grrrs and mean grrrls

on monday night i went to a stitch 'n bitch hosted by a friend i met through thehairyape. we'll call her viola. she got a few other theatre gals (and one gent!) together at the newly opened Juan Valdez Cafe in chinatown. the coffee was great, but skip the baked goods, at least near closing time. i had a slice of lemon pound cake, and it was.... special.

we had a really good time, and it was an excuse for some people to cast on again for the first time in a long time. viola herself is a crazy knitter. she's working on an afghan right now, and she showed off her wild striped, cabled hat with a pompom on top. very fun. most everyone else was doing a scarf or hat. we had one stand out--a rippled lace scarf. pretty pretty. personally, i worked on the cotton shawl the Classic Elite Flash is being crocheted into until i got ADD on the project and knit for the rest of the evening on a handbag i am making out of Patons SWS.

for some reason, i cannot get into a good rhythm on the shawl. i think because it uses a double treble crochet shell pattern that just does not flow. the tension is tricky, which makes me tense! the up side is that you start on the wide end of the shawl triangle, and the project will only go faster as it progresses.

anyway!
because i forgot to take pictures at the SnB, i am sharing a project and some work.
pictured above is my mum's other child... samson. he is a huge jack russel terrier. i made him (i guess really my mum) the sweater for christmas.

the details....

Bernat Super Stripes Dog Coat (crochet version)
no designer listed
published on their website

crocheted in two balls of Super Stripes (black and red) on a size "K" hook. i adjusted the pattern to combine the size medium and size large because samson is medium sized everywhere except in the rib cage and neck. he's sort of built like a doggy body builder. but i managed to make a pretty good fit without any fittings before the unveiling. i wish i had a picture of sam opening the box because he did open all of his own presents on christmas.

i didn't really like the yarn because it is 1. acrylic (dogs need washable, but it still felt gross to construct) 2. super bulky 3. boucle. i don't really like very loopy boucle yarns because they obscure stitches. one thing i did like is that the yarn is sort of random and self-striping. it gave sam a nice lumberjack look. he's a midwestern dog. he should be sorta outdoorsy.

and on the less rough end, we have a sketch from my next show. these are some mean girls who are nasty to the protagonist. don't they look snotty? still, the pink duds are pretty fun. more details when the show gets closer.