Shameless Self-Promotion and a Knitting Update

Hello everyone - I didn't mean to disappear, but apparently I did. The past couple of weeks were the kind where I was busy most of the time, but have absolutely nothing to show for it. Along with some medical appointments, which were very fortunately uneventful. But hopefully now I can get back on track with blogging, and everything else I enjoy doing.

But first, I must do my "shameless self-promotion" part of the post. You may remember that when we had Dug and then Hamlet, I participated in the Mutt Strut, which is a fundraising event for PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society). It's a fun event, and frankly I could have participated even when we didn't have a dog, since you can "rent" a dog for a day - but I knew I would be devastated to return said dog, so just avoided it altogether, but always sent a donation. 

Anyway, this year, the Mutt Strut is taking place on Saturday, October 3. Katie and I are participating, but in a shocking development, The Tim has decided he will join us! Go figure. 

I set a fundraising goal of $800, which frankly I thought would be a reach for us, but I wanted to try and do as much as I could. Well, so many people responded so generously when I posted on Instagram and Facebook, that with those donations, some of which were matched by local places, we've already gone past our $800! I am so excited about this, and am truly grateful that people have donated anything at all (you know who you are! 💕). Now we are actually not too far away from $1000, which blows my mind. 

So if for some reason, you feel the need to part with some money by donating to a non-profit animal welfare organization that is likely not even in your town, here is the link to our fundraising page:

Team Clancy

No pressure, but any amount would be so appreciated! And to tug at your heartstrings, here are some examples of the kinds of sweethearts you would be helping. These are some friends from my volunteer gig, so they are all kitties - but PAWS helps all kinds of animals. 

Bob (2 months old)

Skeeter (3 months old)

Mesquite (2.5 months old)

Thanks for even considering helping us out. I'm sure Katie will enjoy herself, though whether or not she will walk well on the leash around all of the other pups remains to be seen. 🤣

*****

A couple of weeks ago, I *thought* I'd finally finished the body of the tee I have been knitting all summer. I had tried it on in progress a few weeks before, and realized that I would need to knit it a bit longer than the pattern said. I was glad to know that, instead of thinking I was close to finishing and then finding out I wasn't. So I continued knitting, and then added the bottom ribbing and did an Italian bind off as the pattern instructed. 

Only to try it on and have it still be too short for my liking. Ugh. So, as mentioned in a previous blog post, I unpicked the bind off so that I could knit it even longer than I had originally planned to do.

But when that was finally done and the stitches were back on the needles, I just didn't have it in me to knit that particular item any more. Even though I wasn't finished, I was done. So, I wrote the notes I needed on the pattern, regarding where I was leaving things, put it all back in the project bag, and put it away for some other time, who knows, maybe even as long as next spring! And I have to say, I didn't feel bad about it. If nothing else, I told myself that next year, I'll have very little left to do and I'll have a new tee to wear at the beginning of the season. 

So that's that project "hibernating" as they say on Ravelry.

I think I know what my big project for fall and winter will be this year, but I haven't actually done anything serious about it yet, so that's still to come.

But I did start another pair of socks.

In this photo, you can see one completed cuff, and cuff just started. Well, both are now complete, and I am nearly through the leg on one of the socks. But getting there was another story.

First time around, I started knitting a texture pattern with a color coordinated yarn. I knit almost to the heel flap before deciding I didn't like the yarn color combo, and the pattern. So, rip, rip, rip!

Second time, I used a different color coordinated yarn, and a simple waffle pattern. Again, I got nearly to the heel flap, and decided that nope, that wasn't working for me either. 

Fortunately, third time was really and truly the charm. Using the yarn from the second attempt, and doing a simple 3 x 1 rib, I was FINALLY happy with how it was all looking! Which is good, because I'm zooming along on the project, but I'm kind of annoyed with myself, for not taking the simple approach to start - I mean, until recently, 99% of the time, I was either doing just a ribbed sock or a plain sock. Truly an example of live and learn, right? 

And that, my friends, is all the news from here. I hope you are all doing well, and not tying yourselves up in knots with "dumb knitting" (which is what I feel like mine has been lately). 

Here's hoping that I'm back sooner rather than later. I really want to be! Take care in the meantime.