Tropical Yarns

So the year is winding down. By now everyone should have their holiday gifts knitted. wrapped and mailed off. What is everyone making? We see a lot of shawls, scarves, hats, a few mittens, baby clothes of all types.
Remember to make your New Year's Resolution and include time to be good to yourself, and time to do a lot of knitting!

Today (December 22) we had a lovely luncheon for the staff of both stores. It was fun to get together and chat and eat and eat.... Some of us have many things to knit BEFORE CHRISTMAS - and what day is it??? my, my, you'd think we'd do better planning. But that's not really the case - just HAVE To knit with something new.....

UPDATE end of February: I've forgotten to keep up with the updates! Little Jarvis went to a wonderful home. Jazzy came back from the home with cats (she was just TOO excited to play with them!) but she has since gone to another home with two brother dogs and she's doing very well. End of story! I continue to foster other doggie families and they are all very excited when they find new homes. Is yours one of them???

UPDATE January 25: Only Jarvis is left! Little Jasmine was adopted today and Jazzy went to a new home - pending her acceptance of the 5 cats who live there. We hope all goes well and she enjoys the feline companionship!

UPDATE January 18: We had two great adoptions today- for Jasper and Jada. Jasper will be living on South Beach and Jada will be living in Lake Worth. Great families - I'm sure the little ones will be very happy.

UPDATE January 16: Today is a very special day in the lives of the family - Jazzy is being spayed today! We weighed her and learned that she's gained over 12 pounds since she's been with me. Good girl! The little ones were 6 weeks old yesterday. They've received their first set of vaccinations and are ready to go to their new homes. I'm sure some of them will be adopted on Sunday, when we're at Petsmart. We have applications on a few of them - it remains to be seen if these are the "perfect" homes!
Here are some updated photos, including one of my own Teddy (now 5 months old) who likes to babysit the little family and play with them.

UPDATE JANUARY 11: It's been an exciting weekend. The puppies are growing and doing very well. They like to run around and play, and, at 5 1/2 weeks old, are especially cute! Jazzy has been struggling with "full moon syndrome" where she barks and barks and barks.... sigh. Thursday night it seemed like every dog in the neighborhood was taking turns barking. Friday night she was going at it alone! There was a party somewhere nearby, and with the cold night air the sound travelled and had her upset. So I moved her and the puppies inside to the bathroom. I tried to go back to sleep, then heard noises in the bathroom - what did I find but a Rottweiler perched on top of the sink!!! All four legs curled under her. I put them back out, gave her a Benadryl in hopes of calming her down and she slept from 2 - 5. Then my backyard neighbor decided to take out their boat (who leaves at 5am?) and that had her up again. I was exhausted all Saturday! Things were better last night, and today we "showed" Jazzy for the first time at Petsmart. She did very well - loved everyone and every dog she met. This week we'll vaccinate the puppies and take them next Sunday. Here's hoping we find the perfect family for each puppy and Mom!

UPDATE JANUARY 4: We took new pictures today and posted info on all the babies as well as the mom on www.paws4you.org - we are taking applications to get these little darlings adopted! So I updated the photos here - took out some old ones and added new ones.

UPDATE JANUARY 1: The little family is doing well! The babies are 4 weeks old today and starting to walk around and explore their area. Mom Jazzy really enjoys her twice-daily walks and sniffs her way around the neighborhood. Today she met one of the other dogs who lives in the house and, after a few introductory growls, they had a very nice walk around the block together. She will take well to socialization with other dogs. Check out the new pictures at the bottom of the blog!

UPDATE December 28: I just added a new picture of the little family (a collage). We finally named them - the boys are Jasper and Jarvis (bottom of photo) and the girls are Jada and Jasmine. As I took Jazzy for a long walk this morning (she's feeling SO much better every day), I was so glad that she is alive! It's a wonderful feeling to know that I physically saved her and the puppies from death within hours. I love that she has such joy in everything she does, she loves everyone she meets, and what a wonderful addition she will make to someone's home. The babies are "clay" and will develop a personality and behaviors dependent on what home they go to. If anyone needs a dog and wants to submit an application for one of them (puppy or mom) and you live in Florida - go to www.paws4you.org and fill out an application. No one is ready to go yet, but we're accepting applications!

