Snow!

It's snowing heavily today, as was expected from what the weather forecast was telling us. Earlier in the morning we went for a walk. I enjoy this kind of weather, and so do the dogs. Not so much the rest of the family. Here they are on the balcony, not quite knowing what to do, so they dug their noses deep into the snow, inhaled and sneezed. After a few times back and forth, they came inside. Now it's time for tea, and some fibering. I'm not going to do anything else today.

Elses Sjal

A few weeks ago, while I was reading Hege's blog I found the link to Mauds Garn in her side bar. Of course I followed it, even though I don't understand Norwegian, but one can look at pictures, no? Well, I found a picture of this gorgeous shawl, and I wanted to make one with the same colorway very badly. As you can see, I'm now proud owner of some more yarn, which came with the shawl instruction in Norwegian. I don't think I'll need it though. It's a very basic shawl, made beautiful with the yarn and the crochet edging. I'm not going to make the flower though, but I like the tassel. If all that would not have been enough, through a mistake, I got the yarn just for the cost of shipping, and even with my pointing that out to Maud several times, she let me have it. Wow. Another side effect of ordering from Europe is, that the parcels arrive faster than from the US or even within Canada, it's unbelievable, but true. I'm looking forward to knit up this lovely shawl. Hope to get to it very soon.

(I took the picture from Maud's website).

Sea Leaf

Fiber: 70% merino wool, 30% sea cell, 4oz, colorway "Sea Leaf" dyed by Dyed in the Wool Handmade
Yarn: 2-ply, 336yds, 14 WPI

This was extremely pleasant to spin with. As you can see in the first picture, the fiber separated easily into two strands ( Well not for me. I was sitting on the sofa all tangled up in the separated mess, and clever as I think I am, I started to divide from the other end, thinking this would help, but it didn't. Son to the rescue. He untangled me in no time, and I gave him the last colorways, still waiting to be spun to divide for me.)

This blend (which is actually merino, tencel, sea cell) is used for sock yarn, but I don't think I'll knit socks with my skein. Don't know yet what it will be. I'm getting tired of only having 4oz of anything, and to come up with clever ways to find a suitable pattern for it.

I think this colorway came out very lovely. It's cooling effect, just looking at it, makes me happy. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, usually I have singles left on one bobbin, but this time they were quite even spun. At the end I had 1 inch on one bobbin left! How cool is that?

Creative knitting!

I was not sure what to blog about today. Oh, sure, I've got one FO to show you, and some handspun yarn too, but I just didn't feel like it today. Did you know that it was Mothers Day in Great Britain yesterday? I'm glad there is such a day, and I'm always for remembering my mom and grandmother on this day, whatever date it is, but I don't like to celebrate it on a certain day for myself. I think every day should be mothers day, and I don't necessarily mean to be given gifts, which cost money, but with words, and actions. My kids tell me, they love me almost every day, and that means much more to me, than gifts. Oh wow, way off topic here.

Alright, moving on to my actual theme today. This past weekend I had it in my head to do something specific, but could not get it to work. For two days I was grumpy, and didn't even realize it, until my son asked me, if my knitting wasn't going too well. That stopped me in my tracks. He was right, of course. There are so many projects I want to do, which is fine, but this particular project was all mine, and I couldn't get it started. A lot of swatching was involved.

That's when I stumbled upon my copy of "Creative Knitting" in my bookshelf (got to love it). Creative Knitting by Mary Walker Phillips was in my possession for some time now. It's not a pattern book, there are some stitches explained, but it's a wonderful book nevertheless! I've looked through it many times, and did not take away anything useful for me. The time was just not right. This time however, it was my liberation! I started to read, thought of the one yarn (some Louet linen/mohair blend) in my stash which was perfect, grabbed it, and a circular needle as well; cast on, started knitting, with no plans, or pattern in mind, just to knit as I felt like it. I learned new stitches, and even though I've not come too far with this, it helped me to get the other project started. As soon as I freed myself from my own pressure, it all fell into place. It's wonderful! You should take the time and just knit without the rigidness of patterns, for a change. It feels good! I think especially knitting is very much bound by rules, and how-to's, which is necessary if you want something you knit to fit. But it gets boring too. You do all the same things over and over, a certain way, and with time and many repeats, you might feel like a knitting machine. That's another reason why I like to learn new knitting skills from time to time.

