More knitting than crochet

I have been doing a bit of knitting this week as a change from the crochet. Some garments I feel are more suited to knit than to crochet. I made this baby jacket from a free pattern I found on the net. It is a great pattern as by altering the needles you can use the same pattern for all sizes of baby. The only fault I found was it gave the same sleeve and body length for all sizes although I think they recommend you make one up as is written and then adapt to fit. I was only making for premature babies so I just took 1" off all the lengths and hoped for the best. I made mine in double knit using 3.25 mm needles. It did make up very simply as it is worked all in one neck down so the only seaming is underarms. The web site has the wonderful title of Wishing I was knitting by the lake! http://wishingiwasknitting.blogspot.com/2007/07/baby-jiffy-knit-sweater.html

I am in the middle of a pair of crochet fingerless mitts from Stitch n Bitch The Happy hooker but am not too happy with them at the moment. They look rather loose and open. Perhaps they will look better when I have finished and stitched them up. I think my 4ply is thicker than the yarn used in the pattern even though I have dropped 2 hook sizes to adjust for that. That is the only problem with US books. Some of the yarn does not have UK alternatives. 3ply only comes in baby yarns unless you order from specialist on line outlets. I am too impatient for that when I am only wanting a ball or two. Plus unless you are making a largish order the postage is a king's ransom.

I am back at the gym 2 mornings a week and one morning of water aerobics. Dog walking twice a day also and this has really cut into my knitting time just when I was starting Christmas presents as well. I won't be able to post a lot of my projects on here although I doubt if any of my family reads this blog so I am probably quite safe!

I finished up covered in mud yesterday after sliding half way down a slope in the Clough. There was an owner less Staffordshire Bull terrier that decided to pick a fight with Buster and when I met up with it a second time (I managed to pry it off with the aid of my walking stick the first time and make a getaway) I did a detour off path to escape it but lost my footing and went ar** over tip on wet leaves. Mud head to foot even on my face! I found out later that the same dog had gone for 3 other dogs and bitten a lady's leg. She only got the dog off her leg with the help of local school children which doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened there! She phoned the owner (number on collar) but got no answer and the local dog warden but neither seemed particularly interested. They managed to tie the dog up to a railing and went back later and but had gone. The dog warden actually said to her " Where did you say it happened I don't know that place" It's only the largest dog walking area in the district so that says a lot for our dog warden doesn't it. I have rung him myself in the past and left a message on his answerphone but he has never got back to me. The police are not interested. I got told unless a dog bites a human then they won't get involved. I am sorry but if quite a few owners report the same dog for anti social behaviour then it is only a matter of time before this dog bites a human. Surely it is better to act first in the light of recent horrific injuries to children from dogs rather than wait until it does bite a child. I know dog's will always fight but there are one or two local dogs whose owners seem to think it's OK for their dogs to just run up and attack without provocation. if it was my dog then it would be muzzled and on a lead at all times.