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Man is that a cute baby!

Anyway, I have a couple of finished objects! ~gasp~

I finished Maxx’s sweater and he looks very dashing in it. He loves wearing little outfits and does a good job of lifting his front legs to help put them on. He’s a good guy, that Maxxie. I recently discovered that he spells his name with two “x”s and I think it makes him even more of a stud. I learned of this odd spelling in a most peculiar way. Maxx’s owner is a dear friend named Ronnie. Ronnie’s mom was an amazing woman who passed away last week after a long battle with lymphoma. It was impossible not to love Carolyn. And she loved Maxx to smithereens, often taking him with her and her husband on weekend getaways to their vacation house. Carolyn left strict instructions to have a bouquet of peach roses from Ronnie’s and his sister’s dogs and cats placed at the head of her casket. When we went to pay our respects to her at the wake, there was a lovely bouquet from Oliver, Felix, Maxx, and Miss Kitty right beside her. It’s always such a great relief when someone can provide you with a smile at such a solemn occasion, and when it’s the guest of honor that’s providing that smile, it’s even better. It was such a perfect testament to the kind of lady she was.

I managed to get the sweater knit just in time for her to see it, though I hadn’t gotten the buttons on it yet. Knitting this was a major stress reliever, I did it all on the day before seeing Carolyn for the last time. We all knew it was going to be the last time and I didn’t know what else to do with myself, so I made a tiny sweater for her grandpup. I’m glad Ronnie doesn’t have a Great Dane!

So here is Carolyn’s special little guy in his brand new sweater. The buttons don’t hold it closed, they’re just decorative. And I could have sworn I sewed them on straight. Maybe the sweater is just a little twisted from being on a wiggly dog body.

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It has a pocket on the back so he can carry his favorite toy or maybe a few extra bucks for some Snausages in case he gets hankering during his walk.

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Wow, I didn’t realize how much that sweater meant to me until just now.

And here is another thing I’ve finished as a thank you to someone who’s helped me out tremendously recently. There’s just something about being able to make a handmade gift for someone. So much gets poured into it that it feels much more real than buying a gift. I’m really happy with the way this turned out. I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but I lined it and attached an old-fashioned label from Charm Labels that said “From the needles of Stitchy McYarnpants” inside. I also attached metal grommets to the inside of the lining. I did this mainly because the grommets wouldn’t fit over the felted fabric, but I think they might have ruined the look of the bag if they had been on the outside. Don’t ever let anyone tell you to just “pop in some grommets, it’s easy!” It ain’t. Not by a longshot. I ended up tossing the stupid little grommeting tool off to the side and just smashed the crap out of each one with a hammer. Turns out it was the only way to get them to attach themselves. Sure, they got all banged up and dented, but it looks more homemade that way. Yeah, that’s it. Dented = Fine Handmade Quality.

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Hooray for finished objects! Hooray for heartfelt offerings of yarny goodness! Hooray for cute doggies! Hooray for smashing crap with hammers! Hooray!

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