I like knitting a lot, but getting stuck is not so much fun. This creative knitting made me unstuck, and I'm so very happy because of it, and thankful for this book. I also found out about myself, that I'm having a hard time to ignore my need for symmetry, and order in my knitting. I think in the end this need will take over again, but for now I'm trying not to let it be "the boss of me"! :o)

Well, as I said, I've not come far with this, and I think I'll use it to work on it, whenever I get the "being stuck" feeling again.

And as for the doggies: This time it's Sam's turn in the new bed. Biko is just happy to sleep beside it.

On Saturday she overdid it a bit, and had to take it easy yesterday. I'm real jumpy when it comes to yelps (heart stopping really) from either of my pups, because it's no good news. Sam overdid it earlier last week as well, and was limping real bad for a day. Sometimes I forget that even though they are so energetic and happy to run around, they are gimpy dogs, with lots of surgery behind them. Well, all is well right now, and I hope it will stay that way for a long time.

Silver Birch Hat!

Since several of you asked about Biko's new bed , which can be found at Aviva Designs Ltd. I went online to find a link, because I've ripped off all tags, I had no clue where to find it other than at our Ryans Global Pet Food store, where we buy food for our dogs. Well, I found it, and I see now, that they have awesome stuff!

Thanks to all your well wishes, Biko is doing great. She's got the stitches removed, the hardest part with that was the long drive, and the waiting at the clinic. The actual visit with the Doc lasted about 5 minutes tops. We all felt very uncomfortable there, and in the future, we'll avoid this clinic if at all possible. I am thankful to the surgeon for doing such a fine job.

She's now allowed to walk the stairs, go for walks on the leash, but no chasing the ball yet. She's using her tail again, and seems much, much happier than before the surgery. She's not grumpy anymore, which just shows me, that she must have been in pain for a long time. She can also walk up the stairs straight, and not sideways as before.

Right now she's just a piggy, driven by her medication, to guard the entrance to the kitchen (from Sam), as well as the fridge. She wants to eat non-stop. I found her lying in the dark kitchen in front of the dishwasher, a place were she's never wanted to lay down before.

The other day, when I was doing dishes, I was swishing out a pan, and poured the liquid into the toilet, did not flush it right away, because I had another bowl to empty into it. You know what's coming. I heard some noisy SLURP SLURP SLURP, and thought that this was going on way to long (we have a water bowl for the dogs in the hall). When I finally investigated I found Biko drinking out of the toilet bowl. Eeeeeeeeewe! See what the meds make my girl do!!!

Something very flattering happened too: I've got an e-mail from Amy, editor of Spin-Off magazine regarding my Morning Surf Scarf:

"Dear Monika,
Thank you for sharing your version of the Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer on Ravelry. We love how the scarf works up in handspun and are working with Jackie to offer the pattern in Spin-Off. We’d like to follow the pattern with a gallery of scarves that have been made in handspun yarns and yours caught our eye.
(In case you’re not familiar with us, Spin-Off is a quarterly publication from Interweave Press devoted to handspinning and what readers make from their handspun yarn. Each issue we feature a gallery of handspun items.)
This was a last minute inspiration, so we’re already in the throes of making the Summer issue—said another way, we’re operating on a tight schedule.
Please let us know if you are interested in participating in our gallery as soon as possible by emailing me at amyc@interweave.com. If you’re able to participate in the Summer issue, I’ll respond with a projects notes box that I’ll need you to fill out and we’ll need you to ship the scarf, fiber and yarn so that it arrives by Monday next week (March 10, 2008).............

