X-rays to come...

Well, a quick update regarding Ari. He is at the vet today for x-rays to check his progress and I'll report back tomorrow with the verdict from the vet.

On another matter, I have found this newsstory today and thought to share it with you. It is about knitting, charity and how it cannot only make a difference to the recipient, but the knitter. Have a look.

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4727486

To everyone, have a wonderful holiday season. Reading this story certainly has made me think about what we all can do to make the world a nicer and better place, not just in the run up to Christmas, but any day of the year.

Doggie update.. and even more socks... sockmania?

First to let you all know, Ari is doing a lot better and he thanks you for all the good wishes. He is able to walk a little on the leg now and is using it happily to balance when necessary.

Lulu on the other hand, while healing nicely, is still keeping well away from him whenever he comes even close to her rear end. But she happily holds still for doggie kisses to her face and ears, like any girl would!!

On the knitting front, my brother's Christmas present is growing apace and the socks are growing too... I can't seem to stop starting new ones whenever a pair is finished. Sockmania for sure!!!

I'll keep you posted with progress from Ari and Lulu, next update will be after Ari's X-Ray's in about a week's time. Then we know for sure how well things are progressing.

Doggie problems... and more socks

It has been a while since I have posted, mostly due to the fact that my dear boy Aragon managed to break his leg 2 weeks ago. Impetuous male that he is, he thought he could jump off a 2m drop off without problems, but didn't count on the forest path being very rutted because of the recent heavvy rains here. So, he twisted, fell and broke both ulna and radius. The result: Surgery and an external fixator.

Everything went well until Sunday night. He was feeling better and could put weight on the leg, walking slowly and for balance. So, I guess he thought he was up to practicing his lovemaking technique with Lulu. Bad idea. The fixator caught on Lulu's hind leg and they got stuck. Lulu went crazy and tried to get away, Ari was screaming and so was Lulu. Subsequent result: Lulu has a small laceration in her skin on her leg and needed disinfecting and checking over by the vet. Ari had to have surgery again to reposition the fixator and to repair the rebroken fractures.

Lesson learned by me: Males are idiots and need to be kept from females while injured. Have to run to Argos and buy doggie gate (somewhat larger version of a baby gate to prevent jumping over).

Would you all believe that this took two minutes only. I was in the kitchen making a sandwich.

So, from now on while together at home, dogs will be separated by doggie gate until Ari's leg has healed.

On the knitting front, I have made a lot of socks and my sock of the month account is growing. I am working on my Stepdad's cardigan to finish it for Christmas and on my brother's jumper. It's growing, that's all I can say at the moment.

I will post photos of all of it once the weather here is nicer, at the moment it seems like it used to be in London... rain, rain and more rain. But we need it, so I won't complain (ok, maybe grumble a little!).

So.. back to the knitting grindstone to finish those pressies......

I am deligthed and in awe....

My lovely Secret Pal Dyann sent me a wonderful package full of goodies.....

Firstly the scarf. Schaefer Anne, a lovely colorway of blues and green and a lace pattern!!! It is absolutely perfect for me, my wardrobe and the local climate. I could not have been more delighted and I have to say if this is a first time lace project, I cannot wait to see what else you will come up with Dyann.

Along with the scarf came: A mug made by Dyann herself (she is a professional studio potter), tea to fill it with, a gorgeous hank of laceweight yarn in a lovely lavender color (Ene´s Scarf, here I come!), a bar of soap and a lovely card. I am overwhelmed by Dyann's generosity and artistry.

My scarf will be on it's way to his recipient on Saturday, together with some other goodies.

On the knitting front, I have completed: A second pair of "Socks of Doom" for Sock Wars, since unfortunately my first target did not send me an unfinished pair of socks, I had to start a second pair from scratch, which is currently winging it's way to the United States to... sock someone!

Also, a pair of Baudelaires in burgundy yarn from Regia. On the needles is a pair of Jaywalkers, yarn is Gedifra Trend Sportivo as well as a pair of socks for the man I love, with yarn from yarnpirate in denim, grey and a bit of red.

I am still working on all the other projects listed in the sidebar and will post updates soon.

FO's.....

The Ultimate Gift is finished. Over the weekend, I finished the collar and now it is blocking nicely on my guest room bed. One more Christmas Present gets a checkmark on my list.

