Reba
October 8, 2003 - December 27, 2017
Saturday, 6 January 2018
Sunday, 10 December 2017
What Would You Do?
This weekend I travelled to Niagara Falls to visit my mother. London is about half-way and a good spot for a break. Sometimes I stop to eat but more often I detour to shop. Len's Mill Store this trip. I wanted to pick up some rip-stop nylon if possible. My mother likes to make aprons for her church bazaar. She still thinks it is 1975 when it comes to how much cotton fabric costs. I look for deals and pick up fabric for her. Len's is always a good place to look. Found some pretty cotton mill ends. I picked up some rip-stop nylon in dark blue and bright yellow. Also found some heavy nylon fabric I thought I could use. Even located some flannelette I liked for a nightgown.
While at the cutting table I spied the notice for Len's unusual sale. Sing four lines of any Christmas song at the cash-out and get a 25% discount on your entire purchase. That means I could get a discount on regular and sale items. It meant anything I wanted in the store was 25% off! I did what any one else would do. I picked up a couple more items I wanted and tried to remember the words to a Christmas song - any Christmas song. It is harder than it should be. Now a 25% discount is a 25% discount. What would you do?
I got to the cash. There was one lady in front of me and no one behind. The lady in front wanted purple sequined cushions which the cashier located for her. She cashed out - no singing.
I stepped up and asked, "How loud do you have to sing?"
Cashier: "No mention of volume."
Me: "I should warn you I can't sing."
I break out with Feliz Navidad. Somehow of all the great Christmas songs this is the only song I can think of at that moment.
My goodness, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has been around since 1760. Silent Night has been a favourite since 1818 and all I can think of is Feliz Navidad and I am not in any way any part Spanish!
Once I start I have to finish the whole first verse. I just have to be sure I cover four lines - I don't know how much represents a line of song. Sometimes I can be such an overachiever.
Me: "Is that enough?"
Cashier: "Oh yeah!"
I look around. There are now at least 6 people in line behind me; all staring. As I said I really can't sing. I say, "There's a 25% discount." The next lady in line says she doesn't know that song. I say it can be any Christmas song.
I turn to the cashier and ask, "Do many people sing?" She drops her head and I watch the white pompoms on the ends of the two cabled tails on her Santa hat swing back and forth as her head signals no. (I want her hat!)
I get my 25% discount which comes to over $25. I feel like I just got paid to perform. Does this make me a professional?
On the knitting front ...
I finished the character hat. I saw a reindeer tea cozy in Christmas Knits Book 2. I thought it would make a great hat. I really didn't think it through though. On an adult head what should be the front of the hat will actually be on top of the head. Someone has to be taller than the wearer to see the character on the hat. This of course is not a problem if a child wears it.
An adult has to wear it backwards. The adult now has eyes in the back of the head or people laughing behind their back.
I used one ball of Cariboo by Hikoo (too bad I bought 3) and some left over red and brown Paton's DK for the nose and antlers. The eyes are plain black shank buttons.
Progress on the sweater back.
The sock is longer.
My mother goes to sleep early so after I checked into the hotel I went for a walk. It has been 30 years since I lived in Niagara Falls and that long since I walked along River Road to view the Falls at night. I took my camera. I don't take night scenes very often. I could not remember the right white balance setting for night lights. In fact, in the dark I could not see the camera settings at all. The only light available to me was the Christmas lighting in the park. Good thing I do not really care what strangers think of me. I take my camera up to the light display and hold it right up against the light string to see what I am doing. I picked a setting for the ISO and white balance and hoped for the best.
I was sorry I did not bring a tripod. The exposure lengths I needed really necessitated one. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Here are my really bad night scenes of Niagara Falls Festival of Lights.
Braced on a garbage receptacle.
Braced on the limestone fence blocks at the cliff edge,
Braced on the telephone infrastructure box in front of the Niagara Parks Police headquarters.
