Tag Jasper

Cast-on Monday: Foxglove Cloche and Poodle for Hire

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My Monday knitting group took a field trip to Another Yarn in Winchester, MA.  They had some of the new Madelinetosh colors, and I found that Foxglove (in Tosh DK) just had to come home with me.

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I’ve already turned it into this adorable hat — which still needs a ribbon and a button to be finished:

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I also (finally) cast on for the poodle I owe to the winner of the Jasper raffle — I made a leg, then frogged it, because it was HUGE. I ended up un-plying the Pipsqueak I’m using into three individual plies, and using just one ply to made the leg again. It worked, I’m happy with the results: “just” three more legs, two sides of the body, the head, and the tail to go. 🙂

Pipsqueak:

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FO Friday: Knit Jasper

remilyknits 3 Comments

Please say hi to Knit Jasper!

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Project: Knit Jasper

Pattern: Siberian Husky, highly modified

Designer: Joanna Osborne and Sally Muir

Available: in Knit Your Own Dog

Yarn: Palette

A friend of mine from agility lost her dog Jasper to a sudden accident.  Before he died, she incurred some serious vet bills, and the agility community held some raffles to raise money to help her out. I donated a “custom knit mini dog” for the raffle.  Someone mentioned that they hoped the winner would give the prize to Kathy … so I decided to make her a Jasper up front, so the winner wouldn’t have to give up their prize.  (The winner, by the way, has a mini poodle — look for that project soon!)

It was hard to get started on Knit Jasper, because I wanted so badly for it to be as close to perfect as possible.  This was extra hard, because the original Jasper is not any particular breed — so there wasn’t a pattern in Knit Your Own Dog that was exactly right. Eventually I decided that the Siberian Husky was closest in shape, especially the ears and head.

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I charted out the written pattern for the Husky, and colored in Jasper’s signature tri-color markings. I made the legs and body just a smidge shorter to better match Jasper’s sturdy frame. Slowly he came together … I couldn’t figure out how to put a ruff around his neck without making it look like a lion’s mane, but overall I am satisfied with the doppelganger. After I took photos, I decided to tip the right ear — I soaked it in water, pinched it in a chip clip, and let it dry overnight.  The tipped ear really helps the look!

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Here’s another pair of knit vs. original photos — it’s important to get rears right too!

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So long Jasper, happy trails to you.

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Cast-on Monday: Knit Your Own Dog

remilyknits 3 Comments

I started a special project over the weekend … something I’ve been stalling on, because it is so important to get it right. I’m making a custom knit-dog for a friend who lost her dog recently, without warning.  My “agility family” held a raffle to help cover the vet bills, and I donated a custom-knit dog.  Someone commented to me that they hoped the winner would give it back to the person who lost her dog — and I said, well heck, I can just knit her one regardless. I didn’t want the winner of the raffle to feel like they had to give up their prize.

But, the dog in question is a mixed-breed dog — none of the patterns in the NYOD book are perfect.  Faced with the daunting task of memorialized a beloved companion, with his own unique look, I have waited and pondered and waited some more.  Last night I settled on the right “base” pattern, that I will modify (mostly in color) to achieve a look close to the much-missed original.  Wish me luck!