I have also whipped up (in 3 days) a pair of Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks, in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Boot Stretch. The colors are a blue, variegating with red and a purply blue. It turned out rather nice and I hope they fit the size 9US feet I made them for, LOL.

My scarf for the ISE3 is halfway done, and since it has a center seam, that half is blocking alongside the Ultimate Gift. The second half has been started and is up to 2 repeats, with 20 more to go. I should get it finished by the end of the week at the latest, especially since i have finally memorized the 20 row repeat............

So, on to the Gentleman's Cardigan for my Stepdad. It won't need much, just a sleeve to finish and then block, sew together and knit on the front edging and the collar. End of the week as well I hope, since I need to send it to my Mom. No good button shops here in Spain, so she'll buy some and sew them on.

And then.... well, look at the WIP's in the sidebar, you'll get the idea, LOL.

New KAL

Am I crazy.. with everything else I am doing, I have just decided to start a knitting blog for Chuck's Cabled Socks from Eunny. I guess all the sock related KAL's have given me a taste for it!!

You'll find it at

www.chuckscablesocks.blogspot.com

For sign ups, please email

chuckscablesockskal at gmail dot com

Hope to see you there,

Bettina

Socks galore...

Well, the sock bug is here and with Socktoberfest 2006 starting soon, the sock wars going on..things are getting interesting.

Here's my latest oevre in that regard, a pair of Hedera's from knitty.com. The yarn is from a lovely lady called TricotTreat @ etsy. It's 100% Merino, perfectly handpainted, no pooling, no striping, just lovely variations of green and blues with a hint of yellow here and there.

So, off to other things....unless an unfinished pair of "Socks of Doom" shows up in the post, then I have to get cracking to "sockinate" my next target in Sock Wars.

We have a winner....

Well, great news!

Aragon du Grand Fresnoy, my lovely boy, is new Gibraltar Junior Champion. He won both his classes, on Saturday and today, and has his first Champion Title (ok, only the junior one, but still!!).

I am so proud.

Andalousie was very good, but has a lot of growing up to do. I knew that and was happy to hear the encouraging words of the judges. She needs the experience of going to the shows, so that she is less nervous and more relaxed. So, on we go to Malaga at the end of October.

Oh...on the knitting front we have a winner too!!! The sock of doom for sock wars is finished and packaged to go out in the post to my target!! Assassination by sock for cozy feet...LOL!

Big weekend ahead....

Well, on the knitting front there have been few changes, I've completed one sock of a pair of Baudelaire's, started on a pair of Hedera's (knitty.com) with yarn from the lovely TricotTreat (etsy) and frogged my SKB and started anew with smaller size needles and different gauge. It just was too loose and didn't look right. I am using the instructions for one size larger than I'd normally need and it works like a charm now!

But the weekend.....the dogs and I have a big one coming up. They are both entered in the Gibraltar Dog Show and are competing for the title of Gibraltar Junior Champion. I have high hopes for Aragon, but I think Andalousie will need to grow up a bit more. But then, you never know what the judges think.

So tonight the preparations begin. Pack the bag, make sure I have all their papers, including passports and pedigrees and then the dogs themselves... need to be brushed, bathed, dried and brushed again!

No big deal with Ari, he loves water and fussing and will be easy. I have to make sure he stays out of the bathtub any other time, so he won't be a problem though. Lulu though ... well, let's say she's a different kettle of fish! Doesn't like water, will have to be carried or dragged into the bathroom and then tied to the rail in the tub, otherwise she'll try to jump out. So... who to start with, the easy one or the one who'll give me fits? I'll let you know tomorrow how it turned out, together with the Saturday results.

Wish us luck!!!!

Pomatomus Socks

Well, as mentioned in my earlier post, the Pomatomus Socks are now officially an FO. It's nice to see things finished.

On the other hand, I have cast on for the SKB, in Lana Grossa Tusshena, 45% Kid Mohair, 55% Tussah Silk, in a bronzy brown. I love that yarn and am seriously considering odering more. There is one online shop still carrying remnants (this yarn has been discontinued ages ago, but hey, I'm glad they still have it!).

Dogs are asleep, so time to get some more knitting in!!!

Faroese Shawl...

Well, I have finished the Faroese Shawl, including weaving in ends. It just needs blocking, but first I need to find the space to do so... Ok, I have space, but currently not one that is dog/cat free, and since I don't want either to sleep on it while it blocks, I have to figure out something.

