Every now and then I get a bug to make something. I don’t know if it’s that I’m convinced I could make it cheaper by myself, not counting the cost of my own labor and how much time it will ultimately take me to make, or if I just get antsy and want to do something with my grimy little hands.
This summer I promised myself I would make Smidge a bikini. It would be totally easy, and I even planned it out. But it stalled and I pushed off the project until the coming spring.
As all good crafts start out, I was meandering in a craft store and I discovered some wool-blend yarn in a beautiful shade of green. I haven’t knit in ages but I enjoy it enough. Naturally I bought two skeins anyway and started searching for stitch patterns online.
But even as I laid down the $14 for yarn I knew I was rustier than a dead farmer’s wheelbarrow. I needed to practice first. So I dug around in my leftover yarn bag and found a similarly weighted, hot pink yarn. Perfect.
As I practiced my stitches and got comfortable, and as the dog snored in my lap, I realized my growing rectangle was Smidge-sized. I had accidentally cast just the right amount of stitches for a Smidge-sized scarf, and it was her color! So I kept knitting.
Within a week, I had crafted a little scarf just long enough to tie around the dog. I’ll probably pin it for some added security when she wears it outside or something, but it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. The dog doesn’t seem to mind I used her as a guinea pig, and maybe didn’t realize I was measuring her all the times she was sleeping in my lap in between clacking my needles together, but she remains a picture-perfect scarf model.
Realistically, the stitches are ok and I’m pleased with my first real attempt at knitting in maybe a decade, and my attempt didn’t go to waste, thanks to my very fashionable dog.
Maybe I’ll start that promised dog swimsuit early this year.
