The Disaster Zone

After several years of procrastination, I've spent about 2 hours in my sewing room this morning doing a little purging.

It's bad. Really bad. The room has many issues, not the least of which is that it's basically an attic space. This has several drawbacks: first it's got temperature issues (it gets HOT! especially with my steam iron on). It's also tucked away from regular house activity... with lots of soft cozy fabric for the mice to find. Ugh. It's also the "don't know where to put it" room.

Since my energy levels have improved a bit, I've been meaning to tackle it. However, every time I would walk into the room, I would get overwhelmed and turn around and go play Mass Effect 2 (or Dragon Age, depending on my current obsession).

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), my hand has been forced. We have to replace our shingles on the roof, and we always planned on adding some dormers to the room when we did.

While adding dormers and changing the roof angle will give me a much more usable space, I now HAVE to clean out that room, as we have a contractor coming today for our first quote. Eventually, I'll have to take everything out of that room (eeeeks!), but it's a great way to purge an overwhelming stash of stuff (do I really still need to keep the oil paints from college? I mean really? when was the last time I painted?)

Well, I guess I should head back to tackle some more. Enough procrastination, eh?

Epic Fail

So here's the third finished project in as many days. This one, however, will be looking for a new home:


This project has been nothing but a pain in the ass from the beginning. I had gauge issues (then decided to go up a size, so Matt could wear it over a jacket... shouldn't have bothered). I found the directions VERY hard to follow and made globs of mistakes that required a lot of ripping back. The zipper installation is not the best (not the worse either).

The icing on the cake: Matt doesn't like it. Not his fault. I know that Matt does not like the smell of natural wools (we went thru this when I made him a pullover out of Paton's Ballybrae). However, I didn't think that the Bartlett was that bad (I wear it and don't notice it, but I think knitters find the smell pleasant. You know... smells like wool). I will also say that while the idea of "oversized to wear over a jacket" sounded like a good idea... the 44" is still way too big for him.

So the Bartlett stash is now for me (even tho' the oatmeal is sooo not my color, I have enough left over from this project to make me something) and I'll find this very warm wooly vest a new home. Let's do some project stats:

Pattern: October Vest from Interweave Crochet Fall 2009

Yarn: Bartlett Fisherman in Oatmeal

Problems with the pattern: found the directions very hard to follow. Paragraph breaks didn't coinside with structure of garment. Hard to keep track of where you are (row counts would've been nice).

Changes to the pattern: none... not that talented of a crocheter to tweak.

Overall impressions: While I think the final product ended up okay, this was a doomed project from the start. Way too many mistakes on my part, used a yarn that didn't suit Matt in a size that didn't fit him. Part of my stubborn nature wants to try again with a different yarn, as the style is very him, but I think he'll get a knitted vest next.

Samplers Rock!

Having been blessed with the attention span of a 4 year old (ooooh shiny and new! must cast on!), I'm a huge fan of sampler projects. Many sampler afghans have been made and I love the Sarah James sampler series. Case and point: The Sampler Pullover in Wool.


This is the second pullover I've made (I've made the cardigan twice now). My first pullover was done in TLC's Heathers and I wear it ALL the time. It's like a comfy sweatshirt. However, I wanted a wool one too! Stash dove and found some Kraemer Naturally Nazareth in a bright cheery red (called "Fire"... and no it does not photograph well).

The boxy, dropped shoulder might not be the current fashion trend, but it gets a huge thumbs up for comfy and ideal for around the house on cold dreary winter days. I don't want to wear a fitted, tight sleeved sweater while vacuuming. Let's do some stats!

Pattern: Sampler Sweater by Sarah James

Yarn: Kraemer Yarns's Naturally Nazareth in Fire

Changes to the pattern: I changed a couple of the sampler panels so that each section is unique (the pattern has you repeat one or two, I don't remember which one). I picked up the sleeves and worked them top down.

Problems with the pattern: None.

Overall impressions: exactly what I wanted. A comfy cozy warm brightly colored sweatshirt style pullover for long dreary cold winter days.

So a huge thumbs up and a staple pattern for me. Fun to knit and comfy to wear. Hmmm... Maybe Matt needs a pullover version, too?

Two Days with Two FO's!

I finished up one of my crochet bags yesterday and finished up my Sampler Pullover today (both need a little blocking, and I haven't lined the bag yet... but it's a usable bag, so I'm counting it).

