A Scarf... That Travels for a Good Cause

TGIF!  Is everyone ready for Superbowl weekend?  With my Pats not in it this year, things aren't quite as exciting in our household.  We'll still be watching, of course, and checking out all of the commercials as usual.  Hopefully I can get some good knitting time in!

Last Sunday I worked on my section of a Traveling Scarf for cancer patients through ConnieCaps. The traveling scarves were started over on Instagram, but you don't need an Instagram account to participate, so check them out if you're interested!  

I was third on this particular scarf.  When I went stash diving to find yarn to use, I actually found a pretty darn perfect skein of Berroco Softwist that I didn't even remember having (I'm sure I'm not the only person who can't remember buying half of what's in her stash now, am I?).

I worked my section in a honeycomb/hive stitch pattern and although it resulted in less than perfect edges, I think it looks pretty cool.  And I love the texture of it!

The fourth person on the list for this scarf is a friend of mine who is local, so I handed it off on Tuesday after helping her to choose a super pretty green yarn at the shop where I work part time.  I can't wait to see what she does... and then after her section, it's going to another mutual friend in Maine.  After that, it's off to Canada, Singapore, Germany, and several parts of the good 'ole USA.  I love this idea and plan to hop aboard another one soon!

I haven't made much progress on my first Honey Cowl, but here's what 220 stitches after just a few rows looks like.  I am absolutely loving working with the Cascade EcoDuo!

I've got a little Flickering Thistle scarf on the needles in Cascade Souk.  Here it is 2 repeats in.

I think I'll get back to my Mom's fingerless gloves this weekend and hopefully get more rounds worked on my Honey Cowl.  What's on your Superbowl knitting agenda?

Checking Up, With a Little Yarn

I don't know where the days are going, but apparently it's Wednesday already.  Sophie & Zeus has their vet check-ups last week.... and my little Princess found evil reflecto-dog in the next to last picture (yes, she is scared of her own window shadow and she barks at her every time she appears in the sliding glass door at home).



When The Humans Are Away...

Monday again, already?  My oh my, it really does come much too fast.  The Lapdogs were none too pleased with me leaving for work this morning.  I wonder what sort of mischief they're getting into.  If I had to guess...

Zeus is wondering where he can find some bacon...

Sophie and Lola are looking for a Mommy to cuddle with...

Tut is trying to figure out how to break out and get outside...

What is your pack doing while you're away on this fine Monday?

Ribbons and Mitts and Woofs, Oh My!

TGIF!  It's been a long week in the Lapdog household.  Extra long work days, a dog - who shall remain nameless :::cough, cough, Lola::: - that has decided she wants to wake everyone up several times throughout the night, and vet visits that have provided both good and not so great news... but all that can wait until later because today is all about Fiber Arts Friday and I have finished objects to show off!

First up is the adorable Ribbons Hat, which I made for the prettiest little girl I know, Miss Quinn.

The ribbons just make this hat so much fun!  The pattern is from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Hats book, which has become my go-to book for special hats for special little ones.  The yarn is Rowan RYC Cashsoft Baby DK -- Miss Quinn got her first taste of cashmere!

You may remember the few pairs of chunky gauntlets I made for Christmas gifts, including this vibrant multi-color pair, as modeled by the happy recipient, Cyd.  She purchased a couple of different pairs of bright colored gloves to wear under them during the deep freeze.  I love this look!

After posting some pictures of the same chunky gauntlets on Facebook, I received a special order for another pair.  I happily obliged, as they are fun to make and whip up really fast (literally while watching your favorite evening TV shows)! 

The recipient was extremely happy and sent me this picture of herself wearing them while working.  I still have some more of this soft chunky wool in my stash, so expect more pairs in the future.

My Mom asked for a pair of fingerless mitts, which I've been working on for her.  The first one was way to tight, and was ripped out just after getting the thumb gusset done.  I went up a needle size and got this...

It's a bit snug and I'm not sure Mom will love the fit, so I've cast on the second one with an extra 4 stitches.  I'll finish off both pairs and let her choose the right fit.  Yarn is Berroco Vintage and the pattern is Malabrigo Hand Thingies (free on Ravelry). 

I just cast on my first Honeycowl in Cascade Eco Duo (O.M.Geeee. if you have not fondled this yarn yet, you must... it is the one yarn I make sure to pet each day I work at the yarn shop!), however the only photo I seemed to have snapped thus far is of it inside my new project bag from Star Knits (find her shop on Etsy)...

Isn't it perfect?!?!  I adore this bag so much!  It's her standard WIP bag and includes 2 pockets inside.  While I have loads of project bags like this, I've never had one with pockets inside -- genius!  It's also a tad taller than most of the other bags I have in this style. 

