DOGS: The crazy things we do!

June 7, 2016

Hi,

That is me and "My Boy"  he is awesome!
I love spending time with him! June 6th.

My name is Tally and I am writing this post to explain a very bad thing I did yesterday!  I am part Weimaraner and they often say this breed has anxiety issues with separation. Let me tell you it is true and sometimes Nancy one of my owners calls me a "Nervous Nellie" when "My Boy" leaves!  My Boy is a grown man named Christian, we really are a pair and I think he is the best!  He drove off yesterday and didn't take me along. Nancy held me by my collar a bit and then let me go!  I ran to the fence gate and then to the neighbor's gate as our yards are open.  Our neighbor is putting in a fence between our yards.  I being the smart dog saw the opening and took off like lightening after "My Boy" in his truck down an extremely busy road!

Later it was reported to Nancy that I was running right down the middle of this very busy road chasing after a scent or something.  I stopped traffic and it was reported by 2 kids that I almost caused a few accidents.

Meanwhile, Nancy was running after me and saw a bike rider who when asked said I was in fact running down the road and he did see me.  The nice bike rider stopped and I think if Nancy would have asked he would have gone back for me.  Nancy ran to the house for a leash Sadie the now perfect dog who doesn't do things like this as Nancy is "Her Girl" and she was at home!  Plus her phone to hopefully call the police as she ran for me.

As Nancy got to the back gate there I was panting.  It was over 90ºF and at 1:00 p.m.  I was at the gate!  I gave up on the chase turned around on this busy road and ran home right down the busy road.  A nice lady in a black van with 2 kids followed me to Nancy.

I had a bloody foot from running on the pavement, but I was home.  I got lots of hugs and pets and WATER!  Then the dreaded dog bootie came out and was placed on my foot.  Damn! I hate those booties and never thought I would have to wear one in SUMMER geash WINTER is bad enough. I did hurt my foot a bit but mostly I was really hot from running around like a crazy dog after "My Boy!"

I really scared Nancy.  Christian was so relieved nothing happened to me. Sadie said, "You are such a fool Tally!  Really when are you going to mellow out girl!"

Nancy quickly got my bloody foot covered and it stopped bleeding right away.

She gave me cold water to drink, cooled me off with the hose and let me rest on my towel.

Man did I rest until "My Boy" came home to me like always!

My paw is doing well now on Friday, June 10th.  Nancy and Christian have learned that if you put moleskin over an injured paw pad and place the paw in a mushing bootie dog paws will heal fast.  We all live in a very remote place in Alaska with no vet.

The two people who love us have learned several tricks like this to keep us healthy when we get hurt.  Last night I went for a short slow mountain bike ride and did great.

Sadie reminded me several times to quit being such a spaz about things. She often thinks she is so much wiser than me just because she is a year older.  Sadie was a rescue dog.  She came from a great humane society in Roundup, Montana called RimRock Humane Society and at times she will tell me stories that make my hair stand up on end. The point being we have it made so relax you Nervous Nellie!

This little letter was inspired by Bruce, Kate Davies' dog.

Happy Paws to all get outside and play,

Tally

Unspun Icelandic Wool: Can you say "Lets FROG more than we KNIT!"

If you go to this post you can read about this fiber/wool called Unspun Icelandic Wool.  Here you can see the start to this journey of my sweater. I bravely casted-on to start a sleeve and right away I found this unspun wool to be very nice to handle and pretty tough stuff.

The issue is the combo of needle size, pattern, lack of bold contrasting colors, and carrying too many colors in a round.  I would certainly say a personality flaw I have is jumping in with both feet, sinking into the abyss and then figuring how to pull my sorry arse out of the huge hole I dug for myself!  I am actually pretty good at this self rescue as I have been doing this for all of my life . . . the old saying of "live and learn" hmmmm!

