We're Off!

We're off for a long weekend of dog showing in Sioux Falls, SD. It will be the last motor home trip of the year. The dogs are bathed and brushed, toe nails clipped, RV packed and the house is clean - can't stand coming home to a messy house. Looks like we're all set. The dogs enjoy these trips and have been excited since last evening when I pulled the RV up to the house. I hope it's not too chilly.
Dog shows are often "hurry up and wait" affairs and there should be plenty of time for knitting - if I don't socialize too much! I certainly intend to have this sock finished. The heel is turned and the gusset almost complete. The socks are for someone who will appreciate the wild colors. At first I thought the colors were too crazy for me but I'm liking the results more and more. I know socks are all the rage with knitters these days but I haven't knit a pair in many years. I forgot how much I enjoy knitting socks. No wonder it's so popular.

Minimal Knitting Progress

I made minimal knitting progress this weekend. Instead, added a new title to one dog and 2 qualifying scores toward a title on a second dog. Winger finished her RAE title and Shamrock earned two qualifying scores, or "legs" toward the 3 legs needed for her Rally Novice title.

I could show a picture of the pathetic progress I'm making on a very basic pair of socks but it's nothing most knitters haven't seen before. Still, what fun is a blog without pictures? Winger is terrified of the flash on the camera and Shammie's already had her picture in the blog so here's a picture of all the "loot" we won at Rally this weekend. Love winning those toys as my dogs can destroy one in less time than it takes to run a Rally Novice course!



Something I love/hate about getting up extra early for weekend dog events is waking up to NPR broadcasting the BBC. Love the different perspective on the news you get from the BBC but seems the last two mornings there was nothing but wars and violence to report. So depressing. Makes showing dogs and knitting sweaters seem so small.

Of course I have a cat!

Just because I have a few dogs doesn't mean I don't have a cat. I knit, therefore I have a cat. More importantly, I live in the country, therefore I need a cat. His name is Percy (Purr-cy when I'm feeling cutesy, which is almost never) and he rules the roost. I know it's not politically correct these days, but Percy is an indoor outdoor cat. He's a working cat with an important job to do around here. Percy loves when I knit with wool. This past winter I knit Rowan pattern Little Trees and he had a particular affinity for Rowan Polar. I somehow kept him off of the sweater long enough to take this picture.

Not expecting much knitting progress until the weekend. Lots of code to write and bugs to fix in the next few days. Last evening was obedience class at St. Paul Dog Training with Dot and tomorrow is herding lessons for Dusty, JJ and Shammie. I hope the weather improves.


Happy Birthday Chuck Berry! Downloaded a bunch of your music this morning and it got me through a long work day. Nothing like a Brown Eyed Handsome Man.

The best laid plans . . .

I had hope to get Shamrock to dog school tonight. She's entered in her first Rally Obedience trials this coming weekend and could use the practice. Unfortunately, she came in the house this afternoon limping on her right front foot. Not only was dog school out of the question so was even simple training at home. Rally Novice, the class she is entered in, is not difficult and she is prepared, none the less, I was so hoping to get her to class before the trials. The best laid plans of mice and men ...

Instead I have a little extra knitting time tonight. I thought I'd display a WIP, the bi-color cable sweater designed by Annie Modesitt. I started this sweater in the spring but, because it is for me, it has sat OTN several times while I worked on projects for others. I truly enjoy knitting this pattern, something happening on almost every row and not too much finishing work. I've made a few mistakes but none so horrible I feel the need to frog it. The yarn is GEMS Opal. This yarn was used in the original pattern and I already had it in my stash so didn't even think about substituting.

Ok, I'm getting a little carried away with the postings ... First Blog Dayitist I think. I just completed this little sweater for my nephew's baby boy, due any time now. The original pattern called for a hood but I stopped at the little collar. It was that or start a new skein and I thought it was cute enough as is. The pattern is Fran's Hooded Baby Sweater and was suggested to me by Laurel from the Yahoo Knitlist.

I wanted to knit a bulky baby sweater using some Tahki Baby I have in my stash but the Tahki Baby proved too bulky. However, I might adapt the pattern later to use the Tahki Baby and knit a 1 year old or toddler size. This sweater was knit with Karabella Aurora Bulky on size 10.5 Addis. I'm happy with the way it turned out and the pattern was just what I wanted - a fun, quick knit.

Now I must cure my First Blog Dayitist and get outside to rake leaves and clean gutters. Ugh.

Cool...

Cool. Now I've created a blog. Here's a picture of two of my dogs, Shamrock on the left and her daughter Addie on the right. Addie was bred by me and is co-owned with my friend Sarah and is at my house to attend a few shows and hopefully complete her championship. Addie picked up her first two points yesterday toward the 15 needed for her championship. I don't have a show picture yet so this will have to do.

And to include a knit item, here's a sweater I just completed for my sister. The pattern is Rowan Whisper by Kim Hargreaves. The yarn is Rowan Calmer and the color is also called Calmer. The sweater was knit on size 7 and size 5 Addi Turbos. My sister says she loves it and it fits perfectly. I hope that's true.

Pembroke Purls First Post

My first post to my first blog! I've created this blog as a fun and convenient place to update and maintain news about my two passions, my dogs and my knitting.