Enjoy the rest of your Friday and Happy Weekend!

Snow Days: All About Comfort

Let's get wordless...

 

 



Miss Lobster Head

Remember how I was telling you about it not being a snow day last Wednesday?  We had a few days of "warm" temps (30's - low 40's) and lots of melting (and mud).  The weather man said we were going to get 1 -3 inches of snow on Saturday, then this happened...

It sure wasn't anywhere near 1 -3 inches!  We got around 8 inches throughout the day on Saturday and thought we were done, then woke up Sunday morning to another 3 or so.  

The dogs were quite happy with our new winter wonderland, especially my snow princess, Sophie.  Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to download the pictures off of the camera yet, so you'll have to bear with me and what I got on the phone.

Here's Sophie patiently waiting to go outside to play.  She really wasn't thrilled with my antics, although I think Miss Lobster Head is a rather cute look for her.  Wouldn't you agree?

My boys checking out the fresh snow...

Lola taking a break to recharge from her latest romp in the snow...

It sure left a pretty snow globe look to our yard...

Now it's back to the daily grind and mischief on this Monday.  I know some of you are fortunate enough to have a long weekend thanks to the great Martin Luther King Jr.  I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from the man himself. 

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk,

if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have

to keep moving forward.”

Throwing Back

Getting ready to head off to work this morning and I thought "hmmm... it's Thursday... let's try this Throw Back trend on Instagram."  Why not, right?

Happy Throw Back Thursday!

My Zeus at 16 weeks...

And today, at almost 13 years...

Zeus has his annual check up at the vet tonight.  Wish us well!

Yay, It's NOT a Snow Day

Happy hump day Wordless Wednesday!  The folks over at Purina spotted this picture of Tut that I tweeted last Friday and made him one of their Snow Day ambassadors of the day... thankfully today is not a snow day!



Dear Monday, Love Sophie

Dear Monday, you always seem to come far too quickly.  Could you please try staying away a little longer?  The Lapdogs would like to have their Mommy and Daddy home to cuddle and play.  Especially Sophie who kept having her weekend cuddle time interrupted by her pesky brother.  You may notice the pretty blue and green winter themed tennis ball in Tut's mouth (thank you to Sue and her gang for those), which he was hoping to bait her off my lap with...

If it wasn't her brother getting in the way of her cuddles, it was this...

Or her sister looking for a treat...

Or more of Mommy playing with that silly string...

But, at least it wasn't this...

Nope, no snow for us this past weekend, and no Zeus asking to go outside to play in it.  After an icy start to Saturday, the temperatures warmed up a bit and we've had a lot of melting going on (read: muddy paws). 

Enjoy the rest of your Monday... Sophie's waiting for me to get home from work!

Black & White Sunday: Stay Warm

Happy relaxing Sunday!  Zeus wanted to remind everyone to run, don't walk, inside from the cold!

{This Moment} See Beautiful: Chugging Right Along

TGIF!  It's the first {This Moment} See Beautiful blog hop of 2014 and we're all about positive energy, just like Sugar and her Mom.

Zeus continues to have both good and bad days with his megaesophagus issues.  Thankfully - knock on wood - the good days continue to out number the bad.  It's a lot of work, but I wouldn't have it any other way for my baby.  His joints are giving him a little trouble in these deep freeze temperatures and we have to be careful he doesn't slip on the tile floor when coming into the house on snowy days like today.  I caught this shot of my big guy running back inside after a quick potty trip this morning... I think he's done with the cold and snow for awhile (clearly Tut, on the other hand, was enjoying it).

We'll get Zeus' liver levels checked out next week when he gets to visit Dr. C for his annual check up (boy does he love visiting the girls at the office).  He'll have baby sister Sophie tagging along for her annual visit as well, since my shy little girl likes to have company. 

Lola broke a nail a few days after Christmas, so off we went to see Dr. C and get that fixed up, as well as for a lump check (I swear Lola just does things to get a car ride and "spa" visit).  I took this photo on the way... one would never think she had a bloody nail and was off to the V-E-T's office.  She especially loves the rides in Daddy's truck.

Lola seems to have developed a few more of those mysterious autoimmune related lumps, so we've upped her prednisone dosage again, ever so slightly.  She's now getting 10mg, once a day.  Hopefully this takes care of the buggers that have popped up, as well as keeps any additional lumps at bay.  It seems as though my girl just may be staying on a low dose of prednisone life long after all...

And then there's Tut... who just enjoys being his annoying little self.  I was almost late to work this morning because he didn't want to come in out of the snow.  Does he look guilty, snow nose and all?

Enjoy your Friday and have a wonderful weekend... and keep those positive thoughts flowing!