Tripping on Asphalt
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So I’ve decided I’m finally ready to discuss this on the internet, since there’s really no hiding it anymore. I’m waddling around with 8 weeks to go until my due date. We are having a baby! Apparently soon.
Today was another snow day here in New England, so it was perfect timing to prep a tiny, little knitting project. Don’t read into the yarn color choices because it’s all a surprise. Not so much a surprise that I don’t like pink or baby pastels, but you get the idea. I’d dress the kid in all grey and black if I could find that in the store.
I’ve been exhausted, which explains my fall/winter blog hiatus, but as I wrap things up at my day job, I’m finding a bit more energy. I cannot wait to share all the upcoming excitement and changes going on around these parts. We’ve also moved, so not only are we designing a nursery, we are trying to get the rest of the house and my studio in order before week 40. I’m keeping everything crossed here so there are no early deliveries.
We are definitely feeling really blessed. And I am thrilled and excited for the opportunity to create a completely new, fulfilling, creative life for myself over the coming years. Thank you for being part of the journey. xoxo
The awesome Budgie Striped Sweater Pattern is by Grumperina. The yarn you see is Black Worsted Merino Superwash from Plymouth and the scrumptious Dragonfly Fibers is Superwash Merino in Traveller. The variegated little purple cake is some Tiny Owl hexapuff-destined Koigu.
These guys look to do a ton of lap sitting, especially during the knitting hours. In today’s edition of Yorkies in the Wild, we are at Uncle CawfeeGuy’s house and I’ve just completed a knitted bird’s nest in preparation for Susan B. Anderson’s awesome reversible bird and egg knitted toy. Funnily enough, someone discovered the bird’s nest makes the perfect sized hat to transform a Yorkie into an old Russian woman. Since those pictures of Rufus have been deemed too undignified for a Terrier by way of Yorkshire, you get this picture of Chewie looking (shocker) annoyed.
Chewbacca the Yorkie | How is this helping me?!
Photo Shoot Soundtrack | A Little Respect, Erasure
Feel free to suggest your own caption in the comments. Chewie wants to hear what you have to say.
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Knitting in the summer is a bit…crazy different. I mean, you probably don’t want some heavy blanket sitting on your lap in this 90 degree heat. And if you finish a beautiful cowl or sweater you miss out on the immediate pleasure of wearing it the very next day.
Since I always have a project in my purse and at least one other waiting for me next to my couch {I really, really, really love knitting. While you’re reading this you can assume I wish I were knitting right now.}, I get more creative in the summer. Right now I’m working on a couple of awesome Susan B. Anderson reversible animals from her book Itty Bitty Toys. I’ve also got a vase filling up with hexapuffs from the Tiny Owl Knits Beekeeper’s Quilt. Chewie and I also really love visiting new yarn shops whether or not I’m looking to increase my yarn stash. Invariably, there’s another little guy or girl roaming around for Chewie to ignore.
So sometimes we knitters start projects in the winter, and they get put aside for a bit. That’s what happened to my friend CawfeeGuy. And here we are, ninety degrees and sweating, with a brand new pair of absolutely gorgeous custom knit socks gifted from CawfeeGuy Knits that I’m dying to show off. So I cranked up the air conditioner to get you a photo of my very first pair of hand knit socks. Message him and you can order one of your very own. But these are mine. Hands off.
In their custom CawfeeGuy Knits sweaters.
TWO PUPPIES!!! In sweaters! Could they be any cuter? Or more nauseating?
My baby, Chewie, looking grumpy, as per usual. Though CawfeeGuy says this is nothing. He gets way grumpier.
And my teeny Nephew Rufie, in a rare moment of serious and still. I think he’s still feeling a tad guilty since moments before this photo he was crapping on the bottom shelf of the tv stand. I still don’t know how he managed that.
They were totally exhausted after this shoot and required treats, incessant petting and an afternoon of napping. The Talent is so demanding.
UPDATE | After CawfeeGuy posted his comment I was reminded of several fun facts about this particular shoot that I totally should have shared. I’m already in vacation mode so apparently I’m forgetting crap right and left. Also, I totally take the boys’ regular comedy routine for granted.
For those of you who don’t know, Rufus is Chewie’s brother and whenever I get to puppy sit for my nephew, we do photo shoots. You can see them here if you search my ‘little guys’ category on the side bar. I’m not linking for you (vacation mode). In order to get Rufus to stand still, because he doesn’t. Ever. I ply him with string cheese. String cheese and poached chicken are pretty much reserved for photo shoots. Rufus is going to be 5 years old this summer so at this point, let’s just say he gets me. Also, for dog shoots, I generally have a helpful and enthusiastic puppy wrangler, Dug.
This day, though, everything was different. I was alone with the boys when I put on their sweaters and groomed them. Then, I set up the equipment in front of the boys so they immediately understood what was coming next. From that point on, Rufus pretty much called the shots. I started with him because Chewie gets tons of camera play. I placed him on the floor by himself on set. He quickly decided he wanted to be standing on the pebble stool where I was going to park myself to shoot. After he hopped on it twice I moved it into frame for him and he posed patiently through about 15 minutes of commands. I discovered that if I made a particular, totally embarrassing sound, I could get him to place his ears exactly the way I wanted them. Eventually Chewie, who had been watching disinterestedly from the couch, decided Rufus was getting too much attention and he hopped from his perch and sauntered into the frame. As for getting the two of them on the ottoman together, well, I just plopped Chewie on top and told them both to deal with themselves. Chewie was pretty much stuck because he does’t like to walk on the uneven ground under his paws. After I checked the shots for focus on the computer I dragged Rufie’s bed over and told him to make love to the camera (while making that super odd noise again). And that’s it. No treats. Not a single one. No begging, pleading, or empty promises of bitches. No divas storming off set. Just 2 consummate professionals modeling.