The pomatomus socks and the baudelaire's are growing, which is good, since sock wars are upon us soon. I'll also start with the scarf for the ISE3 as soon as the yarn arrives. So the more FO's until then, the better. So, better get back to my knitting and less blogging, LOL.

It´s been a while

Well, it has been a while since I have posted, so here comes an update.

One item has recently been added to the finished pile and the Ultimate Gift is almost there as well.

On the other hand, I have cast on for some Baudelaire´s as a gift and started knitting the Faroese Shawl from "A Gathering of Lace".

And then there are the SKB (which will be a stashbusting exercise) as well as a scarf for the ISE3. Neither of these has been started, but they are definitely waiting in the wings. And the scarf, because of the deadline on the knit along, may end up taking precedence over a couple of other things. So... this weekend will be: Finish the Ultimate Gift, work hard on the Baudelaire's and start finishing either my stepdad's cardi or my mom's Christmas Gift. That way, I should have at least three more things out of the way by the time the yarn for the scarf arrives.

As to the dogs, they are enjoying themselves now that it is a bit cooler and are having a blast on our walks through the pine forests. Both are enjoying their latest "free" toys, i.e. pine cones. Lulu loves chasing them when I throw them for her, and then Ari chases Lulu and takes it away from her to chew it to bits. To each his own. On the other hand, it means I cover more territory on these excursions, since I need to hike off the path occasionally in search of new ones! Works well for all of us, since exercise is good for you (and helped me loose a little over 20 pounds in the last year).

Also, I have registered my two at the Gibraltar Dog Show, in the Junior Class. Cross your fingers so that I come home with two new Gibraltar Junior Champions on 24 September. The show runs over two days, and if they both win their class and are awarded the Junior CAC each day, they will get the title. I can't wait. If only Lulu's fur would grow a bit more by then.. she still looks a bit spare after her yearly shed fest earlier in the summer. Ari on the other hand should do well.. he is as curly as could be and has such a wonderful calm and majestic presence.

On the job front, things are going well, I am learning a lot about my new company and am enjoying working with new people and getting to know them.

So.... that's it for this time... I'll try not to let it go this long again!

The internet... blessing or curse

It's been a couple of days and finally flickr works again, so here's the photo.




Marshall is finished and I am gletting closer on The Ultimate Gift.

I have also started another pair of socks, Pomatomus with Lana Grossa Meilenweit Boot Stretch in a nice black/pink combination. So, the knitting keeps going on.

On the dog front, we are now taking the car twice a day to drive into the nearby Parque Natural de los Alcornocales. The reason you ask - Goats! My two borzois have discovered the joys of chasing goats. And since they are as abundant as sand on the beach around the village, we now go walking a bit further away. No goats, just cows and Ari and Lulu are scared of them, since they are bigger. Goats look like borzois - at least in size. So, we have discovered lovely quiet walks through pine forests, Lulu plays with pine cones while Ari looks on slightly befuddled. He just can´t get his head around anything you can´t pull on, like an old towel or a piece of rope.

Yesterday, Ari decided that coming back to me so that I could put his lead on and then get him into the car was just not in the cards. In the end, I had to resort to driving away from him at a fast pace for about 300m. He came running, but still not to me... so I drove even faster for a longer distance. And he came running and jumped straight into the car. So today he stuck to me like glue!!! I hope it stays that way.

Another pair of socks.... and a couple of lazy dogs!

I had a knit fit in the last 24 hours. The Mystery Sock KAL called to me and I couldn't resist starting the Shell Socks from knitaddicted.com.

I made them out of some leftover and froggedMerino 2000 from Lana Grossa, very nice and soft, to be used only for toasty toes around the house. Would you believe they used to be part of a cardigan a few years ago?

Also, while I ws working hard on the socks, the dogs decided it was time to relax - considering they don't have opposable thumbs and therefore cannot knit, not a bad way to pass the time.

Good news...

Well, after moving to Spain, I started looking for a job. Initially, I wasn't worried and thought things would move quickly. Well, they didn't. Thank God for savings and for the fact I sold my apartment in London for a very good price. I temped here and there, and now, finally have found a permanent position. I'll be working as PA and Admin Asst. for a Financial Advisor. It is an English company that has a subsidiary here in Spain. I'm over the moon.

