Pug Pieced Together!

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I finished my pug.  He is a pattern from Knit Your Own Dog.  I think I mentioned that this was not the easiest pattern in the world despite a title that includes the words “Easy-to-Follow”.

In every review that I have read, they’ve mentioned that putting the pug together was not the easiest.  It wasn’t.  But it wasn’t that bad.  It did require a little careful studying of the instructions.  There were not step by step detailed instructions with photos to take you through the process.  But, I was able to figure it out with out that much trouble.  Just took some patience.  I can appreciate the way it is constructed, because they were really going for an as accurately shaped pug as possible.

Here’s his body:

 

Making that curled tail was not easy.  You knit a very long strip that extends from the tip of his tail, underneath his tummy, all the way to his chin.  Then you had to sew that to the left side of the body and the right side of the body.  Cool construction, just a little tricky to get that tail to curl just right.

Then there is the ridge on the back.  I accomplished this with mattress stitch.

 

Now the instructions say to use mattress stitch along the back.  But the way I understand mattress stitch is that you do it with wrong sides together, and than that ridge is on the inside like on a sweater.  But I don’t think they specified that instead you stitch it with right sides together so that the ridge appears on the outside, and it looks to me on the photograph (in the book) like the ridge is on the outside.  I like the way it looks although I am not sure what their intent was.  So if you want a ridge, mattress stitch it with right sides together!

The face was a challenge as well.  I had to stuff it more lightly and then fold up the end to form the nose.  I knitted small eyes and then embroidered some white and brown on them.  His face is pug-like but does not scream “individual personality” – it’s more “I am pug” but not “look at my sweet face and endearing expression”.  If that makes any sense at all!

 

I think I will try the Siberian Husky next.

A Little Hike at Chautauqua

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We went up to Boulder today and went for a hike at Chautauqua Park.  My goal has been to find short hikes suitable for a 4 year old (or as he says 4 and 4 quarters!)

We lucked into a pretty good route.

Our hike began at the foot of the Flatiron Mountains.  It actually stayed at the foot of these mountains the entire time.

 

Davey stopped to show me the “pollen” in this flower.  He explained that because he is small, he can easily see it.

 

There were just a couple of tricky parts to our walk that made things a little difficult for Davey (and me).

We had to go up a long incline at the very beginning.  Davey got tired.  It was definitely heart pounding.

 

Once we made it up this hill though, the trail was nice and level through the woods, and then we wound down back to the beginning.  We had to be a little careful in the woods as the trail was rocky and stair-stepped in places.  We stopped to enjoy the view several times as well.

 

At one point, we came to a fork in the trail.  The trail to our left had a sign posted.  I wish I’d thought to take a picture of it.  It said something about there being a lot of bear activity on that trail and that if we could, we should avoid it.  We definitely wanted to avoid it, and we went the other way. Right after that a girl came by and Davey said something to her about watching for bears.

We watched her pass and saw her taking off onto the trail which had the sign posted about the bears.  Davey said, “uh oh.”

Davey’s eyes are closed in this shot, but we had to get a picture of how he managed to get really dirty in very little time.  He enjoys dirt.

 

I spotted this tree.  I love the unusual bend in the little trunk and how it is standing there all by itself.  (I think the pine needles are heart-shaped.) David got a nice shot.

 

We wound out of the woods and worked our way down a big open space.  This is where we saw the sweet tree, and then a nice view of the Flatirons again.

This was a beautiful hike.  The uphill at the beginning was a little hard on Davey, but fortunately he had Daddy to carry him up.  Other than that, he just had to watch his step in places (so did I!).

 

Christmas ornament, sign language and a locust tree

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I am participating in my first “swap” on Ravelry.  There are many groups to join on  ravelry, and often they will have swaps with fellow knitters and crocheters.  Some of these swaps result in a haul that looks like Christmas morning.  They go all out and do awesome exchanges.

For my first swap participation, I wanted to keep it simple.  I have been following the “itty bitty knits” group which is a group of knitters who follow and like the knitting designer Susan B. Anderson.  I made some patchwork socks not too long ago as part of a KAL with her group.  So this is an Ornament Swap.  You make one Christmas ornament and send it out to the person they tell you to send it out to.  Mine went out this morning.

