The hedgehog is finished (awhile ago, yes) and is off to it’s new owner somewhere (co worker’s nephew?). As I previously mentioned, this is a mini hedgehog. When I originally bought the pattern I went through a phase of making one for everyone I ever knew, and I didn’t have the money or the time to buy the stuff and make things that big. When you split all the numbers in the pattern in half you end up with some wonky stuff. The end result is a lopsided holey mess, and then you get really worried and think that this was a horrible idea and that you wasted all this time and you’ll have to go out and buy more yarn and start all over again. And then you felt it and realize that you were absolutely crazy, seeing as felting fixes everything.


Once again, Yarn is Patton’s Classic Wool in “Natural Mix,” and the hair is just your generic green fun fur. Less than a ball of each.
Buy pattern here
And he did not turn out looking remotely bald, as feared at one time.

The summertime tunic is also finished. Well, to an extent. It needs a bit of tweaking, which is why I am not showing it to you yet. It needs a ribbon first of all, and it’s overall a bit large. I didn’t take negative ease into account, seeing as it’s supposed to be rather floppy I didn’t think I needed it. Well, I was wrong, it’s plenty floppy. This yarn (Knit Picks Shine Sport) is supposed to be dryer-friendly so I thought I’d give that a try. I originally didn’t make a post-dryer swatch because I was never planning on putting this in the dryer (I don’t put a lot of my clothes in the dryer, it’s okay), so I guess I’m going to have to get on that to figure out if I’m going to create a monster if I do put this thing in the dryer. Don’t expect an update until next summer, fall is here and I won’t be wearing anymore summertime tunics for awhile….

PS
This may sound really dumb, but is there any way for me to respond to comments? I would really like to say hi to you, but your email isn’t listed. Or am I crazy and I just don’t see it? Am I missing something? So I’ll say here, thank you for commenting and I think you’re all awesome even though I haven’t figured out a way to tell you that personally.

doggies!

I think it’s about time I start talking about my pets. It seems like it’s the thing to do, I know all this stuff about your (“you” being those in the knit-blogging world) pets, but I guess I’ve been keeping mine a secret.

A little over a month ago our dog, Annie, passed away. She was a very pretty girl, with a great sense of humor (yes, dogs think things are funny too). She was 12 years old, and we miss her very much.

After a few weeks we all decided that, although we weren’t ready for another dog, we definitely needed one. We’re just that kind of people - the kind of people who like dogs. So after some searching (petfinder.com is awesome), we picked up this little guy.

This is Quinn. He is a foxhound/beagle mix, and he’s really sweet. Since we got him from a shelter we don’t know exactly how old he is, but we’re guessing 3-4 months.

He’s adjusting very well to his new home. He loves being outside and eating things he’s not supposed to eat. He’s already gained 4 pounds and grown an inch or so since last week! (granted, he was a bit too skinny when we picked him up from the shelter).

Our cat, on the other hand, is not adjusting so well. All Quinn wants to do is make friends and play, while all Mittens wants to do is scratch his eyes out. Ah well, they’ll figure each other out at some point….

On another note, if anyone is looking for a pet, I highly recommend your local adoption center (rather than a breeder or a pet store). There are no-kill shelters all over the place (I was very surprised by how many there are! How didn’t I know about them?! Check them out on www.petfinder.com) who could really use your support. They take pets that are brought into them, but many also take animals out of high-kill shelters to give them a real chance at finding a home. Usually, they have a coordinator who sets the dogs (or cats, or whatever) up in foster homes, and their foster parents will bring the dogs into the center by appointment if someone wants to meet them. If a home is never found, the foster parents will take care of the animal for the rest of their life. On the other hand, the woman we got Quinn from keeps all the dogs in the bottom floor of her small home, while she lives on the top floor. Any dog that is not adopted she keeps – she has six so far! These people do all this while at the same time keeping full time jobs to support their adoption centers. So if you’re looking for a pet, don’t forget about these places!

a little about-me meme to fill up space while I knit you something interesting to post about


Three things I fear:
1. heights
2. driving in cities
3. dead bugs. live bugs are better than dead bugs….

Three people who make me laugh:
1. paul
2. king john
3. john cleese

Three things I love:
1. chick peas (seriously)
2. summer
3. lectures on the black plague

Three things I don't like:
1. coffee
2. bubble gum
3. the color yellow

Three things I don't understand:
1. chem lab assignments
2. cooking
3. french

Three things on my desk
1. a box of cereal
2. mini gummi bears from shady maple!
3. the awesome modern-art thumb-shaped vase I made in ceramics

Three things I am doing right now:
1. lying on my bed
2. filling out this meme
3. yawning

Three things I want to do before I die:
1. get my PhD
2. go to europe
3. live

Three things I can do:
1. eat three meals a day consisting of only breakfast cereals
2. play the clarinet
3. walk down the street

Three things I can’t do:
1. sleep past 7:30 am (at least recently)
2. have a deep and meaningful conversation over the phone
3. remember my right from my left

Three things you should listen to:
1. your professors. at least the ones who have tenure
2. bug noises at night in the summer
3. God

Three things you should never listen to:
1. loud noises, as they will damage your hearing
2. negative people
3. ugly noises

Three shows I watched as a kid:
1. david the gnome!
2. pinky and the brain
3. alf