Sunday, October 05, 2008

More dogs

Yesterday was spent mostly making another crocheted dog. I must confess that I never ever thought I could get so excited about crocheting. The hands movement felt a bit awkward in the beginning but as the second dog was reaching the final stitches I felt more and more comfortable with them. It is really surprising how easy it is to “draw” lines with this technique and make pictures. So far there are two completed dogs, one looking happy and pleased with herself, the other a bit more worried. There will be more to come but I realized that I need to be quite alert and in a certain state of mind to make new ones and two dogs in two days was absolutely the most and maybe even too much. It is a bit like giving birth, you labour away and can’t really be sure, who you are going to meet when the work is done. I was sent on this path by the beautiful blankets in Ravelry, but then vaguely remembered of having a book on the subject somewhere in the bookcase. Sure enough, I found one, in Finnish is it called “Villit virkkausmallit” (something like Wild Crochetpatterns translated into English, originally the book was translated from Dutch). It is written by Lis Paludan, my print is from the year 1981 and the ISBN 951-1-06194-1. These two pictures are from that book. I used thin fingering weight worsted wool for the dogs and did the few embroidered stitches with crewel wool from Renaissance Dyeing. I have the dogs pinned out on a small board that I have been carrying around the house to be able to look at them every now and then and to get new ideas for the coming dogs. Of course my real hairy ones have a saying about this too!

Right after casting off Fall Colours and before starting on the dogs, were a couple of days of fretting as I did not know what to knit next. So today, I have been digging into my stash boxes and pattern files and I am making preparations for three knitting projects. Maybe if I have more than one on the needles at the same time, I will not fall into the frustrating “in between”. So hopefully I have time today to wind yarn and find needles and get going on them. There will be a shawl, a scarf and a sweater IF all goes well. The temperature Saturday morning when I woke up was – 5 C and I felt an urge to cast on for long johns like EZ’s in Knitting Almanac. If I find a suitable yarn from the stash, that will be on the list as well soon.
If you can’t wag your tails, then wag your needles or hooks!
Lene
PS. I will take pictures of Fall Colours when my daughter comes home in a couple of weeks. And the day light time at the moment is little less than 11 hours, so it is not that bad.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:45

    Mulla toimii hyvin tuo että on useampi neule kesken, ettei tosiaan ole niin outo olo kun saa jotain valmiiksi, että mitäs sitten neulottaisiin. Tietysti jotain rajaa on hyvä pitää, kolme keskeneräistä korkeintaan taitaa olla joku raja mulla, kaksikin tietysti riittää. Voi rauhassa sitä seuraavaa jatkaessa miettiä että mikä olisi seuraava jonka aloittaa ihan alusta.

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  2. I have to say that I have never really been a fan of crocheted items. Occasionally I will see something that isn't so bad, but most of it just reminds me of the 70's and strange colored acrylic granny square afghans. THESE are the first crocheted items I have seen that I immediately liked! Cute!

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  3. Anonymous13:28

    Too cute! I love the whimsical style and expression of the dogs. What fun. Thanks you for sharing these and all your beautiful knitting.

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  4. Eikä, en tiiä millä sanoin nuita koiria kuvaisin, ne on niin hauskoja ja iloisen mielen tuottavia ja suloisia ettei tosikaan! Mahtavia!

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  5. I used to do a lot of crocheting, but none for the past few years. Your whimsical dogs are tempting me to pick up the hook again and doodle with yarn!

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  6. What a charming way to use crochet! Being a worrier myself, I love the dog with the anxious look. So cute.

    And oh, I've always wanted to knit myself some EZ longjohns (must be because we share a cold climate. I live in Canada). But I was never sure what yarn would be appropriate. Something durable and hardy, but NOT scratchy would be essential, I think!

    Can't wait to see what you do with yours!

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  7. Anonymous16:04

    The ability to create freeform shapes with ease is what I love about crochet - these dogs are fabulous, so whimsical! I'd love to see you crochet some of your signature birds!
    I am always inspired by your creativity and your talent... and dream of having just a touch of it myself. Can't wait to see what you create next!

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  8. You know, I feel the same as Snid - I rarely like crochet, but your dogs and the bird blanket you linked to have really caught my attention. I'm dreaming about lions and giraffes and hippos from the zoo!

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  9. Your dogs are just adorable!

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  10. Anonymous20:00

    Beautiful work, you are very gifted. Also, your Blog is a delight!

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  11. Those are the cutest dogs, and I can't conceive of how they are done! I also can't get a handle on their size; could you put a fingertip in a photo for scale?

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  12. Your little dogs have me smiling, thank you. I've been thinking about EZ's longjohns also, for a couple of years... who knows, maybe I'll actually knit some :^)

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  13. I have a soft spot for animals and your dogs are no exceptions. This project I'm sure will bring an instant smile to anyone viewing your blog - so cheerful!

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  14. So lovely and funny, I wish I could crochet to follow your path!

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  15. Their looks do give them quite a personality!

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  16. Those dogs are amazing. Great work

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  17. Anonymous23:23

    I like your dogs a lot. Really nice. A comment on Lis Paludan, She is Danish, not Dutch. She´s made several really cool books with crochet, knits, embroidery and sewing. Just wanted to let you know.
    Ulla from Denmark

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  18. Anonymous22:03

    I love the cat!!!!
    your dog is cute!!!
    great crochet!

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