DOT -- Ornament Exchange

Yesterday the doorbell rang and my faithful "watchdog" Lucy barked. (Notice to burglars: rub her belly and she'll let you take whatever you want.) It was the mailman letting us know he'd left a package. Not just any package, but a package addressed to me and Lucy. We participated in the Dogs on Thursday ornament swap and our gift from Tina and her basset hounds Honey Dew and Sampson had arrived!


Since it was an ornament swap, I will first show a slightly blurry photo of the ornament we received. It's a yellow Lab just like Lucy!
Tina sent me a really neat cocoa gift. There's a mug, cocoa mix, and (this is very cool) some marshmallows with coatings such as hazelnut or peppermint to mix in. That's what looks like lollipops. I am excited to try these! I plan to sit in front of the fire with a big mug of cocoa and some knitting.
This being a Dogs on Thursday swap, there were lots of things from Honey Dew and Sampson to Lucy. The treats are specially formulated for big dogs (like my 88-pounder) and contain glucosamine and chondroitin for hip health. (Her dog food does too.) The bone is a pork femur and Lucy can't wait to get it into her mouth. The toy is a training dummy. I know she'll love retrieving this from the pond at the dog park. Lucy thanks Honey Dew and Sampson for the great gifts!
Lucy's rubbing her snout on the treat bag in anticipation of trying them.
They are shaped like hearts and very yummy!
Thank you, Tina, Honey Dew, and Sampson for the great box! Your email said it was your first internet swap and you did a fantastic job!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

an LYS in Canon City

I heard there was a new LYS in the town of Canon City, Colorado. That's about 30 miles west of my hometown of Pueblo. So Thanksgiving weekend I went to check out Anne's Knits and Such. It's a store that has knitting supplies in the left half and beading stuff in the right half. It's a nice shop with a helpful owner and lots of pretty yarn.
I like their motto!
I know I have enough yarn to last me two lifetimes. I don't buy yarn just for stash-enhancement here in Houston. But when I'm on vacation that rule doesn't apply. So I bought myself three skeins of Geode by Berroco. So pretty! (Sorry, no photo.)

The store's business card shows a bear and a moose winding yarn into a ball. The moose's antler's are holding the yarn while the bear winds. It made me smile.

Quilt Update

I took my quilt home to Colorado over Thanksgiving.  I needed some help from my mom with the borders.  She showed me what to do.  And I did it.  Look!  Excuse the grumpy look on my face.  Just look at the quilt.

I am now proficient at putting borders on a quilt!

Mom will choose some backing fabric and sandwich this thing together.  Cousin Cass is going to quilt it on her long arm machine.  Then I get to learn something new.  Mom tells me she's going to teach me how to bind in the next quilting lesson.  So stay tuned!

DOT -- Thoughtful Pets

My birthday was last weekend. On Friday I came home to these flowers. I thought they were from my boyfriend. Then I read the card. Turns out Maggie (the kitty) and Lucy bought them for me. What thoughtful pets!
I'm not sure if it was shopping for the flowers or the extra long visit to the dog park that wore Lucy out. Here's another creative sleeping position of hers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

DOT -- Dog Pillow

Do I need to buy a bigger dog pillow?  Or does the silly dog just need to center herself on the pillow?  Maybe she just did not have the energy to reposition herself after her morning at the dog park.  This doesn't look very comfortable to me.

Starbucks Cozy

Several months ago I bought a kit from Woolgirl that contained yarn and a pattern to make a cozy for take-out coffee.  The yarn is actually from Unique Sheep.  It's Super Wool and the color is Coffee House.  It only took a few hours to whip this out over last weekend.
This morning I stopped at Starbucks and bought a chai that I used to model the cozy.

I made this on dpns.  I consider that good practice for my future sock-making skills!

Blue Hat

I finished my blue hat last week!  The yarn is a soft wool from Berroco called Jasper.  The pattern is Jester from the Berroco book Geode & Jasper #276.  I really like this hat!

I had fun picking out the button at Joann's.  I ended up buying three possibilities.  Even though I'd taken the hat with me, I couldn't really decided until I was home and ready to sew the button on.

Why does a person need a pocket on a hat?  I think it's for your house key.  I showed the hat to my boyfriend and he told me the pocket was for a biscuit...as in dog biscuit.  I suppose on a cold day I could wear the hat with a biscuit in the pocket while walking Lucy.  You never know when she might get hungry.
I learned the Kitchener stitch on this hat!

The pattern calls for two skeins of yarn.  I used very little of the second, just a bit for a few rows of the hat and the pocket.  I think I'll make a Starbucks cozy with the leftovers.

Maybe it's a little too big on top...but it will keep my head warm this winter.

(And yes, I felt like a fool standing outside photographing myself yesterday.  I hope no neighbors saw me.)