'Round and 'Round

I found time to knit this week. 

I have about 2” to go before I have to start the armhole steeks on my “So-not-my-palette Cardigan.” It’s fun playing with the colors, and the palette is growing on me. The pattern for the construction is the “Palette Fair Isle Cardigan” by Kathleen Taylor, but I’m using motif patterns from Alice Starmore’s book, Charts for Color Knitting. I’m using some single 50g balls of yarn as accents and was worried about having enough yarn to do what I want, so I weighed the ball after I used each color to work several rounds. I divided the amount used by the number of rounds worked in that color. All of the rounds seemed to use less than 1g, so I will use that as a guide as I knit. All of the yarn is Knit Picks Palette.

Common Threads met at my house (since I can only host when it’s unlikely to snow). Janet just needs the pompom for this hat:

She's using one of the Noro yarns. I'll try to get the name of the pattern next time. It's almost as colorful as my cardigan, only the yarn does all the colorwork.

Someone from Habitat for Humanity has asked me to dress this doll:

She is Lauren from Modern Girls, sold at Michael’s. The patterns for clothes for 18” dolls should fit her with little trouble, but we will be doing "fittings." The person from Habitat also bought a trunk to hold her and her clothes. They want her to have some overalls for the Overall Ball, but the rest is my decision. I’ll Probably make her one or more of my knitted patterns. Of course, she will need a nightie or PJs and a jacket or coat.

Pollen took over my world for a good part of the week. By Wednesday, when we got home from the Farmers' Market after working our shift registering voters, I could hardly stand to be around Rocky, because his coat was full of dust and pollen from visiting the back yard wilderness and lying in the shade under the back of the car at the Farmers' Market. He went right into the sink for a bath, and stood in the solar dog dryer until he was dry enough to come back inside.

For a couple of days after his bath, I didn't let him play in our "forest." To do his business, we took him out to the road on the leash and kept him out of bushes. Saturday it rained hard, taking most of the pollen with it, so he can go out in the back again.

Sunday DH and I participated in a “renewal of vows” celebration at church. One couple had decided to do it and then they opened it up to any other couples who wanted to participate. We had wonderful music (with the addition of some “pro” singers) and coffee hour was catered. The best part was that DH surprised me by wearing his wedding. When he had surgery, they made him take it off, and he couldn't get it back on. Sunday it fit. It must be a sign.

For this week’s cuteness, here are Soren and Johan getting in touch with their Scandinavian roots by checking out the Finnish flag at the Scandinavian Festival. They get Finnish from our side and Swedish and Norwegian from the other side.

Dusty is six weeks old as of Sunday. We will be driving to Nevada in three weeks to pick him up. Here's what he looks like now:

What's on my needles: Still hand-quilting the “Delectable Pathways” quilt. Progress on the “So-not-my-palette Cardigan.”

What's on my Featherweight: Ready for more doll clothes.

What's on my wheel: Still the Waimea Rooster Merino/Tencel from AlohaBlu, but now started on the big “cheese wheel” 8oz braid of roving.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Terry Brooks’  The Sword of Shannara. It’s a long one, but keeps me interested. Still reading Remember This by Shae Buggs on the Kindle app on my iPad.

What's in my wine glass: Gato Negro Malbec. The big bottle. 2015 vintage. (Wine in our cellar never spoils with time.

What's my tip of the week: For between washings, a dog (or cat) can be wiped down with a damp cloth after brushing to remove dust and pollen. Nature's Miracle makes a Dander Remover & Body Deodorizer that works well. You can spray it directly on your pet and rub into the fur/hair, or you can spray it onto a cloth and wipe your pet down. Poodles don't have dander and don't usually have a bad smell, even a long time after a bath, but they do pick up pollen and dust, and a product like this seems to help. You can get it at pet stores and online. There are other brands that do the same thing.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.