Over the past couple years, I have been lucky enough to know Harley, a boxer dog with a huge tongue and an even bigger heart. I dog-sat for him a few times, the first time we met we got along so well. I always felt so honored that he was happy to see me.

A week and a half ago, his owner and i met because i was to be dog-sitting him again. The last couple times she needed someone i had not been able to, so i was thrilled to get to hang out with him. Harley had contracted Cushings disease and was not looking very good, but his owner was so excited at how he greeted me, “He hasn’t been this chipper in ages!”

A day before she left town, however, she called me to say that they would be putting him down. The staff infection was getting worse and his doctor didn’t think he would do well with them being gone for two weeks.

While I know it was best for him, I will miss him. I will miss him wanting to play with his leash more than walk on it, miss him laying down on top of a sprinkler on the extra hot days, miss him nudging me awake at 5 in the morning to go for a walk, and miss him leaning all his weight against me so i would pet him just a bit more.

one helluva dog

keeping busy

this week i learned how to man a chainsaw. Pretty darn cool. I have to admit to being a bit intimidated by power tools: table saws, pneumatic nailing guns, sewing machines… so this was very exciting for me. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but i still have all my limbs and digits and I did manage to cut down a tree.

100 deg. fahreinheit

Today, i walked to the post office and decided to stop in at a new yarn shop across the street from the P.O., The Red Sweater. The shop is small, and they don’t have much stock, but I got to touch Karabella Aurora 8 for the very first time and the owner seemed very nice. They have knitted samples of pretty well every yarn they carry as well, which is good. If you are a Karabella fan, this is a great place.

also seen on my walk today:

i love this building. it’s being remodelled, too.

I’m at loose ends right now. I’m not into any knitting project i can think of, and what I really need to do is spend time in the darkroom. The problem is that my darkroom is also our office and, with sop back in school, he is using it more than occasionally for activities where light is necessary. I’m sure it will work out, I just am feeling antsy while we are figuring out how.

which came first, the house or the sunflower?

On the subject of photography, if you happen to know anyone in salt lake city with some interesting chairs, would you let me know? We don’t have room in the house for any more of our own, but i am always looking for more to shoot.

vitamins and crybaby sour candy

are Japanese restaraunts a sham?
find out!

wow! it is DONE!

pattern: Premiere Lace and Cable V-neck sweater from Classic Elite Boathouse
yarn: Classic Elite Premiere in 5272 Celedon
modifications: altered neck from pattern by using a trick i learned when knitting my shibori bag. Namely, instead of knitting on from the four live stitches and then sewing the neckline down, I knit three stitches, slipped the fourth, picked up one stitch from the neckline, slipped both stitches back to the left hand needle and then k2tog, thus attaching the neckline as i went. Then turn and purl back as normal and repeat.

Kathy Zimmerman wrote this pattern and, wow, she knows her stuff. I have always thought the majority of her designs were nice, but the fact that i didn’t have to fix stuff was very cool. I’ve been a very lazy knitter lately, and this was just what a lazy knitter needed.

Premiere yarn is part cotton and part Tencel (actually Lyocell, tencel is the trademarked name used in the U.S.). This yarn is so soft. If anyone is interested in feeling it up, I have half a skein left - just let me know.

I had never knit a sleeved sweater flat before, so i had never set in sleeves. This pattern has you set in the sleeves before you sew up the sleeves and sides. Do all patterns do that? It worked out great!

sleeve setting in progress

i bought the knit klips for this project. They worked better than pins for me, and probably work even better if you are not so paranoid that you place them every inch along your knitting.

but lets get on to the good stuff!

here i am looking pretty smug

maybe a little TOO smug

anyone interested in my copy of boathouse? I doubt i’ll make anything else from it, so i’d love for someone else to get to use it. It is worn, i didn’t make a copy of the pattern, but still legible.