It is wisdom to know the cycles of life and where any particular circumstance that we are involved in stands on the curve. If we want to perpetuate something, we should join it to new growth to compound our progress. If we want to destroy something, we need only lead it to its extreme, for all things decline after their zenith. Den Ming-Dao
My stash spring cleaning last week got me thinking alot about excesses, and left me feeling unsettled all week. When I do something, I have a tendency to jump in with both feet and am frequently led by impulse…..not always a great combination. In reading my Tao Daily Meditations book, I read the above quote during one of those introspective moments. I realized that in my tendency to carry things to an extreme, whether it be fiber, spending, food, etc…what I am doing in reality is setting myself up to self destruct, because it is all too much. Now, I know that sounds somewhat exaggerated, but in looking around my house and what I have amassed, in both fiber, fiber tools, rabbits, books and my never ending inability to say no to myself, what I see, is that I am going around in circles with so much to do, but never getting anywhere, but larger.
So, over the next few months, I am going to seriously lighten my load here and simplify my life a bit. Perhaps with less on my plate, I will actually accomplish more. I will always keep my wheels and my loom as they give me great pleasure, each in a different way, but the stashes of fiber are going. I am also going to re-evaluate my rabbits here. By thinning out the numbers, I think that I will actually get more usable fiber, because shearing time will be easier all around.
I am also going to try to stay more focused on projects as I mentioned in my last post.
My nemesis right now is the X and O vest from Folk Vests. I love this vest, but, the yarn has made the process less than fun. I find black abbey yarn to be very hard on the hands, even though I love the vest done up in it. This pattern has you work the entire body up to the armholes, on a 25 inch needle. I finally broke down and got a 32 inch turbo needle 
which did help to move it along much quicker. The yarn gives fabulous definition to the cables and seed stitch, I can see why it was the yarn that was chosen in the book for the pattern………..but if I were to do it again, I think I might go with something a bit softer. At the SPA weekend, I saw a woman with this vest done up in Peace Fleece and it was lovely.
Normally, I will allow myself one error in a pattern, if it is not too obvious………I tell myself, "character", it lends character.
Can you tell the error that I made where the arrows are pointing? It is an easy one to miss and because I didn’t notice it myself until I was a good 3 inches above it…………..and because I couldn’t bear to knit it all over again, I decided that it was a mistake that I could live with…..could you?
Escapee’s
Hey………….how come Mum is on the outside and we are in here?? Little does Breeze realize, her days of stretching outside the whelping box are quickly coming to an end. The puppies have discovered that there are some exciting happenings on the other-side of that box. One by one, they have jumped, climbed and scratched their way over……….PLOP……..out they come!!
FREEDOM!!! We are out!!……….What an experience it is to watch puppies on their first venture out of the whelping box..it is too funny to watch them slip and slide all over the floor. It is such a different texture than the woolies that they have been walking and crawling on. It takes them a good amount of sliding backwards before they finally can get their feet underneath themselves…LOL
Even little Mouse (eekk…the name is sticking) is up on her feet and exploring her new surroundings.
Normally, I have the puppies out of the box before this, but with the cold weather and this little girl’s very slow start, I feel that she needs the extra warmth from the smaller, closer, confined area. Usually they go into a big pen in the kitchen, but I just may set that pen up in the living-room where it is alot warmer for a week before moving it into the kitchen. Mouse still shivers from the cold, which tells me it is just a wee bit too soon for her.
Of course, the rest of them really are ready to make the move. They are getting fat and rambunctious. Their teeth are in and they are terrorizing each other. I have made their box a little more interesting for them, by adding toys……some that that make noise, some that are big enough to climb on and some for chewing, so that they don’t chew on each other quite so much. Those sharp little teeth hurt when they play fight with each other.
With all of that new activity, this little one is tuckered out and taking a nap on the HUGE wooly bone shaped pillow.
A day in the life of a 4 week old puppy!
~
Secret Pal 4
What a lovely surprise awaited me this week in the mail! It appears that my secret pal is from France!!
These last 2 secret pals have been fun as well as international for me! My last secret pal was from Germany. How fun!
Ariane sent some lovely soft spring green Berger de France yarn, that should make a lovely something for my youngest daughter or granddaughter, some cute little puppy bones, a great sheepie pen and a knitting tool for making i-cords that my daughter has already claimed for herself. Also included was an Elle magazine in French……..hmmm………I am putting my 4 years of highschool french to use….LOL!
Thanks Secret Pal!!
The Woolen Rabbit 
I know what you mean about having too much.I’ve been thinking about the same thing.I know that lately if I stay with just one project I will have it done in no time,but I get bored too fast and then I need another things to knit..and so on.best of luck thining out your ‘space’..puppies are darling I will be over tommorrow to take one from you lol
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About that miscrossed cable… I’d just ladder down that area and do it up again, but that’s me.