About 2–6 weeks before the May 7, 2008 press date, you’ll receive the edited text to review. Can you please send me your complete contact information as well?

Best wishes,
Amy Clarke Moore Editor, Spin-Off Interweave Press, Inc. 201 East Fourth Street Loveland, CO 80537-5655 (970) 613-4682 AmyC@Interweave.com www.interweave.com"

I'm very pleased, and flattered, but I can't participate, scarf's gone as a gift, and I used up all the handspun yarn I had, nothing left put pictures. Oh well. :o)

Now finally we'll come to the title of this post: The Silver Birch Hat!

Can you see how fuzzy the mohair is? I love it! Even though the hat turned out pretty big, I liked it's construction, and I loved knitting with both yarns. It's easy and fun to make too. Next time (if there is a next time), I'll swatch to get a better fit.

Hannah's modeling it, with wet hair out in the cold, thanks Honey!

I liked doing the crochet edge, you should click on the above pic to see the close up, it's so wonderful that I must force myself to move on, and not stare at it indefinitely! :o)

I've special ordered this Manos Silk Blend yarn for this hat. It's not the original yarn used in the pattern, but this is amazing yarn. I loved every single stitch I knit and crochet with it. It's a pity that it goes under combined with the mohair blend, but still, that's note worthy yarn!

pattern: Silver Birch hat, Colinette Arboretum Book (original yarn used: Colinette Taos & Colinette Parisienne)

yarn: I used: Manos del Uruguay, color # 3117, 30% silk 70% merino wool, 1 x 50g ~ 150yds and Watercolors by Estelle: 50g ~ 175yds, shade 30, 50% mohair 50% acrylic, held doubled

needles: 4mm

crochet hook: 3.75mm

start-finish: Feb. 20-21 (I know speed is not important, I just wanted Hannah to model it, before she left)

I fell in love with this hat and it's construction, but more with the yarn used (Colinette Taos), when I saw this hat, which Claudia of Mr. Puffy the Dog made.

BTW - Devonshire is having a Blogiversary contest. You've got to let her know what your favorite dessert is, the bad thing is, you can only list ONE!

Two club fibers together!

Had a dentist appointment yesterday, again - lived to tell the tale. :o)

Above you see on the left top Spunky Eclectic Fiber of the Month January 2008 "Snow Squall", 100% Icelandic wool, to the right is Electric Sheep Fiber of the Month "London Fog", BFL, each 4oz. I thought they would go nicely together. The one bobbin full is a Jumbo bobbin, and I've never filled it to the maximum like that.

I've got 270yds, 12 WPI , 2-ply yarn. I should check my WPI again, for 8 oz I think there should be more yards, maybe it's thicker than I thought. Maybe I just got a thin end to check the WPI, it is kind of thick and thin, but not extremely so.

We are off to the Clinic to get Biko's stitches taken out. Want to see what she's been doing? No, that's not a bunny.

She's got a new bed, and both she and Sam love it. She's a 80lbs dog, Sam's almost 100lbs, both fit in nicely.

Gifted sock yarn socks # 1: Kool Aid socks

For those wondering why Hannah choose DUST and WIND for her Knucks, she's left a comment in the previous post. Time flew by last week. We did some baking (muffins and bread), and a few other things, but it's just never enough time to do it all. She'll be back later in April or May, not sure yet, I'll sure miss her though.

For Christmas I got this Kool Aid dyed sock yarn from Sybille. I'm showing it here with my Silver dollar yarn cake, and the left over roving. The little yarn cakes are 50g each.

I've decided (another decision I have to stick to), that I'm going to knit away on my sock yarn, which I've received over the last two years. Reason for that decision was, that my daughter asked me, whether I had knit some socks with the yarn she gave me yet, or not. I had not. She gave me sock yarn in 2006 and twice in 2007. I was going through my bins and bags and took out several gifted sock yarns, to put it in my knitting basket. I started with these, because they were already there. Sybille did a fine job dyeing this yarn. The first sock did a little bit of pooling, the second sock not at all. I like the colors a lot. I just felt like plain vanilla socks, cuff down, nothing exciting. After the crochet scarf I didn't knit for at least 10 days, but I did a lot of spinning. After the first of these socks was finished, I felt the knitting mojo return. That felt good too.