Braced on the ugliest fence I have ever seen to keep the tourists from falling into the fake pond.
After the fence stopped vibrating after the boy ran into it.
Braced on the fence surrounding the war memorial at the base of Clifton Hill.
This is all the time I have for this post. I am off to the Party Store. Closing sale - 35% discount and I don't have to sing (if I don't want to)!
While at the cutting table I spied the notice for Len's unusual sale. Sing four lines of any Christmas song at the cash-out and get a 25% discount on your entire purchase. That means I could get a discount on regular and sale items. It meant anything I wanted in the store was 25% off! I did what any one else would do. I picked up a couple more items I wanted and tried to remember the words to a Christmas song - any Christmas song. It is harder than it should be. Now a 25% discount is a 25% discount. What would you do?
I got to the cash. There was one lady in front of me and no one behind. The lady in front wanted purple sequined cushions which the cashier located for her. She cashed out - no singing.
I stepped up and asked, "How loud do you have to sing?"
Cashier: "No mention of volume."
Me: "I should warn you I can't sing."
I break out with Feliz Navidad. Somehow of all the great Christmas songs this is the only song I can think of at that moment.
My goodness, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has been around since 1760. Silent Night has been a favourite since 1818 and all I can think of is Feliz Navidad and I am not in any way any part Spanish!
Once I start I have to finish the whole first verse. I just have to be sure I cover four lines - I don't know how much represents a line of song. Sometimes I can be such an overachiever.
Me: "Is that enough?"
Cashier: "Oh yeah!"
I look around. There are now at least 6 people in line behind me; all staring. As I said I really can't sing. I say, "There's a 25% discount." The next lady in line says she doesn't know that song. I say it can be any Christmas song.
I turn to the cashier and ask, "Do many people sing?" She drops her head and I watch the white pompoms on the ends of the two cabled tails on her Santa hat swing back and forth as her head signals no. (I want her hat!)
I get my 25% discount which comes to over $25. I feel like I just got paid to perform. Does this make me a professional?
On the knitting front ...
I finished the character hat. I saw a reindeer tea cozy in Christmas Knits Book 2. I thought it would make a great hat. I really didn't think it through though. On an adult head what should be the front of the hat will actually be on top of the head. Someone has to be taller than the wearer to see the character on the hat. This of course is not a problem if a child wears it.
An adult has to wear it backwards. The adult now has eyes in the back of the head or people laughing behind their back.
I used one ball of Cariboo by Hikoo (too bad I bought 3) and some left over red and brown Paton's DK for the nose and antlers. The eyes are plain black shank buttons.
Progress on the sweater back.
The sock is longer.
My mother goes to sleep early so after I checked into the hotel I went for a walk. It has been 30 years since I lived in Niagara Falls and that long since I walked along River Road to view the Falls at night. I took my camera. I don't take night scenes very often. I could not remember the right white balance setting for night lights. In fact, in the dark I could not see the camera settings at all. The only light available to me was the Christmas lighting in the park. Good thing I do not really care what strangers think of me. I take my camera up to the light display and hold it right up against the light string to see what I am doing. I picked a setting for the ISO and white balance and hoped for the best.
I was sorry I did not bring a tripod. The exposure lengths I needed really necessitated one. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Here are my really bad night scenes of Niagara Falls Festival of Lights.
Braced on a garbage receptacle.
Braced on the limestone fence blocks at the cliff edge,
Braced on the telephone infrastructure box in front of the Niagara Parks Police headquarters.
Braced on the ugliest fence I have ever seen to keep the tourists from falling into the fake pond.
After the fence stopped vibrating after the boy ran into it.
Braced on the fence surrounding the war memorial at the base of Clifton Hill.
This is all the time I have for this post. I am off to the Party Store. Closing sale - 35% discount and I don't have to sing (if I don't want to)!
