chilly weather... in Florida?

The past few days it has been chilly here. Lows in the high 40s, highs in the mid 60s. Which is kind of ridiculous for Florida in November. But very welcome.

I had to bring out Hiroki's sweater I made him last spring so he wouldn't get cold after his bath at the dog park. I made it out of acrylic because I was thinking of washability and practicality... but unfortunately he had to sleep in it several nights when we went camping and it is terribly stretched out. Still useable, but not quite as adorable as it once was.

So I'm in the process of making him a new one out of wool so it holds its shape better. I'm trying not to spend money lately, and I remembered I had a whole bin of yarn I recycled and dyed a few months ago.


This is the collar, I made it long this time to go around his ears. A greyhound turtleneck. And I'm doing a leaf lace pattern down the back of it so the rounded part that sticks out past the cast on edge will sit jauntily on his head. He's going to be the most stylish dog on the block. I'm really liking how the colors work up, a combination of reds, purples, browns, and a few spots where the natural grey the yarn originally was comes through.

And since I was winding yarn in little cakes, I pulled out my favorite color I dyed called Sea Glass and started making a beanie for myself.


I don't wear hats often, but they're so satisfying to make. And now that I'm working outsider, I'm going to need hats this winter. Mostly stockinette stitch, but every 8 rows I'm doing a purl row to mix things up a bit so there's ridges throughout.


In other news... I managed to find away to fit crafting into my Humanities seminar. For our final project we can do just about anything, and one of the ideas we talked about a lot this semester was authenticity and how cultural items change when they are mass-marketed to tourists. So I'm making a mini-quilt in a mix of Amish and modern ways. I'm using traditional Amish colors, but with soft patterns to make it a bit modern. I used electricity, of course, to piece the top... and then for the first time in my life ventured into hand-quilting the layers.

Sneak peak (full post to come later):



It's mostly done, I just have to finish hand-sewing the binding to the back of the quilt in time for my presentation on November 16. And I made two side panels that mimic the design so I can hang it on the long wall behind our long boring beige couch when the class is over. Those will have to wait to be quilted and bound probably until finals are over. I'm definitely feeling the stress of school and work combined this semester.