Over the weekend I decided (yes another decision) that I wanted to learn something new. I guess the reason why I choose "2-at-a time socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, was the cover. It's green/orange, yellow/red, has stars on it, and just looked so darn inviting! And the word "Secret" is printed on it too - I had to know! (I can keep secrets, but if somebody wants to reveal one, I'm all ears)

It's not like I suffer SSS (second sock syndrome), that's never been a real problem with me. I just thought I'd like to know how it is to knit two socks on one circular needle. So now I know. I'm not done yet with my first pair of socks. Pictures following as soon as they are done. Of course I used some gifted sock yarn.

This book has some errata, which you can find on the publishers website. Link for it next time.

Biko is still bored, and ready like a greyhound at the dog race, to sprint out the door, as soon as we let her. We'll be going back to the Clinic on Wednesday, to take out the stitches. She still wants food whenever, you'll have to be careful, or she'll take your arm off! :o) Oh, yeah, and she's giving me the "evil eye", because she's not getting her way. :o)

Sam's tired from running around in a sunny, still snow covered back yard. It's not so much fun without Biko. He's sleeping in front of the bed, he likes sunny spots. Look at his ears. He knows were the camera is! :o)

Coral Reef!

I love spinning pencil roving, and especially this blend (haven't had the pleasure of any other pencil roving yet). If you love to spin, and don't have a lot of time, this is perfect! You don't need to pre-draft anything, just sit down and go. It's lovely stuff, and I like it a lot. Of course Maggie's dye jobs are wonderful too, that makes it even more pleasurable.

I'm quite pleased with this yarn: 391yds, 2-ply, 15 WPI. I like the shine from the sea cell content. 70% superwash merino, 30% sea cell. This is the colorway "Coral Reef", as Maggie pointed out, and not "Fresh" as I called it before. I do have "Fresh" in my stash, but I'm saving it for last, since I've got 8oz of it, and this is only 4 oz.

Next on my spinning wheel is: "Sea Leaf" 4oz pencil roving, from Dyed in the Wool Handmade. Same as before merino/sea cell.

This past week, my daughter was home from University for reading week. She made these Knucks in two days. Now she's made something I haven't even tried yet - knitting fingers for her gloves, even if they are not up all the way to the finger tips, the process is the same. I saw a lot of ends to weave in. I think it will be a while for me to make some gloves. She stitched DUST on one mitt, and WIND on the other.

The doggies are taking a nap. Biko is bored out of her mind, but healing well.

Thank you all for your birthday wishes for my dad! He's had a great one I'm sure. :o) I wish you all a wonderful weekend! Oh, yeah! Spell checking is back! :o)

By the way, thank you Donni for nominating me for the "You Make My Day" award, as well as from Kelly, but the honor is more Biko and Sam's than mine. Thanks, girls!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Well, it's not until tomorrow. My dad turns 70 tomorrow, and he's got his handmade gift today. So I can show it off here.
Back in December I asked Maggie to please dye me some fiber. I wanted to spin and knit something for my dad, but was not sure what, so I got more fiber than usual. In the end I only made a scarf, with a lot of yarn left over.

Since Maggie named the dyed fiber "Silver Dollar", I used this name for my scarf as well. I wanted an almost solid fiber, and that's what I got. I did not get the yarn I wanted, because it's too thin! It's 3-ply, not navajo though.

fiber: Dyed in the Wool Handmade
yarn: my own handspun, 3-ply, 2 skeins; 1. ~ 465yds 2. 520yds (I used the second skein for the scarf, since I cast on for several attempts with the first one, and I wanted to give the poor yarn a break)
needles: 3.75mm
stitch pattern: Vogue Knitting Vol. 1 (my son decided on the stitch pattern, since the ones I liked where to "girly")
size: I don't know, can't remember. I took notes on a piece of paper and forgot to write it in my notebook.

