Bag and Doggie

Finally.

The Montavilla Market Tote.

I only messed up a few stitches, close to the top. I didn't stress over it, because it was near the top, and as I've pointed out before frogging or tinking post yarn-over is very, very hard.

I now have nothing on the needles except the Beekeepers Quilt.

I haven't knit anything since finishing this, and I'm so sleepy as I type this I keep messing up and having to start over. I was so tired and hungry while making dinner, I cooked brown rice and noodles as the grain for my dinner and didn't realize till I was done. Why am I so tired? Because this little doggie ...

Has been very, very sick. The vets over at Paradise Animal Hospital figured out pretty quick it was pancreatitis, but it takes a while to get over it. Poor doggie ... she went 5 days without eating or drinking much. I took her to the vet Monday morning, and came back that evening and she had an IV catheter in her poor little foot, and they wanted it to stay there so I could bring her back the next day. And the next ... she spent three whole days at the animal hospital while I was at work. And you know what? They spoiled her rotten. They held her like a baby, and let her sit on the counter while they petted her and fussed over her. The vet techs said while she was in her cage she was "vocalizing," which I know means she whimpered just to get them to come over to the cage and give her some TLC (she's quite manipulative!). Thursday morning when I let her out to pee, she went straight to the car. She wanted to go back to the animal hospital and be fussed over some more. And Georgie Girl hates car rides, so that's saying a lot.

So now she is still very droopy and tired (this picture is from earlier this year, but she's got the same hangdog look on her face). I have to give her pills twice a day, and one of the pills is very bitter and I have a hard time getting her to take it. And I'm tired because I had a hard time getting her settled to sleep at night with the catheter in her foot, and every time I heard her dog tags jingle I got up to see if she needed to pee or do some other business I'd rather she didn't do in the house. And make sure the sock was still over her catheter. You get the picture.

How do you all give your doggies pills? I have been crushing them and putting them in a syringe, or tucking the non-bitter ones in a treat. But it's hard. She doesn't trust anything now, since tasting the bitter pill in a treat.

Have any of you experienced pancreatitis with your pets?

Okay, well, happy weekend everyone, and don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for FO Friday!

B.I.P.

I am going to try hard to finish this before next Tuesday, so that I don't have to have another post about a bag-in-progress!

It'll look better when it's blocked.













I don't have a project planned for my next knit ... I am toying with the idea of getting out some thick Merino handspun and poking around the pattern books. I've lately been in a mood to fiddle around with some of my handspun.

 Not sure how much of this I have, but I think I could make a small shawl. Problem is, I spun it veeerrrryyyy loosely, so I wouldn't be able to block it ... unless I run it through the spinning wheel again.

It's my damn scratching mat, make him get off!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

It's in the Bag

I started making this Montavilla Market Tote a while back, but then got sidetracked by a bunting and a shawl.

I love re-usable bags ... they come in handy for so many things. Shopping, carrying the sixty pieces of fruit I eat every day, knitting projects, books ...

The pattern for this is very easy ... but you have to keep your eye on it. I've pulled it back twice now. It's impossible for me to just frog and fix, because this bag is 50% yarn-overs. It's very hard for me to figure out how to un-knit and fix a frogover. Or something like that.








I am going to try to stick to JUST ONE project at a time. Wish me luck.

Today's post brought to you by Grouchy Spot under the bleeding heart bush. Meow. 

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

On Pins and Needles

And wires, of course.

This Gail Nightsongs:

Is now this:

It's not like the photos of the other projects, but I think that is mostly because I used laceweight (or fingering?) yarn. Or perhaps the needles (US6) were too large?



In any case it's done, and I shall wear it to work Monday. I'm going to go do some relaxing hexipuffs, now.



Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Finished Object Friday!

So....Close....

Almost there .... Straining to the finish line ...

My fourth attempt (or third, I've forgotten) at Gail Nightsongs shawl, a pattern that I have struggled mightily with, and roughly 3,000 people have successfully completed. I didn't look to see how many of the 3,300+ projects were WIPs and how many were FOs, but it's enough to know so many people breezed right through this challenging pattern! It kicked my rear. But you know what made it make sense?

Stitch markers.

Lots and lots of stitch markers.


You aren't even seeing all of them here; several of them are dark blue and blend right in.

Every pattern repeat adds four leaves; so every repeat, which is 15 rows or so, adds four stitch markers.

See the leaf?

Blocking this thing is going to suck be wonderfully challenging!

I hope to have it blocked in time for FO Friday, and then I will turn my attention to hexipuffs. Nice, calming, soothing, relaxing, easy, knit-in-the-round, no-purling, hexipuffs.

Relax, already