I didn't redownload Photoshop yet, but I'm trying a freeware program (much less of a memory hog), so I was able to get some photos today.

First up is the Sunny Shoulder Bag:


As the photo shows, I can wear it a la messanger bag style, which is great (that's with the length given in the pattern). I would probably shorten the strap 6" if I wanted a shoulder bag. Let's do some project stats!

Pattern: Sunny Shoulder Bag from the March/April 09 issue of Crochet Today!

Yarn: Lily Sugar'n Cream Stripes (for the hexagons) and Solid for the border/strap.

Changes to the pattern: I used a self striping yarn to make the hexagons rather than the 2 row color changes in the pattern. I made the bottom by mitering decreases rather than sewing in the rectangle. My straps are wider than what is given in the pattern.

Problems with the pattern: None that I could find. The directions were clear and it included charts (yay!)

Overall impressions: I'm very very happy with this. It was a lot of fun to make and I most defintely will make it again (it's a great stash/scrap buster). My only complaint was with Lily and the lack of coordinating colors for with the self striping yarn. None of their blues/greens went with the colors in the stripes, which is why I ended up with the ecru (which I think worked just fine). I do plan on lining this down the road, but it's a great bag as is.


I'll do a run down of the Sampler Pullover tomorrow!

TBF (to be finished)

My pile of "almost finished" projects is getting larger, yet I'm casting on new projects rather than finishing them up:

Both of my crochet tote bags are getting very close (one needs the lining sewn in and the handles attached. The other needs some ends woven in, the handles to be crocheted and a lining).

The zipper has arrived for Matt's October Vest, but I need to steam the finishing before I sew it in.

My Sampler Pullover is halfway on the second sleeve.

Meanwhile, my laptop died over the weekend. Fortunately my IT department (aka: Matt) was able to retrieve my files. All those PDF patterns. Sadly I had just bought a flash drive to back them up, but hadn't gotten around to doing it yet. They're backed up now!).

I've commandeered Matt's laptop and decided I'm keeping it (not sure if he knows this or not...). I like it much better and it's much much quieter (the fan on the my laptop was LOUD, and I don't think it worked well, which is what we think killed it).

Saying that, none of my software has been installed on it yet, and that includes Photoshop. So no photos for the time being.

Not sure how long that "for the time being" is going to be. Halo: Reach is out tomorrow. Might be busy for a few days (we'll see... the Halo franchise has sort of moved away from the single player campaign to concentrate on it's multiplayer, which I don't play. I'm a lone wolf gamer).

Meanwhile today I'll see if I can at least weave in some ends on the Sunny Shoulder Bag!

Bagging Crochet

I have a couple of projects that I'm trying to finish up, including 2 crochet bags that are semi-close to being done.

This is the Sunny Shoulder Bag from the march/april '09 issue of Crochet Today! (love that they use an explaination mark! Such enthusiasm!)


The original bag uses a two row color change. Hmmm... that sounded like a lot of ends! So I used some Sugar n Cream Stripes. The drawback? Seems Lily didn't bother making coordinating colors for with their stripes. I couldn't find any of the colors used in the stripes as a solid. I didn't want to use the stripes for the fill in hexagons (which aren't really hexagons since they lack the proper number of sides, eh?) Anyway, I originally planned on just using white, but after all the hexagons were done, I found the white to be way too stark of a contrast. Tried a denim and a dusty green. Nope. So I do have a cream (or is it ecru?). A few more ends to weave in, then I'll start filling in.

Meanwhile, I'm also trying to sew up an older crochet back that been around for while. I'm hoping to have it done in a day or two. A girl simply can't have too many tote bags (plus no short row bust darts!)

Bring on Fall!

Since Labor Day is past, the days are getting shorter and I'm already enjoying Sam Adams Octoberfest beer, we all know that colder weather is around the corner.

I'm going to try to blog a little more frequently, as I think I've discovered why I've lost my momentum (yes, we'll blame the Xbox 360 as the major reason).

It comes down to picture taking. I'm not a huge fan of pictureless blogs, so I like to include when I can. However, I've also found that I get better photos in the afternoon than in the morning. I was in the habit of doing my blog first thing in the morning before I got my day started. Once I started waiting for better light, I simply never got around to it. So I need to find a new schedule (maybe take the photos the day before I blog?)