Sunday, 26 November 2017
The Joys of an Old Dog
Since my last post, Reba had her follow up visit with the local vet to check on her progress. Our vet recommended we go for a 5th amino acid treatment. Last week I took Reba to London for the day. She stayed at the vet clinic. I went shopping, had lunch with a friend and did my errands for the next month.
There is some minor improvement to her feet. The clinic also prescribed medication for yeast infections in her feet and ears. Reba has never had a problem with her ears before this. Now I am cleaning them and putting drops in daily. I am soaking her feet in special shampoo to control the yeast. She smells better!
The fungus and previous infections in her toenails has a side effect. The nails growing in are brittle and damaged and keep breaking off. Reba was in to the local vet this week to have a toenail removed. It had partially broken inside the toe and I did not want to pull it off. Hubby and I went together to see Dr. Stephanie. She was able to remove the nail easily and Reba has stopped limping.
We know Reba has gone blind in one eye and is sight impaired in the other. Her sense of smell is not what it used to be. She has trouble locating food on that has fallen on the floor. She can hear but seems confused as to what direction the sound is coming from. I will call her name from one part of the room. She will turn to look at Hubby in a different direction.
We have been letting her go outside on her own again. Sometimes we have to go out and look for her when she becomes lost and can't find the door. If she finds the door on her own she just stares at it. She used to bark to come back in. For a while we thought she might have forgotten how to bark. Then one day I heard her barking away standing in the middle of the back yard. I think the squirrel startled her and then she set off the chorus of dogs in the neighbourhood.
When Reba became sick, Hubby and I lost the heart to correct her behaviours. What was the point, her remaining time with us is limited. We no longer make her sit and wait until we tell her she can eat. In hindsight this might have been a mistake. She has taken up barking at me while I am preparing her food. It is like she is saying "Hurry up, I am hungry." Lately I just have to open the fridge and stand at the counter to set her off. Poor Hubby no more sleeping in for him!
While I waited for Reba last week I went to Len's Mill Store and picked up yarn for a Christmas sweater for the Ladies Sweater category. I decided that I would start with the sleeves. (Since I took this picture I finished the first sleeve and am about half-way through the second).
I am going to do the back next. I am saving the front where all the action is until last. There will be an intarsia picture for the front. I hate intarsia. I don't know why I keep choosing patterns that call for it. I figure if I have the rest of the pieces done I will have the incentive to finish the front. If I started with the front and got frustrated, I just might end up throwing it at the wall and just give up, not making the sweater at all. This plan includes a back up plan. If the picture piece goes flying I can always just knit a plain front; I will still have a sweater and since it is green, still suitable for the holidays.
I made a mug rug.
Look - it is reversible. I used a couple of motifs from Christmas Knits Book 2. I added a couple of layers of cotton quilt batting to make it puffy and protect the furniture from a hot mug.
I finished the Girl's Sweater category.
I picked up the buttons at Len's Mill Store and I am thrilled with the results. The finished project drawer now holds two more entries.
I also finished the orange socks. I am still not sure if these are going in my sock drawer or the gift drawer.
My sock recipe made with Mineville Wool Project in #2909 - Sock Yarn.
And then I cast on another sock. I just don' t understand why.
There is some minor improvement to her feet. The clinic also prescribed medication for yeast infections in her feet and ears. Reba has never had a problem with her ears before this. Now I am cleaning them and putting drops in daily. I am soaking her feet in special shampoo to control the yeast. She smells better!
The fungus and previous infections in her toenails has a side effect. The nails growing in are brittle and damaged and keep breaking off. Reba was in to the local vet this week to have a toenail removed. It had partially broken inside the toe and I did not want to pull it off. Hubby and I went together to see Dr. Stephanie. She was able to remove the nail easily and Reba has stopped limping.
We know Reba has gone blind in one eye and is sight impaired in the other. Her sense of smell is not what it used to be. She has trouble locating food on that has fallen on the floor. She can hear but seems confused as to what direction the sound is coming from. I will call her name from one part of the room. She will turn to look at Hubby in a different direction.