My first go was with this pattern which is an older Lopi design.  I find myself drawn to these older classics.  This pattern can be found in Knitting with Icelandic Wool book by:Védís Jónsdóttir.  Which is a great resource for Lopi sweaters.  It is called Str´yta (not sure why the accent will not go over the "y").

Here is the sleeve which had a color issue.  There is white in the center of that pale grey only the grey is too pale and the white is barely noticeable. The next issue is I had to carry 3 colors which in double stranded Icelandic wool means 6 strands of unspun I am trying to carry along--not a pretty sight!

I frogged and picked this pattern from The Best of Lopi.  Another all time favorite of mine and a Lopi classic called Brigitte. The issue with this design was my colorway pick.  Once, I casted on for the sleeve there were more stranded issues, and the gauge was way off . . . back to rethinking this project out AGAIN! 

Here is the next sleeve.  This is when I realized again that I would be carrying to many strands, the colors were not bold enough and the sleeve was going to be too large.

The grey is totally getting washed out.  This is when I stopped to see how many rounds I would be carrying 3 colors which would be 6 strands of unspun and I slammed on the brakes!

Time to drop needle size, knit a swatch in the round, get gauge figured out, order some more yarn and move on to another project as I wait for my yarn to arrive.

My Lopi sweater is on hold until my yarn arrives most likely late this coming week.  I will be at a ski race in White Mountain. I hope to arrive home to some more unspun wool for my Lopi sweater.  Knitting always amazes me as I am able to make endless mistakes in knitting.  Over the years, knitting has really taught me to be patient with the mistakes, to figure them out, mess around a bit to solve the problem and then to "Knit-On" as EZ would say!

I have been frogging a lot and knitting less I would say over the last few weeks.  Just to prove my point:

This is a left hand mitten which was done and needed a partner. This is a pattern from Kate Davies, one of my favorite designers, from her book Buachaille.

Th mitten needed frogging as I was not happy with the fit and gauge.  Once again, I frogged and have now casted-on again.  I also added one more color to just jazz up the mitten.  The color is in the braid and will also be the icord bind off.

Frogging, knitting, frogging, knitting . . . never be afraid to frog and make your knitting the way you really want it to be!  As my dear friend always says: "Knitting is not fine woodworking you can fix it!" So frog away and knit-on!

Knitting Update! Food Update & the good ol' Miscellaneous collection of "things"

I keep trying to keep up with the BLOG but I find I run out of time which is a rather lame excuse I know.  I love writing post and sharing photos of my rather crazy world out here on the tundra.  I know a lot of you enjoy it as well as I have a lot of visitors.  I do feel like I need to keep everyone current.  After this post I think I will have all photos up from October and can feel like I have a clean slate.

I was totally smitten with Kate Davies yarn club  and had to sign up and order her new yarn named: Buachaille.  #sevenskeinsclub you can find out more about her yarn or visit her blog.  

My husband didn't know he ordered this for my Birthday present!  He was thrilled the shopping was so easy this year.  The yarn arrived after my birthday but no biggie at all. I have yet to get it into balls but I did weight it all as suggested for various knitting patterns that are all part of the club.

I love the yarn, the feel of it and the smell!  The colors are great and very rich.  I think Kate has done a wonderful job of putting together a great yarn with some fantastic patterns.  The first item I will knit will be the Kokkeluri Mittens.  I have been wanting a new pair of mittens.  I also wanted something that wasn't to Norwegian and Kate's pattern is the ticket.

This African Violet was started from a leaf last year.  I have several of these in my classroom from last year and they are doing GREAT!  Nothing like a bit of color in my dark wintery world!

October is my birthday month and my cake was pumpkin pie without the crust. I make this wonderful yummy treat often.  No crust well I have always liked the pie more than the crust and now I don't eat wheat so it is perfectly yummy!

One of the many tundra walks we take just about every day or when the snow lands we ski! 

Butternut Squash Curry with chick-peas and rice! Tonight we had this as a left over and added chicken breast so dang tasty@

Sadie loves to eat ice even if it is like -20ºF out she will lay in the snow and eat ice!