UPDATE December 26: I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas doing whatever pleases them most! Jazzy and her 4 remaining healthy puppies (Yes, we lost the other little brown one on Dec. 24) are doing very well. They are three weeks old now. Jazzy has most of her health back and is enthusiastically going for walks now. She eats about 5 bowls of food a day (mix of dry and canned)and loves her chicken popper snacks. (they are great for getting her to go back in the crate when she's reluctant). As for puppy names, not ready for that yet since they don't have their personalities yet. We have Big Brindle Boy, Little Brown Boy, Big Black Girl, and Little Rottie Girl. The black girl actually has Rottie patterning, but where you would expect to see brown, she has a light taupe. Pretty and different. The big ones are starting to play a little, even though they can't walk, just toddle around in the crate. More pictures soon!

UPDATE December 22: We lost the smallest puppy this morning - a little girl with rottweiler coloring. Long story short - just failure to thrive. We have the next two smallest being supplementally bottle fed several times a day. The bigger ones seem to be doing just fine. It was a sudden drop in health overnight probably due to not being treated for possible illnesses before we got them. Lost another puppy overnight. The rest seem to be doing very well. The biggest "brindle boy" is very, very fat and healthy! What a little porker!

UPDATE December 21 - The little family continues to do well. That lab family mentioned below was NOT picked up by another rescue group, so we got her today - a purebred chocolate lab with 8 mixed puppies. Those babies are BIG. She was very grateful to be rescued from a very bad fate.... Someone else is fostering them - no, they are not ALL at my house! Jazzy is a great dog - very quiet unless she has a reason not to be, walks on a leash, wags her tail (stump) when she sees us, had no problem meeting the neighbors. She's a great dog, a purebred rottweiler, who will need a forever home in a few weeks. (now accepting applications from interested families!)

ORIGINAL POSTING:December 20 - So this is not truly a knitting blog, but it relates to what we all want to do right now - knit the world into a better place by caring and loving our fellow creatures!
As most everyone knows by now, I work for a dog rescue group here in Miami called "Paws4You". We rescue dogs on their day of scheduled euthanasia at animal services. Lately there have been more than the usual share of pregnant dogs arriving - and most are all put down.

Jazzy, a grossly-underweight Rottweiler, arrived on December 4 and immediately had 8 puppies. She was listed as a stray, so she was scheduled to be put down (and all her babies) on Dec 10 if no owner claimed her. The staff fell in love with this sweet girl who was such a good mamma, and kept extending her "out" date in hopes that a rescue group could take the family. In the meantime 1 of her puppies died of unknown causes.

I figured out a way to create a safe environment for her on my patio (the stable) and we added a large crate (the manger), where she would be secure and unable to interact with my own dogs, in case of aggression or for health reasons. I went with my friend, Melinda, to see her yesterday and felt I could safely bring her home. She has kennel cough (as ALL dogs get when they stay there - poor ventilation system spreads it everywhere)and we are just hoping that the puppies don't come down with distemper. Only time will tell.

After living in a small cage for 15 days, she came home to live in a huge crate, on a covered patio, with the pool bubbling her only noise - no other dogs barking and no "death in the next room" - which I have to believe they understand... We left two other mothers and litters there - one is a chocolate lab that I thought last week I was taking, but another rescue group put a hold on her only to cancel out last night!- and the other a beautiful bulldog mix with 9 newborns who are all gone by the time I write this - with pitbull mix in her, and food aggression, she is considered unadoptable. We can't save them all....

Remember that ALL of this is due to people in Dade county not getting their dogs spayed and neutered and when they get out, they get pregnant and are loose on the streets. A sad, inevitable end awaits them....

Back to the happy story of Jazzy. She came home and walked around the pool while we bathed her stinky puppies. She has 2 boys and 5 girls. Some look like Rotties and some look brown. They are just now starting to open their eyes and they don't walk yet - just crawl toward momma! She was so happy to be in a safe place that she fell asleep for hours and didn't mind them crawling all over her!!

She's getting used to her new place and starting to feel more comfortable - she wagged her tail at me and my husband this morning and didn't bark at us at all. I let her out to walk around the yard when the other dogs are safely inside. Don't want her cold to spread! Tonight we'll try going for a walk on a leash. I'll continue to post updates and new pictures so everyone can watch this little family grow and prosper and go up for adoption. If you wish to make a donation for all the medical care and neutering - you can drop money in the jar at Elegant Stitches or mail a check payable to "Paws4You Rescue" and send it to either store. Thanks!