We have been letting her go outside on her own again. Sometimes we have to go out and look for her when she becomes lost and can't find the door. If she finds the door on her own she just stares at it. She used to bark to come back in. For a while we thought she might have forgotten how to bark. Then one day I heard her barking away standing in the middle of the back yard. I think the squirrel startled her and then she set off the chorus of dogs in the neighbourhood.
When Reba became sick, Hubby and I lost the heart to correct her behaviours. What was the point, her remaining time with us is limited. We no longer make her sit and wait until we tell her she can eat. In hindsight this might have been a mistake. She has taken up barking at me while I am preparing her food. It is like she is saying "Hurry up, I am hungry." Lately I just have to open the fridge and stand at the counter to set her off. Poor Hubby no more sleeping in for him!
While I waited for Reba last week I went to Len's Mill Store and picked up yarn for a Christmas sweater for the Ladies Sweater category. I decided that I would start with the sleeves. (Since I took this picture I finished the first sleeve and am about half-way through the second).
I made a mug rug.
Look - it is reversible. I used a couple of motifs from Christmas Knits Book 2. I added a couple of layers of cotton quilt batting to make it puffy and protect the furniture from a hot mug.
I finished the Girl's Sweater category.
I picked up the buttons at Len's Mill Store and I am thrilled with the results. The finished project drawer now holds two more entries.
I also finished the orange socks. I am still not sure if these are going in my sock drawer or the gift drawer.
My sock recipe made with Mineville Wool Project in #2909 - Sock Yarn.
And then I cast on another sock. I just don' t understand why.
Sunday, 5 November 2017
Old Crochet
Last night Hubby and I travelled to Mooretown to watch the 73's play. Essex managed to win 3-1. The last goal was an empty netter. The game was exciting and worth the 2 hour drive through a lightening filled downpour. Mooretown has an old-style arena with bench seating and little heat. I pulled out this old afghan to take with us to sit on. It adds cushioning to the hard wooden bench and keeps the ol' tushie warm.
My grandmother made this for me. She took up crochet again later in life. She was taught by the nuns in grade school in Montreal. She made doilies and lace as a girl and young woman. When I was a child she made me hats. My favourites always had real bunny tails as pom poms. Sometimes she added one and sometimes two to the hat. Each time she made me a hat, the pom poms came off the old and onto the new. Sometime in the 70's when her friend Barbara developed arthritis in her hands, her doctor suggested she crochet to keep her hands limber. My grandmother thought it a wonderful idea for her hands too and started crocheting again. Mainly she made these afghans. All her grandchildren got them in various colours in the same stitch pattern. She passed away in January 1980.
This afghan and I have a long history together. I lived in Winnipeg when she made it for me. The colours are classic '70's and so is the yarn. It was for its time cheap acrylic probably purchased at Woolco. (Woolco was later bought out by Walmart.) The colours have faded a bit but there are no holes or other evidence of wear and tear. This is an acrylic that archeologists a thousand years from now digging up land fills will find in still pristine condition. I wonder what they will make of that.
The original purpose was as an afghan to protect against the winter cold. I used it as such for many years. Also, for many years it slept in various cupboards as I moved from home to home. I found the colours tiresome after time but could not bear to part with it. For a few years it even served as a blanket for the dogs. No damage done.
It has been through the washer and dryer countless times. Now it has gained a new purpose and gets pulled out when ever we need something to sit on. I foresee that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together finding new uses as we age. It will be my executor who will decide its final fate. I won't be able to bring myself to part with it. This afghan is everlasting thanks to the acrylics of the 70's. I bet there are still countless balls in stashes and countless afghans still in use.
I haven't quite shaken the cough. It is still with me but not as bad as before. I have one antibiotic pill left but the rest of the meds are done. I think it just has to run its course.
Because I haven't felt great this week, I wanted some comfort knitting and to me that means socks. I started these thinking I could work on them from time to time. Instead, I simply could not stop until they were done.
