Self-Indulgent Pet Photos, Dyeing Yarn, and Leo Update

Elly is very shaggy and in desperate need of a haircut. However, tonight, more than a haircut, she desperately needed a bath.


See, schnauzers can get very dirty, very surreptitiously. It's one of their traits, along with stubbornness and wet beards after drinking water.


So this one, after I discovered a patch of dried mud on her belly, got unceremoniously tossed into the bathtub.


Ok, I am almost embarrassed to post this photo. I swear the bathtub was clean prior to the schnauzer-bathing.



As for other news, and this time is it yarn-related, Eric and I decided to try our hand at dyeing yarn. Eric had received some pretty crappy fingering-weight arn on a big cone, so we experimented with that and Wilton icing dyes.

We're looking forward to trying it with some good quality sock yarn, so if you know of a source, let us know!


I think our ultimate results were pretty good.


As for the finished product, you'll have to wait until the knitted-up swatches are complete before I show them off.


But here's a little sneak preview for you.

Lastly, The back of Leo is finished. I have started on one of the sleeves, and don't look forward to all the miles of 5x3 ribbing ahead of me. But it will be worth it!

I'll leave you with this creepy photo of Oliver looking out the front door.

Christmas Greetings...

...from Elly and me.

Snow Day!

Holy moley, we had a snowstorm yesterday, ya'll. I'm talking 10.5 inches of snow. In Tulsa.

And it's even weirder because on Tuesday the temperature was near 80 and on Wednesday, it started out in the 70s, then steadily dropped all day long. Yesterday it didn't even make it out of the 20s.

There is some knitting content at the end, but I wanted to share some pictures of the snow.

This is the tree across the street at 10 am yesterday:


And again at 4pm yesterday:


And again from this morning:


Some of you may remember seeing my treeman earlier this year in a rainstorm. Here's how he looked in April:



Well, here's how he did in the snow.

At 10 am:


At 4 pm:


And this morning:


He's so good at illustrating weather conditions!

Elly loves to romp around in the snow, but with the temperature well below freezing, it was time to bring out her sweater:


And a picture of snow-covered branches, just because it's pretty:


And now for the knitting. I have been working on the Lovely Lavender Lace Shawl from Nancie Wiseman's Knitted Shawls, Stoles, and Scarves.

I have been working on it for months, it seems like. With the snow falling outside, I finally finished it, and now it's ready to be wrapped and stored under the Christmas tree. Where the cats will scratch at the ribbon and sleep on it.

Blocking:

Fluttering outside: