stella, my stella

So now that the red sweater is done, I'm down to two active projects. (I ripped the anklet socks I was making, so that I could use the yarn for another pattern, but I haven't started that yet, and probably won't for a while...)

First, here's a shot of my current WIP:


Doesn't look like much now, but the biggest knitting patches have been done. Now I just have to do the edging and sewing up, which I don't think will be that arduous, if I could just get some uninterrupted time to sit down and puzzle out the directions. Maybe later tonight... I can't wait to wear this. The weather is just perfect now for a long-sleeved t-shirt and this little vesty vest.

But that's not what this post is about! When Stella had her brief sojourn in the hospital, I was bereft, thinking about what a bad doggy-mommy I was. Not only had I never knit her a sweater, but I'd never even made her a blankie that she could have taken into the hospital with her. Well, one point rectified:



This monstrosity is a crocheted ripple afghan, obviously. I'm knitting it out of the left-over acrylic I got from the ebay experience that I know I'll never use for toys or anything of that nature, and scraps left over from other projects. Thus, it's uneven color palate. That's ok though, because Stella loves it. I'm almost finished--having about four balls of working yarn left, and when those are done, the blankie will be complete as well. Stella sits on it while I'm crocheting it, so I know she really can't wait to dig herself a little nest in the blankie and settle in for a good, long snooze. I can't wait either! Prepare yourselves, folks, for 8 million pictures of her little muzzle buried in this garish mess of acrylic.

Also, while she was still in the hospital, I did a little shopping:


I think it was obviously stress shopping, but I was glad to finally have a repertoire from which to choose Stella's inaugural garment. Luckily, she's the xxs or xs size in these books, so it won't take loads of yarn to make her wardrobe.

I have to say that out of the three books, the Vogue on the Go Knitting for Pets is the weakest. It has some cute designs (the sweater on the front being my favorite):

Do you see those little dogs marching across the yoke? OMG SO CUTE!

But most of them are only written with one size of dog in mind. That is really impractical, especially for the more advanced designs. There is a 2 color houndstooth sweater that is adorable, but the only size given is for a "medium" sized dog, which is much bigger than Stella, and since it's such a complex pattern, I have no idea how to size it down. I mean, I'm sure I could figure it out with much effort, but honestly, with so many other cool patterns out there, it's just not worth my time. I can find something equally cute already sized correctly. On the plus side, though, this book does have a lot in the way of cat toys, as well as a cute "cat mat" that would be good for putting under the food and water bowls (especially if you made it in washing-machine friendly yarn).

The other two books, Doggy Knits, by Anna Tillman, and Knitting for Dogs by Kristi Porter, are both really good. They have the patterns divided by thematic sections into roughly every-day or basic sweaters and then fancy, silly sweaters. I think out of the two, I prefer Doggy Knits, because there are more sweaters in there I can see myself knitting, but Knitting for Dogs also has some cute accessories. I've already made some of the dog toys for my dad's Boston Terriers, one of which they destroyed immediately, and one of which was still surviving, last I checked.

From Knitting for Dogs, these are my favorites:


The first is "feral fair isle", and has a matching hat for you! I'm so making this one. What a good way to learn fair isle too! Also, the second one is made of Noro Kureyon, and involves steeking for the arm holes, which again, what a great way to learn, since your dog doesn't care whether it comes out exactly right or not... Also, I had purchased two balls of Kureyon in a Webs sale earlier this year, and really didn't know what to do with them. I was going to use them to make some replacement fingerless gloves for myself, since I lost one of mine last winter in London, but I think the colors would look perfect on Stella, and this sweater (aside from the steeks) doesn't seem too hard.

Then from Doggy Knits, we have these contenders. They're a little fancier in design, but would be SO CUTE on my pup:



The first one is called "Denim-Style Jacket", and it is so cute. I think this was my favorite dog model. He's also on the cover, and he is a real good poser for the camera. He looks so cute in every sweater too. The second is called "Paws for Thought" (har har), and just looks really fun. They have a second version just in black and white, and I think I would do it in two colors as well instead of the multi. The third is "Herringbone Bones", and is also adorable. The front closes with bone-shaped buttons. The fourth, "Bright and Bobbly" is my favorite. I think Stella would look SO CUTE in a bobbly, colorful sweater. The only weird thing about this design is that the bobbles are knitted separately and then sewn on. Weird, right? But I guess how else are you going to have all the different color bobbles?

One final source for awesome dog sweater patterns. I was looking on Ravelry to see if anyone had made any of these, and I came across My Savannah Cottage. Not only does she make awesome designs, but she has a yorkie! YAY. Especially check out her "Bark Obama 2008" sweater. I think Barak could use some canine support. Do you think I have time to whip that one out? I'm so tempted!!!

FO: Downtown Cap-Sleeved Cardigan

OMG, I'm finally finished with this one! I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about it as well, so I'm glad we can all finally move on.

PATTERN: Downtown Cap-Sleeved Cardigan from Webs, designed by Jen Ronning

I had a few issues with this pattern, as I've detailed elsewhere. Mainly, there was no schematic, and there were no finished measurements for each size either. That was really the biggest problem, although I really would have liked a chart or two of the stitch patterns. It also would have helped if there'd been an image of the design from the back. I probably wouldn't have bought this pattern if I'd known there was patterning on the back as well as the front. As it was, I thought about taking it off, but there were a lot of firsts for me with this one, so in the end I was too scared.



This is my first adult-sized cardigan pattern, my first with patterning on it, and my first with side shaping, which I'm not sure I liked. I think it ended up giving the sweater a kind of bell-shape at the bottom, which was probably my fault, because my gauge was off, and I ended up decreasing and then increasing really drastically. I might have been able to adjust for that, if there hadn't been all that patterning to keep in mind as well, and needing to have specific numbers of stitches.



YARN: Knit Picks' Merino Style in Hollyberry

I was really pleasantly surprised by the Merino Style. It's very soft and strong, and yet squooshy too. I used just 7 balls of the 10 I'd purchased for the 36" size, so I think I'm going to use the rest to make Stella a little sweater of her own, later. I have another sweater's worth of this, and I'm looking forward to knitting that up too. That batch will be used with a Knit Picks pattern, so I'll get a chance to compare those with Webs' patterns.



The only problem with this yarn that I found was that I couldn't get the gauge for the pattern, which I KNOW is the root of all my other sizing problems with the pattern, but it wasn't that much off, so I just went with it, and I'm satisfied with the result. Oh, also it bled pretty badly when I wet blocked it, both times and STILL smells like vinegar. I know I should probably try to stop the bleeding, but for right now, I'm just not going to wear it if there's any chance of rain...

NEEDLES: Size US 5 straight metal needles. I haven't used straights in a while, but I thought with all the patterning, I'd go for it, and it did get tedious and heavy after a while, but there were no real problems.

NOTES:
As I've also mentioned previously, there was just a lot of stress in my life while this was in construction. It all came to a head when I sewed in the sleeves stockinette-side out, rather than the reverse. I had to unseam them to take them out, and discovered I'd done such a good job on the seams, thank you very much, that I couldn't FIND them anymore. I think I might have actually done some structural damage to one of the front body pieces, so this sweater might not actually last that long in the end if it starts to come apart. Anyway, that sleeve ended up mangled, so I had to reknit it. Then I knit the button bands, and I'm sure I did the button holes just a bit too far toward the edge, as you can see in the pictures. Also, the first time I did one of them it was wavy, so I had to take it out and recalculate the picked-up stitches ratio.

The buttons I just got at M&J look all right, but I know that they're too big. I should have just gone with my gut and used the dark buttons I had, which were smaller... Anyway, maybe someday I'll switch them out, but these look ok. I just know in my heart they're too big. They stick out a little from the front, mainly because the wonky button-holes don't help them lay flat.