See done!
I added the loop to the Christmas stocking.
I assembled the tea cozy.
The shape is meant for a standard small brown betty tea pot. I don't have one of those so my camel tea pot stepped in as model. The tea cozy is symmetrical in real life and not misshapen at all. I am excited though. I can add 2 more finished items to the fair storage drawer.
The fronts of the girl's sweater are done and the sleeves cast on.
I think I want to finish this sweater before I start a new fair project. The reindeer is in the exact same state of assembly as last week. At my rate of assembly of this one, I worry I will be in a panic the night before the entries are due trying to sew it together and hoping it does not look like an 9 year old did the stuffing and stitching.
My grandmother made this for me. She took up crochet again later in life. She was taught by the nuns in grade school in Montreal. She made doilies and lace as a girl and young woman. When I was a child she made me hats. My favourites always had real bunny tails as pom poms. Sometimes she added one and sometimes two to the hat. Each time she made me a hat, the pom poms came off the old and onto the new. Sometime in the 70's when her friend Barbara developed arthritis in her hands, her doctor suggested she crochet to keep her hands limber. My grandmother thought it a wonderful idea for her hands too and started crocheting again. Mainly she made these afghans. All her grandchildren got them in various colours in the same stitch pattern. She passed away in January 1980.
This afghan and I have a long history together. I lived in Winnipeg when she made it for me. The colours are classic '70's and so is the yarn. It was for its time cheap acrylic probably purchased at Woolco. (Woolco was later bought out by Walmart.) The colours have faded a bit but there are no holes or other evidence of wear and tear. This is an acrylic that archeologists a thousand years from now digging up land fills will find in still pristine condition. I wonder what they will make of that.
The original purpose was as an afghan to protect against the winter cold. I used it as such for many years. Also, for many years it slept in various cupboards as I moved from home to home. I found the colours tiresome after time but could not bear to part with it. For a few years it even served as a blanket for the dogs. No damage done.
It has been through the washer and dryer countless times. Now it has gained a new purpose and gets pulled out when ever we need something to sit on. I foresee that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together finding new uses as we age. It will be my executor who will decide its final fate. I won't be able to bring myself to part with it. This afghan is everlasting thanks to the acrylics of the 70's. I bet there are still countless balls in stashes and countless afghans still in use.
I haven't quite shaken the cough. It is still with me but not as bad as before. I have one antibiotic pill left but the rest of the meds are done. I think it just has to run its course.
Because I haven't felt great this week, I wanted some comfort knitting and to me that means socks. I started these thinking I could work on them from time to time. Instead, I simply could not stop until they were done.
See done!
I am keeping these. These are from my go to sock yarn - Paton's Kroy - dug up out of my stash.
I thought when they were done I could move on to more knitting for the fair. I must have been taking a nap when I wound up a skein of yarn I picked up at the Woodstock Fleece Festival. I wanted socks with a bit of orange in them. I can't explain this desire but I think I went too far orange.
I assembled the tea cozy.
The shape is meant for a standard small brown betty tea pot. I don't have one of those so my camel tea pot stepped in as model. The tea cozy is symmetrical in real life and not misshapen at all. I am excited though. I can add 2 more finished items to the fair storage drawer.
The fronts of the girl's sweater are done and the sleeves cast on.
I think I want to finish this sweater before I start a new fair project. The reindeer is in the exact same state of assembly as last week. At my rate of assembly of this one, I worry I will be in a panic the night before the entries are due trying to sew it together and hoping it does not look like an 9 year old did the stuffing and stitching.
Sunday, 29 October 2017
I Think the Cough is Defeated
I am back and almost over my cough. After a visit to my doctor last week, I finally got some new meds that actually seem to be working. My table looks like a pharmacy now.