What made my day is, that my dad liked the baloons I put into the package! I guess one is never to old for that. :o)

Biko:
She's doing well. She gets pain killers every 12 hours now, instead of every 8 hours. The prednisone makes her very hungry all the time, and thirsty. We had a big pee accident the night before last, so we took turns to get her out every three hours tonight. No accident! :o)
The wound is healing well, as far as I can tell. Because of her munchies, she's even pushed Sam out of her way, to get to the source of noise in the kitchen. It's kind of funny. She' NOT a food oriented dog usually, she could care less about treats, but now, she just wants to eat all the time. Anyway, when Sam gets to go outside, it's the only time she whines, but out of frustration. Tough luck, Baby! You've got to get well first!
It's pretty cold outside too, so she never hangs out for long, when she's outside to pee. We use a towel to help her down the stairs and up again.

edited later: My dad sent me this picture of him wearing the scarf. Of course there's no need for it now, since they are basking in spring like sunny weather! Behind him is my grandmother. Can you see her socks in progress? Well, I guess not, the picture is too small.

Biko - post OP

As some of you already know, the Clinic sent us home without any pain killers for Biko! After non-stop crying all Sunday morning, I checked up on the pills they gave us, on the internet, and found out, that they were steroids and stomach prodection only. I'm calm now, but at that point I was ready to blow a fuse!

The maddening part of it all was, besides that poor Biko was in pain, that the people from the Clinic tried to make us the guilty part. They said, we had told them, that we had some pain killers at home! WTF! - Breath deeply! Who has stuff like that at home?

After calling back and forth, it turned out, that the Doctor on duty was allowed to prescribe some pain killers for her (oh my, thank you very much), so my son drove down there (1 1/2 hour drive one way) in freezing rain, to pick up the pills, which took about a minute, and drive back home, watching accidents left and right, and knowing that Biko was home still crying.
He got back at 2PM, I gave her the pill, and she stopped crying almost immedeatly. By then we were all very distraught, and you could feel the tension subside, after she relaxed and finally snoozed a bit.

This is Sam lounging in the futon bed I dragged into the living room. Biko put one foot in it, than decided against stepping up this one step. I hadn't thought, that she can't do steps, not even this tiny one. But she knows better herself. Sam likes this bed as much as she does, for now it's his place to be during the day. At the end of this post there are pictures of Biko, but if you are squeemisch, don't look at the last picture. I did choose the one, least gruesome.

But before that, to give you a break, I show you two bobbins filled with "Fresh" merino/sea cell singels. The yarn is finished already, and I'm very pleased, but more about it in another post.

This is not our street, but close in a new neighbourhood. The houses are so close together, that they don't know where to shovel all that snow. This was Saturday. We had rain all day yesterday, so it washed away a lot of it.

Back to Biko: The following pictures where taken last night (Sunday), third day after surgery. We bought her a few new chew toys, and put them in the toy bin. She got them out one by one, and tasted them all. We even got a new Jolly Ball, which she took by the handle and showed it all around, wagging her tail. She's a totally different dog now, that she's not in pain anymore.

She doesn't like for Sam to get too close. She's warning him off, when he's pointing his nose in her direction, but on the other hand, she's always lying down in the room he's in.

So, at this point I only wish that her wound is healing fast and without complications.

Thank you all for your well wishes! They are very much appreciated! :o)

We've got our Baby back ....

I think I'm really frazzled right now, because the other day, when I was outside with Sam, playing in the snow, I got startled by my own shadow! Once I realized what just happened, I started laughing like a lunatic, but was a bit uneasy! :o) Good advise: Don't be scared of your own shadow!

Well, here's what you really want to know: We picked Biko up today.

