Mr. Aitch, Pepper, and I went to my brother’s “cottage” on Lake Chautauqua last week for wine tastings at various vineyards in the area. The weather wasn’t as cooperative as predicted but we still had fun, tasted multiple wines, and ate well. (Too well. I’m glad I packed elastic waist pants!)
We’ve only taken Pepper with us on the road one other time and boarded her other times. She needed her own travel bag. I used a heavy canvas bag for her before but it was a bit small and promoted my former working environment. Not that that’s a bad thing but I wanted a bigger bag with dog-related fabric or designs.
Some of the fabric I acquired from my BFF had the perfect design. Five and a half yards of the blue bone fabric. The piece was evidently leftover from a quilt as it was only 20 inches wide. Whatever, it would work for my purpose.
I cut the solid back and handles off the original canvas bag for the bottom section and handles for Pepper’s bag. I used a layer of fusible fleece on both the outer and lining fabrics to give the bag more stability.
I added a vinyl pocket to the front, a slip pocket inside, and a snap to keep it closed. The best part was that I used what I had. The straps/handles are dark green but I’m OK with that. And Pepper doesn’t care either.
I ripped out the Botanical Yoke Dog sweater on Christmas Eve and immediately cast-on in a smaller size. I also had to do some math to make it shorter while still getting the correct stitch count for the increases in the body. (My gauge was a teensie weensie bit off.)
This is the small size on Pepper. The first one was a medium. I wanted to see how high the neck was before knitting an additional 15 rows as the pattern instructed. It would have gone up to her ears had I kept going!
I think I knocked off about 4-5 inches from the length of the body. Huge difference. The original one is on the left and the new. improved one on the right.
The original (larger) one would be easier to get on her but I’m not ripping this out and reknitting it again. I took good notes so if this one gets damaged or has a hole I can’t repair (I’m looking at you Pepper!), I can knit another one that will fit without reinventing the pattern.
Pepper’s almost 15 months old and I don’t think she’ll grow much longer.
Next on the needles: slippers for my sister-in-law.
Well, I got really, really, really busy with several projects: knitting, sewing, refinishing and reupholstering a desk chair, sewing, knitting, sewing, knitting, and getting ready for a new addition to our home.
November SocksNovember Socks legsCloseup of leg and truest color shot
I love the colors and it’s really hard to capture how pretty they really are. The honeycomb pattern was fairly easy but I did have to concentrate on those rows.
My sister gave me some fabric with a plate and silverware design so I made six placemats for my daughter.
These two chairs have been sitting in my basement since I rescued them from iPad aunt’s garage in 2015. I stripped one chair, refinished it, and put on new upholstery suede fabric. I took lots of pictures during the process but I’ll just show you the before and after. If you really want to see all the work-in-progress pictures, let me know and I’ll try to make some sense of them for you. Personally the before and after pictures should be enough. I plan to redo the other chair but that will have to wait till next spring as I have to do some of the work outside.
Before…..After…..
This quick sewing project took about an hour or two. I made mesh laundry bags to send with all of the socks I made with the hand-dyed yarn we dyed in June.
The Karate Kid’s socks were next on the project list and I finished them in record time (for me at least). I used this Syncopation Sock pattern that I’ve used before. The pattern is written for toe-up socks but I made these from the top down. I love the colors and wish I could keep them for myself! They deserve a post of their own so I’ll just show the finished project for now.
All of the socks I knit for my three grands and my daughter along with the mesh bags and placemats will be boxed up and sent to Colorado ASAP.
Another quick and easy sewing project was this leash. The fabric is a heavy brushed cotton that looks like a patchwork quilt. I had everything in my sewing stash so, in less than 30 minutes, it was done.
I just started this sweater (I’m just using one color) the other day and have a deadline of December 16 to get it off the needles…
…because we are getting ready for a new addition to our family.
A female miniature schnauzer puppy! No pictures of her right now but I will soon. Very soon! For the next several days puppy-proofing the house will be our #1 priority!
Mr. Aitch and I don’t have “real” tv. We watch shows on Amazon Prime, Brit Box, Peacock, and a few other apps.
Monday evening I started and finished another scrubbie in less than two hours while watching some shows. It would have taken less time if I didn’t have to change colors partway in the row.
Red Heart Scrubby Sparkle in Blueberry and Avacado.
My second FO (finished object) in 2022. The first is half of a pair of socks that I didn’t have time (aka I forgot) to photograph.
I also have the second sock of the above-mentioned pair on my needles and just started the heel flap. More FOs and WIPs coming up soon!
Any FOs to report? Or WIPs? Or just thinking-of-casting-ons?
Knitting In Flashes 