Foster Updates = Happy Smiles #RescuedDogs #AdoptDontShop

Happy Monday! 

While the Lapdogs recover from the Patriots loss yesterday, and uh-hum, Mama gets to work typing up some reviews, we thought today would be a great day to share a few photo updates from our extended foster families.

Besides, there's nothing quite like the smile I get when I see our foster babies living the good life in their forever homes.  #ThisIsRescue

***Housekeeping Note: Be sure to click the "click here to continue reading this post" on our posts from now on in order to view the entire post***

First up, is an adorable little man who spent time at the Lapdog house in 2012... Booth!

Boo-man and his sister were watching the Pats game yesterday too...

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Cast On, Bind Off

Cast On, Bind Off

by Leslie Ann Bestor
Spiral-bound: 216 Pages
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (June 19, 2012)

While store bookshelves overflow with one knitting technique book after another - many of which simply contain the same information, just repackaged - one thing was always missing.  Enter the technique book that I've been longing to add to my collection... Cast On, Bind Off!  Won't you join me in discovering the perfect beginning - and ending - for all of our knitted projects?

Cast On, Bind Off features 54 step-by-step methods for, well, casting on and binding off!  Knitters are a crafty bunch and while we love to learn new techniques, I would bet you are stuck in a rut with your go-to cast on and bind off methods.  Am I right (raise your hand... don't be shy)?  When it comes to getting projects started, my personal go-to is the long-tail cast on, as taught to me by my Mom. If I have to cast on a large number of stitches and am not in the mood for ripping it out three hundred times before I have enough yarn in my long tail to get me through, I'll opt for the knitted cast on. As for the finishing touch, I trust the good 'ole traditional bind off, except when it comes to socks (hello Mr. Kitchener) or if the pattern specifies something fancy. In the latter case, I tend to visit YouTube to figure out just what the crazy pattern is asking me to do. Unfortunately, that's not always easy to do when you're knitting on the go, and often I get frustrated trying to follow along with an overly perky instructor while I constantly hit rewind and pause. This is what makes Cast On, Bind Off the best thing since sliced bread. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but seriously... 54 methods to choose from, packaged in a conveniently sized spiral bound book!  I can toss it in my knitting bag (in fact, I already have) and the spiral binding means there is no juggling act necessary.  The book lies perfectly flat so that you can follow the well written - and photographed - instructions. 

Cast On, Bind Off is perfectly organized into types, making it very easy to find what you are looking for quickly.  Cast Ons are grouped into nine categories: Basic, Stretchy, Decorative, Circular, Double-Sided, Multicolor, Provisional, Tubular and Mobuis.  Bind Offs are grouped into four categories: Basic, Stretchy, Decorative and Sewn. 

I wanted to pick a technique to try and show you as part of this review, so I opted to cast on a basic cowl. After trying out a few of the stretchy cast ons, I decided to go with the simple, yet great looking, Alternating Long-Tail Cast On (I know, big stretch from my go-to, right?).

This variation of the long-tail cast on is perfect for projects that start with ribbing, produces a neat edge that looks good on both sides, and results in a moderately elastic edge. As with all of the methods in Cast On, Bind Off, there are detailed pictures showing how the edge looks from various angles, as well as both the front and back of your fabric. The step-by-step instructions are clear, concise and accompanied by photos of each step. I find the format of the book very easy to follow and understand. Tips, characteristics and "good for" information is provided for each method. 

Verdict?  Pick up a copy of Cast On, Bind Off for your craft bookshelf now!  And yes, you can enter to win a copy below (if you happen to win and have already picked up a copy, that's okay... this is the perfect knitting book to pay forward to a good friend!)

About the Author: Master knitter Leslie Ann Bestor has more than three decades of experiences as a trusted knitting instructor, yarn retailer and fiber artist.  She is currently a knitting teacher and manager at WEBS, America's Yarn Store. Many of her designs have been featured in books and magazines. Leslie lives and creates in western Massachusetts.

GIVEAWAY! Thanks to the great folks at Storey, we get to give away a copy of Cast On, Bind Off to one lucky reader! To enter:

• Leave a comment here telling us why you want to win! Perhaps you're stuck in a cast on rut or there's a particular bind off you've been dying to try?  Maybe your socks are longing for a stretchy cast on or that shawl would be more special with a decorative bind off?  
• You can get extra entries by sending your friends here to enter (be sure to have them mention your name), so be sure to blog, Tweet, Facebook and text about this giveaway!
• Winner will be selected by random number generator.
• Deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 25th at 11:59pm EST

Check out the other stops on the Cast On, Bind Off Blog Tour.  

