only I'm sure, have a look! Flower socks by Bea
***
Monday, March 01, 2010
Some more snow photos!
Before it's all gone, here are some more photos of Happy and Biko in the snow.
It's melting like crazy today, with wonderful sunshine, and nice temperatures.
I've had a spinning break over the weekend, after my marathon spinning over the last three weeks, and I finished a pair of socks I've started in December. They are drying right now, pictures coming soon.
I've also cast on for two shawls, both of which are not mindless knitting, but need some concentration.
I wish my camera could take videos, but this old one can't , and Hannah has got the better camera with her. So I'm going to tell you about Happy's progress in the "heel" department. I'm usually training with him in the driveway out front. Last week though, I didn't have time for this extra session, so I thought I'll give it a try, while we are out back for playing.
I took the Frisbee in my left hand and called him to HEEL (easy since I've got the Frisbee). He planted his butt right by my side. Now I proceeded to walk forward, with him bouncing like a rubber ball beside me (which is annoying), so I increased my speed a little until I full out ran forward. He had to stop bouncing to keep up with me. Once I hit full stop, I think I could feel the earth shaking because of how hard and fast he planted his butt in a nice SIT beside me. NICE! Of course there was joy all around and the Frisbee got thrown.
Next step will be that he'll do this for me without the Frisbee in sight. That's going to be harder for sure. :o)
***
It's melting like crazy today, with wonderful sunshine, and nice temperatures.
I've had a spinning break over the weekend, after my marathon spinning over the last three weeks, and I finished a pair of socks I've started in December. They are drying right now, pictures coming soon.
I've also cast on for two shawls, both of which are not mindless knitting, but need some concentration.
I wish my camera could take videos, but this old one can't , and Hannah has got the better camera with her. So I'm going to tell you about Happy's progress in the "heel" department. I'm usually training with him in the driveway out front. Last week though, I didn't have time for this extra session, so I thought I'll give it a try, while we are out back for playing.
I took the Frisbee in my left hand and called him to HEEL (easy since I've got the Frisbee). He planted his butt right by my side. Now I proceeded to walk forward, with him bouncing like a rubber ball beside me (which is annoying), so I increased my speed a little until I full out ran forward. He had to stop bouncing to keep up with me. Once I hit full stop, I think I could feel the earth shaking because of how hard and fast he planted his butt in a nice SIT beside me. NICE! Of course there was joy all around and the Frisbee got thrown.
Next step will be that he'll do this for me without the Frisbee in sight. That's going to be harder for sure. :o)
***
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