I made a pretty simple little tree, but here’s what I liked a lot about it.  I used leftover Shelter from Jared Flood’s yarn line.  I love the kind of rustic “tree-ey” look of the yarn.  I also really liked the cable pattern on the tree.  It was easy and quick, and I have ambitious notions now of making a garland of little trees.  I could use up some leftover sock yarn that way (although what I would really like to use is more Shelter yarn.  That would involve buying more yarn though which is something I am trying to avoid!).  We shall see.

This was a really fun and quick knit.  You knit it from top to bottom and bottom to top all in one piece, and then sew up one side, stuff lightly, and sew up the other.  The trunk was also just a quick piece to make and attach.

 

So that’s knitting.  I’m working on a jillion things still and want to make a jillion more, but that is nothing new.

So Davey has become fascinated with sign language.  If he doesn’t know the sign (and that is for almost all words), he doesn’t mind making them up.  So we are learning a few signs a day.  You can look them up on youtube.  We’ve learned “Mother”, “Father”, and “Parents”.  He loves to say “I love you” with sign language.  Today we’ve learned “chicken” and “teacher”.  He tells me what word he wants to learn, and then I look it up.  So now he’s making up sentences about being a teacher of chickens.

He likes to tell people that he is 4 and 4 quarters.  I told him a little while back that he was older than 4 and 1/2 now, so somehow he got it in his head that he is 4 and 4 quarters.  He is not interested in my explanation about fractions.

Earlier I found him under our locust tree playing.  I tried to quietly get a few pictures.  I listened to him for a minute, and learned that he was having a cherry blossom festival.

 

I listened to him chatter a little more, and then let him be.  I don’t think he even noticed me.

 

Oklahoma Wildfires and on a brighter note…

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I spent a lot of yesterday glued in front of my computer.  There have been terrible wildfires in Oklahoma for several days, but yesterday they came nearly into my hometown of Mannford.  Many people in Oklahoma have lost their homes to the fires.  It’s really sad.

I stayed glued to my facebook trying to keep track of where the fires were and who was being threatened.  I have to say that facebook was amazing for this.  I also follow some Tulsa tv stations, so this was also a way to get updates.   While I was watching my facebook, waiting for updates, I nervously knitted on a project which is just stockinette.  I didn’t have to think about it, and knitting is calming for me.   I got quite a bit done.  We were lucky too that our families were not affected by the fire.  They did leave last night as there was some threat for awhile, but they returned home this morning.

Yesterday evening, the fires about came into Mannford.  It was really scary.

 

They evacuated the town, and rumors were flying as to what was burning.  Fortunately thanks to awesome work by the firefighters and the National Guard in their Blackhawk helicopters, no structural damage was done in Mannford.  Of course areas around Mannford are another sad story, and I am reading reports this morning as people return to their homes or where their homes once stood.

I think, but am not sure, that the fires are dying down now around Mannford.  It was around 109 there yesterday which certainly did not help matters.  It’s still very hot today, and they are going to be without electricity for awhile.  Such a sad situation, but then also thanks to the amazing work of firefighters and volunteers, many homes were miraculously saved.

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On our happier note, today is our anniversary.  23 years!  As usual, Davey is very excited.  He loves occasions to celebrate.

We went to the Farmer’s Market this morning and got some things for our “anniversary dinner”.  We also got cupcakes from a local baker who was there.  Davey couldn’t wait for the cupcake party.  We had one candle as well, and we sang “Happy Anniversary”.  Here’s Davey singing quite earnestly.

 

Davey with Daddy – Davey was squirmin’!

 

And a quick one of Davey and me.

 

Let’s keep hoping for some real rain to end these droughts!  It’s been quite a summer.

Pug Pieces

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Pug Pieces.  I know that just doesn’t sound quite right does it.

I’m knitting a little pug for a cousin/friend who loves pugs.  He sent me the book Knit Your Own Dog.  Also included in the title are the words “Easy-to-Follow Patterns”.  I am not completely in agreement with that part of the title.  This pug pattern is not the easiest in the world.  So far I have these pieces:

 

These are not all the pieces.  There are two ears, two eyes, two front legs which are knitted a little differently than the two back legs, a right side body/head piece, a left side body/head piece and a tummy tail piece (which is a long piece which will extend from under the chin to the tail.)