Reba had her last amino acid treatment. She is showing real improvement. Hubby and I know that the treatment is not a cure but it should make her more comfortable and stave off the inevitable for a maybe a few months to a year. I am cooking for her and she is eating really well. She has returned to her usual piggy self. It is just fascinating to see her veterinary care team get excited about her gaining weight. Who would think that this is a good thing in an already fat dog.
While I have been off work sick, I managed some knitting. Not as much as you might think. I was coughing so hard I pulled a muscle under my right arm and lost the use of it for 2 days. No knitting time there. I have also been very tired and did not feel like knitting. I have still not worked out how to knit in my sleep. Despite the limitations, I did make some progress towards the 2018 Harrow Fair.
I was feeling really good about that progress until I updated my excel spreadsheet. I have only truly finished one entry.
Knit from Ferner Wolle Mally Socks sock yarn. I picked this up from the Little Red Mitten while Reba was getting her first treatment in London. I bought a second ball as well to weave with. The pattern is my own sock recipe for toe up socks.
This one is close to being done. It is still drying and needs a loop added to the top. The loop is knitted already and waiting to be sewn on.
The pattern is Old-fashioned Christmas from the book The Stockings were Knit by Mickey Landau. This was fun to knit. It needed big needles and worsted weight yarn. I used Paton's Classic Wool. I suspect that the red is a discontinued colour as I picked it up at the Len's Mills tent sale in London in the summer. Off-white is always available but the white for this project came from Michaels.
The soft toy entry is coming along. It will be a reindeer when it is done. I have finished knitting the parts and have started to stuff the pieces. It is fussy work and I can only stand doing so much at a time otherwise I will hurry the process and make a mess of the assembly.
The pattern is Best Friends from the booklet Jean Greenhowe's Christmas Special. I used a discontinued DK yarn from my stash. An almost equivalent yarn is Paton's Classic Wool DK Superwash. The the old discontinued yarn is Merino wool whereas the new DK Superwash is no particular breed.
Progress continues on the girl's sweater entry. The back is complete and the fronts are well on their way to the underarm. I am doing both fronts at the same time. Somehow I think it is faster. It really isn't but in my head, since I only have to do the fronts once, it goes quicker.
This is knit from Paton's Classic Wool DK Superwash. Hubby picked it up for me at this summer's SpinRite tent sale in Listowel. He swung through Listowel on his motorcycle trip in August. As soon as I saw this yarn I knew exactly what I wanted to knit with it. I have now convinced myself that purple is a Christmas colour to fit my overall theme for 2018.
The tea cozy is still in pieces waiting for assembly.
I have my next three projects already picked out and have the yarn for at least two of them.
I am hoping the cough finally goes away soon. I want off the meds. There are leaving me with a horrible bitter taste in my mouth. However, I am one of those people who follows directions and I will be finishing them off like a good girl.
Reba had her last amino acid treatment. She is showing real improvement. Hubby and I know that the treatment is not a cure but it should make her more comfortable and stave off the inevitable for a maybe a few months to a year. I am cooking for her and she is eating really well. She has returned to her usual piggy self. It is just fascinating to see her veterinary care team get excited about her gaining weight. Who would think that this is a good thing in an already fat dog.
While I have been off work sick, I managed some knitting. Not as much as you might think. I was coughing so hard I pulled a muscle under my right arm and lost the use of it for 2 days. No knitting time there. I have also been very tired and did not feel like knitting. I have still not worked out how to knit in my sleep. Despite the limitations, I did make some progress towards the 2018 Harrow Fair.
I was feeling really good about that progress until I updated my excel spreadsheet. I have only truly finished one entry.
Knit from Ferner Wolle Mally Socks sock yarn. I picked this up from the Little Red Mitten while Reba was getting her first treatment in London. I bought a second ball as well to weave with. The pattern is my own sock recipe for toe up socks.
This one is close to being done. It is still drying and needs a loop added to the top. The loop is knitted already and waiting to be sewn on.