I know I sound like I really hate this sweater, but that's not true. I like it. I will wear it, when it isn't 90 degrees with 70% humidity. I'll even try to squeeze a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath it, which according to the pattern picture should be possible, but according to the sleeves I knit, will be a squeeze. It's comfy, and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it, even when I wasn't sure what the result was going to look like, and even whether it would fit. For all that angst, I think it looks pretty good. I even love the seams and the slits on the side. They give it an edge that keeps it from being too hokey or twee. If I keep everything else I'm wearing plain, it shouldn't be too much.

Yarny Goodness

Friday night, I had dinner with my good friend Salwa. She used to work with me, and now works at a travel book publisher. She brought me a copy of Twinkle's Weekend Knits for my birthday (long past-that's how long it's been since I've seen her!). I'm always glad to get knitting books, especially books like this, that I never would have picked out for myself. I am not a huge fan of Twinkle's designs. I think I'm probably a little old to appreciate the giant plastic buttons and super-bulky silhouette, but there are a few cute things that I would knit...


The first one, the Nightfall Cropped Top, is cute. I think I could wear that over a button down to work, and over a tank for weekend wear. It also wouldn't take much of her overpriced, pilly yarn to make. The blanket is really pretty, but I know I'll never knit it. I have pets who would totally ruin it faster than you can say NO SUGAR DON'T SIT ON THAT NOT ON MY BLANKET BAD GIRL!!! The purple sweater I would totally make, except not in purple, and probably not until I win the lottery and can afford the 800 balls of yarn it would take to make. Other than that, there are some really cute scarves, which would make very good christmas presents for coworkers, and a beanie/beret type hat, which I could also see making.

One thing I'll say for the Twinkle yarn is that it is really soft. I got a chance to feel some today, as a matter of fact. Spanky and I took Stella for a tour of the neighborhood. We stopped by Van Vorst Park downtown for the Jersey City Library Book Festival, where I forced Spanky to apply for her own library card, and the librarians forced her to take a gift bag with a free copy of Fahrenheit 451 in it. I wasn't actually going to keep mine--my sister is a HS teacher who needs books for her classroom, but I think I might read it before I send it down. I just finished my book (totally awesome, by the way!) and am at a loss at the moment for reading material.

Then we carried on to the Jersey City Museum. Spanky wanted to check out their gift shop, and as we were coming out, we saw this:



Evangelical bigots parading down the middle of JC. There were floats and everything. In case you can't tell, they are carrying signs that say Marriage=One Man and One Woman, Let the People Vote, which I guess is a reference to the fact that gays can get civil unionized (NOT MARRIED, you morons) in Jersey and that it was passed by the state legislature and governor without being on a ballot. I don't know why the churches have gotten their panties in a knot NOW, when this was done last year (two years ago? i don't even remember). I guess maybe because of the election in November? Anyway, right behind the people with the marriage signs was a group with a banner that read "Jesus Loves Everyone". Yeah. EXCEPT GAYS, APPARENTLY.



Anyway, after that disheartening experience, we carried on again, over to Jersey City's first knitting cafe, The Stockinette. I got the email yesterday that they were open, and of course had to go check it out ASAP. It's really pretty inside. The cafe is well-stocked with homemade goodies, and there are plenty of tables. The cupcakes got a rave review from Spanky. I got a blondie for myself, and it was tasty! Plus, we found out our favorite barista from the coffeeshop near our house is now a partner in the cafe, and that's awesome.