It’s really a cool pattern.  There is such attention to detail to get the pug anatomy as realistic as possible.  And overall, the pattern is pretty easy to follow.  However, I had a little difficulty with an abbreviation called PULT.  It stands for something like pick up the lower loop.  There are short rows in the body around the head (creates kind of a wrinkle for the pug head).  So this was their recommended technique for when you do the short row turns.  Before you turn, you grab the loop below on the next stitch on the left hand needle.  When you turn, you knit the loop you picked up together with the next stitch.  This prevents the formation of a little hole resulting from the short-row turn.

I just couldn’t quite visualize this, so I spent some time on ravelry and looking for youtube videos. I found one video where a person demonstrated the PULT, but the part I didn’t understand was the part that she kind of zipped through on her needles, so I was still confused.  I did figure it out though.  And it was a fun challenge, but not for a brand-new knitter I’d say.

(It turns out that in their subsequent book, Knit Your Own Cat, they substituted the wrap and turn for the PULT.  That I have done, and that should make this part easier.)

Then there is a part on the head where you have to change colors between the black and the tan.  I’d have appreciated a little guidance here as I’ve never knitted intarsia and I think this was an intarsia like area.  A more experienced knitter might have just understood what to do here.  I need to study up on some intarsia basics.

So it’s a challenge.  And then there will be the challenge of the assembly.  My next worry.  I hope I can pull it off!

So that’s the story of the pug pieces.  (I do appreciate the attention to detail in this book, and I really want to make the Siberian Husky!)

A Little Hike at McKay Lake

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David had to go to work yesterday, so Davey and I decided to go on a little hike.   We made a 1.5 mile circle around this beautiful lake.

It was getting a little hot, but it was a nice morning for a walk.  We tried to stay well hydrated.

Davey asked me to take several pictures of pretty flowers.

Davey wanted us to pack a “picnic”, and – this was new – he wanted us to have a book reading break while we stopped for our picnic.  So that was fun.

Davey always likes picking up rocks and throwing them.  He made up some Olympic Competition game with these rocks.  Something about having to carry them a certain distance, but he ended up throwing them (I don’t think he could resist at all).

One of the highlights of the walk was when we met Tasha the Black Lab.  She loved loved swimming out and retrieving.  She went out a long ways!

Davey watched her for awhile.  I’m always amazed how kids can squat like this.

Davey loved being able to throw the toy out for her to retrieve.

She waited.

Davey would try a mighty throw.

Fun hike and we want to take David next time!

Saturday Stuff

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Saturday morning.  Actually, it’s Saturday afternoon now.  I was starting a post this morning, but then Davey and I decided to go for a little hike.  It was great, and I took some pictures.  I want to blog about it tomorrow.

But for today, it’s miscellany.

I finished a sock last night.  It’s just a plain sock pattern that I like from Susan B. Anderson. I really should have it about memorized at this point.  It’s top down with a heel flap and a kitchener toe.  I am knitting the sock with the Zauberball Crazy yarn.  I am really enjoying it.  I love watching the gradual color changes emerge.

The yellows are not quite this yellow.  They are a little more orangy.  I must have not had the light right or something.

Now I am not going to start on the second sock.  Instead, I need these needles to knit the pug from Knit Your Own Dog.  I’ve been looking forward to starting it.  I like starting things.  This morning, before we left, I needed a bag to carry our picnic stuff. So I have this light backpack which had a knitting project in it.  I had to switch the project to another bag.  I told Davey that I have too many projects.  He wisely said, “Mommy.  You should just do one project at a time.”  He should have mentioned that a couple of years ago.

And I have a recipe I want to share.   A friend posted this on facebook the other day, and I immediately wanted to try it.  It is (almost was – it’s about gone) a Strawberry Yogurt Cake.  It turned out really good.  Davey was disappointed that there was not much icing.  (It’s just a glaze.)  David was a little freaked out by the parts of the cake where the strawberries were.  He didn’t like what he referred to as the “housing” surrounding the strawberries.  I live with particular Davids.  David agreed though that it was a great recipe.  I think he might prefer that I make “Yogurt Cake” next time rather than Strawberry Yogurt Cake.  The strawberries are really good in it though!

