Two More Sleeps!

 Young children, when excited about an upcoming event, often express the counting down of the days as a number of "sleeps". Well, I'm counting sleeps! Two more to go before the big day. On Saturday little Teddy will be coming home with us!

Teddy's vet visit went well. His eye abnormality is due to Microphthalmia. He has one eye that is smaller and underdeveloped. He is blind in that eye. It can't be corrected or "cured", but he can live a normal and otherwise healthy and happy life. Everything else about his health looks good.

Here's a photo of him with his siblings at the vet's office. He's the second from the left.

He was being such a good boy --- so tolerant of the antics of his rowdy littermates.

Sewing In My Remaining Time

Time is short so I've been getting some necessary things done. One of those things is the addition of a couple of needed night shirts. I've made them before so no learning curve, and the confidence of a good fit means getting a couple more into my drawer didn't take long. Good thing, since if all goes well there will be a distraction that makes finding sewing time difficult. Well -- he will make ANY hobby time difficult for at least a few months I think! 

If his vet check up goes well on Wednesday, this little guy, an 8 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, will be joining us on the weekend. He has an eye problem that needs further investigation, but baring any other complications we will be welcoming him with open arms. Please send your prayers, well wishes, good energy, whatever positive thoughts you can muster. We love him already!

So after shamelessly using a puppy photo to drag interest to the blog, here's the two nighties. 

Adding Ribbing

 Although the original pattern, Drops 51-21, did not have ribbing on the bottom hem, I have added some. I think it will look and fit better this way. I picked up the 1x1 ribbing from a provisional cast on and knit it top down, ending with a tubular cast off.

I've also chosen to carry the cabling pattern all the way across the whole sweater, rather than just on the fronts as instructed in the pattern. I want the back to be as impressive as the front!

Here it is, pre-ribbing, laid out flat so you can see the intricate patterning. These long long rows that go all the way around the body are very slow to knit. 280 stitches per row!

Yubinuki and Temari

 This is not my work, these were gifts from a very talented friend and fellow guild member, but I wanted to show you. Aren't they beautiful?

The spheres are Japanese Temari balls. They are balls of thread wound and needle woven into intricate patterns. They were traditionally a gift given to children on New Years Day but have become a collectable art form.

The beautifully patterned rings displayed on the fingers of the hand mannequin are decorative Yubinuki, a traditional Japanese paper and silk thimble-ring worn on the middle finger and used during stitching or embroidery to push the needle.