The pattern is Old-fashioned Christmas from the book The Stockings were Knit by Mickey Landau. This was fun to knit. It needed big needles and worsted weight yarn. I used Paton's Classic Wool. I suspect that the red is a discontinued colour as I picked it up at the Len's Mills tent sale in London in the summer. Off-white is always available but the white for this project came from Michaels.
The soft toy entry is coming along. It will be a reindeer when it is done. I have finished knitting the parts and have started to stuff the pieces. It is fussy work and I can only stand doing so much at a time otherwise I will hurry the process and make a mess of the assembly.
The pattern is Best Friends from the booklet Jean Greenhowe's Christmas Special. I used a discontinued DK yarn from my stash. An almost equivalent yarn is Paton's Classic Wool DK Superwash. The the old discontinued yarn is Merino wool whereas the new DK Superwash is no particular breed.
Progress continues on the girl's sweater entry. The back is complete and the fronts are well on their way to the underarm. I am doing both fronts at the same time. Somehow I think it is faster. It really isn't but in my head, since I only have to do the fronts once, it goes quicker.
This is knit from Paton's Classic Wool DK Superwash. Hubby picked it up for me at this summer's SpinRite tent sale in Listowel. He swung through Listowel on his motorcycle trip in August. As soon as I saw this yarn I knew exactly what I wanted to knit with it. I have now convinced myself that purple is a Christmas colour to fit my overall theme for 2018.
The tea cozy is still in pieces waiting for assembly.
I have my next three projects already picked out and have the yarn for at least two of them.
I am hoping the cough finally goes away soon. I want off the meds. There are leaving me with a horrible bitter taste in my mouth. However, I am one of those people who follows directions and I will be finishing them off like a good girl.
Monday, 9 October 2017
2018 Plan
I had lunch on Friday with my good friend A. She is the one who just loves Christmas. We searched through Pinterest, Ravelry and my Christmas pattern books for ideas. The plan for 2018 is to make as many Christmas themed entries as possible. Now not all entries with be Christmas related. I do after all want to remain sane.
I came home and rummaged my stash. A sub goal is to use as much yarn from my stash as possible.
I got to work and this will be a teapot cozy.
While it is blocking and awaiting assembly, I created these reindeer parts.
I cast on this sweater last weekend for my little cousin. When Hubby came home from the Listowel tent sale in August with this yarn I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it. This will be my hockey knitting for a while.
I found red yarn in my stash for a Christmas stocking and I am making a list of yarns I need to pick up in Woodstock for other upcoming projects. So far it is a short list!
Since my last post, I made Reba a second E-Collar.
This is from scraps of fabric from my fabric stash (yes I have one of those too!) We have many vet visits in an attempt to help her get better and the staff at the clinics keep asking me where I am getting these collars. Since she wears them 24/7 I picked up more foam for the stuffing to make a third. They are going through the wash constantly and two is just not enough.
We finally have a diagnosis. She has hepatocutaneous syndrome which is a rare condition in dogs. It is a skin condition that results from poor liver processing of protein. The result is scales and swelling of the pressure points; in Reba's case, her lips, her nose and her feet pads. It is very painful, and there is often opportunistic bacterial infections. The only treatment is an inter-venous drip of amino acids for the scales and anti-biotics for the infections. The amino acid drips only helps in about 60% of dogs and is not a cure. It will only extend her life for maybe a year if it works. However, Hubby and I decided to try it. She was happily eating her meals and has gained back some of the weight she lost when we first determined that there was a liver issue. If untreated it is always fatal in 2 to 5 months.
I got to spend a day in London as she underwent her last hope treatment. My plan was to spent the afternoon knitting away the day at the Little Red Mitten. That did not work out as planned. There were so many lovely things in the store and before I knew it I was going to be broke if I didn't leave. I did buy stuff before leaving and headed back to London where I parked in the shade of a tree and knit until Reba was ready for pick up.
I believe I see improvement in her feet but there is always a chance that I am seeing just what I want to see. Her nose and lips are definitely better. I am cooking for her instead of giving her dog food. She is gobbling up everything I put out for her. She needs to eat well in order to heal. Hubby will be taking her this week for her second treatment.