What there isn't plenty of is yarn. YET. I do love what they have--really high end, nice stuff. A tiny little carousel of needles and notions, and a few pattern books. Just a few, but they were the new Classic Elite pattern collections, which are awesome. The back garden is also really nice, with 4 or so tables with lots of seats. It would be really nice to have our knitting group meet outside there sometime. The only thing I worry about is that I think if she doesn't expand and get more yarn and notions, etc, then there's going to be a problem. I can see outgrowing her selection very quickly. Right now, it's more like a boutique than a fully functioning yarn store, but she's still getting her feet wet, and getting used to running a business. I think people need to support her, so she'll be able to expand, hopefully. There's not a huge amount of room in there, but she still needs more than the brands that she carries, and she DEFINITELY needs more books and notions. I'm really excited that the store is finally open, and I'm definitely going to be back. She carries Debbie Bliss! Everyone in JC needs to head down there and check it out. The class schedule will be ready soon. And of course I didn't leave empty handed:




I got two skeins of Merisoft Hand Painted merino, from Punta Yarns. SO SOFT and SO PRETTY. I'm going to make myself a new scarf with them, much later this fall/winter. Perhaps I'll try the My-So-Called Scarf again.

I also picked up Classic Elite's Autumn Book 2 because it has some of the really great CE patterns that I've been seeing in their ads and online. I love almost all of the 19 patterns in there. Click the link to see the full spread, and let's leave this post on a happy note. Ahh....

No really, I have an excuse.

Several, actually. Every time I think my life will fall into some sort of routine, fate surprises me. This time, it was in the form of last minute tickets to Hair at the Delacourt Theater in Central Park (click through to the story on the play... They have a great photo gallery. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the play, since they wouldn't allow photos, probably because of the nudity. And yes, Virginia, there were naked bits everywhere! My kind of play!). Amy was able to get them through the virtual line, I think because it was rainy on Tuesday.



Note the pink sky. One doesn't turn down free theater tickets. Anyway, that's where I was Tuesday night, so no post. I was knackered when we finally got home. It was amazing, too. I don't really care for musicals (OR HIPPIES, FOR THAT MATTER), but I LOVED this one. I think it was the combination of being outside on a summer evening in New York, the fact that those actors were singing their little hearts out, perfectly, and the story being so relevant to today, yet so redolent of the 1960s as well. I kind of want to get the soundtrack now. I'm a little embarrassed about that though.

Anyway, then Wednesday, I went to the birthday party of a friend of Spanky's. It was out in Brooklyn, and although I bitched and bitched about having to go, and would have canceled if given half a chance (I hate going to Brooklyn, especially when I have to work the next day), I actually didn't have a terrible time. Also, I got to knit on the train on my new project. (that's a Ravelry link, and it's to someone's actual project.)

So that brings us to today. The first day I've had at home since Monday, which is a little more activity than I really like in a week, especially since I'm going through an extremely hard time right now at work. My marketing manager quit, and I'm worried about my books and what's going to happen to them. I am also about to start traveling again (New Orleans and SLC again), but rather than spreading it out over the fall, they've put both conferences in October, so I'll be on the road half the month! Bleh.

So to reward myself for pushing through a really hard week (almost done!), I met Sue down at M&J, and she helped me pick out better buttons for my sweater.



Better, right? But I still need some thread! What color do you think? Black? Gray? White? Red? I hate all these choices. I'm going to get some thread this weekend, so we'll see. I'm so ready to have it finished. I want to see it the way it's meant to be worn.

no pictures this time

Right on, that's day one accomplished. Went to the gym this morning, my friends, and ran three miles. I'm trying to expand my distance running just a bit. I've been following this plan. The Runner's Handbook is a great way of working yourself up to running after not running at all. And now I can run for about 30 minutes straight. But I want to run for longer distances, so I'm working up to that. I'm at what they call the 'intermediate beginner stage', so my goal is to be able to do 11 miles per week. Three down, eight more to go!