The calendar and coffee table book are in the works.
Overheard in the car on the way to the Sheep and Wool Festival {MS T (me), driving. Dug, shotgun. CawfeeGuy and CawfeeMate, jammed into the backseat.}:
Coffee… blah, blah, blah… Such a gorgeous day… blah, blah, blah. Yarn… blah, blah, blah… Sheep… blah, blah, blah… Lobster rolls… blah, blah… Tile… Music… Knitting… (unintelligible sounds and much gesturing from shotgun position, Dug) Deliverance country… blah, blah…
Me Hang on a second, guys… Dug? What’s going on over there?
Dug (excited hand gesturing and grunts followed by slightly sinister laughter) Oh, uh, go ahead and finish your conversation.
CawfeeGuy OK. So, blah blah blah (aside: not to be rude here but the wild antics going on in the tiny little space next to me were too much for me to focus at that particular moment on what was actually being said)
Me No. Excuse me. Stop.
Me You guys, he totally found a video of a Yorkie herding sheep. I can’t even see the screen, I can just tell by the smug look on his face… Dug? Did you find a Yorkie herding sheep?
Dug YOU TOLD ME CHEWIE COULDN’T HERD! ‘he’s a ratter. ratter’s don’t herd.’ THAT’S WHAT YOU SAID!!!!
Me You DID?!!! oh… em… gee… I can’t believe it!
Dug This guy is totally herding sheep!!
CawfeeGuy Oh, he’s not gonna let this go…
Me Chewie cannot herd. He has never seen a sheep. He has never been on a farm. He is very sleepy and doesn’t bark.
Dug HE TOTALLY COULD HAVE COME TODAY. RUFUS COULD DO IT! RUFUS COULD HERD!
CawfeeMate Rufus probably could. (laughter)
Dug Look at this YORKIE! (YouTube video playing on repeat, constant sound of tiny dog annoying bark. Video embed for your viewing pleasure all the way at the bottom.) His name is Bruiser… I love him.
Me He’s probably one of those York-asaurus-es.
Dug Heisnot! He’s 4 pounds. 4.
Me Oh.
(more laughter from the back)
CawfeeGuy You are really never going to live this down.
Me I know.
Dug Ohhhh. We should have entered them. Oh. Why didn’t I look this up before! I am so upset with myself that I didn’t look this up before!
Me OMG You cannot throw a dog that has never seen sheep in a ring, or whatever you call it, during A COMPETITION. There has to be training. You have no idea how to ‘handle’ a sheep dog. There is work and training involved.
Dug He can.
Me OK. Fine. We are on our way to a sheep and wool festival. You make friends with some sheep farmer, find someone who trains sheep dogs in CT, and I promise, we can take Chewie and Rufie on a day trip and give it a try.
{silence}
Dug You were wrong.
Me I was wrong. You were totally right.
Me And I would love for Chewie, I mean Rufus – because there’s no way Chewie’s going to have anything to do with A HERD OF SHEEP – to learn to herd. That would be amazing.
My dear reader, if you were here last week, you will understand that Dug is never going to let me hear the end of this. And now I’ve gone and given him an ulcer. Just like Diana predicted.
For the record. When we got home after seeing those beautiful sheep herding dogs, we looked at Chewie and Rufus, and we all agreed that they looked way smaller than usual.
Here’s where I jam in all my favorite pictures from the event. (I do not have pictures of the fried dough, maple candy or lamb burgers because I was too busy stuffing my face.)
GOAT!
This is the first guy we met on arrival and I love him. He sweats through his horns apparently. Random.
Are these not the cutest little handmade finder puppets? The detail is incredible. Dug bought a bag full. No joke.
And these little alpaca/cactus mittens! I had a hard time not coming home with a pair. That’s a sample Beekeeper’s Quilt on the right with some mini-skeins for sale – I happened to have started the Beekeeper’s Quilt hexa-poufs this past week. It’s a loooong term project I’m doing as a knit-along with CawfeeGuy. He’s working on some entrelac in this photo while we spent time knitting in the sun and watching the dog trials.
I was kind of expecting to see 1 or 2 breeds of dogs. And there were a lot of Collies and Australian Sheep Dogs, but there were plenty of other breeds represented as well. They were all pretty friendly and camera ready.
These guys may not look it, but they were the friendliest of the bunch. The reason I got these shots with my new 50mm was because they came right over and were sitting in our laps.
This is Dug. Talking about the dog trial he just saw. And then telling Dave about the alpaca he just saw. I think he sent out a text message to everyone he knows with a picture of the alpacas and the caption, “Taluloo and Carly. The official alpacas of the CT Sheep and Wool Festical. Don’t hate!”
Shearing, and then they sell the coats. They bag them up and tell you the name of the sheep you are buying and all it’s stats! The barn was filled with bags and bags of coats. Poor guys look so pink and cold after.
SHEEP!
Overall a huge success. Well, not a success for my diet. But a great time was had by all. Once we were able to get past the tragedy of not having Sheep Herding Yorkies. Yet.
For your entertainment, I present to you, Bruiser, the sheep herding Yorkie, in incredible action.
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