Pet Projects

These lovely ladies are three of my new housemates. Chloe, a 2 year old Mini Poodle is on the left in the chair. Heidi, is a 7 or 8 year old Chocolate Lab is resting on the floor, and Katie, a 10 year old terrier mix is on the floor in the background. They, and my brother moved in a little over a month ago. It's been a lot of fun having them around, but it has cut down on my crafting time. Instead of crocheting after dinner, we usually go outside and play fetch. Plus, Chloe's a lap dog. She loves to sit in my lap, lick my face and get petted. The girls love to lay on the sofas and on the afghans my mother and I have made. They usually lay on the floor when they're downstairs, and it can get cold down there, especially at night. So, I decided to make them a dog bed based on the pattern in the March, 2008 issue of Crochet! magazine.
This is the bottom half. Instead of the four strands of the original yarn it called for I used one strand of Red Heart Grande, a super bulky yarn. I found that for $1.99 a skein at our local Ollie's Bargain Outlet. For the top, I used a strand of TLC Essentials I found on sale at JoAnn's, along with a strand of the Grande. The two strands are plushier than just the
Grande by itself. I have about 4 rows to go until I do the border, block and sew it together. Depending on how it looks, I may sew a muslin lining for it before I stuff it.

I also finished the dishcloth I had been working on, and started another square from the old book I found. I really need to get back to it, but I've been crocheting when I'm up to it. I've also got a hoodie from a Bernat yarn label that I started, frogged and re-started. And for the socks? I started then frogged. The Panda Cotton is nice yarn, but I somehow twisted it so it didn't look right when I joined the first row. If I'm really lucky, I'll have one sock done by the time this month is over.