The extra wide socks are on their way to Calgary.
I took a break from knitting yesterday and did some dying. Hubby helped me pick up the walnuts from the tree around the corner. I get a better brown colour when the husks are green.
I used some other dyestuffs from my stash. (Yes I have one for dyeing too!) I also mixed some other dye stuff with the walnuts. Here is what I got.
A while ago I bought giant 250 gram skeins of dyeable yarn from Grand River Yarns. I reduce them to 25 gram skeins so I have lots of yarn to experiment with. I used to work with 100 gram skeins but my yarn stash just started to grow exponentially. I could dye so much faster than I could knit or weave with it.
Not much knitting today either. I woke up with a cold. I am just puttering around cause if I lay around all day, I won't sleep tonight. I decided to put this post together. That meant taking photos and thinking. Enough thinking already, time for more Buckley's.
I came home and rummaged my stash. A sub goal is to use as much yarn from my stash as possible.
I got to work and this will be a teapot cozy.
While it is blocking and awaiting assembly, I created these reindeer parts.
I cast on this sweater last weekend for my little cousin. When Hubby came home from the Listowel tent sale in August with this yarn I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it. This will be my hockey knitting for a while.
I found red yarn in my stash for a Christmas stocking and I am making a list of yarns I need to pick up in Woodstock for other upcoming projects. So far it is a short list!
Since my last post, I made Reba a second E-Collar.
This is from scraps of fabric from my fabric stash (yes I have one of those too!) We have many vet visits in an attempt to help her get better and the staff at the clinics keep asking me where I am getting these collars. Since she wears them 24/7 I picked up more foam for the stuffing to make a third. They are going through the wash constantly and two is just not enough.
We finally have a diagnosis. She has hepatocutaneous syndrome which is a rare condition in dogs. It is a skin condition that results from poor liver processing of protein. The result is scales and swelling of the pressure points; in Reba's case, her lips, her nose and her feet pads. It is very painful, and there is often opportunistic bacterial infections. The only treatment is an inter-venous drip of amino acids for the scales and anti-biotics for the infections. The amino acid drips only helps in about 60% of dogs and is not a cure. It will only extend her life for maybe a year if it works. However, Hubby and I decided to try it. She was happily eating her meals and has gained back some of the weight she lost when we first determined that there was a liver issue. If untreated it is always fatal in 2 to 5 months.
I got to spend a day in London as she underwent her last hope treatment. My plan was to spent the afternoon knitting away the day at the Little Red Mitten. That did not work out as planned. There were so many lovely things in the store and before I knew it I was going to be broke if I didn't leave. I did buy stuff before leaving and headed back to London where I parked in the shade of a tree and knit until Reba was ready for pick up.
I believe I see improvement in her feet but there is always a chance that I am seeing just what I want to see. Her nose and lips are definitely better. I am cooking for her instead of giving her dog food. She is gobbling up everything I put out for her. She needs to eat well in order to heal. Hubby will be taking her this week for her second treatment.
The extra wide socks are on their way to Calgary.
I took a break from knitting yesterday and did some dying. Hubby helped me pick up the walnuts from the tree around the corner. I get a better brown colour when the husks are green.
I used some other dyestuffs from my stash. (Yes I have one for dyeing too!) I also mixed some other dye stuff with the walnuts. Here is what I got.
A while ago I bought giant 250 gram skeins of dyeable yarn from Grand River Yarns. I reduce them to 25 gram skeins so I have lots of yarn to experiment with. I used to work with 100 gram skeins but my yarn stash just started to grow exponentially. I could dye so much faster than I could knit or weave with it.
Not much knitting today either. I woke up with a cold. I am just puttering around cause if I lay around all day, I won't sleep tonight. I decided to put this post together. That meant taking photos and thinking. Enough thinking already, time for more Buckley's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)