Belated Birthday

Well, I didn't finish it nearly as fast as I thought, and not on my birthday, but never the less it's done and I really love it!

Pattern: Birthday Cowl by Nova
Yarn: Classic Elite Princess - about 2 yards over one skein's worth
Needles: #8 Circulars
Mods: Made it about 8" long before starting the garter stitch border as I don't like a lot of bunching around my neck.

What a great stashbusting project! I can see how these cowl things are taking over the knitblog world!

I love the texture the pattern creates. Only issue - the decrease used. It is a sl 1, k1, psso. Mine always look loose and messy. Never consistent. Any tips?

I can see myself knitting lots of cowls. They are perfect travel knitting when I am at the dog shows, it will use up my single balls of stash, and will make great gifts. A great deal all around!

You are probably getting sick of hearing about it, but yet another congrats to Ace's mom Deuce. She not only won Best in Show on Friday in New Jersey, but won the "Best of the Best" on Monday! They took the Best in Show winners from all four days of the show and put them up against each other. She came out on top! Her collection of huge, sparkly ribbons is growing quickly!

Here is a great shot of Ace's dad at the trial. He is pretty funny - he barks at every change of direction on course.

Canines, Cowls and Celebrations

After reading Nova's Birthday post yesterday, and realizing our birthdays were only one day apart, I just knew it was fate and I had to cast on for my first cowl. It's well known around the blogsphere that cowls are the new scarf. Megan did it, Lolly did it, Elinor did it, Whitney did it, Ashley, Kirsten and Christy too. So, what was I to do? Cast on, of course.

The yarn is a super squishy soft wool/cashmere/angora blend. I'm really liking how it knit up. I didn't finish it on my birthday, but I got a good third done. I have a feeling this cowl thing will be a great stashbusting opportunity for all those single balls of yarn I have!

Speaking of my birthday, I want to thank everyone who emailed me and messaged me through Ravelry! It took me a while to figure out how everyone knew! I had a really great day - all thanks to everyone out there!

I spent a nice, relaxing evening with the boys. We had gone for a nice long walk and a very exuberant off leash jaunt, so they were pretty exhausted when we got back. Ace has had a buddy sleeping over for the past few nights - Fios (named for the speedy Verizon internet service). He is a 5 month old Border Collie and is on the go constantly! He's been a good match for Ace.

We are off to a 3 day agility trial this weekend, so lots of sun, dogs and hopefully qualifying runs! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing holiday weekend!