'Tis the Season

I can't believe it. The youngest of the pack, Morganna, is finally having her first season. I'm not disbelieving because of her age - she's about 10.5 months old and is in the typical timeframe. Teenage hormones have been coursing through her system for awhile and she also had a low-grade UTI for a little while. She wasn't behaving any differently, but Bruce was acting as if she was coming into season. After two weeks with no real physical symptoms, we took her to the vet. The vet said that she was close to coming into her first heat, and that she had the UTI. She got her first dose of anti-botics and Bruce started to ignore her.

I should mention that Bruce is our "infection detector". If there's any sort of infection on any of the other dogs, he starts acting as if that dog is coming into season. Yes, he even does it when Tyler (our neutered male Eurasier) has an infection or when Tyler's thyroid meds are off.

Morganna started spotting last night. And then today, Lizzie started spotting as well. It was very strange because there were no indications, and Lizzie has a definate PMS routine. She wasn't due until November.

My time on the blog will probably be even more sporadic in the next two weeks. Bruce will start singing for his girls in a few days and sleep will be at a premium.

Puppy Pictures

I know you've been lurking hoping to catch a small glimpse of my "giant" dogs.

Here's Bruce as a baby


And here's baby Lizzie:


And Mr. Fuzzy Pants:


These pictures are old. Bruce and Tyler are now 3.5 years old and Lizzie is 2 years old today. I have to upload more pictures from a different hard-drive.

Wish us luck -- Bruce & Lizzie are both competing in Rally trials this weekend.

etsy Friday

Almost forgot etsy Friday!!!

No new purchases to show you (yet...), so how 'bout some sellers that have caught my eye.

Woolly Thoughts -- They have some of the most intriguing patterns that I've ever seen.

Hansigurumi -- neat sea creatures! You can get them ready made or get the patterns and use up some of your own odds and ends.

Crafty Alien -- knitted or felted patterns. Cutest little creatures.

Anybody have any good links to interesting and unique patterns????

The French Bear Will Not Defeat Me!!!!

One of my WIPs is the French Teddy Bear from Debbie Bliss Teddy Bear Knits.

First, it was the yarn for the bear. I started by using Berroco's Ultra Alpca. It was the right weight and the right color. But it didn't have the give that you need when making one of these bears. (If you've ever made one of these bear/toys, you know how dramatically you have to increase across very few rows and you need every ounce of give no matter how loosely you knit.)

So, then I searched & searched & searched for Hayfield Grampian DK. I wanted this yarn because I had made bears and other toys from it years ago. Of course, it was no longer made. Luckily, somebody on the Knitty Board pointed me in the direction of Sirdar. Sirdar makes a Country Style DK that's the exact same as my old standby. Wool & acrylic -- machine washable -- perfect for making a teddy bear that will be a gift for a baby.

Of course, none of my LYS carried it. I looked on-line and didn't see too many options. So, I went to the one YS that said the could order it for me. And I special ordered it.

And two days later, I found it at Herrschners where I could by just a few skeins instead of a bag of 10 balls. (Anybody needs some light bear colored yarn???) I did however order the navy, white and red for his attired.

The special order comes in -- and I start knitting the bear. Two legs, two arms, one body, one head, two ears and one nose. Nothing major to report. The pieces are living in a ziploc bag, waiting for the rest of the knitting to be done so it can be washed, assembled and stuffed.

So I knit up the back and the front of his shirt. I knit the two pieces of his pants. I knit his jaunty scarf. I need to seam his pants and his shirt. But the shirt and pants are knit in stockinette, so they're rolling up and in. Sigh. Not easy to seam together.

Right now, the two pieces for his pants are being blocked into submission. I was going to pin out the front and back of his sweater...but I ran out of pins. Hopefully, tomorrow.

If he wasn't a gift for the baby of dear friends of mine, I'd just give up. If I hadn't shown them a picture of the bear, I'd just give them the bear and his jaunty scarf. But they are good friends, and it is their first baby (and I did show them the picture). So I shall persevere...

How do People Do It?

I am amazed at the number of people who work full-time, have kids, knit and still manage to keep blogging on a regular basis.

I work full-time, knit, and have a bunch of dogs and a husband. However, I cannot manage to keep up with the blog thing. Sigh. I've got a half-finished post about my trip to Stitches. I've only got half my stash & project photos in Ravelry. I've got a bunch of projects off the needles and waiting to be blocked. (Don't ask about laundry in general).

Where do folks find the time?

I'm committed to finish the French Bear this weekend as it is a gift for a friend's baby. And because it has been haunting me for MONTHS! I also want to block and finish a bunch of scarves and two mittens, so that they are DONE!

If you're reading this, please send a few extra minutes my way. I could really use them.