Just us "girls" out on the tundra!  Tally and me.

Miss Sadie and me.

I love tally just sitting and wishing those clouds would bring us some snow!

"See" says Tally, "I am praying for snow too!"

In the fall we always get jelly fish on the beach.  This year they are rather small but you can see them on the sand.  Clear jelly fish.  We jokingly call them "Jesuit Jelly Fish" as they have a cross in them. 

I can not say enough about this great tea company!  Chai Diaries.  I ordered several teas from them and all of them have been delightful.  Great flavors and fast service and for rural Alaska that is a must.  I know I will be ordering more of their wonderful teas!

Almond flour , chipotle  crackers.  This is a great little recipe and just plain old yummy and easy to make.

I love homemade soup.  Here is a nice little veggie soup with chick-peas.  The base is turkey and veggie broth.

Almond Flour scone with tundra cranberries!

Beach looking north along Norton Sound.

Beach looking south towards Unalakleet.

Here is Tomten # 2 with the sleeves completed.  Below is the amount of left over green yarn.  Luckly it all worked out perfectly with a bit of frogging and added colors.

Below are a few closing photos from October 31st tundra walk in the wind and snow! All of which makes me extremely happy!

Bláithín Sweater

My Bláithín sweater is coming right along.  I was able to get the provisional crochet cast-on easily mastered and on my needles.  I used a sock yarn for this as it would shed the least amount.  I did wonder if this crochet cast-on yarn should be the same gauge as my sweater yarn.  I went with the sock yarn as  it wouldn't shed, is very durable, as the only yarn in the same weight I was afraid might shed.

Provisional Crochet Cast-on in Opal Cotton Sock Yarn

Once I got the twisting out of the cast-on *****warning here you need to be patient with this step!   I am sailing along in circles for 17 inches.

I placed coil-less safety pins every 50 sts. so I only have to count this amount twice.   I casted on 214 sts. 6 sts are for the steek and 208 sts are for the body.

I am off to a good start.  I do place sts. markers for the front steek  and the side seam if there was to be a side seam.

My favorite yarn shoppe in Montana  Knit 'N Needle used one of my photos to show off some wonderful fall yarns.  I love the combination.  Today it is 43F here and I wish our snow was back pronto!

Casting On: Bláithín by Kate Davies

Kate Davies is one of my favorite designers in the knitting world today.  (I also love Kate's blog, writing/research and photos!)  Over a year ago she designed and published this pattern: Bláithín.  I instantly fell in love with the design and the techniques she used in this sweater.  Typical of me, I was quick to purchase the pattern, then I bought my yarn at my favorite local Montana Yarn shoppe: Knit n' Needle.  The yarn I picked for this sweater is New England Highland from Harrisville Design.  I love 100% wool, I love real traditional yarn, and I love supporting long standing wool companies. (Oh don't get me wrong I will purchase wool from more recent start up companies as well but I am a traditionalist when it comes to my yarn.)

New England Highland Yarn from Harrisville Design.

Typical of me I have not started this project yet.  I have of coursed knitted several pairs of socks, mittens, hats, finished a few sweaters, some smaller fletted projects, and bought more yarn for a Fair Isle vest as well . . . I just can not knit one project at a time, just like I can not read one book at a time.

I did knit up a swatch and I am spot on for the gauge--yahoo!  4.5 sts per inch.  I tend to like a nice dense knit but this swatch gives a lighter fabric.  I am happy with the feel of the swatch and I will be casting on today.  I first need to figure out the amount of sts. as I don't ever follow a pattern exactly as written.  I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Elizabeth Percentage System (EPS) to find out more please visit Schoolhouse Press. This design also has a bit of a flare at the bottom and some shaping.  I will not follow this part of the sweater, nor will I add any pockets, other than that I will be following the techniques Kate has incorporated in her design.

Bláithín swatch which is actually a true navy blue.