Anyway, just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean that I'm not working on stuff. I will say that I've been doing more crocheting than knitting lately (and a lot of frogging. I am no master crocheter!)

I have an almost Fo, the October Vest from Interweave Crochet Fall 2009. I'm waiting for the zipper to arrive, and the finishing needs a light steam. Here's what it looked like in progress:



I will say that I have never been so frustrated by such a simple project. I'm sure that it's crochet had a lot to do with it. Plus I find Interweave patterns very hard to read (I understand space issues. I used to do typesetting for magazines and know that there is limited space for content). The problem for me is that you have to meticulously read the directions. The content is not broken down logically (like the collar directions are not at a paragraph break). This probably isn't an issue for meticulous pattern readers. Which I am not one. I am a skimmer. I glance at my patterns while I'm working and really don't like being tied to my pattern (and probably why I'm not a huge fair isle fan).

Anyway, I'll give specifics on my struggles with the vest when I do my project review, but suffice to say that I think I can say I've made this vest 4 times now.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping to get some crochet bags I've been working on finished up this week. I also need to dig out a cabled project. I'm feeling a little cable-less right now. Matt might need a Na Craga.

Radiate Fern

Woo-hoo! An other FO... and I LOVE it!


I have a minor... okay, MAJOR obsession with Elann's Adara. Not sure why, but I love it. I started this pattern the Adara in Teaberry, but I was worried that I wouldn't have enough, so I recast it on with Fern.


The pattern was inspired by my friend Julie who is also knitting it (in TLC Heather... with longer sleeves. Ya, who wants to bet that I end up casting that on too?)

A great pattern/yarn combo to be sure... so glad I didn't rip back the Teaberry version, as I'm totally planning on finishing it (but I might just do little cap sleeves). Especially since I know I have enough yarn!

Project Stats:

Pattern: Radiate by Helene Rush (who is quickly becoming a favorite designer. How many Hey Teach's have I knit?)

Yarn: Elann Adara in Fern

Problems with the pattern: none. as expected. Ms. Rush knows what she's doing.

Changes to the pattern: only made 4" sleeves (we'll call that more of an impatience factor than a design change). Worked the sleeves in the round rather than flat.

Overall impressions: Love it! The color. The yarn. The pattern. The marled yarn works well with the slip stitch pattern. It was fun to knit and I love how it fits. A staple pattern to be (especially since the Teaberry one is already cast on... heehee).

It feels good to have happy project for me. Seems like it's been a while since I've been happy with a sweater for me in a while. Might be just what I needed (and thanks to Julie for the inspiration!)

I Adore Adara

Seems I have a bit of an obsessive personality (yes I am still playing Dragon Age). Not only on games, but on yarn and or patterns. I like to think of it as a "variation on a theme" rather than true obsession.

Elann has this lovely marled cotton/linen aran weight yarn called Adara. I love this yarn. I've used it twice and bought a whole bunch last year when they had full bag sales. I now own every color except one. I even bought 2 more bags of Waterfall (which is what I used for my favorite Sitcom Chic. Love that sweater!)

So when my friend Julie started a Radiate, I figured that the Adara would be perfect. It is! However, I started it in Teaberry. I only had 10 skeins of the Teaberry (full bag sale, remember). On top of that while I know I had bought 10 skeins, I only had 7 in it's bag. Hmmmm. So I stopped working on it (and I sent a PM to a member of Ravelry that had 5 skeins of it in the same dye lot. Sadly, she never got back to me). I eventually located all 10 skeins, but in the meantime I cast it on again:


In green! That's the Fern colorway and I love it! I really like the way the slip stitch pattern works with the marled yarn and it's perfect cut scene knitting. I'm already thinking of other yarns I want to try this pattern with (we'll see how it actually looks on me before I start a third. Promise.).

The irony is that it looks like I'm only going to need 10 skeins. So I may end up with two of these sweaters in Adara. One in Teaberry and one in Fern. Yay for minor obsession issues!

A-Z Sampler Afghan

So it took me less than two weeks to make this afghan. I think the seaming/border took me as long as the blocks themselves. I blame the heat, as I had to do the seaming and border in small spurts.

Let's do the project stats:

Pattern: Crochet A to Z Sampler Afghan by Darla Sims

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Flecks

Changes to the pattern: none (huh? nope, other than not paying attention the the block layout, I followed the pattern as written. Shocking).