Next time you're shopping at your local grocery store - add one extra item to your shopping cart and bring it to Elegant Stitches to be donated to the dogs at the Paws4You Rescue no-kill shelter. We need liquid laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, pedigree dry dog food, dog toys and treats, bleach, pinesol (or similar cleaner),old towels and bath mats to line their kennels. Help us make these dogs happy and comfortable, and keep them healthy while they wait for permanent new families to call their own. If you want to FOSTER or ADOPT see Jeannie for more information!

We have FINALLY received our shipment of Lana Grossa needles (formerly only available through Knit Piks). We have circular wooden in 24" and 31", metal in 31" (a great substitute for Addi Lace), and gorgeous crochet hooks and double points. Come in and see how lovely they are to knit with!

From Stix and Stones - great hand-made unique shawl pins. $16 for plain styles and $17 for bead-wrapped styles (available at Elegant Stitches)

From Itty Bitty Witty Knitties - new note cards that express your feelings with yarn and needles! (available at Elegant Stitches)

From Lana Grossa - new needles - circular wooden and chrome, wooden double point, and wooden crochet hooks. Lovely to look at and great to use (available at both stores)

From Berroco - new fall colors in Comfort and Vintage and Comfort Chunky. New yarn - Vintage Chunky. New Berroco and Norah Gaughan books for fall. (available at Elegant Stitches)

From Leisure arts - great new books for knitting and crochet. Slouchy hats, sock club and many more (available at Elegant Stitches)

From Cascade - new colors in Cascade 220 superwash (perfect for "drunkin punkin" socks), and now in PAINTS colorways (available at both stores), new book "60 quick knits - 20 hats, scarves, mittens)" (available at Elegant Stitches)

From Plymouth - lots of Encore (including new colors), new Encore Chunky TWEED, new patterns, Baby Alpaca Ampato, Socotta limited edition (all available at Elegant Stitches)

from Blue Heron Yarns - new SOCK PLUS - hand-dyed sock yarn in great colorways. one 480 yard hank makes a wonderful pair of socks. COlorways are Chesapeake, Bluegrass, Marshgrass, Bright Redwood, Jellyfish, Blue Whale, Sea Turtle, Seal ombre

Here's a cute knitting idea - the vest done in Vintage Chunky. The smallest size (30" seen here) uses only 3 balls of this great new yarn. Make one for yourself or for your college student - keep away the winter chill!

The most prevalent trend that we are seeing for fall and winter is SLOUCH HATS. There are SO many patterns available for both women and men (think pictures of Brad Pitt going through the airport) that you can start you knitting NOW for college kids going away or for holiday knitting or your own northern travel.

A HAT makes a perfect travel project because you just need one circular needle with matching double points for the top (or you can use magic loop method).

To start you off right, come in for a copy of a FREE easy slouch hat pattern with purchase of worsted weight yarn to knit it. Later you can expand to lots of other patterns - we are seeing them in many of the books for fall yarns. Enjoy!

From Mango Moon - new "Zing String" - beads and stones strung on a carry-along thread that is perfect for adding pizzazz to your wardrobe. Also "Chakra" yarn that is already threaded with beads and stones, and Lurex Ribbon in great colors. (available at Elegant Stitches)

Welcome back to some semi-regular blogging!
Our wonderful customers continue to enjoy new things for spring. Knitting socks is still a very passionate passtime. From the simple sock knit with self-striping yarns to more intricate designs with solid colors (for instance the patterns in Sock Innovations book) there seems to be a never-ending need for new socks!

Shawls are also always a big hit, plus felted purses and afghans. Students have been accepted into colleges for the fall, and family members are making throws for dorm beds in school colors. Encore makes perfect colors for Gators and Seminoles in case you need them!

Since summer is upon us, it's time to think of thin yarns for summer tops for women and girls. Katia has some new books out full of summer designs and ideas for men as well as women.

Classes are full all the time - new people wanting to learn to knit and crochet and to learn new techniques in both. Check out the list, more will be added soon, and have some fun in class!