So, starting Wednesday next week (Monday and Tuesday are local holidays, LOL), I'll be working. The knitting will go slower, but I'm finally earning money regularly again! Time for a celebration this weekend!

Shedir and Baudelaire

Well, the Baudelaire's are finished and a picture is posted in the FO Gallery. They turned out nicely and I am now waiting for some sock yarn I ordered so that I can knit a pair for my mother. I'm also going to try out a few other patterns and maybe order Eunny's lovely pattern for the cabled socks on her website.

From some leftover Lana Grossa Numero Uno Tweed, I'm working on Shedir at the moment. The heat here is still keeping me from making much progress on my larger projects, so whenever having a sweater in my lap starts bothering me, I switch to something small.

On another note, I have entered a bag I'm knitting in my Work in Progress Bar and will be posting progress photos soon. At the same time, I'm working on noting down the pattern and will publish it later. I'm not sure yet whether as a free pattern or for sale, maybe you can let me know once you see the finished work.

The dogs are enjoying our early morning walks, especially the dips in the pond left over in the river. The rest has unfortunately dried out. This morning, Lulu finally discovered that there are fish in there. Many fruitless minutes later she started barking frustratedly at the water, since catching them proved elusive. She gave it a good try though, sometimes sticking her entire head in, including the ears. That naturally resulted in furious shaking! Ari looked on like a very sedate older gentleman. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that Lulu with her 9 months is only 4 months younger than he is. He is so calm most of the time, you'd think he was in a coma.

Well, time to go out for out middle of the night walk, it is getting much to hot to go out during the day, so the dogs sleep the day away and our walks happen in the evening, around midnight and the early morning now. Isn't it good that I don't need a lot of sleep.

The knitalongs continue....

Well, new to knitalongs and I keep adding to them.

Some weeks ago, I decided that I couldn't do without the Sunrise Circle Jacket from Interweave Press, so after scouring many retailers for an alternative to the suggested yarn, I finally found something I liked.

It's 100% Alpaca, called Alpaca Sport and in a lovely deep aubergine. The retailer is Wollkontor in Berlin.

It took a while to arrive, since they had to reorder the color I wanted. In the meantime, I discovered blogging and knitalongs and lo-and-behold, there is one for the Sunrise Circle Jacket. So.. another knitalong added to my list.

It has already grown a bit, just past the decreases on the back, since the heat doesn't make it easy to knit for long on something rather bulky.

Now, where to find interesting toggle buttons for it here in Andalusia? I may just take a little swatch to the glass blower in Gibraltar and see if he can custom make me some, when he does something with dark purple glass again.... We'll see.

By the way, has anyone experience in lining a knit jacket? I am thinking it would help keep the shape.

In the meantime, I'll keep continuing on my Baudelaire's for the KAL's (both the Baudelaire one and the Sock of the Month 2).

I've also added some pictures of previously finished object this year. Sophia I is for Christmas already and the size is for 12 to 18 months. Ribby for Emma is also her Christmas present as are Pink & Pearly. Other finished objects will come once I get the pictures from the recipients.

Also, I have persuaded my Mom to take as many pictures as possible of things I had made in previous years for her and the rest of the family. It's mostly so that I can have a record of it, but I may post the odd item here or there for you to see.

Well, that's it for now, have a great weekend all of you.

It's a dog's life.....

Aragon's favourite relaxing pose
Originally uploaded by borzoisandknits.

Aragon's favourite relaxing pose

Knitalongs

I discovered the knitalong!

As a knitter who has absolutely no "knitting" friends, this is heaven.

So I signed up to a couple - ok, if one is completely correct - to several. (Reminded me of a few lines in a book I read: Wife - How many drinks have you had? Husband: A couple. Wife: A couple is two. Any number greater than two is several! Husband: Ok, several.)

So - several. They are:

Sock wars
Beaudelaire
A Sock a month
Mystery Sock knitalong

You may have noticed - there are only socks involved. Since I am as new to knitalongs as I am to blogging, I thought I'd start small. That good intention may not last however, considering there is that nifty little site with current knitalongs on it - 2006 Knitalongs.

Well, if I could only figure out now how to put the buttons for them in the sidebar at blogger, I'd be extatic. (Doesn't seem to take much to get me into that state!

The heat....

