Blargh.

I’ve hit another knitting slump. It seems my mojo is taking a vacation for a while, leaving me with little desire to do anything that requires brainpower… so working on the Bohus is right out. In fact, I sort of blame the Bohus for this slump- I think it temporarily zapped all my knitterly energy. While waiting for the tank to refill, I did manage to start working on a bed for Spencer.

His little doggy bed is starting to look a little ragged, and a washing did little to help. I got to thinking that a felted bed might not be a bad idea. The wool would be nice and toasty in the cooler months, and I could put 4” foam in the bottom, ensuring it would be nice and squishy for his aging butt (the store bought beds never seem all that comfy with their meager 2” or so of squish). In any case, figuring out the design would prove tricky but starting the knitting was a perfect no-mojo project. I wanted to use up a bunch of leftover Patons Classic from the stash, of which I had one skein or less each of five different colors. Honestly I just sort of cast on with a very basic idea and the hope that it would work out. I wanted the main part to have sort of a Log Cabin look to it- that facilitated using many colors with little attention needed. I would just work the garter strip until I got bored, then change colors. The center block is actually a bit big, but I think it might be fun to needle-felt a “S” in the space to fill it up.


One day at work I managed to create a little 3D model out of graph paper, so I could sort of figure out how to do this with as little seaming as possible. I still haven’t completely figured that part out, and will probably just wing it as I go. As long as my dimensions are consistent for each side, it should be fine. I am armed with the knowledge that felting shrinks the fabric about 30%, and foam is easy to cut to size. The only problem I’m worried about is how to felt it. I don’t think the finished piece will fit in the pillowcase I would normally use, and I don’t want to ruin the washer. Maybe I’ll try to do it by hand in the tub. If anything, that will be good exercise.


Also during this slump, I’ve been planning another project: an adult Tomten. I plan to do it in Noro Kureyon (thought about Poems, too, but I like Kureyon’s colors better). I’ve played around with the numbers, so now I just have to order the yarn and get started. I really hope it will come out the way I see it in my head.

And lastly, picked this up at Lowes over the weekend:


A foam alphabet mat set for blocking. Thanks to Ravelry, I not only learned of the usefulness of said foam mats, but also that 26 square feet for $17 is a pretty good deal. Now I just have to knit something to block on them...