Friday, August 17, 2018

FMM - Paco and Knitting

I didn't want to say anything until we knew the results - he's FINE - but Paco underwent sedation a week ago so that the vet could take a sample of the lump on his back foot, because it suddenly got really large and nasty looking when he had a chance to chew on it, and she was concerned that it was a type of cancerous lump that gets bigger when chewed on but becomes smaller when the dog can't chew on it.  It's all good - no cancer cells were present, and what she got out was consistent with a type of benign lump that Paco is just lucky to get.

Afterward, he was very loopy and forgot how to sit:
Dis rite?

Front legs splayed like a newborn fawn, back legs all akimbo - it was pretty funny.  We made him stay on the couch with us, and mostly he slept like a log. It took about five hours for him to fully come out of his fog, and then he was back to normal.  Oh I have to do this - he was a log dog in the fog.  Sorry Dr. Seuss.
Back to normal, and back on neighborhood watch.

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This week I did two knitty things.  First, I washed all of my hand-knitted socks in anticipation of weather where I'll need to wear more than flip flops on my feet.  Yes I know it's August and that's a long way off, but I wanted to be prepared.  I was a Camp Fire Girl, not a Girl Scout, so I don't even know where that training came from, but there you go. 

Fun fact:  wool socks don't retain smells and don't need to be washed after each wearing.  If you let your hand knits dry and do a sniff test afterward, they usually are fine for a couple more wearings.  Last winter I rotated through my socks and it worked out that when they were finally ready for a wash, my feet were ready for flip flops.  I got to use my huge new sink, doing a light soak and a dark soak and then one last soak for my red, white, and blue socks that still leave a tinge of red in the water:
I should have taken this picture in portrait mode - it would have made a cool close up shot.

I let them sit in cold water with Eucalan, which is a wool wash, for a while.  Then I gently wrung them out and laid them out to dry:
Missing the red, white, and blue socks in this shot.

A couple of days later they were dry and now my sock bin looks so nice:
 Hello my pretties!

In addition to washing my hand knits, I actually picked up my needles and made something!  It's not blocked, nor is it a finished product, but I knitted a throw pillow top:
There's a subtle arrow pattern happening, which I think will be a little more prominent once it's blocked and stretched over a pillow form.

Now I just need to figure out how to attach the fabric back - I think you can sew on knitted pieces (with a sewing machine), but I wanted to do an I-cord edge around the front and I can't figure out if that will work seeing as I need to sew it with the right sides together.  And there's the extent of my sewing knowledge...which is why this is all you're seeing at the moment.  Anyway, it was a fun little thing to knit and I feel like my knitting mojo is returning, yay!

Have a great weekend!

13 comments:

  1. Glad Paco is going to be alright! Nothing worse than coming out of the fog of surgery.

    Love the color of the yarn. Can't wait to see the finished object.

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Apparently senior dogs take longer to come out of the fog...and this wasn't even general anesthesia!

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  2. Ha! Paco is just so cute. Glad he's ok!

    I have sock envy--you know I have that obsession--and I love all your hand knitted socks!

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  3. Love Paco updates! And also love your knitting. I semi-retired this summer and am ready to learn to knit! Have a great weekend...stay cool!

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    Replies
    1. Yay to semi-retirement and double yay for learning how to knit! I hope you like it. :)

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  4. The picture of loopy Paco is so funny. And I can’t believe how many hand knit socks you have! Very cool.

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  5. Glad Paco turned out okay! There is a product you can use to be able to sew yarn to fabric on a sewing machine. It's called Solvy. I made a ribbon scarf with it. Once you have sewn the items together, you soak the whole thing in water and the Solvy dissolves. People use it for embroidery a lot as well. You might want to check it out.

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  6. Your sock drawer is so pleasing to the eye!!!

    Yay to the good news about Paco the wonder dog!!!

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  7. Oh those socks are sooo lovely. I know I say it all the time. Oooh cool! That pillow! Wow.

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  8. Gosh, I am glad Paco is okay! Phew! It sounds like they left the lump there and want you to keep an eye on it?

    I didn't know that about wool socks - cool! Your sock drawer has given me heart eyes over here <3 <3

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  9. Glad he's ok.
    Your socks are amazing.

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