The heat at the moment - ok, not so much the heat but the humidity (it does feel like a steambath)- makes knitting difficult.

So, here is an addition to the blog, instead of work being done on one of my projects.

For those who are interested, my current knits under way are:

1. A men's cardigan for my stepdad for Christmas, made in Lana Grossa Pulcino in a lovely chocolate colour, the pattern is out of Filati Special Number 2 for men. It's model number 35

2. A men's sweater out of the same magazine, model number 12. The original pattern is in Lana Grossa Numero Uno Tweed, however, since this is for my brother and I made him a sweater in that material already, I substituted Lana Grossa Big Wool (100% Merino) in a wonderful claret red.

3. Another men's jumper, after the pattern "The Ultimate Gift" from Interweave (free pattern), for the man I love, however, instead of the cashmere specified I am knitting this in Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply, colour 279 (discontinued).

4. A Lace shawl, the Print O'the Wave stole by Eunny, out of Rowan Kidsilk in a lovely mossy green, for my Mom for Christmas. I changed the width by adding two more repeats of the pattern, since my Mom is almost 5'8" and it will look better with more width.

5. Another stole, this one for my Grandmother, in Kidsilk Haze again, in deep red. It's knit in plain stocking stitch, 150 stitches wide with 5mm needles. One corner has a rocaille pearl clef knit in. I'll add long fringe to the ends and it will look like a pashmina once it's finished.

Also, there are three jumpers for me, on all of them the knitting is finished and they are in various stages of blocking and finishing. When I have the time and the light is right, I'll take some pictures and post them.

Projects finished this year so far are:

A scarf and matching gloves for my brother's fiancee for Christmas, in an aran cable pattern made out of Lana Grossa Merino 2000 in a silvery grey, knit with 3.25mm.

A jumper for my love's little daughter, she's five years old, again in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 color. It's a plain 4x3 rib, with a stand up collar, this way, she can wear it for a while, it will expand. I also made her a pair of socks in shocking pink with pearls knit into the ribbed cuff. Since she is a little princess little pearly pink socks are perfect for her.

Another jumper for my love's little niece (she will be almost 1 year old at Christmas) in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 in cream and oak leaf green. The green is used for a leafy lace border on the bottom and for bobbles in the double picot hem of the sleeves and the picot collar.

A top for my best friend Jeanette's birthday, in Lana Grossa Print in pink from the free pattern section.

Out of the same material but in a turqoise I made a little jacket for my friend Cathy.

I also made Tempting I from knitty.com (Jenna Adorno) in Lana Grossa Cotofilo in a baby pink. One of the few things I made for myself that is actually finished. I bought ribbons in white, black, chocolate brown and hot pink, that way I can coordinate this little number with almost everything in my wardrobe. How versatile something so small and easy to knit can be. I loved the pattern and am currently looking for a yarn to make Tempting II.

Two pairs of socks for my brother for his birthday, one in a cable pattern out of Regia tweed in blue, and one with a two coloured cuff (knits in black and purls in light grey) and a jaquard pattern in a band underneath. The rest of the sock is plain black and the material is Lang Jawoll.

A little top out of Jaeger JB18, Model Iona, for my brother's fiancee for her birthday in April. I made it in black, out of Rowan 4ply soft, with silver rocaille beads. It looks fantastic on her and she wears it under a suit in the office and then on into the evening.

A baby blanket in Lana Grossa Merino 2000 (as you have noticed by now, I love knitting with it, especially for children, since it is machine wash and nicely holds its shape and softness, but is 100% Merino wool and therefore soft enough for even the tenderst baby skin.) It was made in cream with cable bands in between stocking stitch with a garter stitch edge and a reverse crochet finish.Little Sophia gets bundled up in it halfway across the world in Tokyo.

If I think hard, I'll probably come up with a couple more things, but my brain is fried from the heat.

I hope the links work, tried it for the first time, so... we'll see.

If you have any questions about the projects, don't hesitate to contact me.

Wish you all a lovely weekend,

Bettina

Whew... I'm blogging

Well, after reading a lot of other people's blogs, I finally decided it was time..... to blog.

Whether this is going to end up being fun or feel like a chore - we'll see. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of the Borzoi's in my life, considering the blog is named partly for them.

In regards to the knitting, the posts will come, I promise.

Keep well,

Bettina