7/9         Picnic Knits

7/10       Knit and Tonic

7/11       Zeneedle

7/12       Rambling Designs

7/13       Rambling Designs Part 2

7/14       Neo Knits

7/15       Knit & Nosh

7/16       Knitting at Large

7/17       Rebecca Danger

7/18       Lapdog Creations

7/19       Nutmeg Knitter

7/20       Yarnagogo

7/21       Weekend Knitter

7/22       knitgrrl

7/23       It's a Purl, Man

7/24       Whip Up

7/25       Knitspot

7/26       Under the Humble Moon

7/27       Knitting Daily

7/28       Knitting School Dropout

7/29       Hugs for Your Head
7/30       The Knit Girllls

Happy Furball Monday!

Happy Monday!  The weather is a bit dreary around here today, so I thought I'd brighten the day with some foster updates. 

First up is Harper (formerly Kelly).  Boy is she getting big - she's almost 21 pounds now!  Her Mom told me they've been taking her for lots of walks and hikes, and she's starting to get more comfortable around strangers.  I just adore this little girl... she was definitely Sophie's mini-me and I think they helped each other to overcome alot of shyness.  Isn't she just beautiful?

 

Speaking of beautiful, check out these shots of Addie, the little girl with the big ears who was already adopted when she came up in February.  She just needed a place to crash for a few days until her family returned from vacation... and we were the lucky ones!  Addie is doing wonderful in her forever home and loves romping with her two human siblings.

 

 

Speaking of big ears... We only had tiny little Ace for a couple of days in December before our friends decided they wanted him!  Ace now lives with one of our original fosters from way back, Simon.  Don't they make a cute pair of boys?  I especially love the last shot of them napping.

 

 

Another foster from way back (2007 to be exact!), Cotton (formerly Bella) is doing great in her growing family.  She has an adorable human baby brother to watch over!

My sweet little Rosie is getting a little pudgy having a blast with her big sister Rascal and we've just found out that they are expecting human siblings later this year!  No, that s isn't a typo.... I better get knitting!

Our most recent little tyke, Maverick, is having a blast with his big brother Zac... and it looks like he is almost bigger than Zac already!  Mavie's Mom told me that he still likes to hoard things (both his and his family's).  The running joke whenever someone can't find something, is to ask if anyone checked Mavie's hording pile in the kitchen yet!  I'm happy to hear that he takes his snuggie and little piggie toy to bed with him each night still... it still makes me teary eyed thinking about that!

This post just makes me smile bigger and bigger as I write it!  It means so much to receive updates and photos from our fosters' forever families.  I can't tell them all how much I appreciate them - both for giving our extended family of babies loving homes and for keeping us updated.  Sweet baby girl Sake is still here with us - 3 weeks now!  I can't believe no one has scooped her up.  The rescue has relisted her as "Daisy" on the adoption sites, but I'm not sure the name really matters.  She's an absolutely awesome little girl with a heart of gold and superstar personality.  I selfishly wish someone we know would adopt her...

Snoozing in my lap on Friday night

Saturday morning... Zeus wanted to be lazy, Sake wanted to PLAY!

Sleepy Girls... Sophie & Sake

Little Ace Man

As most of you know, we've had quite a few high-energy, fluffy balls of fur through the Lapdog B&B recently.  While we've managed to keep up with the playing, baths and potty training, I haven't been as good about keeping up with the photo updates.  So here's the official recap of the tiniest little tot we've seen, Ace who was here in November...

 

He was so tiny, most of the Lapdogs' toys were bigger than he was...

 

Lola was a good Mama... and jungle gym.

Tut wanted to know why the little guy slept so much... or maybe he was just nosey because Ace was in his nap spot!

Seriously, have you seen anything cuter than this little guy lately?

Zeus thought the little guy was quite interesting... the second shot is one of my most favorite...

 

Napping with the girls...

We all had so much fun with the little guy while he was here.

 

Of course, it didn't take long at all before Ace got adopted!  The coolest thing is he ended up nearby with friends of ours and his new family includes another former foster baby, Simon...

and their big sister Bella...

It was a pleasure to have Ace as part of our growing foster family... and to have placed another baby in his loving, forever home!  Little Kelly is still here looking for hers... are you interested?

Baby Ace

More photos and a real post to follow, but in the meantime please excuse this fly-by Thorsday/Dogs on Thursday post about the most recent little furball to crash at the Lapdog household...

Meet the tiniest little lovebug ever... Ace! 

Ace is an 11 week old Boston Terrier/Schnauzer mix who loves to cuddle, romp and get belly rubs (treats are a favorite too)! We picked him up to foster on Saturday, then took him to meet friends of ours Sunday night and that was that... they couldn't resist! We dropped Ace off at his forever home on Tuesday night.

Ace is now the baby brother to Simon, who we fostered back in 2007.  Their human sister Bella is thrilled... and I promise uber-cute pictures to come soon!