Very Little Knitting

Ajax's vet appointment Monday went well. He has lost about 3 pounds since last year, so now he "only" weighs 110.7 pounds, down from a high of 118 two years ago. He is a very friendly, social, fearless dog, and gave the vet and her assistants little trouble when they drew blood and gave him two shots. (That is, he doesn't growl or snap -- he just tries to get away.)

My vet is now using a three-parasite blood screen that tests for heartworm, the Lyme disease parasite Borrelia burgdorferi, and another tick-borne parasite, Ehrlichia spp.. I was happy to hear that all three were negative, as ticks are coming out, yuck. And I bought Frontline and more heartwormer for both dogs.

When I said, "Very little knitting,"
I meant size, :) not quantity. I played with the 5-0 knitting needles I bought Monday. I have a whole net bag full of old "SanSil" pearl cotton that I can probably knit with these.

I gauged my new 5-0 Lacis needles against the Havel's tatting needles that I bought to use as knitting needles. The 5-0 knitting needles fall right between the #6-0 and #7 tatting needles. That is, from thinnest to thickest, they are #7 tatting needle, 5-0 knitting needle, #6-0 tatting needle.

How do you gauge a needle when your gauge stops at "000"? I use a piece of paper, and push the needle straight through. If the second needle goes easily into the hole, I make a hole with that needle, and try the first one against the second one's hole.

I am not as pleased with the short 4-inch 4-0 needles as I had hoped. My hands are on the large side, and when I hold the 4-inch needle in a comfortable working position, the tip of the needle is poking me in the palm of the hand, in the crease just below my little finger. However, I can still see a use for them in starting a doily center -- I just have to be careful that I am not stabbing myself!

My only regrets from the trunk show: now I wish I had bought some more of the long 4-0 knitting needles!