Problems with the pattern: none. Considering my mediocre crochet skills, I was able to figure out all the patterns.

Overall impressions: this was a fun project to make (less than two weeks is a good indication that it kept me interested), and overall, I'm happy with it. As I've said before, my bigget issue with crochet sampler afghans is the variety in density in the different squares. I think of this more as a decorative afghan than a true snuggling afghan. However, I'm willing to bet that it will see some nap time. So we'll give it a thumbs up.

Well, so I guess that's really my first completed project of 2010. Eeeks (okay I did finish a sweater for Matt back in January, but the bulk of the knitting on that was done in 2009). Now if I can just stay on track on any of the other 30 projects started and or abandoned maybe I'll get something else done this year.

Afghans in Summer

The A-Z Sampler Crochet afghan is almost done. I've completed the blocks and I've sewn them all together. Haven't woven in a single end yet. Plus I still need to do the border.

It's late July, with typical late July weather. Upper 80's (not bad... considering the mid 90's we've been dealing with) and high humidity. Yes, we do have central air and yes it is still on... but the idea of having that afghan on my lap to weave in ends and do a border... feels soooo wrong.

So while there's lots of advantages of doing sampler blocks for afghans in the summer (small, fast, and fun), there are a couple of disadvantages. Weather being a big one. Of course I could just wait until fall, but I want to get SOMETHING finished this year!

The other thing I'm not thrilled about with sampler afghans is the variety in density. You get this with both knit and crochet, but it always seems worse with crochet. I have some super dense blocks and other blocks that are very open and lacey. It's the nature of the beast, and some designers are better than others at the balance. This one isn't bad, but there are still some pretty large swings in density. Of course I try to offset them with placement (lacey next to dense) as much as I can. Overall, I know it'll be fine and I'm overly obessing right now.

I'm pretty happy with this project so far (and FYI: I did order 2 more skeins of the yarn, but it doesn't look like I'll need them. I can't tell you how many times I've done that!). It went SUPER fast. Hopefully will have it done tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures!

Short Attention Span

I'm obviously not very focused on much (other than Dragon Age... but that's a whole other issue). I've been flitting between projects, casting on new things. Ripping old and new project (as a matter of fact I think there's been more unknitting than actual knitting lately... as well as crochet).

So what's the solution? Especially when I don't knit socks?

A Sampler Afghan of course!


One of the many sampler afghan patterns that I have collected over the years (and I'm always looking for more!) This is an Annie's Attic crochet pattern won from Ebay several years ago. 30 block based on the alphabet (with 30 blocks, four of them are just basic stitches).

I'm on a roll. I have 13 blocks done (obviously need some ends woven in and some blocking) and I even had to rip an entire block and re do it (gauge issues). I forgot that I love doing these samplers so much and for some reason this one is moving very quickly. The size of the blocks help: no large sweater sitting in my lap during this hot steamy summer (and it is a VERY hot steamy summer).

I am no master crocheter (as the last couple weeks attempts at some other crochet projects that have since been frogged have proved), but I do enjoy playing around with the different stitches. At some point, maybe I'll even be able to translate these into something other than just afhgan blocks (but then... can you really have too many afghans? no, of course not, cause Project Linus ALWAYS needs them!)

So while the reviews of Dragon Age may have complained about long load screens, I see it as "crochet time"! It's all about time management folks!

The TLC Cotton Ribby is getting there! I decided to finish it up, as I needed the size 7 needles to continue on with the Denim Lace Basic Hoodie.

As the photo shows, I went with the scoop neck. I'll double the neckband to reinforce the fake double style.

Ironically, I decided on the this fake double pullover look due to my concern about not having enough of the multicolored yarn. I have plenty left over. However, I am soooo glad I decided to do it this way, as the entire sleeves would've had those spiralling color issues (and the 2" or so that I do have I can live with).

So I have some ends to weave in plus the double neckband then I'll get back to the denim lace basic hoodie.

I must confess that I have worked on a lot of other projects since I last posted... and all were frogged. I always seem to get into a crochet groove in the heat of summer, yet everything I tried was a complete disaster. My crochet skills (especially with garments) are iffy at best. I think I'll stick to crochet afghans and leave the clothing to knitting.