When they brought Biko out, she started to cry and after that, she howled like a wolf, because crying didn't seem to express her feelings. She settled down quite quickly once we were on our way. This time she slept throught the drive, and once home, she had a fine pee, and now she's in the living room, her living quarters for some time to come. She'd rather go into her beloved basement, where the TV is, but she's not allowed on stairs yet. She seems to move quite well. At first we were shocked to see her shaved back, and the large incicion. She's got pills to pop now, and lots of TLC from all of us.

I think she's quite traumatized, you can see it in her eyes, but now that she's home, she'll get over it soon.

The Clinic she had her surgery has their own website. In the link below you can see the Neurologist who did examen her.

Dr. Duque is the attending Veterinarian.

I'm off now, to snuggle with Biko, and try to keep Sam away with his forcefull wagging tail. The days to come should be interesting.

Have a great weekend all!

Biko update!

Some of you might want to know how Biko is doing. She came out of surgery on Thurday fine. She's already walking outside to do her business, and her temperature is alright too. Now I'm sitting here by the phone, waiting for a call back, to learn when we can go pick her up. I hope it's soon. I miss her already. I've prepared her temporary loggings in the family room. She'll stay there with me or my son for the time being. I've schlepped down her futon bed, and her pillow bed as well, which both seem very comfortable to Sam, who snored away his boredom in both of them already.

That's all the knitting I've done since I finished the crochet scarf. First cuff of my Kool Aid socks. They will be plain vanilla socks, since the yarn is very busy, and I'm not capable of concentrating on complicated stuff right now.

I did however, spin a lot. So much so, that once again my right arm hurts from finger tips to shoulder. I'm seriously considering changing the routine up a bit, but it's so hard. I like spinning, and right now, that's what I want to do. >Pouting<

I'm working on catching up on my Club fiber. This is "Tainted Love" by Electric Sheep, 100% merino, 4oz, 229yds, 14 WPI (sport weight), 2-ply.

I had trouble filling the first bobbin. The fiber was sticky, but with the second bobbin it went fine. This yarn is thick and thin, not on purpose though. At first I really disliked spinning it (color), but am not totally displeased with the finished yarn.

Don't hold your breath to see something knit with it anytimes soon! It goes to all the other handspun skeins, waiting in a bin to see the light of day again.

And since there's never only one unpleasant event in our lives, I'm going to see the big, old scarry dentist woman. I'm not sure what I fear more, the drill, or her mind numbing chatter with her assistant, which makes me want to pass out every time. O.K. she's quite friendly, but I bring issues from the past with me, when it comes to dentists.

So, I think blogger thinks we are all spelling geniuses, because, surprise, still no working spell check.

I'm going to decide wether to pace up and down, until I get the phone call/and/or have to leave for the dentist, or sit and spin some. Oh, yeah, I've got wonderful fiber to spin, wanna see?

That's superwash merino/seacell pencil roving called "Fresh", and it is! Purchased at "Dyed in the Wool Handmade" link can be found on the side bar. I love to spin this stuff! Already on the second bobbin. Yum!

Party Dress!

"Party Dress"

I thought, before I had nothing to say, I just show you my "Party Dress". It's Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club - December. 4oz superwash Corriedale, 117yds, navajo plyed, 12 WPI.

I've been busy spinning. I' just finished some lace weight yarn (still wet and hopefully drying quickly), and wanted to try spinning thicker this time. So, out came this fiber, and I thought for sure, this was going to be bulky weight yarn, but as it turns out, it's worsted weight! I don't think I'm capable of spinning thicker than this.

I've send a picture of this yarn to my daughter. Maybe she'll like it, and want to knit something with it.

I haven't knit anything, just sitting at the wheel, every free minute I get.

Thank you all for your nice comments for the crochet scarf, and all the well wishes for Biko!

That's it for today. :o)

Circle Crochet Scarf

I know it's unusual to post on a Saturday, but I wanted to show something nice. First of, thanks again for all your warm well wishes for Biko, she'll need it, and we all appreciate it very much! I'll let you know how everything goes, next week.