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Oh the thought of those pups rolling around wrestling and playing just makes me giggle.
I agree with June on the miscrossed cable. It’s easier than you think to fix and it’ll all even out in the blocking.
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Ohhhhh, the puppies are adorable! The look almost like little stuffed animals.
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Hoo boy are those pics hard to resist! With the pups around, it will probably make re-evaluating the buns a bit easier. Good luck on that.
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My husband and I look forward to seeing the puppy pictures.
Today both our cars broke down (he’s a mechanic so it figures)
YOUR puppy pictures made our day so much better…
and when I was little I was the ‘runt’ of the litter
and they called ME mouse
gee……maybe that pup does need to come home here?
thank you so much for cheering us up
vi
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The puppy pictures are great. What smiles they must bring to your life.
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After discovering your blog..:) reading it has always cheer me up, probably cause I’m a dog lover and a knitter as well. Had an encounter with a puppy as well recently. Someone dumped her. What a meanie! Anyway, it’s written in my blog. 🙂 Something about puppies that always gives joy to me.
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Oh, I love those little faces! Reminds me of when my Lily was so tiny, and I thought she was the prettiest puppy I had ever seen! How can you bear to part with any of them?
I’m knitting challenged so I can’t say anything about the cables, but the vest looks wonderful to me! The Secret Pal stuff sounds like fun!
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Really enjoyed your post tonight, as always. I think the vest looks wonderful. I had to look really hard to find the mistake. The puppies look very healthy. Did you say…are they all spoken for? Good luck with your project too.
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Those puppies get me every time. And I’m right there with you on the feelings about excesses, etc. That documenting exercise I did really hit a few things home to me. But the sad thing is that I’ve continued to buy a few things. I’m really trying to get a handle on it….
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I’m so glad you switched to turbos with the BWA-I bet it really grabs wooden needles. It will soften with washing and just look prettier. I often thought of PF when I worked with it, but it doesn’t have the mohair so you don’t get the halo. I love the color – is it “iris”?
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Simplifying is good for the soul. Your smart to do so. Those puppies are just little dolls…gives me puppy fever. You could try to knit back just the cable section if it bugs you but my bet is no one will notice the error.
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Those puppies!! sigh! Your vest is turning out sharp, and really, I would not have the noticed the error had you not pointed it out with red arrows! 😉 I just sold some BWA yarn on E-Bay. The color was lovely, but I just KNEW the recipient would not be able to tolerate it’s roughness. I admire your introspection and shall try to follow your example…
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Love the puppies’ progress…they are so adorable. It’s definitely a good thing to simplify…if it were next year, I would love to snag a rabbit off of you.
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Last year my new year’s resolution was “simplify”. Things can take on a totally new meaning when you think about them. You may want to read “Mitten Strings for God” by Katrina Kenison, or “Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Both excellent books about sorting life out and making priorities.
About the buns- keep me informed. Maybe hubbie would take me on a road trip? We lost George yesterday morning. I am still waiting for the blood tests to return. I had no idea that I shouldn’t use a used hutch, but if it was e. caniculi, I think that is where he would have gotten it. Your post makes good timing for me!
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Oh my gosh!! Puppies playing then falling asleep, how I miss that! My guys only do the sleeping part now, haha. I remember the first time the puppies followed our mom out of their little enclosure. The look on her face was priceless. “You mean I can’t escape them anymore?” And she had NINE! so just tell Breeze she’s lucky.
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I do not regret having discovered your Blog. Your puppys are loves. I hope their mother is better! I’m a dog lover (I have a Cavalier woman of 81/2) and a knitter who is trying to make a Blog (!). Take care of them!!
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I like Mouse ;-))) She is so cute with her riddled eyes…
I am happy that the second packet is finaly arrived… but where is the first one ??? snob
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Wonderful post! Spring and fall are always times of reassessment/reorganization for me too!
And the pups look happy and healthy. 🙂
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I’ve been holding my breath following the saga of your puppies, especially the tiny girl. They are all adorable, but Mouse is truly lovely!
Alas, we have no dogs (my last Siberian Husky died recently at 14) and our cats would leave if we got one. I know what you’ve gone through with the pups; two of the kittens in our last litter were tiny. One died, the other was bottle fed for weeks (he spent the days at work curled up inside my sweater); he’s now close to 15 pounds!
The vest looks perfect to me. If it doesn’t bother you consider it a unique feature that only a handknit would have.
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I can not believe how much the pups have changed in such a short amount of time. Absolutely adorable!!
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Those puppies are so cute and I just adore little Mouse…as does everyone else. What a thoughtful person you are to keep her cosy that much longer.
I thought I wouldn’t ever get to the point of excess in my yarn acquisitions. My mom’s stash is overflowing from my old bedroom! But it is getting a bit out of control and I am looking to tone it down too. Take care.
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