Meanwhile... the whole Dragon Age addiction has not really ended. I'm still spending a lot of time with this game. I've tried other games (Bioshock 2 was a HUGE disappointment), but I feel like I'm just putting in time on them and Dragon Age ends up back into the Xbox 360. Oh well, the cutscenes do make quality knitting time!

A little TLC for the Ribby Pulli

This is one of the other projects that has been getting a little attention during my non-knitting phase. Yet an other Ribby (this one the pullover) from Chic Knits. I love this pattern. It's interesting, yet mindless knitting, and I love how it looks and fits. Perfect!

I'm using TLC Cotton Plus (a favorite yarn. Soft and easy care). I didn't think I had enough of the multicolor to do long sleeves, so I decided to do a fake layered pulli (a style that I favor when I buy tops). The first sleeve is done, but I'm not thrilled with the color stacking of the sleeve cap:


I might live with it (it's part of the quirkiness of working with multicolored yarns, and why I don't use them much), as I'm not really sure any fix would be worth the work (assuming I can even get it to not color spiral).

I'm getting close to have to make the decision on the neckline. I'm not sure if I want to do the scoop (and I'll double layer the neckband to highlight the fake double layered look) or if I will do the hoodie version (as it looks like I do have enough of the yarn to do that... or I could do the hood part in white, but I don't think I want that. Might look cool, but I think I would rather use up the multi and save my white for an other project).

Either way, I still have an other sleeve to go before I have to make the decision. Plus I'm still plugging away on the denim and lace Basic Chic Hoodie.

Is that... Lace???

My Basic Chic Hoodie is progressing... quite well, actually. After that one panel got fixed (twice), I've been on a roll. I actually found a pretty lace pattern that I can memorize (yay!).

I figured a project would come along and get me back into the groove. Of course it's something I needed rather than just wanted. I'm hoping that this hoodie will be like a denim jacket... goes with everything, light weight, not bulky. So far, it seems to be fitting the bill.

The yarn is knitting up just like I wanted, too. The 400 yd skeins is great (less ends to weave in), but since it's on a ball, I've got to watch for it kinking up on me.

So I've divided for the sleeves and I'm several inches into the body. Now it's just a matter of back and forth on the body. If only I could knit and play Dragon Age at the same time (well, I sorta do... some of the cutscenes are nice and long, and if I don't skip them, I can sneak a little knitting in. Hmmm... then I wonder why I can't knit lace. Think it might be a distraction issue?)

What I've Been Knitting While I Haven't Been Knitting

Okay, I have to be honest, even when I'm not in a knitting groove, some knitting still gets done. (Breakfast knitting never really stops... some days I might not knit during Quick Pitch on the MLB channel and eating my Lucky Charms, but then there are other days that I'm quite productive).

Breakfast knitting needs to be simple (pre-coffee... or rather... during coffee), and so I've been working on one of my favorite "go-to" patterns:


The good ol' Sarah James Sampler Pullover. I made this in an acrylic yarn years ago... and I wear it a lot (seen here). It's a sweatshirt style pullover: comfy, easy care and truely practical. Plus it's fun to knit.

I'm using 100% wool this time (not so easy care, but it'll be warmer) in a bright cheery color for those dreary winter days (the yarn is Kraemer's Naturally Nazareth in Fire). I knit the front and back, seam up the shoulders, do the neck band then pick up stitches to work the sleeves top down (so only the underarm and side seams to sew). The first sleeve is about 3/4 done. So I should have this baby done right at the peak of summer (just when I'll need a nice warm wool sweater).

Meanwhile... I keep trying to knit lace (and not with much success). It's what I want to wear, but I just don't knit lace well. Probably not the smartest thing to keep trying when I'm not in a knitting groove (hmmmm... can you say "discouraging"?). However, this one might be a "go":


Chic Knits Basic Chic Hoodie (lace version) in Aunt Lydia's Quick Denim.

I've had this yarn in my stash for a while, and I'm pleasantly surprised how much I like knitting with it (it's really marketed for crochet). The 75% cotton/25% acrylic makes for a much more "cottony" feel than say Cotton Ease, and I love the denim color. It's been easy to knit (better than 100% cotton on the hands).