A couple of days ago I finished the circle crochet scarf. It was fun to do, and in the end even my hands didn't hurt as much anymore. Being crochet though, it IS a little stiffer, than knitted fabric. I put it around my neck, and it felt lovely, but heavy. I've used another colorway of Elann's Endless Summer Luna, not "my" color, but it's going to be a gift anyway. Making this scarf made me want to do another crochet project, and there are already a few on my to-do list.

pattern: Circle Crochet Scarf by Michelle Gibbs (you'll find it on ravelry or on her blog)

yarn: 4.25 balls/ 463.25yds of Endless Summer Luna, 57% Viscose 43% cotton

hook: G 4mm

size: 5.5" x 56"

Lumbosacral Stenosis

also termed lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbosacral nerve root compression, and many other names. That's Biko's diagnosis. I knew it before I talked to her Docotor. The internet helped find information once again. I was looking to describe her symptoms, and found an article on peteducation.com. She's got all the symptoms, except the self mutilation. I think we caught it early, and I'm happy that she's in such a good shape otherwise, and not too old (6 years).

She'll have surgery next Thursday.

Biko update!

Yesterday we got a call from the MRI nurse, to pick up Biko. We put Sam in the Van and drove down there. As we came to the Clinic, the Doctor who examined Biko, just pulled out of the parking lot. We went inside, paid a hefty bill, got Biko, still woozy and stumpling, some directions on how not to let her alone near water and stairs, and a thank you. And after I asked what's what, all we got was "we'll call you in a couple of days".

So you know as much as I do.

Biko cried the whole way back. I thought she was nauseous, but turned out, that her bladder must have been quite full, because we went in the house throught the garage, and she ran to the front door to ring the bell. She peed like a horse, and after that, drank like one too. She was nice and quite for the rest of the day.
Today we already had some fun in the snow. Still waiting for answers.

Thank you all for your well wishes!

(Is spell checking ever going to be fixed???)

The day after a snow day!

Today, up at 5AM. According to the radio, we've got 30cm of snow. I'm not quite sure about that, but it's a lot, especially if you have to shovel it. I did only the front steps and the walkway from the driveway to the stairs. That was enough. At 6AM my son and Biko left for the Vet clinic. It took them two hours to get there, instead of one hour. The last time there, was the first time for all of us, and Biko was very nervous, but this time, so I've heard from my son, she went with the Lady, without any trouble, not even on the leash, just walked with her. That's new. I sure hope they can tell us something at the end of the day.

Meanwhile I've been outside with Sam, so there are only Sam photos today. He's in paradise, I think. Never without his red ball, he just enjoys being in the snow. Totally MY dog! We suffer, when it's hot outside. Right now , the sun is out too, very pretty.

I've finished my crochet scarf, it's blocking, if you can call it that. In any case, it's wet and has to dry, before I can take pictures.

Only two more WIP's to finish, before I'm casting on for something new. Not feeling too sorry for myself though, because I like both projects.

Got to go, lots to do. :o)

... later the same day ...

Around here, we love snow day. It's not as bad as they said it would be. Sam's never without his red ball. You would not think Biko is not her usual self, but being outside, lets her forget it for a while. :o)

Snow Day!

I don't want to give you a detailed weather report, but lets just say, it's snowing - a lot! I've been up since 4AM, my husband's on his way to the airport, not even sure his flight is on time, or that it goes at all.
We were asked if we could postpone Biko's Test until tomorrow, because they had an emergency, and needed the MRI for another patient. Well, we would have canceled anyway, there's no way we were going down there today. Tomorrow the weather's supposed to be fine, so that's good.

I'm a little ashamed, because I got wrapped up in the "Wollmeise" craze, and I couldn't/wouldn't resist to purchase this fabulous kit. It's Yarnissima Digitessa sock kit, with Wollmeise sock yarn.
I've admired Yarnissima's "Firestarter" sock pattern, but have not had a chance to give it a try. This is the very first KIT I've ever bought, and it was such a pleasure to receive it. I'm going to try to get her newest sock kit "Spina Di Pesce" at some point too.