And finally, I wanted to blog about Koko puff.  We’ve been taking her out for walks again for the last couple of nights.  Last night, when I showed her the leash, we saw a glimmer of the old Koko.  She got all excited and kept biting at the leash like she did for years when we were getting ready for a walk.  Poor thing.  She loved it.  We just worried about her back legs which barely work, but we basically just walked about 4 houses down and then turned around.  She did lots of “smells”, as Davey calls it, and we walked very very very slowly.  So we’ll definitely keep doing that.  Davey loves to “walk” her.

Here’s the top of their heads as they look at something together.

Podster Gloves, Davey’s Pizza and Super Boy

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I finished the Podster gloves today that I began many months ago.  The second mitten top was easier on my brain.  Mostly because I had the first one to refer back to.

 

I really liked knitting with this Shibui yarn.  It is a soft wool, and it’s very easy to knit with.

 

So above we have mitten top in position “off”.  Even the thumb has flaps for ease of texting!  Cool huh.

“Flap on”.

 

And of course I liked it best when Davey joined us in the photographs.

 

Davey finished up the summer reading program today.  He enjoyed turning in his record of the books we’d read.  One of the rewards was for a mini pizza kit from Papa Murphy’s.  He was very excited about this.  He could not wait to get home and make it.

 

Davey ate a little more than half of it.  He was having his lunch on the coffee table, and he left his plate sitting there while he went off to play.  He’d had all he wanted at this point.  Lucky for Koko!  Next thing I know Koko has tumped the plate over and had herself a pizza feast.  I am always just happy to see the old girl show some enthusiasm.  She enthusiastically finished off that pizza.  Everyone was happy!

And finally – Super Davey!

Quiet Sunday Afternoon

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Davey and I are going to head to the Farmer’s Market in a little while.  There is a Sunday one right by our house.  I went this morning and got an assortment of vegetables.  I also met a lady who makes bags with fabric that is made from organic hemp and cotton.  Then she paints them with pictures of mainly Colorado flowers.  They are really pretty, but we are going to buy a “blank” bag and some paint and paint it ourselves.  I’d like to have a knitting bag with Davey’s artwork painted on it.  I’ll have to post pictures.  Davey is willing to accompany me because I mentioned that there is a booth where they are selling cupcakes.  David put in an order for one as well.

I’m about to finish my convertible mittens.  Maybe today.  I think argyle may also be in my near future. I have a good friend who likes argyle socks.  I’ve never taken on argyle – or really any intarsia – so I am going to give it a try soon.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Davey had a pirate theme last week at Little Gym.  He went to a camp and then a class and then to a parent survival night, so he participated in several pirate-themed activities.  He loved it and wanted to continue the pirate party at home.  Yesterday he wanted us to have a pirate pizza party and a treasure hunt.  He and David drew a treasure map and went on a treasure hunt.  Davey and I made pirate hats.  We found an easy template here: Pirate Hat. I printed it and cut it out, and then Davey wanted to color it.  He made a black one for himself, a pink one for me, and a blue one for David.

We were quite the pirate family!

Easily Distracted and a Love Refill

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I’m a little easily distracted.  I was moving right along on convertible mitten number two.  Then at the store the other day, I saw some ruffle yarn.  I’ve been fascinated by how this yarn is knit up, and I’ve been wanting to try it.  The yarn was on sale and I couldn’t resist.

So here is what it looks like coming off the skein (You have to straighten it out a little to get it to look like this.  You just straighten as you go.  It’s not a big deal.)

 

I’d wondered how I was going to get it to look like this (I still have to play with some of the ruffles and get them stretched out a little more.):

 

It turned out to be pretty easy.  I cast on 6 stitches and then you just grab the upper ridges of the yarn.

 

It’s really fun to knit with.  I don’t feel too guilty by my distraction because I am already almost done.  I’m not sure that pink ruffles are my thing, but I am thinking I can find a happy home for this scarf!

And then a little Davey story.  We were talking yesterday and somehow we started talking about love.  Davey said that after you say “I love you” so many times, that you run out of love and you need a refill.

I was about to disagree and talk about endless love and all that, but then he explained further.  “Mommy, you refill with lots of hugs and kisses”.

I liked that.