Knitting Musings

So it IS Possible...

Abby the 3-Legged Wonder Dog has a tremendous amount of energy. 3 hours of puppy-walks a day? No problem! (What? We're going home now? We just got out here!) But this weekend, we discovered the secret to wearing her out - go camping!

We chose the always-lovely Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park. The weather was amazing, the new tent worked great, and I brought knitting. Abby took it easy on the first day because something was wrong with one of her back feet - we think she must have stepped on a nettle or something, because we couldn't see anything wrong. But apparently, the minimum number of legs she needs is 3, because she was so extra-pathetic hopping around on 2 legs. So she got carries back to the tent, and we just took it easy. Luckily, later on in the evening, she seemed to be fine, and we went on to take many walks in the woods, where we chased those gigantic brown squirrels - the ones with antlers and those little white tails.

I also got to test my "build a wind shelter out of common camping items" skills as the persistent wind kept blowing out the grill (on which we made super yummy potato slices and marinated chicken breasts. We're all about roughing it!)

And later, after dinner, I ~~knit~~ made shadow puppets.

That night, Abby discovered that S had to actually GO OUTSIDE to use the bathroom, so she wanted to make every bathroom trip into a puppy-walk.

The next morning, we went on a nice, long before-breakfast ~~walk~~ sprint. It was a VERY exciting walk - Abby caught (and killed) a vole.

Is this the face of a killer? Oh yeah - 5 birds, 3 mice, 2 voles, 1 squirrel, 1 possum.

So after ~~Killer~~ Abby got another few runs in the woods and did her best "mountain doggy" impression, we headed out of the park - with just one more pitstop for a last bathroom break, an hour of puppy walks, and a good, long roll in the grass.

Once we finally got on the road, this is what happened - she didn't even really wake up when we got home. S had to carry her upstairs, where she fell asleep for the rest of the day.

Notice the grass stain on her front leg.

But yes, there has been occassional knitting. Remember how ages ago I bought some cashmere turtlenecks on crazy-sale and proceeded to cannibalize them?

I finally found a use for the yarn.

I'm spot-on with gauge - 27 sts and 40 rows over 4 inches. ON FREAKING US2's. What could possibly make me even contemplate knitting an ENTIRE FREAKING SWEATER on FREAKING US2's?

Elizabeth I. I think I'm in love with this sweater. And to make it out of 100% cashmere yarn that I got for under $50? I think it was meant to be.

But first, several other things must get crossed off the list. First up - Mom's Lily of the Valley wrap. I'm probably about halfway there lengthwise, but I'm not really sure. I figure I'll keep going until it's done, and then add the border.

Also, I would like to finish the second Eleanora sock before I die a peaceful death of old age. Notice how crimped that yarn is? That's because this is the THIRD FREAKING TIME I've knit the heel. All due to mind-bogglingly stupid mistakes on my part. Sigh.

But it needs to get finished, because waiting in the wings...

Yes, I DID need more sock yarn. LOTS more sock yarn. Every 2 months sock yarn. But look! The mini-skein is too cute to resist!

And speaking of too cute - I just bought a thumb drive. That, my friends, is 1 GB for $30. I'm under 30, and I found myself saying things like "wow, I remember when memory cost hundreds of dollars..."