and then there were puppies.

As some of you know, and from previous post, we have dogs. I have been working with Linda, the breeder of our dogs, helping with grooming, walking, cleaning, etc. This helps her keep on top of all the things she must do to not only keep a clean house but also, to keep a clean house with clean dogs! Golden Retrievers shed a lot … haha

One of the perks of this is that not only have Linda and I had the chance to get to know each other much better – we’ve become friends. She asked me if I would like to help out with the puppies when they arrived in March – and of course, I jumped at the chance.

She called yesterday morning and said Bella was in pre-labour and did I want to come sit with her for a while so she could deal with some odd jobs she needed to do and it also meant Becky could step out for a while as well. Her water broke on me at 1pm! I guess the puppies were ready to come into the world :)

This is Linda talking to Bella, coaxing her not to start pushing as we were waiting for Linda’s ‘canine midwife’ and good friend to arrive to actually deliver said puppies.

They did not get there in time and Head Boy was born into Linda’s hands shortly after 2pm. She was anxious but it went unbelievably well – Bella was such a good mom as this was her 3rd time whelping puppies.

Then Head Girl and Left-Shoulder-Boy was born as people started to come home to help.

We changed the bed and weighed them all while we waited for the 5th puppy to come down the channel. It’s a long way for them!

Bella cleaned and they suckled and we waited impatiently. So we ate dinner :)

Linda and Becky were expecting 7 puppies from this litter according to x-rays, so as Bella continued to pant through the end of the birth to pass some of her placenta’s, we just helped her out, let her eat and comforted her. She knew what to do though.

A tired but satisfied Bella that her work is nearly done.

Another bed change so they are put in a laundry hamper for safe keeping and warmth.

And then we had a surprise! An 8th was born at almost 10pm – and he was the biggest of the litter :)

We marked him up and put him in with the rest. He was fine.

Now she’s done. And she can rest with her puppies through out the night.

This was my favourite photo, right as I was leaving to head home. It’s hard to tell but Bella’s eyes are closed and she looks very peaceful. The contractions were continuing as she needed to pass more matter, but she did a fine job.

What an amazing experience.

P.S. Here is a photo of Bella from the Kulalani Golden Retriever website, which is the kennel these dogs are a part of :) Bella is about 4 years old and this will be her last litter of puppies.

finally, spring.

Yesterday really was a perfect day so we decided to load up the truck & pack a lunch to head out to our favourite spot.

You can’t get any better than this, huh? I hope you had a beautiful Sunday as well :)

umwelt.

The weekend passed quickly as we were busy with some dog-related events, as well as a quick visit to Fibres West. I did, very naughtily, buy some madelinetosh tosh DK at the show as I just couldn’t pass up the colourway. More on that quickly-growing project later.

As it’s Wednesday again, I’m joining Ginny in her weekly Yarn Along.

A good friend of mine is turning 30 with me this year and we are going to have a joint birthday party to celebrate together as we’ve known each other since we were in preschool. She doesn’t read this blog so I can safely tell you I am knitting another Pinkerton Shawl, this time for her in a worsted weight. I am stash busting for this project and using some leftover Cascade 220 in grey 2401.

I am reading Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz. She was interviewed on CBC’s Ideas (Dogs Themselves, Part I-III) about a year ago and I finally had the time/energy to pick up her book. The reason I was drawn to the book in the first place was a comment she made on the show, which went something like, in response to the question, What do you think annoys dogs most? this: “The odours that we spray onto ourselves that mask the natural smells that identify us to our dogs.”

The discussion about a dog’s umwelt is fascinating for anyone who is a dog-owner or lover. This, along with a few other novels (eg. At the Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell and Dog Sense by John Bradshaw), have, I think, made me a better dog owner/friend.

I hope you are enjoying your knitting and reading :)

hunting truffles.

