Lace-weight yarn has arrived; and a tale of Dachshund woe
Monday 20th June 2011
Some lace-weight yarns to play with, some stiletto-tip lace knitting needles – how idyllic does that sound? I ordered some Signature Art needles from America recently and on Friday they arrived. They really are beautiful. First of all, there is the colour – each set is coloured by its gauge plus tip plus end:)
Then there are the ends to choose from, as you see above. Finally, there are the tip choices:
These are stiletto, ideal for lace or ‘splitty’ yarns. They also offer midi and blunt. I went for stilettos as I use a lot of fine yarns plus Shimmer – very ‘splitty’. These needles (I’m not on commission, by the way!) are, to me, perfect. They are really practical and also very beautiful. Surely an ideal combination, I am sure Will Morris would agree anyway. They are not super light-weight, I find them very comfortable with a pleasant weight to the decorative ends. The only problem is, I now want them in longer sizes…
The yarn that arrived today is a new lace-weight that I was lusting after last week and am now playing with. The colours (I have been sent four shades, half the palette) are lovely, soft, gentle, muted tones. I plan to experiment with this on its own, plus using it with other yarns, both held together and alternating. But I must finish some projects first! The temptation to just cast on with it NOW is so strong and as you know, I usually don’t bother with resisting temptation but this time I really must as I have so many things to finish right now.
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In Other News, Rupert has just had an amazingly lucky escape. Yesterday, unknown to me, he sneaked into Lily’s bedroom (he has learned to head-but the door, which like all the doors in this old cottage, is ancient and on a latch, which jumps if repeatedly nudged by a very persistent and cunning Dachshund). In her room, on a book-case, was an Easter Egg, complete in its box and wrapping. A whole Thornton’s egg. This does of course prompt an entirely new train of thought which the veterinary nurse instantly seized upon, some hours later in the emergency vet room. That question is: why the hell does a 15 year old still have an Easter egg in tact, in June? Is she abnormal? asked the nurse. Hmmm. I only bought her two, oy. Anwyay…
Rupert then (we assume) ropes himself to his climbing gear and begins his assent of her bean-bag in order to reach the egg on the book shelf a couple of feet above his head. Having established base-camp on the rug, he brings the chocolate back and sets about unwrapping the box, carefully leaving the plastic and cardboard, but consuming the entire chocolate egg. Cocoa is highly toxic to dogs. Many dogs die every year from eating chocolate. Or even the cocoa-shell mulch that garden centres sell. Usually they die from a fit, a heart attack or kidney failure. At this point, I found him in her room, but not the tell-tale wrapping. I took him downstairs and had words with him about busting into her room yet again…The box was only found about two hours later, when Lily came home, by which time, Rupert was starting to look decidedly unwell, though I had no idea why.
Once we realised, we arranged to meet our vet at their offices and drove Rupert down there. By now, he was really ill, heart racing, bloated and distressed. I am not going to burden you with the events of the next hour, suffice it to say that there were four of us – me, Mark, Jim-the-vet and a nurse – plus the patient, in a small, warm emergency room when his treatment started and I honestly thought I was going to faint and also be as sick as Rupert was! I have the weakest stomach in the entire world. My usual response to illness in another is to mimic it – not helpful, I am aware of that, but to give me credit, I did at least know enough to realise that this trait would not be an asset if I had decided to say, become a nurse.
We left him being hooked up to the drip and in a complete state – dazed, sick, very sad. Bad night followed for us all.
He’s back now, and whilst I’d say he’s not ‘right’ he’s amazingly perky and happily taking his meds. Jim thinks he will have no serious long-term health issues, a very lucky escape because had we not taken him when we did, and had they not treated him at once, I think he would have ingested all the cocoa and maybe we’d have a less happy outcome.
I rarely eat chocolate, chips being my one weakness. I was aware how dangerous it is for dogs. And I have always been ultra-strict regarding the dogs and I thought, careful. Not, it turns out, careful enough. There are two morals to this tale: first, a teenager who can store chocolate in her room for 8 weeks and not be even tempted to nibble a crumb of it, is clearly destined for a life of monastic self-denial. I conclude that she is not my own daughter and a G&S style baby-swapping incident must have taken place in the maternity ward. Second, the mind, will and base-cunning of a Dachshund is indeed an awesome thing; if we could only harness it for good rather than black-hearted self-serving greed, the world would be a far better place. Anyway, I love him with all my heart, the little devil and he’s back home.
Maybe Rupert was attention seeking after seeing that super cute picture of Arthur on your blog!
I am so relieved he has recovered, you must be too. I have made a mental note not to buy chocolate for Lily!
Oh my goodness, how scary! I had no idea that chocolate and hounds don’t mix… Glad to hear he is recovering 🙂