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That New Puppy Smell

Wendy H. is a Basenji Rescue coordinator here in Austin. I went to her house yesterday to drop off some extra doggie supplies I had here. And to smell some puppies.

Wendy is fostering this mama Basenji, named Basil, and her puppies. When Wendy picked up Basil to start fostering her, Basil was very pregnant, and actually started having puppies IN THE CAR, on the way home. She had 6 puppies total, and all six survived! They are now just over 5 weeks old.

Basil has turned out to be a great mama, and a sweet Basenji. Wendy has already found a forever home for Basil once she’s finished feeding and training her babies.

I’m sure this goes without saying. They are insanely cute.

These puppies are half Basenji, half some other breed. I don’t think paternity has been 100% determined. It’s hard to say how they will look yet, since they’re still in that flop-eared piglet stage. Regardless, they will be available for adoption once they are old enough to go to their forever homes.

If you’re interested in adopting a puppy (especially if you live in Texas), let me know, and I can get you in touch with Wendy. Or you can watch the Basenji Rescue website for more information.

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Lucky 13

Happy 13th birthday to Ike! Handsome as ever.

I got Ike when he was still a puppy, which means we have a long history together. He has a lot of responsibility here at Verypink Headquarters, as he’s the Alpha Dog and in charge of keeping the other dogs in-line. Unfortunately, he’s the laziest Alpha EVER, and he’s cool with allowing a lot of shenanigans to go on under his watchful eye.

I believe he plans to spend his birthday the same way he has spent the morning so far –

One long nap, with breaks to eat and go for walkies.

Interesting note about Basenjis – because they are primitive dogs, the females only go into heat once a year, all at about the same time. The result is that Basenjis are born in December and January, with few exceptions. Ike’s birthday is one of the last Basenji birthdays of the season.

Happy Birthday to my Munky!

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Learn to Knit Socks

Learn by watching!
1. Get your pattern – $8.00 US via PayPal

2. Get your yarn and needles – worsted weight yarn and size 5 US double-pointed needles.

3. Get your knit on – the pattern references the videos below to get you through the tricky parts. (You must have an internet connection to view the videos.)

Video 1 – Working with double-pointed needles and starting the cuff.

Video 2 – Dividing for the heel flap and knitting the heel flap.

Video 3 – Turning the heel.

Video 4 – Working the gusset.

Video 5 – Toe shaping.

Video 6 – Kitchener stitch (grafting the toe).

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Learn to Knit Fair Isle – Baby or Adult Cap

Learn the tricks of working fair isle colorwork in this quick-knit cap; including using circular needles, chart reading, keeping good tension, and using double-pointed needles. Pattern includes links to three instructional videos to get you through the tricky parts.

Sizes: Baby size – about 14” around (stretches to about 16”), Adult size – about 18” around (stretches to about 22”)

Materials Needed:
• Yarn: Two colors of worsted-weight yarn, Cascade 220 or Cascade 220 Superwash are perfect. Less than 60 grams of main color for either size hat, and less than 15 of contrasting color.
• Needles: Size 7 US 16” circular needles and size 7 US double-pointed needles
• Additional Materials: stitch marker, tapestry needle
• Gauge: 5.5 sts/inch

Pattern + links to three instructional videos is $6.00 via PayPal.

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Learn to Knit a Christmas Stocking

Hand knit Christmas Stockings are perfectly awesome on their own…but when you think about it, they’re just big socks, right? When you learn the techniques of making a stocking, you’re also learning what you need to know to follow any cuff-down sock pattern! That’s why I’m offering this as a video lesson.

In this lesson, you will learn:
• working in-the-round on circular and double-pointed needles
• changing yarn colors
• sock basics, like working a heel flap, turning the heel, gusset decreases
• duplicate stitch embroidery on your finished stocking

Materials Needed:
• About 200 yards of worsted weight yarn (the samples are knit with Wool-Ease in green and cream or red and cream)
• Size 7 US needles 16” circular needles, size 7 US double-pointed needles
• 3 stitch markers
• Tapestry needle
• Scrap yarn for embroidery (optional)
• Gauge – 4.5 stitches/1 inch

This pattern is available in three different formats, each includes links to 7-part video tutorial:

1. PDF Pattern, traditional and printable. $8.00 via PayPal

2. Amazon Kindle digital download (suitable for Kindle devices and devices that use the Kindle app): $6.00 US.

3. eReader (For non-Kindle eReaders, like Sony eReader and Barnes & Noble Nook, or any device using the Google Play Books app) $6.72 US

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Amirah Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless GLOVES, not mittens – don’t be fooled! Fingerless gloves are a much better fit. They lovingly wrap and cuddle each finger, so that there is no unfortunate gaping around the hand.

There are some tricky bits to gloves, so I’ve made this pattern available two ways – either as a pattern with instructional videos, or as a pattern only. For these gloves you’ll need about 200 yards of worsted-weight yarn (in stripes colors of your choosing) and size US 7 double-pointed needles.

The pattern + links to five instructional videos is $8.00 via PayPal.

The pattern alone is $3.00 via PayPal.

Here is the first video of the instructional series, as a preview:

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Learn to Knit Magic Loop Socks

Magic loop knitting is a way of knitting socks (or any tiny tube) with a long circular needle instead of double-pointed needles.

In this pattern you will see links to seven instructional videos that will explain each section in detail, and help get you through the tricky parts. All you need is less than 200 yards of worsted-weight yarn and size US 5 circular needle with at least a 24″ cord. (A longer cord is even better.)

This pattern is for a worsted-weight anklet sock. We’re using heavier yarn and bigger needles than most knitted socks, so that you can quickly learn and work through the elements of Magic Loop sock knitting. The techniques you learn here will set you up for working with all kinds of other sock patterns.

Size: Any size woman’s shoe size, average width
Needles: Size 5 US circular needles, at least 24” in length (longer is better)
Yarn: at least 200 yards of worsted-weight wool or wool blend yarn
Additional Materials: stitch marker, tapestry needle for weaving in ends
Gauge: 5.5 stitches per inch in stockinette

This pattern is available in three different formats, each includes links to 7-part video tutorial:

1. PDF Pattern, traditional and printable. $8.00 via PayPal

2. Amazon Kindle digital download (suitable for Kindle devices and devices that use the Kindle app): $6.00 US.

3. eReader (For non-Kindle eReaders, like Sony eReader and Barnes & Noble Nook, or any device using the Google Play Books app) $6.72 US

The video playlist can be seen here on YouTube.

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