One of the cardigans that I have coveted since starting to knit is the Truffle Tutorial – it’s kind of been my holy grail. It’s a gorgeous cardigan – and the notes Megan left were thorough and a good place to get started. There were a couple of things I was hoping to accomplish with this cardigan:

1. More of a jacket than a cardigan,

2. Tweedy, and

3. Large enough that it would fit me while pregnant & be oversized when I deliver.

Pattern: Truffle Cardigan Tutorial by Megan Rogers

Yarn: Donegal Yarns Aran Tweed in 4715 Hunter’s Green

Needles: 4.5mm (body & sleeves) & 4.0mm (ribbing) circulars

I chose to do 2 repeats of the horseshoe cable for the yoke. The cables down the front were improvised and charted as I went, then repeated.

I picked up around the long edge of the yoke for the body, worked one purl row then worked short rows across the back and top of the sleeves prior to starting the length of the body. Without the short rows across the top of the sleeves, the front hem of the cardigan would have been longer than the back of the cardigan. Instead, the short rows ‘levelled out’ the front of the cardigan. In total, I worked about 6 short rows. Megan talks about this ‘triangle’ phenomenon in her tutorial notes. I then finished the length of the yoke (9” in total – 2” of positive ease in my non-pregnant state) by worked raglan increases.

The shawl collar was worked with a series of short rows as well. I worked them mostly across the top of the yoke, then continued with the left and right fronts.

The buttons are backed by snaps for closure.

Finally, I added wrist warmers. Love this addition – I have to thank lilau’s inspiration in her sedum.  I cast on 4 fewer stitches than the sleeve was when I cast off the ribbing, which worked perfectly to fit inside the sleeve.

Overall, I am surprised how quickly this knit up – the yoke worked up in 1 day. I finished the body during the week we were away in Tofino. The button band worked up in a few days after ripping and re-knitting … many times. This entire cardigan exists because of short rows – if I didn’t know the magic of short rows (and how to disguise them), I would never have been able to knit this.

I will say, though … I will not be knitting anything with seed stitch anytime soon. I promise.

almost finished & a book.

I really enjoy reading the Yarn Along(s) that others post on a regular basis. Since finishing my masters degree, actually having time to read and finding my love of reading slowly re-surfacing, I thought it was time to start joining in! Unfortunately, I am so far behind in my reading that I am playing catch up from the past 3 years. Oh well. I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockette – Loved it. Can’t say enough good things. I did cry a couple of times towards the end (particularly the chapter in the church near to the end).

Currently, I am listening to The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood. I am on chapter …. 7ish?

I don’t have much to say about it just yet other than that I am really enjoying listening to it and I am very much enjoying the narrator.

While listening away, I am steadily working away on my epic cardigan/jacket that was bogging me down last week. I figured out why this was such a mental block for me to get finished: The sleeves are longer than normal (22”) and it’s seed stitch the whole way down. Ugh.

BUT, here I am at the cuff – of the second sleeve!

This is a little peak of the first sleeve – I added wrist warmers to the inside of the cuff. This is something I have wanted to add to a jacket-like cardigan for a while after seeing lilau’s sedum. I was inspired by the warm, cozy feel that wrist warmers add to a cardigan that is meant to be worn as a jacket. More on my addition when I have photos of the FO to show you.

ps. Did I mention it’s snowing here in Vancouver at this moment? Weird, huh …

elephants.

I am embarrassed to admit that the sleeves are still not done. I almost didn’t tell you because you were all so encouraging and supportive – and we’ve all been there! haha

Deciding to take a little break, I cast on for a baby sweater that took a day to knit. It’s cute and simple. Charlie loves it.

Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers – scrapes from my stash

Needles: 5.00mm for the body, 4.00mm for the ribbing

Size: 6 months (although I think it blocked out to be more like 9 months)

I used 3 1/2” fabric covered buttons for this project – just scrape fabric that matched the purple.

In hind sight, I should have knit this in the round and steeked it. I would like to make another one and try that – I’ll write down  the instructions if I do. In the meantime, here is the elephant graph that I drew up and used:

Just click on the image and save a copy of it if you’d like to use it. The repeat (the red box)is 9 stitches, so add one stitch on each side front for the pick up of the button bands. Knitting colourwork back and forth is tricky but be patient and don’t pull the yarn tight! Have fun & let me know how it goes. Please don’t claim the graph as your own as it is my creation. Thanks so much!

Happy knitting :)