A Red sweater for a dog named Blue

“Dogs are our link to paradise. 

They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. 

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be 

back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.” 

― Milan Kundera

I am happy to say Blue seems to be doing a lot better.  She has her spunk back.  The antibiotics and the anti-inflammatory meds are helping a lot.  She is not peeing blood now and she has been eating and drinking again. When my husband comes home she does her little dance for him to give her a treat like she used to.  Everyone is so happy to see her happy again.

I have been playing phone tag with the vet. I've been having some bad pain days.  It has been snowing so I usually have flare ups when the weather changes.  Anyway, since I haven't been getting out of bed until after 3 or 4 pm I've been missing her calls.  I call her back and then miss her return call.  She finally said on the message the the pathologist isn't convinced that the tumor is a Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC).  It could be a connective tissue tumor or just a large mass of inflammation.  Whatever it is, she definitely feels a lot better.  She has arthritis in her back legs and usually has trouble going up the two steps to the back door or hopping up on the furniture (which is not allowed unless I'm not looking).  She had a different med she was taking but they had me switch to a stronger one to help bring down the inflammation in her bladder and now she is skipping around like she's a puppy again.  She's my 13 year old puppy.

Anyway, I have been working on a sweater for her since I know the temperature could drop any time. We have some snow but it hasn't been too cold for her yet.  I had to alter the pattern because she has Cushing's Disease so her belly is big like a pot bellied pig.   Most dogs are bigger in the chest and then get smaller around the belly but she is one inch large in the belly than her chest measurement and she also has some swelling that the vet said should get better over the next little while.

I found a pattern on Craftsy.com by Copper Llama Studio that looks like it would be easier to alter. I'm pretty new at trying to alter a pattern.  I took a lot of measurements and with some tips from a friend I was able to make this sweater to fit Blue.  I made it in bright red just in case she had a job interview to go to.

I added some extra stitches onto one side of the belly section to make a flap with button holes so it can wrap around her tender belly and fasten with buttons to the back.  That makes is so much easier to get it on her without hurting her.  It is a little snug on her around the middle but the vet said her belly will start to be smaller as she get her meds.  I also made the neck piece a little too big so I'll probably fix that later. It looks like a stylish cowl neckline lol  It is more important that she be warm than stylish.  Now I need to get busy and sew her some new booties so she wont get frost bite on her feet.  

Some goodies I've gotten recently

You know how on Amazon.com you can have a wish list? I have a few things on there that I've been drooling over for a long time. Now I have managed to get two of the things on there this year. I'm so spoiled loved. The first thing was my sewing machine. I had a sewing machine that was too difficult for me to figure out. I wanted something with a button that says "sew" or better yet voice activated. Whenever I feel like I can use my sewing machine I know I don't have much time before I get tired or start having pain and by the time I would get the bobbin thing opened up, the lint cleaned off of it, and new bobbin loaded and inserted into the alien looking piece of metal half circle and the thread pulled up to the top I would be exhausted and needing a nap and a pain pill. I needed something way more user friendly. I looked at several sewing machines online and thought I knew what I wanted and I knew they had the one I wanted to get here locally but when I went in there they didn't have it anymore. After I explained what I was looking for she showed me a Brother machine and I fell in love with it right away. It was better than the one I went in there looking for and it was cheaper too. My husband got it for me for an anniversary present which was September 1st. It was our 23rd anniversary! Of course I've been feeling bad ever since I got it and I haven't been able to check it out yet but it is there ready for me when I'm ready.

It is a Simplicity SB2139 and it isn't available online which is why I didn't see it.  This is only available through local brother dealers.  It came with a free pattern, which is not my size but oh well, and also comes with the sewing table thing that gives you extra sewing surface.

The other thing that has been at the top of my Amazon list is this set of Rose Tulip Etimo crochet hooks.  I wanted them so bad I could taste it (tastes just like chocolate, really).  I noticed they went on sale and mentioned it to my husband and he bought them for me.  I love them too.  They are so comfortable to use and the case is so pretty!  I never was a "girly girl" that liked pink until I turned 40.  Not sure what has happened to me.  It must be the hormones or something.

The CD I got is great too.  It is an import.  The band is called Feeder and the album is Pushing the Senses.  I first heard one of the songs from the album on the first season of Bones, which I just started watching again.  The song is called "Pain on Pain" but I really like all the songs on this album.

So anyway, I've been listening to my new music and crocheting away.  I also bought a few other songs that I heard on Bones on itunes.  For some reason that album above is not available to download which is so barbaric!  It has been so long since I had to buy a CD and wait for it to come in the mail to listen to it.  I could have recorded it off the radio onto a tape by then but of course they don't play good music on the radio anymore. Anywho, there really are some great music in that series.

I am also making a sweater for my sweet beagle Blue. She is getting pretty old and arthritic and it gets pretty cold here in the winter. She has some health problems that make her belly distended so I'm adjusting the pattern to fit her. I hope she likes it.

It is a pretty, sunny day outside today and I'm hoping to get out in it since I'm feeling a little better.  I think I need a new fish in my fish tank and want to make a trip to Petco.