I was surprised that the lace panels on the sleeves didn't start until the body was divided (seems a bit lazy to me), so I started my lace panels as soon as I had enough sleeve stitches. The lace pattern is actually memorizable for me (rare), but that doesn't mean I didn't screw it up at one point (laddered down, fixed it, immediately made a mistake and had to ladder the same panel again... knock on wood I'm in the groove and won't screw it up again). I'm at the hard point on top down sweaters... getting close to dividing for the body/sleeves. That's a lot of purling on the wrong side (and the rows keep getting longer and longer). However, it's great to work on while I watch cutscenes for Dragon Age (and yes, I'm still playing Dragon Age. I've lost count how many times I've played it, and I have no intention of stopping... even with other games sitting here ready to play. It's still fun to play, so I'll keep playing! Not that I'm defensive about the amount of time I've spent playing this game or anything).

So I might be back in a groove a bit with knitting. More is getting done now than has been for a while (baseball season always helps), so I might be updating le' blog a bit more.

Uh... Hi!

Just realized that I haven't blogged in over a month... which is the longest I think I've gone since I started blogging many many years ago.

After playing Mass Effect 2 thirteen times, I realized that I needed to find something else. So I got Dragon Age: Origins. Ya... the knitting thing is still on the backburner as I obsessively persue every possible romance and ending. Many many quests, lots of things to kill, many hot romances. Obsession might be a bit of an understatement.

This is not the first time that Bioware sucked my life away. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that whole "Knight of the Old Republic" phase. I think it was then that I swore off RPG's due to the time suckage thing. Shooters are ususally much much shorter... but finding a story driven shooter is always a challenge.

I still hang out at Ravelry and keep an eye out for inspiration... and I am starting to think about a granny square afghan (ya, 'cause nothing says "afghan" like an early April heat wave, eh?).

Meanwhile, there's new DLC for Mass Effect 2....

A long hard winter

I have to say this has been a krappy winter. The weather has been beating us down and we still have a lot of snow on the ground. Sunshine is rare, and the rain always seems to be "thick" (like right now... love that "wintery mix").

So my solution is to close the blinds and play video games. I had totally planned on doing my usual "fix-it" Olympic knitting. I have 3 or 4 projects that I really need to do some maintance on before they are truely wearable. However, I ended up just playing Mass Effect 2.

I have been trying to knit. Even working on some projects from A Fine Fleece. Harriet is a project that I am going to love when finished... but it's lace. Even when I'm in a knitting groove, I find lace more challenging than most knitting. Considering that I am NOT in a knitting groove, there's been a lot of frogging (I've now ripped back the same lace repeat 3 times). It's not even a difficult lace pattern. My head just isn't in the game.

My head is in a totally different game: Mass Effect. I even bought the tie in books. I've hit total fanboy status. Doing the forum thing. Watching YouTube videos. Reading the Wiki. The only thing I can't seem to do is get the "insanity" acheivement (not just a clever name... this difficulty level is way past my skill set).

So maybe as winter starts to wind down I'll get a little spring fever and cast on a lovely spring project. Right now, I'm just not inspired enough to do much knitting.

Settling In

I know, I know, not much posting going on right now. Quite frankly, there's not a lot of knitting going on (yes, I am still totally addicted to Mass Effect 2. Yes I am now on my 6th playthru. No, I am not tired of it).

Anyway, Benny is settling in nicely... especially with Matt. He goes where Matt goes. I'll do in a pinch, but the boys have definitely bonded.


I'm still adjusting to his size. He's half the size of Jake, which makes him 1/3 of the size of Gena. (not quite: Gena is a little over 50 lbs and Benny is about 20 lbs). He is full of energy and curiosity. As Matt says, he's very binary. He's either up and looking for trouble, or he's snuggled in on your lap. He's a huge snuggler.

So that's the focus right now (with a little Mass Effect 2 thrown in). I'm sure the knitting groove with return... hmmm... wonder when Mass Effect 3 is due? Rumors are 2011... must begin preparations!

New Edition

Matt and I would like to introduce you to Benjamin (we're calling him Benny). He's a rescue from Furry Friends Network (the same rescue group that Gena came from).

He's a 20lb beagle mix and a complete pistol. High energy, high personality and lots of love. He and Gena are playing very well together (which is good... it tires them both out). He's very young, not a puppy, but probably not a year old yet... with all the energy of a young active beagle.

I'm still not knitting much (I'm on my 5th playthru on Mass Effect 2), but I might get back into the groove with the Olympics on.