Receiving this package was like getting a birthday gift (only you pay [gladly] for it). It was wrapped in pink tissue paper, there were bows, and tags, and MILKA chocolate eggs!!!, and some caramel candy (don't think it's the candy I'm going for with this kit). The pattern is eight pages long, and there's a laminated chart as well. It's so very professional, and put together with love, it makes me happy just to look at it.

And, I haven't even said anything about the Wollmeise sock yarn yet. The color on the print out didn't do a lot for me, but haveing the real deal in my hands, oh boy, that's some gorgeous sock yarn. The colores are so vibrant, and satiated, it's unbelievable. This one skein is 100% superwash merino/574yds (my only complaint, that it has no synthetic in it for more durability) 150g.

I WANT MORE WOLLMEISE!

Sheesh, were did that come from? But it's THAT fantastic! I'll look at it for a while now. Still have other things to do, and don't want to use my only skein Wollmeise just yet. :o) Might be the first sock yarn, put on display in the living room. I think every knitter should have a petestal, or at least a shelf to put their most exquisit yarn on. Don't you think? :o)

Oh, yeah, and still no spell checking here!

I'm hooked!

Look what I've been doing!!! :o)

That's right, she's crocheting too! Ever since I saw Michelle's crochet scarf, I wanted to make one too. She's put the pattern on ravelry, it's called Circle Crochet Scarf. I think it's a neat stitch pattern.

I used to do filet crochet for borders, and curtains, and panels. But that's long in the past. It's not like I'm going to neglect my knitting needles now, but once in a while, grabbing a hook, will be welcomed. Of course, since this is a different motion for my hands, they hurt like hell, especially the left wrist. I try not to hold the crochet fabric too tight. So there will be breaks from crochet, where I'll be working on these:

Well, all right, it's a mitten. This one's finished, the second one barely started. I took it out of it's hiding place last night, and will knit on it. I can't stand knowing that there are WIP's strategically placed in my house (three in all, including the crochet), but that's more than I can stand. So I need to get them off my needles asap.

I'm done with my selfimposed deadline knitting. I'm free to do whatever I please. That means I'll be spinning more as well. YEAH! :o)

Doggie news:

This is Sam, sleeping on the couch. He has no problems jumping up and getting comfortable, even hought he's had 7 surgeries in his life, and his front legs are crippled. He's the one, who's the healthy one right now.

Biko, our athletic girl, is in trouble. Our Vets refered us to a specialist, after they couldn't find the source of her pain.

Last Wednesday, we went to see the Neurologist, but she too, didn't come up with anything. So more tests will be done. Coming Wednesday, Biko will have an MRI, and other tests as well as another Specialist will have a look at her. Of course there are several deseases, which are typical for German Shepherds, but I've not heard one of the Doctores mention anything yet. We'll do anything to get her well again, but first we have to know what it is.

Wednesday was very stormy, wind blew at 90/kmh. We had to start early, because the appointment in the animal hospital was at 8:30AM over an hours drive away. I put Sam in the kitchen, and closed the baby gate. My son got Biko ready and headed for the door to the garage. As soon as Sam noticed, that he was the only one incarcerated, he gave a loud high pitched bark, followed by the loneliest howl I've ever heard. He would have been home alone, making this racket. So we decided to take him with us as well. Well, he was already busy climbing over the baby gate, which is hard for him, with his gimpy legs. I got his collar with the tags, opened the gate, and wanted to put it one, when I just heard a woosh, and a white furball went past me like the devil was behind him. Sam overtook my son and Biko, and was in the car in no time. Never mind that he had to stay in the car for the drive to and fro, and in between. He slept, and was content.

Biko was out like a light too, after her examinations, and didn't even lift her head once, on our way home.

Hmm, spell check is not working. That's cruel.