Just in time for summer...

Gosh Gail, this is most kind of you to be knitting me a nice cosy blanket. Thank you so much. Is it nearly finished?

Bertie! No!

What's the problem Gail?

You know perfectly well Bertie that it's not a blanket for you, it is a new jumper for myself. You even posted about it back in January. Now please shift over and let me get on with the knit-one-purl-one crew neck.

A FEW DAYS LATER 

Oh well done Gail. So you have completed your nice warm jumper just in time for summer.

To be honest Bertie, I am not sure here whether you are being sarcastic or are making a realistic appraisal of the weather conditions to be expected in a typical Scottish summer. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt...

PS The good news is that we have made it across to Torridon to check up on the cottage and, for one day at least, the sun shone warmly. 

Camouflage?

It's been cold and grey in Aberdeen this week, and I have spent much of the time snuggled up on the sofa beside Gail, closely monitoring the progress of her latest knitting project.

Hmmm, it seems that Gail has started on a new jumper for herself. The colour reminds me of our Scottish landscape in August, when the hillsides are resplendent with the purple glow of heather.

I wonder if Gail intends this new garment as camouflage? With a fair wind, she should have it ready to wear for when the heather comes into bloom later this year! 

I too would like a purple sweater - perfect attire for a spot of deer stalking, don't you think?

Happy Nature Friday friends! Here are some more old pictures of me out and about in the heather-clad hills.

Thank you once again to the LLB Gang for hosting this our favourite blog hop. Do jump aboard! 

Er, but what's it FOR?

In her ongoing, though intermittent, project to upgrade her needlework skills, Gail has been experimenting  with 'duplicate stitch', a technique which involves sewing a pattern or picture on top of a piece of plain knitting. This is her first effort.

If anyone can think of a use for this item, which is about 8" by 8", please let us know! 

(And in case you were wondering, I think it's supposed to be a wire-haired fox terrier...)

Wardrobe dilemma

 

Have you been invited to lots of seasonal festivities this year?

No, me neither, so far. But ever the optimist, I'm sure it's only a matter of time, and thus today I am requesting your help in resolving what Gail insists on calling my "First World Problem".

In fact it is a VERY SERIOUS dilemma.

Surely, my readers will agree it is important for me to make good choices when it comes to deciding which of my four hand-knitted jumpers I should select to wear at any (as yet hypothetical) Christmas parties or other events this winter.

I'm hoping you can assist by making suggestions as to which sweater might be best suited to different occasions.

Perhaps it would help if I modelled each one, and told you a bit about it?

Here is Gail's first effort, incorporating a Fair Isle yoke and knitted back in 2015 when Gail was on unpaid leave from work looking after Human Granny. The undyed yarn is spun from Shetland sheep owned by our lovely Torridon neighbour Julia. The jumper is, just possibly, a teeny weeny bit too close fitting these days. Or you might think it shows off my slim but well muscled torso to good effect...

Next is my roughty-toughty Aran sweater. To knit this, Gail used up yarn which had been sitting in the back of her wardrobe for about three decades, left over from her abortive attempt to knit a similar jumper for herself. To my mind, this is the most masculine of the four available garments.

 

Thirdly we have a an intricate 'Bohus' design from Sweden. This little number uses finer Shetland yarn, and many different colours and Gail says was a total pain the **** to complete. It is has a lower neckline than my other sweaters, and is rather short in the body - a style that my Human Grandad would have referred to as a 'bum-freezer'...

Finally, the most recent is my Nordic Snowflake sweater, which some of you will have seen in my post a few weeks ago. The jolly red colour might be suitable for a festive shindig, although I would note it would not be good camouflage should I, just let's say for example, be invited to join the Royal Family for a spot of deer stalking on the Balmoral Estate.

Please dear readers, I know that you, unlike Gail, will take my wardrobe dilemma seriously. With your advice, I will surely be suitably attired for all potential forthcoming events...

A snowflake? Moi?

Forget about the Covid-19, it was a weather enforced lockdown here in Aberdeen this weekend.

So it seems Gail is knitting me a new winter jumper, with a Nordic theme. 

Mind those pointy needles please!

OK, let's have a closer look.

Hmmm. I hope no-one is going to start calling me a 'snowflake'...

Knitting assistant Bertie gets bored

It is absolutely not my fault that Gail took for ever to finish the woolly jumper she started knitting back in the Spring...

In case you were wondering, I did not get in the way, I provided support.

Finally, courtesy of a very rainy weekend, the apparently never ending task was complete.

And thank goodness there was still time for a damp Sunday afternoon romp around Millstone Hill. 

Saturday outdoors and in

You could see the clouds were gathering when we took an afternoon stroll on the Aberdeen City Beach.

By evening the Scottish weather had fully reverted to type. 

So I settled down on the sofa with Gail and she brought out her latest knitting project.

Inspecting progress so far, I noted that I thought this jumper was going to be far too big, unless I was fed a lot of cake in the next month or two. You can imagine how shocked and dismayed I was when Gail said this one was intended for her not me! 

'Frost and fir' pullover pattern picture

But I soon overcame my disappointment and dozed off again.

An hour or so later, the needles were still clack-clacking away and, starting to feel neglected, I gave Gail my best "I need a tummy rub" look.

And adopted the appropriate pose. 

Gail held out for a minute or two, but eventually succumbed, as she always does. 

So all was well, until it was time for the TV news, and then I had to cover my eyes. 

 

Dog about town on windy day

Too windy this weekend to contemplate a walk in the hills or on the beach, so on Saturday Gail suggested I accompany her for a stroll across the city centre, the destination being a favourite shop in Rosemount.

Of course I insisted on wearing my manly Aran jumper, perfect for the stylish dog about town on a sunny but breezy day, don't you think?

It's been a while since I showed you some of Aberdeen's impressive granite buildings, and I'm pleased to report that refurbishment work on our fine Art Gallery is now finally complete, and ditto the Music Hall.

Aberdeen Art Gallery

Can you see me?

Music Hall entrance

The Town House and Marischal (pronounced Marshall) College were looking grand as ever in the midday winter sunshine.

Marischal College

Town House

We finally arrived at 'Wool for Ewe', and as I waited outside, my hand-knitted jumper was attracting lots of favourable attention from the customers entering this deservedly busy wee yarn shop.

Across the road from the shop, a flag we are seeing flown more and more often in post-Brexit Scotland was in danger of being shredded by the still strengthening wind 

The sunshine did not last the day. By late afternoon the leading edge of Storm Ciara had arrived, and with it the rain, and Gail and I were happy to be cuddled up on the sofa watching England defeat Scotland at Murrayfield in conditions that one might have imagined would favour the home team!

All dressed up and no place to go...

First, I would like to reassure those of you worried about Gail's cold (which I mentioned in my previous post). Not only is she now much more bouncy and less snuffly, but the whole episode had a silver lining in that while recuperating she turned her attention to a long stalled knitting project.

So all we now need is some proper winter weather so I can proudly display my warm, rugged and very manly Aran sweater in an appropriately terrier-tough environment.

But for the moment we'll have to make do with the front room.