Also for update:

I've finished The Road, and am on my way to the next book on that EW new classics list. I think I'm going to skip the Harry Potter book at #2 for now. I want to buy the whole set in PB, and they are still only selling them as a set with books 1-6. I guess I have to wait for #7 to be out in PB first. Plus, I've read that one. Moving on, the next book is Beloved by Toni Morrison. I'm intrigued, because it is Toni Morrison for pete's sake! I have read The Bluest Eye, but nothing else, and I think it is about time. Don't you? Unfortunately, the downtown JC library doesn't have a copy! I know, I can't believe it either. I'm going to have to get them to order it from another branch. So that's what's holding me up from pursuing new literacy. In the meantime, I'm reading The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney, and am really enjoying it. It's a mystery taking place in the Canada of 1867, plus, I think one of the characters is totally gay, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

on the button issue:

It's a moot point right now, as I discovered tonight, as I don't have any thread! Damn! But anyway, thanks to everyone who responded. I think I like the dark buttons better. I don't really want to get more fabulous buttons for the sweater, since it is so busy already. I'm also worried about buttons that are too heavy, so I like the ones I have. I meticulously combed through all my grandma's buttons last night to find two options with enough for the whole sweater, and I realize I'm going to have to go out and get some again if I have to do another sweater, but for this one, I think one of these options will work. It was hard to tell in the picture, but those dark buttons aren't black; they are this opalescent dark grey. Anyway, it doesn't matter until I get some thread to sew them on. Most likely I'll have an FO post this weekend. Tomorrow, I have to go have drinks for my newly appointed SENIOR editorial assistant before meeting the knitters at Starbucks. I'm only swatching for my next project anyway, so it won't matter if I've had a couple of drinks. Har Har.

in for a penny, in for a pound...

This summer has been full of challenges. Everyone expects things to slow down during the hot months, but for me, that never happened longer than a couple weeks at a time, and let me tell you, I'm really missing the down time.

Right after my last post, Stella took sick. She woke us up one morning about two weeks ago, at 8:30 vomiting non-stop. By the time we got her into the local vet clinic, she was vomiting blood. The vet working that day did a quick x-ray to make sure she didn't swallow anything, and then told us to take her to the animal hospital in Manhattan. So we had to walk all the way home from the vet, call a car service, and take her into town, all the while, she's barfing up bloody foam. Sometimes it is hard not having a car...



It turned out to be pancreatitis, which is very dangerous for dogs, and hard to predict. They still don't know what caused it in Stella. She doesn't eat table scraps or have a high fat diet, and she's not overweight. She was just a normal, happy dog. But Yorkies supposedly have a higher incidence of the disease than other dogs, so they weren't too surprised. You treat it by stopping all food and water, and "letting the pancreas rest", while giving fluids intravenously and hoping for the best. If caught too late, or if the case is severe, the dog can die, or develop diabetes. Thankfully, it was a Saturday when Stella got sick, so we were able to act right away. Anyway, she was in the hospital for four nail-biting days, and now we're left to wonder what we did that caused the flare-up and whether we're going to inadvertently cause it again. There's no guarantee that it won't come back, and there's not much you can do to manage it, except give the dog a very restricted, low fat diet.



When she was in the ICU we could only see her for 20 minutes at a time, twice a day. I was thinking the whole time, 'I never got to knit her a sweater.' More than anything, I wish I had made her a blankie that she could have taken into the hospital with her, or a sweater, so I would have at least felt like a better doggie mommy. The third day, we went to see her on my lunch break, and they disconnected her from the monitors for the first time.



That night she was able to keep down the food they gave her so they let her come home the next day. She seems thankfully almost back to normal, and her fur is starting to grow back where they shaved her paws for the monitors and her stomach for the ultrasound. She still needs one follow-up ultrasound before she's officially cleared, but she seems to be very happy to be home, and is adapting to the low fat diet ok.

So the dog and work, work and the dog, has really been my focus for the past few weeks, but I've managed to finish my downtown cap sleeved cardigan sweater. I just don't know what color buttons to choose... What do you think?



Dark gray?



Or white?

This sweater also has been fraught with problems, just like my whole freaking summer. In fact, this is my anxiety sweater. Just like good thoughts are knit into a prayer shawl for someone in need, every anxious thought or hateful feeling is wrapped up in this wretched thing. I'm so glad to be done with it. You'll have to stay tuned for the FO post though. It's still blocking.



Also, I'm going to try to make more of an effort with this here blog. Let's see if I post every day this week. And if I make it to the gym. I haven't done that in a while either.